NationStates Jolt Archive

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

I had one for a long time......made my life miserable.

I went 3 years without one, had a good time.

I have one now, 4 people know the number, my husband, my kids, the babysitter.

that's all.

I use it when I want to, I have it in case of emergencies, it shows up on the caller ID as "private number" so I can call people when it's convenient but they can't call me back.....so nice. It's prepaid and so I use phone cards, it evens out to about $8 a month, and I got the phone for free.

I don't have a cell phone. Just don't.
It isn't really that big of an inconvenience because I just borrow other people's when I'm somewhere and need to make a call.

I have a cellphone, but I hardly ever use the damn thing. Mostly because I keep forgetting where I last put it..

Nope. Don't need or want one.

I have a cell phone and I use it quite often. It's my phone now and I hardly use the landline anymore.

In Japan, more people are killed by supernatural incidents involving cell phones than by any other house hold appliance (though recent events involving a wave of possessed toasters have started to close the gap).

I have two phones. A Blackberry that is at my mum's place in BC, which I used to use allot and a POS LG POS that I am using here in Alberta because it is pay and talk (ie no contract) so relocating the phone is free.*

*Well, it resets your phones balance because it has to be reprogrammed.

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

When I got engaged my, then, fiance bought a new cellphone, and since the plan she upgraded to had a 2 for 1 deal...

Since marrying her and joining her in suburbia I've come to appreciate being able to contact civilization when stranded in the Boonies with a flat tire and a broken jack.

On top of that ubiquity of cellphones have made payphones unreliable. The more people who have cellphones, the more the rest of us need them.

I have one which I constantly forget to charge or, if I charge it, I leave it on the charger and forget to take with me. I think this is a passive-aggressive tactic because the only people who call me on it are my kids, generally to check up on me or ask me to do something (the electronic leash). I get grief about this and am constantly asked why I have a cell phone if it's never charged. Good question.

Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

I don't have one. I hate them.

Cheaper than a landline, more convenient.

They aren't evil if people follow basic etiquette.

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

i understand your frustration..i have one primarily for work,and i get calls on my day off,and when i hang up after talking to some twit for 20 minutes i want to toss it against the wall.
that said,i am a single parent and my kids are now on their own,and we all know kids make the wisest decisions at times...lol...like my son deciding to go on a road trip before he went to bootcamp,a 10 hour trip in a suspect vehicle,so i got him one in case he had problems,my daughter needs one to call me for money..lol..and i am about to embark on a 20 hour drive to see my girlfriend in a suspect car,and if i get arrested or break down i would like to be able to call for help or bail,i will be driving thru the boondocks of virginia and alabama,so i want some recourse.
i will admit they bedevil me...cant live with them,cant live without.

i grew up without them and never needed one,but these are different times.

Cheaper than a landline, more convenient.

They aren't evil if people follow basic etiquette.

They're killing the bees. And Einstein predicts that when they go, we've got 4 years left.

I finally upgraded to a non-prepaid cell phone recently, and I'm quickly becoming rather fond of it. The overwhelming majority of my friends live 1000 miles or more away from me at this point, and it was woefully hard to keep in touch with them when their only way to access me was through email or a land line that, for practical reasons, is pretty much always plugged into my computer rather than a phone, and which I could not at all afford to use to make outgoing long-distance calls. I have the cheapest possible plan, and I never send text messages or download ringtones or any of that nonsense, but it is awfully nice to have a way to be able to hear my best friends' voices again.

Having some sort of cell phone, of course, has long been a necessity, as it's at least a 25-minute drive from my house to the closest gas station in most directions. If my car broke down somewhere in between (as it has done in the past on more than one occasion), I'd be pretty thoroughly screwed without some sort of phone.

My parents got me an old cellphone that I only use during emergencies. Of course, it has been sitting in my drawer for 2 years, so it has kinda lost its purpose.

I tend to use MSN more for communication, tbh, but yes, I have one. My newest one in ages. I've only have 3 in 6 years though. I use them until they break.

I tend to use MSN more for communication, tbh, but yes, I have one. My newest one in ages. I've only have 3 in 6 years though. I use them until they break.
Mine was wearing out enough to justify buying my Blackberry when it went on sale.

I duct taped mine to my head

I duct taped mine to my head

:p

I duct taped mine to my head

outstanding..funniest thing i heard or read all day..thank you.
:)

I don't understand peoples hostility towards mobile phones.
They are useful we things that keep you in touch with people as and when you need it.
True we survived perfectly well without them for thousands (or hundreds :cool:) of years but we survived well without the car, the internet, electricity and muffins for great lengths of time too. Its progress.
At the risk of sounding like that weird american gun lobby, its not the phone, its the user. People who sit at the back of busses playing their happy hardcore music on the phones MP3 speaker need hung. People who talk into the thing like its a 1920's field radio need shot. Oh and the morons who drive while using the thing, but there is no point issuing a punishment for them, they are gonna die soon anyway. :sniper:
Apart from that, surely they are really useful? If you need help for something, you can get it whenever, as opposed to having to wait. If you are on a long bus journey, you can phone a loved one and get some chat. If you have nothing to do, you can play games on it. Wonderful. Ive got 2.

AMK
xxx

I don't understand peoples hostility towards mobile phones.
They are useful we things that keep you in touch with people as and when you need it.
True we survived perfectly well without them for thousands (or hundreds :cool:) of years but we survived well without the car, the internet, electricity and muffins for great lengths of time too. Its progress.
At the risk of sounding like that weird american gun lobby, its not the phone, its the user. People who sit at the back of busses playing their happy hardcore music on the phones MP3 speaker need hung. People who talk into the thing like its a 1920's field radio need shot. Oh and the morons who drive while using the thing, but there is no point issuing a punishment for them, they are gonna die soon anyway. :sniper:
Apart from that, surely they are really useful? If you need help for something, you can get it whenever, as opposed to having to wait. If you are on a long bus journey, you can phone a loved one and get some chat. If you have nothing to do, you can play games on it. Wonderful. Ive got 2.

AMK
xxx


big +1

big +1

*is a forum n00b and doesn't know whether to be flattered or to sneer*

I use my cell phone frequently as an alarm clock.

Oh and the morons who drive while using the thing, but there is no point issuing a punishment for them, they are gonna die soon anyway. :sniper:


I would rather have them shot than have them crash into the car/bike/bus/footpath that I (or indeed anyone else) happen to be using.
The main function of my phone is the alarmclock. It complements the other two I have so I actually wake up.
Then after that it is useful for finding out when my friends are actually going to show up. (normally 15 mins late)
Finally, if I ever get stopped by random knife-wielding kids I can throw it at them and bugger off. Admittedly it does not have the same stopping power as a half-brick but beggars can't be choosers.

i have a mobile. i need it because i don't really have a landline (that i pay for), and its cheaper than said landline considering i get free calls to my girlfriend :)

i also like having a camera and videocam on me at all times, as well as being able to browse the net (properly with opera mini (http://www.operamini.com/)!) and find stuff out on the go.

its good to know that whatever happens to me (should i get lost or mugged (assuming they don't take the phone...) or something) i can contact my family quickly and easily, and the same goes in reverse. i guess i just like being/feeling connected.


the alarm clock rocks, and it being all small and fitting easily in my pocket means i don't bother wearing a watch anymore. plus games for when i'm out & about and bored is just a bonus :P

Precisely, I use my cell for my alarm clock and have for years. Actually the only clocks I own these days are my phone, my PC and my car stereo. But my cell is in hands reach at all times so I rarely use either of the others.

Unlike the landlines I've had in my life, I don't get random phone calls or soliciters on my cell phone, despite the fact that I do nothing to hide the number (not 100%, I HAVE gotten maybe a dozen random calls in the 7 years or so I've had it). In fact after an issue with a car theft my I posted my number on my myspace page for a time. My musician business cards (which I do occasionally post in random places, tattoo shop, music shops, etc.) all have my cell and e-mail on them.

I use it at work as I've delivered pizza most of my working life and its nice to be able to call all the people who think its a great idea to jump in the shower or something as soon as you order a pizza and tell them your standing on their front porch.

Free long distance nationside in the U.S. and I used to pay $3 a month to have unlimited minutes to Canada as well.

Oh and how about Bluetooth, I haven't bothered with a headset yet. Although I should since you can actually leave your phone 32 feet away from you with no problems. My friend leaves his phone in his car when he visits and just brings his bluetooth earpiece inside. I use my Bluetooth in the car, as soon as I sit down in my car the phone transfers over to my car stereo speakers. And I must say that is WAAAAYYY better than I ever imagined it being.

Not to mention all the other potential applications for Bluetooth technology. If I really wanted to I could put landline bluetooth phones in the house that would pull the signal off the cell and could leave the cell somewhere else in the house on a charger without having to carry it with me. And thus have house phones without having to get a house line. But that seems pretty pointless to me personally as I have a cell charger in my bedroom and one by my PC. The only two places I ever visit in my home heh.

I have owned and used mobile phones ever since it became practical to do so (read: ever since they stopped requiring a backpack to function, and no longer required a second mortgage to pay for)

I love them for this simple reason... on the vast majority of occasions that I am making a phone call it is because I wish to speak to a person, not a place. As all of my peers have and use mobile phones, it is simple to get in touch with them and, conversely, simple for them to get in touch with me.

It is set to silent mode in restaurants and on trains, and I switch it off if I want peace. By doing these things I don't feel that I am a slave to the phone, and I hope that it also means that I never inconvenience anyone else.

Love them or hate them, the ubiquity of mobile communications has changed the world forever. To get some kind of feeling for what I mean, consider any film set in the real world that was produced before the age of the mobile... how many plots would still be viable if the characters in them could simply have dialled each other up and spoken to them at will?

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

Been reading Stephen King?

I've got a mobile, but I don't use it much. It's mostly for convenience, or emergencies.

What's evil and satanic about mobile phones?

Depends really. Sometimes I have a very heavy usage one month and virtually none the second month.

It also doubles up as a clock, alarm clock, organiser, notebook, address book, usb stick, music player and camera. The camera was useful for when I was on the elections committee for the student union. I could use it to take pictures as proof of when rules had been broken.

Oh, and I use it as a general time waster with it's crappy little java games when I'm on the bus or something.

edit: Oh and it damn well doesn't have an 'airplane' mode. If I want to turn my phone off I'll damn welll turn it off thankyouverymuch.

i have one and i use it frequently.

Yep...I have one...in fact I have about 4 (I get a deal from my provider where they give the latest high value phone every year)...one sony ericson (p800) some motorrola piece of crap and a couple of Nokia's. My current phone is a Nokia 9300.

I use it mainly for work and web surfing when on traveling on the train or bus.

On the work side it depends who I am working for. Sometimes clients want me to be available 24/7....nothing like getting called at 04:00 from a boss halfway across the world coz they forget about this little thing called timezones.

If I could do my job without a mobile I would but sadly clients expect to be able to get in touch at anytime (understandable when you are managing a companies IT infrastructure).

Still on the plus side I do charge the bastards for this service ;)

I have a cellphone because it's cheaper than paying for a landline, which I would never use anyway.

I use Virgin and pay $20CAD/m. :)

I have a cellphone because it’s cheaper than paying for a landline, which I would never use anyway.
Same here.

I’d have to pay BT line rental (about £15 p/m IIRC) if I had a landline. I have a mobile that I spend about £5 p/m on, which for the most part sits in silence.

For me, mobiles are cheaper, handier, and I can switch them off.

Same here.

I’d have to pay BT line rental (about £15 p/m IIRC) if I had a landline. I have a mobile that I spend about £5 p/m on, which for the most part sits in silence.

For me, mobiles are cheaper, handier, and I can switch them off.

My bill for my mobile and 3g card for my laptop comes out to about £180 a month... :(

comes out to about £180 a month... :(
Jeebus!

I have a cell phone but it's an old one and I only have it so that I can call my parents or someone else when I need a ride home or in emergencies.

I have one my parents bought me a few years ago. Batterys been dead since 2005.

Jeebus!

Yeah...but I need to be mobile and given the embarrassing status of the UK with regard to wireless and broadband this is the simplest solution...probably not the cheapest though.

Thing is I have little leverage to get better pricing. After all I am (well until the end of the month when I start a new perm job in the Netherlands) a one man band kind of operation.

i use mine most often for telling the time, but also for text messaging and i have free voicemail to take my calls for me. there's only about 4 or 5 people i ever call or text. i hate making phone calls, i have had a mild phobia of using the phone for as long as i can remember.

'Course I have one. I never leave home without it :)

Gots to be available at all times!

And I hardly use it to call anybody - I kinda almost only text people instead...

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

No.

Do you have a cell phone? Why?

Text messaging ftw! I like texting ppl, and I like it ppl text message me. It's not quite an email and it's not quite IM. It's the brunch of cell phones. :p

My parents made me get one... >_>

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

YOU DON'T HAVE A CELL PHONE! What are you a cave man :p

YOU DON'T HAVE A CELL PHONE! What are you a cave man :p

A caveman who lives under a rock. And not just the rock his cave is made of, but another, distinct rock within his cave that he lives under.

My wife and I both have one. Just about the only thing we use them for is long distance calls as our plan gives us lots of nation wide calling time. I originally got mine because I was traveling all the time and used it to call home and family when I was on the road. Now I'm not traveling any more but still have the phone. Actually, I would get rid of my land line if I could but need to keep it because of the DSL for the computer.

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

It's easy to say that you get by fine without them. Until your car breaks down on an obscure country road in the middle of nowhere and the middle of the night.

That's when you see the point! That's when I saw the point, anyway. Unfortunately the AA doesn't have a smoke signal code to follow...

I use it as my main phone. No point in a land line.

I have a cellphone because it's cheaper than paying for a landline, which I would never use anyway.

I use Virgin and pay $20CAD/m. :)
Woah, how did you get your deal? What kind of minutes does your contract offer? I think I might switch to that one after december.

I don't have a home phone. I use my cell phone exclusively.

I don't see why people don't like them. I don't use mine often, but it's convenient - when I'm working at uni til midnight and I need to call a cab (no way I'd venture outside in Salford at night), or when I'm meeting friends in the city centre and I can't find them, or when someone needs a bassist and my number gets passed on, etc. I also like having a camera, video camera, calendar, alarm, internet and whatever else handy at all times.

Having said that, one of my friends has four mobile phones, and thats just ridiculous. One for work and one for friends I understand - if you're off duty then you can switch your work phone off and not get harassed. But four is a teeny bit OTT :p

I don't have one. I hate them.

Good.

Having some sort of cell phone, of course, has long been a necessity, as it's at least a 25-minute drive from my house to the closest gas station in most directions. If my car broke down somewhere in between (as it has done in the past on more than one occasion), I'd be pretty thoroughly screwed without some sort of phone.

Ever hear of walking?

I don't understand peoples hostility towards mobile phones.
They are useful we things that keep you in touch with people as and when you need it.
True we survived perfectly well without them for thousands (or hundreds :cool:) of years but we survived well without the car, the internet, electricity and muffins for great lengths of time too. Its progress.
At the risk of sounding like that weird american gun lobby, its not the phone, its the user. People who sit at the back of busses playing their happy hardcore music on the phones MP3 speaker need hung. People who talk into the thing like its a 1920's field radio need shot. Oh and the morons who drive while using the thing, but there is no point issuing a punishment for them, they are gonna die soon anyway. :sniper:
Apart from that, surely they are really useful? If you need help for something, you can get it whenever, as opposed to having to wait. If you are on a long bus journey, you can phone a loved one and get some chat. If you have nothing to do, you can play games on it. Wonderful. Ive got 2.

AMK
xxx

No, they'll live, but others will die from their car accidents.

It's easy to say that you get by fine without them. Until your car breaks down on an obscure country road in the middle of nowhere and the middle of the night.

That's when you see the point! That's when I saw the point, anyway. Unfortunately the AA doesn't have a smoke signal code to follow...

No one said to take a trip in the country. There are trains and planes, you know.

There is absolutely no justification for a cellphone, especially for children. Schools have phones, arrange a ride before, walk home...

There is absolutely no justification for a cellphone, especially for children. Schools have phones, arrange a ride before, walk home...

Convenience is justification enough, or are you going to start a thread on how mp3 players are evil too?

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

I don't really see the problem. I think that having the ability to telecommunicate from any place is useful. And if you don't want contact, you just turn it off.

Schools have phones, arrange a ride before, walk home...

Schools have phones? Dude, my old school had/has 2100 kids. Hundreds of kids made some kind of call after school. I don't think 'Schools have phones' is a practical replacement for a cell phone's convienence.

What is this really about? A phobia? Childhood trauma? Dare I say, 'Show us on the doll where the mobile touched you'?

I do not have one, and have resisted various attempts during my life to have one foisted upon me.

My father works still as a fairly high level executive, and I've watched how the cell phone has insidiously transformed his job over the past ten years, or longer I suppose. His average cell phone bill each month, with the biggest and baddest work package is still roughly 500$ a month. For his cell phone only. He has a Blackberry too. As if receiving phone calls every five minutes wasn't bad enough, can you imagine how much more tiring it is to have the little demonic bastard buzz no less than every 3 minutes during 'work hours' every day and on days off probably half as often?

He gets maybe 120 emails a day, and with the demands of productivity coming from up high those more or less need to be dealt with ASAP. The company he works for has fundamentally altered during this time and has taken more than full advantage of the 'extra' productivity you can squeeze out of people using these horrdenous things.

He is a much tougher individual than I am, although he usually just switches himself to autopilot most of the time. When he isn't focused you can see the strain and frustration in his reaction to the incessant buzz and ring of those two devices as he swears at them. It doesn't matter if he took a week off for vacation, the only way he can escape those things is by taking the batteries out of them and burying twelve feet under.

I know I am not nearly so important so as to be hounded to the ends of the Earth in that manner but I've seen the effects first hand of technology gone wrong. The way how technology alters human society is subtle and very few people pay attention or if so share their findings. I was big fan of Neil Postman before and now after watching these things manifest themselves in such a personal way I've become all the more convinced that Postman was, unfortunately, spot on.

I recognize the 'utility' of a cell phone if you are in a jam or a serious situation, but I've made a conscientious choice to not own one regardless. It is my own little protest, small raft that I may be in the huge ocean.

You are free to try to point out 'but you are typing on a computer now' but that's definitely off-topic and so if you want to pursue it further TG me and I would be happy to chat.

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

so we can talk to ppl anytime that we want duh :)

You are free to try to point out 'but you are typing on a computer now' but that's definitely off-topic and so if you want to pursue it further TG me and I would be happy to chat.

...It's really not... I mean, unless it's only kinds of technology that ring? Only technology that fits in your pocket? Only the stuff that lets you say "haw haw, y'all are piteous slaves" if you don't own it? I'm curious.

...It's really not... I mean, unless it's only kinds of technology that ring? Only technology that fits in your pocket? Only the stuff that lets you say "haw haw, y'all are piteous slaves" if you don't own it? I'm curious.

Well the OP was speaking of cell phones.. so.. a computer is definitely not a cell phone. I might have a hard time holding my tower next to my ear for prolonged conversations. :p

It can be difficult reconciling the fact that in many ways I am a technophile with my stance on how technology affects us. I build my own computers and keep pretty up to date with computer technology and how it all hangs together. I adore beautiful and advanced vehicles (perpetually stealing my father's Z4 to enjoy it's refinement), and I drive a sportbike, which has technology in it only a generation or two behind the leading edge racing technology.

What I am saying is not that technology is bad. At times however the medium is the message. Technology can change the way the information is transferred or the way we live our lives in very subtle but very powerful ways. Suburbia is based on roads pure and simple. You need a car to survive in suburbia. You are too far from the core of a city and there is nothing in there. Walking is hardly feasible if you live in suburbia. That is just one example, but cell phones also alter the way we interact. You are encouraged to speed up without understanding the ramifications or consequences of this. Most people don't pay attention to how these influences are affecting their lives in very fundamental ways.

That's ultimately what I aiming at. People need to be aware of how technology can be used and how it affects the user. The ways we process, retrieve, store, access, acquire, and transmit information are all fundamental to how we in fact understand it, interpret it, and utilize it. If we were more aware of these notions then we might be able to better understand what technologies we want to use and what we do not want to use. Unfettered technological growth is not an unqualified good, regardless of what some will tell you. Higher efficiency is not always the goal, or even good. And higher productivity is admirable, unless it has measurable and very real negative effects on people, ranging from health to family life to mental fitness.

We need awareness about these things and how we interact with them, that's all.

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries.

To remind me that I am a poor person in a third world country. (There are very few public phones that work here.)

We need awareness about these things and how we interact with them, that's all.

So in other words, It's more that cell phones provide another way for people to be as stupid as they always are?

To remind me that I am a poor person in a third world country. (There are very few public phones that work here.)

Brazil is third world?

So in other words, It's more that cell phones provide another way for people to be as stupid as they always are?

That felt like a non sequitor. That is not at all what I was saying, because I don't believe in the cynical 'people are stupid' bit.

Cell phones, by their very design and usage, influence how we manage information. As far as I am concerned it is in general a negative influence on how we manage our information. I am not going to write a thesis on it, though I may in fact in the coming years. If I do I will get back to you, but suffice it to say that technology has an impact on how we interpret information and interact with it, and that in turn informs our entire worldview and experience daily.

...suffice it to say that technology has an impact on how we interpret information and interact with it, and that in turn informs our entire worldview and experience daily.

Well, duh. What's non-trivial about that?

Convenience is justification enough, or are you going to start a thread on how mp3 players are evil too?

No. Also, that's irrelevant. Cell phones are an inconvenience.

Schools have phones? Dude, my old school had/has 2100 kids. Hundreds of kids made some kind of call after school. I don't think 'Schools have phones' is a practical replacement for a cell phone's convienence.

What is this really about? A phobia? Childhood trauma? Dare I say, 'Show us on the doll where the mobile touched you'?

They can't arrange rides beforehand, or walk home, or go with a friend? They all need to call someone during the day? I thought cellphones are not allowed to be in us or even on during school hours.

so we can talk to ppl anytime that we want duh :)

Is that really necessary? You can't wait until you get home?

No. Also, that's irrelevant. Cell phones are an inconvenience.
Quite an assertion, that is....




They can't arrange rides beforehand, or walk home, or go with a friend? They all need to call someone during the day? I thought cellphones are not allowed to be in us or even on during school hours.

Hence doing it after school. Oh sure, mebbe 1900 or so can, but what do the other 200 do?

Is that really necessary? You can't wait until you get home?

Why should they have to?

Hence doing it after school. Oh sure, mebbe 1900 or so can, but what do the other 200 do?
There're no school buses at your school?


Why should they have to?
Because it's not important to call random people while you're on vacation, having dinner, etc...

Well, duh. What's non-trivial about that?

I sure didn't see anybody seriously questioning what effects the Blackberry or cell phone would have or even had have on modern society. Everybody thinks 'well duh' but nobody actually knows anything about how these devices and technologies impact society beyond some statistical garbage about productivity and increasing use of telecommunications.

I am *gasp* speaking about studying these things philosophically.

Anyways I am done with this thread for now, I've got my point across a few times and see no point in continuing to repeat myself.

There're no school buses at your school?

Sadly enough school buses can't, in fact, do everything.

Because it's not important to call random people while you're on vacation, having dinner, etc...

Incidentally, not everything a person does need be important.

I hate talking on the phone.

Even worse is having a cell phone so people can reach you anywhere.

I turn mine on only for emergencies.

I sure didn't see anybody seriously questioning what effects the Blackberry or cell phone would have or even had have on modern society. Everybody thinks 'well duh' but nobody actually knows anything about how these devices and technologies impact society beyond some statistical garbage about productivity and increasing use of telecommunications.

And you say you don't share the "people are stupid" belief? 'Nay, nay, IU don't think people are stupid per say, I just believe they're unquestioning sheeple unwhile to looking beyong a meaningless surface'.

which, really, is one of the tennets of the "people are stupid" philosophy

I am *gasp* speaking about studying these things philosophically.

Err...so? Philosophy can be trivial too.

Anyways I am done with this thread for now, I've got my point across a few times and see no point in continuing to repeat myself.

Point across to whom? At first I just thought you randomly hated on cell phones, now I haven't the foggiest what you're on about.

They're killing the bees. And Einstein predicts that when they go, we've got 4 years left.

Predicts? As in, he's still alive? I'm sorry...you're going to believe a zombie genius?

No. Also, that's irrelevant. Cell phones are an inconvenience.
How are they inconvenient?



They can't arrange rides beforehand, or walk home, or go with a friend?
They can, but they can also use their mobile phone.
They all need to call someone during the day?
You don't need your computer. Get rid of it.


Is that really necessary? You can't wait until you get home?

It's preferable(at least to the person doing it), not necessary. They'd rather not wait until they get home.

I've got a Sony Ericsson, and while I've gotten along quite well without it, the ability to contact people when I'm not around my house line is quite convenient, and does make it worth the monthly charge.

Cingular ftw!

I use it as my main phone. No point in a land line.There is a certain point to landlines. Somewhere in your phone manual or phone contract it will say that it is not a replacement for a landline service. Meaning that the company isn't obliged to keep the service running in emergencies. City gets hit by a blackout - your mobile is useless without a functioning antenna cell broadcast tower thingy, but bog standard phones recieve their power through the telephone line (and I believe switchboards have emergency generators). City suffers a terrorist attack - the mobile networks maybe shut down to prevent communication within the terrorist groups or additional bombs that are remotely detonated by cell phone from blowing up, but the landlines will stay working.

Yeah...but I need to be mobile and given the embarrassing status of the UK with regard to wireless and broadband this is the simplest solution...probably not the cheapest though.

Thing is I have little leverage to get better pricing. After all I am (well until the end of the month when I start a new perm job in the Netherlands) a one man band kind of operation.Netherlands? What? Does this mean you won't be able to make it to the next meet?

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

I have a bunch of cell phones. Granted, none of them are active (my mom got them for me at a tag sale, since she knows I like tech stuff, and I have Tinkeritis).

I really need to get one for work though, since I sometimes have to call the post office while I'm out delivering mail.

Woah, how did you get your deal? What kind of minutes does your contract offer? I think I might switch to that one after december.Virgin.
I like the owner of that Company.

and I hate the outrageous tax the Canadian Gov charges.
its 6% + $7/month.

My uncle in Montreal pays over 30$/month in taxes.. even when they dont use their cells. (vacations)

That reminds me of a standup comedian saying a few years ago that much of the rapid growth in cellular phone markets was in developing nations, who found the cost of a cellular infrastructure much cheaper than landlines.

Then he acted out a typical phone conversation from such a country, using a bad west asian accent:

"Hello, how are you?"
"I'm starving!"
"Me too! Bye!"
"Bye!

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!

I have a cell phone, but I hate the d&%$#@! thing, and I agree that they are evil; they are a curse on 21st century society. I would LOVE to make that FOUR of us, but my dad insists that I keep it with me at all times since I don't have a land-line. Also he pays for the cell phone :D

There is a certain point to landlines. Somewhere in your phone manual or phone contract it will say that it is not a replacement for a landline service. Meaning that the company isn't obliged to keep the service running in emergencies. City gets hit by a blackout - your mobile is useless without a functioning antenna cell broadcast tower thingy, but bog standard phones recieve their power through the telephone line (and I believe switchboards have emergency generators). City suffers a terrorist attack - the mobile networks maybe shut down to prevent communication within the terrorist groups or additional bombs that are remotely detonated by cell phone from blowing up, but the landlines will stay working.


Where I live in the U.S. landlines work for emergency calls without having phone service. Just as my cell works for emergency calling without paying for service (albeit if the towers are functioning) So I can just plug any home phone into the wall and call 911 from it without having to have phone service at home.

I never had a cell phone when I lived in the states, I never could afford it. When I was growing up my parents couldn't afford it for me, let alone for the three of us siblings plus them. It took me more than 25 years to get hold of one, and now that I've had it for a couple years I kinda freak when it's not in my coat pocket. My parents each have one, but one of my brothers still can't afford it and the other one is in Afghanistan with the army so...

I use my mobile all the freaking time, sending sms to my husband when we're separated or phoning him when I'm on the bus to work. Most of the communications have to do with the 4 year old we have or the new job he's trying to get, so the info, while not emergency, is stuff we don't want to have to wait to share with each other.

It's more security than anything else. Knowing that I can call the cops from anywhere, knowing that if there's some creepy psycho on the bus I can have my man meet me at the stop outside our house, knowing that if my kid falls down and randomly explodes I don't have to just scream for someone, anyone, to call an ambulance. It's not necissary, no, but it sure makes life a hellova lot more manageable and that kind of safety net is so very nice to have. :D

Netherlands? What? Does this mean you won't be able to make it to the next meet?

off topic -

Afraid so...and chances are my nation will get zapped as I doubt I will have the time to remember to log into Nationstates.net...

See what happens...but I know I am going to be very busy for at least 6 months...

I used to share a cell phone with my sister. She had it all the time, constantly calling people... and when I needed it, I never had it because she always had it and wouldn't share it with me. My sister wound up breaking it halfway through my eighth grade year.

Now I have my own phone (and considering that she's broken a second phone, she probably shouldn't have one). However I don't really need it outside marching season, so I don't carry it around.

My parents and sister all have their own phones, but my mom and my sister always ask me if they can borrow mine. IF I don't have it, they yell at me for not carrying it. They need their phones more than I do, but they don't carry the phones around and so they ask me to lend them mine. BS. Now half my mom's and sister's friends know my number. :mad:

off topic -

Afraid so...and chances are my nation will get zapped as I doubt I will have the time to remember to log into Nationstates.net...

See what happens...but I know I am going to be very busy for at least 6 months...Aww, that's a shame. You will be missed, but good luck with the new job. :)

Aww, that's a shame. You will be missed, but good luck with the new job. :)

No no...its a good thing! And thanks :)

Not sure I'll be missed but I will miss the debates

Who knows...it could be that I might not be as busy as I think I will be .... just have to see what happens...

I didn't have one, and didn't want one, but some misguided fool (my sister, who despite having a degree in psychology, is fundamentally incapable of grasping how anyone can have a different personality to her own) decided to force one on me a few weeks ago, so now it sits under the junk on my desk permanently switched off.

I don't see the point. If I'm at home, people can phone me on the landline. If I'm out, I don't want to be phoned up.

I work away from home 30% of my time, so I find my Nokia n73 is definately handy, as i can video call my wife and kids, watch tv, films, surf web etc etc

when i dont need it, to be sure it is turned off.

They're killing the bees. And Einstein predicts that when they go, we've got 4 years left.

yeah but look on the bright side.

with less than 10 years to live, we can forget about global warming, smoke tobacco again, give up on safe sex and fill up on trans fats.

every cloud has a silver lining.

What about videophones? You know, phones where you can see the person you're talking to and vice versa? Does anyone have one, and are they at all useful?

Eh...I got my first one in march, a Nokia 5300. It was great at first, then the SMS bills came rolling in...:D

Cell phones are good for emergencies....anyone who drives a car should at least think about getting one so if your car breaks down you can call somebody....simple as that

Have none, need none.

I have no one to talk to so why would I want a mobile phone? Though I suppose it would be good to have one should your car break down or something...

Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries. Why does everyone have such an evil, satanic device? Why do I feel like one of three people in the world who doesn't have a cell phone(me, my sister, and a psychology teacher at school)?

Do you have a cell phone? Why? Is it really necessary? (It's not. We got by fine without them and they only cause trouble.)

Poll Ahoy!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/GermanNightmare/nokia_3110.jpg
I have this here Nokia 3110 - and I'm willing to use it!

(And yes - if thrown, it is a lethal weapon!)

My cellphone is my only phone, so without it I would have a hard time living in a normal society that requires such a form of communication (try obtaining and maintaining a decent job with no way of contacting you.)

I dont use my cell phone like a teenage girl though. It never goes with me to school, it usually stays in my appartment all day long. If a friend calls, I dont talk for hours, its usually either a quick question or to organize a meeting between us. My phone isnt evil or good, its just a tool, just like a can opener or MS Word.

My cell phone goes with me everywhere. Not that I always answer it. I am a big fan of the "ignore" button. For some reason, the only time people want to call me is when I'm at work (that's what email was invented for), or when I'm at a movie/concert, or right before I go to bed.

My cell phone is my only phone, it's also my internet browser (nationstates during board meetings FTW!!!) and my digital camera.

I take it with me everywhere but in the plane. Cell phones screw with the avionics.

I'll take it with me hiking, even though I usually go places that are out of service range. Just in case I break down, I might save myself a few miles of walking. I'll take it with me snowboarding for safety reasons. Although, the day I blow out a knee, I'm sure I'll be on the side of the mountain that has no coverage.

Yes, I have my own phone, and yes, I really find it necessary rather than just convenient. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to have called a taxi last night after my train (the last one of the night) was cancelled halfway through the trip and left me stranded in what is more or less a ghetto at 1am. Just one example.

My cell phone goes with me everywhere.
I even heard that some people install some sort of IM software on their phones - but I really don't know if that works all that well. :fluffle:

I have one, but I usually forget to charge it. *shrug*

Sure, I have one and use it alot. Well, compared to some people...I use it sparingly, but whatever. And I don't text or use it like the damn retards using it like a walkie-talkie.

If they're unnecessary, we might as well get rid of cars, landline phones, and the Internet. Hell, why make any technological advancements when we could do things the old fashioned way (pre-civilization, all the way!).

If they're unnecessary, we might as well get rid of cars, landline phones, and the Internet. Hell, why make any technological advancements when we could do things the old fashioned way (pre-civilization, all the way!).
*polishes club*

You were saying? ;)

I even heard that some people install some sort of IM software on their phones - but I really don't know if that works all that well. :fluffle:

I've heard all of the IM clients for cell phones are crap. Not that I'd know from personal experience.:p

Brazil is third world?

Perhaps it is fourth world, but it is not first world (Western Europe, North America and Industrialised Asia), it is not second world (Ex Warsaw Pact) so that leaves third world (or higher).

Perhaps it is fourth world, but it is not first world (Western Europe, North America and Industrialised Asia), it is not second world (Ex Warsaw Pact) so that leaves third world (or higher).

Hmm, interesting...

Hmm, interesting...
I see he used the historical definition of the term. Very odd indeed.

I have one. It isn't necessary per se, but it helps a lot with coordinating events. Best of all, with Virgin Mobile's auto-pay, and since I don't use it a lot, I end up paying about five bucks a month for service. And I would definitely say that it is worth that.

Perhaps it is fourth world, but it is not first world (Western Europe, North America and Industrialised Asia), it is not second world (Ex Warsaw Pact) so that leaves third world (or higher).Since the fall of the USSR the use "'cardinal number' world", has by and large fallen into disuse. Some geographer-type-person came up with MEDC and LEDC (more or less economically developed country). Meh.

Since the fall of the USSR the use "'cardinal number' world", has by and large fallen into disuse. Some geographer-type-person came up with MEDC and LEDC (more or less economically developed country). Meh.

Not sure its fallen into disuse outside of academic circles...I have rarely seen those terms (*EDC)...I still see 1st etc in the media...

Not sure its fallen into disuse outside of academic circles...I have rarely seen those terms (*EDC)...I still see 1st etc in the media...*EDC is what is taught in schools. At least when I was still in school. Maybe it'll take a few years before it becomes common - as the younger generations replace the older generations and the cold war legacy slips away.

I have one, but I only turn it on if I am either making a call or actively expecting one.

Since the fall of the USSR the use "'cardinal number' world", has by and large fallen into disuse. Some geographer-type-person came up with MEDC and LEDC (more or less economically developed country). Meh.


Virtually everyone has a cell phone, even poor people...in third-world countries.

Hmm - some kind of discrepancy here. Either Sel Appa is being archaic in his language choice, or The Infinite Dunes is overstating the case.

Regardless of the terminology, however, Brazil is one of those cases that really does not fit into this type of classification at all well.

*EDC is what is taught in schools. At least when I was still in school. Maybe it'll take a few years before it becomes common - as the younger generations replace the older generations and the cold war legacy slips away.

Damn...oh you just had to put that last bit in didn't you? :p

I was not aware its whats taught in schools...I feel isolated now! LOL

I wonder what else has changed since I was in school...in fact no...maybe I don't!

Hmm - some kind of discrepancy here. Either Sel Appa is being archaic in his language choice, or The Infinite Dunes is overstating the case.

Regardless of the terminology, however, Brazil is one of those cases that really does not fit into this type of classification at all well.Could be down to regional and demographic variation. I, as a younger brit, was told to use *EDC, and that is was bad to used 'third world' and the like.

Damn...oh you just had to put that last bit in didn't you? :p

I was not aware its whats taught in schools...I feel isolated now! LOL

I wonder what else has changed since I was in school...in fact no...maybe I don't!I'm just passing the buck. I've been feeling old lately, and I figure I can make someone older than me feel old then I'm not really quite so old... or something ;)

Other things that have changed in school? I think RE finally discovered religions other than the various denominations of Christianity.

*EDC is what is taught in schools. At least when I was still in school. Maybe it'll take a few years before it becomes common - as the younger generations replace the older generations and the cold war legacy slips away.

:confused: It's not taught over here...

I don't have one, but I'll probably be getting one some time in the next few weeks. I'll need one when I go away to school, and my dad somehow decided I need one now.

I'm just passing the buck. I've been feeling old lately, and I figure I can make someone older than me feel old then I'm not really quite so old... or something ;)

Other things that have changed in school? I think RE finally discovered religions other than the various denominations of Christianity.

Cheers then! Really mate...you can't start feeling old until you hit at least 30...!

RE other religions? We did Islam and 'Hinduism' along with Christianity when I went to High School in Leeds...

I have one, but I barley ever use it.

One day my Mom decided I needed one, so I could one that was free with a plan.

The thing pisses me off. I usually just turn it off to save batteries, but the batteries drain anyway, then I'm supposed to charge it and stuff, but that becomes a hastle because the damn thing should be able to go at least a week without needing to be charged.

Then of course I forget where the stupid phone is, or like right now, where I don't even know where the stupid charger is.

Cell phones suck and I hate them.

My Phone.....
http://palmshop.ru/img/pda/motorola_razr_v3_black.gif.big.gif

Yes, rarely call out but always carry it.
Might NEED to call someone, also I can be contacted.

Such a mass-market for phones that very useful things like GPS and digital camera are getting to market at low prices. ++good. Brings forward the day we can carry a decent computer on our wrist.

I'll put up with shouters and tacky ringtones for that.

Did I really just kill the thread? :rolleyes:
EDIT: This 'puter is behaving oddly. I think it might be infected with Windows. Cyas.