Could YOU Live without a Cellphone?

[Tony Walker]

Push the clock back thirty years and take a look around. What do you see? People driving, walking, eating, or shopping, just like they are today. The only difference is that thirty years ago, there weren't that many cellphones around, and the ones that were available needed wheels to move them around, as they were so heavy.

On the other hand, life went on. Public and private phones were used to make appointments or dates, and no one seemed to feel the need to be 'connected' all the time. What happened?

Is it really necessary to be jabbering on the cellphone all day, every day? Are your conversations to vital that you have to make them immediately, even if you're driving, eating, drinking, worshiping your god, or even (it's been known) making love?

Yes, cellphones are useful for emergencies, but quite honestly, from the conversations I hear every day, the mindless inane drivel ("Hi, it's me, are you OK? Yeah, I'm fine.") that is spoken into them most of the time hardly qualify as necessary calls.

So here's my question; could you live without a cellphone?

[Mark P. Henderson]

Easily. I often forget to take mine with me. Now and I again I wish I'd remembered it - but not very often.

But my younger friends (and particularly my grandchildren) tell me that it's just my age...

[Blindogg]

I would love to live without a cell phone. I would also love to live without an automobile and a television...unfortunately as society "progresses" (and I use that term loosely) each of these things has transformed from a nifty little gadget of convenience to a necessity.
You are correct in your assessment of the the typically mundane use of most cell phones. What really kills me is seeing teenaged girls talking on them ...while they are walking through the mall with somebody else. (I guess the definiton of rude is also changing.) But look at some of the things cars are used for...I know my son owes his life (literally) to the fact that I had one as a teenager...
I think it's just one of things that'll be around for a long time whether we like it or not.

[Doville]

I could, and in fact I miss the payphones of my early youth. I feel sorry for them becoming neglected, unburnished and rusted in dark, abandoned places. Cell phones are very useful but they should be regulated even for safety, not to mention annoyance. They are becoming the leading cause of mortal accidents everywhere they are allowed in traffic.

[Mari Sloan]

Absolutely. I have a no contract, pay as you go, phone and it suits me just fine. If I want to call someone it's 10 cents a minute, every minute, any time within the USA and if it isn't worth that to talk to them, I'll call them when I get home off my land line, which has one cost calling all over the USA for a single monthly fee. Thank you for reminding me to charge the cell phone. I tend to forget I have it. It travels with me upside down in a little cubby on my purse and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to look down one of these days and find out I've lost it. it might be a while before I realized it, though. It does ring at least once a month to remind me to "top up."

Mark P. Henderson said:

Easily. I often forget to take mine with me. Now and I again I wish I'd remembered it - but not very often.
But my younger friends (and particularly my grandchildren) tell me that it's just my age...

[Stephan Loy]

Don't own one, never have.

[Shannon Lynette]

I could live without my cell. I find that people call me when I'm in the middle of something and I ignore it. I ignore it most of the time anyway.

[Rianna]

What's a cell phone?

I am kidding of course. However, I could (and do) live without one quite easily. We have a cell somewhere in the house. And my husband does bring it along should we go shopping - but generally we only use it when we're a few minutes from home to warn the children we'll be pulling up soon. I believe I have only ever made one call on it. Of course, that's probably as many times as I've used my home phone and my work phone. I have a phobia about making phone calls.

[James Waters AKA. NineSpeed]

I would have no problem living without a cell phone, as well as I pods, game systems, and other nonsensical devices that seem to rule our lives these days. I don't know how many times I have been driving down a two lane road and come face to face with johnny or jenny dip shit in my lane coming right at me because they were texting or talking on the cell phone, or looking for the song they want to hear on their I pods. I drive an 18 wheeler, they drive A compact piece of plastic, I think I would win.

I think they also add to the problem with our kids in school. Kids are texting in class, or listening to there music in class instead of paying attention. There is discussion now of trying to figure out a way to use these technologies in the education system. Great idea except for the fact that half of the kids nowadays wont use it for that purpose.

I often wish we could go back to the days before the technology boom. Times seemed less hectic back then. at least to the nostalgic side of me. People seemed less rude back then as well. Technology is supposed to be there to make our lives less complicated, I think it sometimes complicates it more. Not to mention the problem going on now with the picture texting the teens are doing now, passing nude pictures of themselves back and forth. If it can be used to be perverse I teen will find a way it seems. Give me the good old days any time.

[Stephan Loy]

In the good old days, kids found perverse things to do with a stick.

[Johnell McLean]

I have a prepaid cell phone that , at the moment, is empty of all air time. I am not looking to add any more time. I dont need it but there are times when it comes in handy. My hubby uses one for his job to check in with me and see if he needs to cancel calls or what have you. But I find that on days when we are out of time, the day is much more peaceful.

I hate to hear the home phone ring and I hate that I have to carry the cell with me.

[Shai Adair]

I don't have a 'land line' so my cell is the only connection I have to the outside world aside from my computer. We live way out in the sticks so I use a broadband card for internet access. We have no cable or phone lines connected to our house. I like it that way. I've seen very little on cable worth cluttering my mind with. No offense intended to those who love all the stuff that comes over cable. I'd just rather be writing.

A land line seems to be bait for phone solicitors. Even if you get on the 'no call' list, non-profit organizations call with every bleeding heart reason in the world to harass you during dinner with some sad story that is supposed to have you teary eyed and pulling money from your wallet. So, a cell phone is my favored option.

Even though it's my only phone I don't really use it all that much. My sister and I joke that we're allergic to phones. I'm not very talkative over all and if I am in a talkative mood, I would rather speak face to face. I keep up with friends and family more via email and chat than by phone. My favorite button on my cell is the one that makes the thing go silent. Maybe it's the fact that I spent 14 years in customer service that fosters my distaste for phones. I was strapped to a phone for so many years I joked that I should have the headset permanently installed in my head like a Borg implant. Or, maybe it's because my husband can talk the wall paper off the walls. He's on the phone more than a teenage girl sometimes. A phone is just a tool to me. For the most part, when it rings, it's just one more disruption in my already overly busy day. A necessary evil in an insanely hectic world.

[Cary]

Absolutely. I could totally live without a cell phone. As of now, the only cell I've ever had is a piece o' junk that you need to buy a prepaid phone card to use; (I've had it for about a year and a half). I only keep it around for emergencies. And I have literally never given the number out to any of my friends 'cause I rarely use it anyhow.