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Last Fourth of July at the beach, Leah Wilson lost her “lifeline.”
Wilson, a 22-year-old graduate student, had clipped her blue flip phone around her bikini bottom — for safekeeping. Then, she left her towel, her other belongings, to let her hair down at Pacific Beach in San Diego. But between playing sports on the beach — and drinking — Wilson’s cell phone went missing.
“My whole life crashed,” she said. “The only number I knew by heart was my mom’s.”
Many of us are so reliant on our cell phones that when they're lost, we quickly feel lost without them.
Major mobile carriers AT&T and Verizon Wireless say they don't track how many people lose their cell phones a year. But losing these small devices happens “a lot,” and when they go missing, it's a huge disruption to our lives, according to Avi Greengart, mobile analyst at market research firm Current Analysis.
Cast away from society
A Pew Internet & American Life Project report released this month found that Americans for the first time picked cell phones as the technology they can least go without. In today’s wireless world, living without a cell phone is like living on a desert island. And losing one is like being suddenly cast away from society.
“Without it, there’s a disconnection with life,” said Marian Salzman, a cultural trendspotter and partner at Porter Novelli, a public relations powerhouse in New York.
People who’re out of their elements — drinking at a bar, rushing to leave a cab or traveling in a foreign country — are particularly prone to losing their cell phones — and its impacts.
Joe Huttner, a Haverford College junior, procured a prepaid cell phone for his time studying in Argentina, as did others in the program.
But the foreign language and environment disoriented students, some of whom lost their phones, Huttner said.
Getting a new prepaid phone meant getting a new number — so none of their study-abroad pals could contact each other, he said.
“If you didn’t have a class with them, you lost them as a friend,” said 21-year-old Huttner, who was fortunate enough to hold onto his. “That was a bummer.”
Lose new friends, keep the old
Losing your cell phone might mean losing acquaintances — but old friends can usually find you.
It’s all the more difficult, though, if you’re looking to establish new friends like Wilson was. She had just moved to San Diego to attend graduate school at National University. During her first month, Wilson had collected plenty of phone numbers, particularly on the Fourth of July. She never recovered them.
“It’s already hard moving away without friends and family — and then having to do it again,” Wilson said.
But reconnecting with close friends was made easy thanks to MySpace and Facebook, where “lost my phone” groups can reel in castaways.
Two weeks after Wilson got a new cell phone and things started to look up, they went amiss again. While trying on a pair of shoes, she set down her wallet, keys — and her new phone.
It was at the store’s front counter that Wilson realized she was empty handed. It turned out her cell phone was stolen — and the thief only spared her keys and wallet case.
“The second time all I could do is cry,” Wilson said.
Are we enslaved to our cell phones?
While sudden disconnection shocks initially, it wears off and other losses emerge. Unlike address books that can be at least partly recovered, cool ring tones and sentimental text messages can sometimes be lost forever.
Cell phones "are our repositories of our lives, our loved ones,” said Salzman, the cultural trendspotter. “My friends keep SMS (text message) trails. They’re kind of like their diaries.”
Living without them is only expected to get harder as their importance grows. Far from just a phone, mobiles are also used as alarm clocks, watches, music players, cameras and calendars.
And they’re on their way to becoming full-blown mini computers, personal organizers — and gaming devices. Is our dependency on a single gadget for everything healthy?
“You become enslaved to the device,” said Leysia Palen of the University of Colorado, who researches how technology impacts society. “You’re more beholden and expect it to be our dependent brain.”
Dialing down our dependency
Losing a cell phone can help dial down our dependency — some.
Michael Bonfanti from Monticello, Fla., was so furious when he first lost his at a wedding that he refused to buy a new one. And after a week, he started to like being without it — a lot.
“It was liberating,” he said. “Nobody could get me if I didn’t want them to.”
Bonfanti’s wife disagreed. But he kept up his “anthropological experiment, like going back to the Stone Age,” for three weeks.
In that time, he became the office freak at his law firm, where he says colleagues are hooked on “CrackBerries,” a nickname for popular BlackBerry phones.
Bonfanti eventually acquiesced to his wife’s wish, persuaded that if something should happen to him, he couldn’t connect with her or she with him.
She also got him a “man bag,” a purse made for and used by men, to carry his new mobile. Bonfanti uses the man bag to subdue the phone’s ringing so he can ignore it as he pleases.
“I know it’s there. I’m not going to lose it — but I still have that freedom when I leave work,” he said. “It goes in the closet at my house.”
‘Impossible to live without it’
Despite attempts to curb cell phone use, experts say we’re permanently bound to the devices. That’s because we want — and depend on — constant contact and instant information.
“With a cell phone, once we get used to the information, whether online or talking to a person, it becomes impossible to live without it,” said Paul Levinson, author of “Cellphone: The Story of the World's Most Mobile Medium and How It Has Transformed Everything!”
Wilson’s new BlackBerry Pearl keeps track of things like her grocery list.
She is now attending her alma mater, West Virginia State University, and is surrounded by her old college friends again. Wilson never set foot in San Diego’s National University. Her lack of financial and emotional support made her time there difficult — and losing her cell phone, twice, pushed it to unbearable, she said.
“It was absolutely the worst thing that ever could have happened.”
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{"commentId":1605278,"authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
I wouldn't know anybody's number if I lost my cell phone. But that's not new, I didn't know anybody's number when I used to use speed dial land line phones either.
{"commentId":1605278,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
- 3 votes
#1 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:34 PM EDT{"commentId":1605382,"authorDomain":"stolte-sawa"}
Huh. Appropriately, my phone died last night and I had to replace it today. Luckily, the problem was software-related and Sprint couldn't fix it, so I got a shiny new phone just like my old one--without any of the contacts. Thankfully, I habitually memorize numbers I dial often, and I'm about to broadcast the loss to my Facebook friends list. With any luck, I'll have my rolodex replenished by the end of the weekend.
I like to get away to places where I don't have cell reception, but I wouldn't dream of leaving Old Trusty behind on any trip. While it's not the "worst thing that ever could have happened" in my book, it's still a major inconvenience to lose a phone.
{"commentId":1605382,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"stolte-sawa"}
- 2 votes
#2 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:07 PM EDT{"commentId":1605456,"authorDomain":"anthopos"}
Sometimes it helps to be an introvert. :) I don't have a close attachment to my cell phone and losing it wouldn't be a great hardship. Amazingly enough, I have other ways of getting in touch with the people in my cellphone contacts. Still it would be nice if cellphone companies would provide a simple way of backing up contacts. I happen to have a cellphone/PDA combo and I can sync it with my computer (I haven't done that in a long time though). Regular cellphones could be made to backup your contacts, either on your own computer or with the phone company.
{"commentId":1605456,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"anthopos"}
- 1 vote
#3 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:30 PM EDT{"commentId":1605534,"authorDomain":"darkknightjrk"}
I'm not sure if I'd be LOST without my phone, but I wouldn't remember anyone's phone number and that would be a pain in the ass.
{"commentId":1605534,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"darkknightjrk"}
#4 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:55 PM EDT{"commentId":1605536,"authorDomain":"spudsstuff"}
I remember peoples numbers for some strange reason. I could live without a cell phone. It's the internet I couldn't live without.
{"commentId":1605536,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"spudsstuff"}
#5 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:55 PM EDT{"commentId":1605587,"authorDomain":"darkknightjrk"}
Yeah, that's my chief technological addiction, teh interwebs.
{"commentId":1605587,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"darkknightjrk"}
{"commentId":1924669,"authorDomain":"meredith-canales"}
I'm the same way. Cell phone, I could live without. Sometimes I'd like to throw it into the lake. But I go a few days without checking e-mail, and I feel like I'm cut off from the world.
{"commentId":1924669,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"meredith-canales"}
{"commentId":1605657,"authorDomain":"fdbryant3"}
Losing my cell phone would only be an annoyance. All the numbers I need to know are on my PDA and computer.
{"commentId":1605657,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"fdbryant3"}
#6 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:35 PM EDT{"commentId":1606245,"authorDomain":"jcheatham"}
I always have a list of phone numbers written down at home- in case something like this happens..
{"commentId":1606245,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"jcheatham"}
#7 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:30 PM EDT{"commentId":1606254,"authorDomain":"T-fruitbat"}
I must be very old fashioned: I don't have a cell phone, nor do I want one. We have only allowed ourselves to be convinced that we need something that we didn't need before, and people everywhere are glued to their cellphones or iPods. Anyone who wants to talk to me can call me at home (I do have an answering machine). Or, they can write me a letter! I write letters to people, using a fountain pen; try it if you really want to astonish your friends. Or send a postcard. Or, don't do anything, unless you really have something to say. Being quiet and private is a very liberating thing.
{"commentId":1606254,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"T-fruitbat"}
#8 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:32 PM EDT{"commentId":1606448,"authorDomain":"fdbryant3"}
Eh - I have a cell phone cause at the time it was cheaper than a land line.
{"commentId":1606448,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"fdbryant3"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1613844,"authorDomain":"DrKnow"}
Hey Prof ^5.
I HAD a cell phone for a while. It was intrusive. People think that I MUST answer if they choose to call me. The reason I have a home phone is for the convenience it provides to me. With the onset of caller ID, I can see (on the TV) who is calling and have a record. If I want to talk to them, I can.
The amazing thing to me is the anger displayed when it hits them that I may not have answered. It has become a tyrannical device.
Email is my choice of communication. I can answer when I want and get it when I want.
{"commentId":1613844,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"DrKnow"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1613850,"authorDomain":"fdbryant3"}
I HAD a cell phone for a while. It was intrusive. People think that I MUST answer if they choose to call me.
I tend to answer just cause I want to but then again I don't get many calls. If I did people would just have to use to the idea - I'll answer when I want to.
{"commentId":1613850,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"fdbryant3"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1606731,"authorDomain":"gutboy"}
Will you people please get OFF your cellphones and pay attention to the road!!!!
Cell phone usage while driving is now responsible for more accidents involving bodily injury than drinking.
I hate my cell phone. And I never use it while driving.
{"commentId":1606731,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"gutboy"}
#9 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 9:10 PM EDT{"commentId":1611687,"authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
What source says that (more accidents)?
{"commentId":1611687,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
{"commentId":1606736,"authorDomain":"scsinn99"}
I do not have a cell phone and get along fine without one. Thus, I do not have the problems that are expressed. I do not understand that people are lacking phone numbers without their cell phone. Don't they make a record of phone numbers of their contacts?
{"commentId":1606736,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"scsinn99"}
#10 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 9:11 PM EDT{"commentId":1611690,"authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
Why would you? That list is in your cell phone.
{"commentId":1611690,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
{"commentId":1606951,"authorDomain":"sbobgal"}
I think cell phones should be emergency use only out in public. The conversations I have overheard right next to me were way way to intimate and some medically gross/barf-ish - these folks have no class some - walk into convenience store yacking away dont ever speak to clerk and just keep on yacking. That is so rude! Hang up the phone - Im going in the store now I will call you back. Is it just that you want people to think you have friends or what lol!!
Annoyed by cell phones in Oklahoma
{"commentId":1606951,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"sbobgal"}
#11 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 10:34 PM EDT{"commentId":1607151,"authorDomain":"kindervatr"}
Sorry, I just don't buy into that idea that life depends on a cell phone! I never had a cell phone until this year, and I lead as busy and active life as anybody! No desert island. I keep phone numbers on a list hanging in my kitchen, and in my address book in my purse. My present cell phone sits plugged in on my counter most of the time, only in use when I travel out of town. I call people when I get home, and they call me at home and leave messages. Life works fine like this!
{"commentId":1607151,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"kindervatr"}
#12 - Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:36 PM EDT{"commentId":1607671,"authorDomain":"careyfelts"}
is this a joke? i am 27 years old and i have never had a cellphone.
this is hilarious and disturbing at the same time. the question is, are gadgets turning everyone into morons? i still remember my home phone number from when i was 8.
people, if i were you, i'd quit being so petty. if i were you, i would start caring more about the world around me. sure, its not wrong to care about yourself, but it is wrong to only care about yourself. concrete really isnt a beautiful site. talking on cellphones isnt really all that.
but i guess its all that eye of the beholder riff-raff.
tell me, when was the last time any of you did something to help someone besides yourself?
try working instead of talking, enjoying life instead of talking, anything for gods sake...
if you cannot remember a simple 7 digit phone number, you should feel really ignorant. thats a mean thing to say, i know, but its true.
i hope that one day everyone will realize how many great things in life they missed because they had their phone glued to their ear, or their nose in a blackberry.
write a book, take a walk, climb a mountain. the lord made the earth a beautiful place, he made people beautiful as well. dont take life for granted, we are all here for a reason, and i guarantee it is not to talk on the phone all day.
sorry for the long post, it just strikes a nerve. i wish people werent so petty and naive. maybe the world would be a much better place if everyone wasnt.
{"commentId":1607671,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"careyfelts"}
#13 - Sat Mar 22, 2008 6:59 AM EDT{"commentId":1611691,"authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
Why are you so hostile to everyone who simply read this article and commented on it? If you wish people weren't so petty, start with yourself.
{"commentId":1611691,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1612149,"authorDomain":"stolte-sawa"}
sorry for the long post, it just strikes a nerve. i wish people werent so petty and naive. maybe the world would be a much better place if everyone wasnt.
Yeah, that's right, cell phones are the root of all evil. But I bet you have better things to worry about.
{"commentId":1612149,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"stolte-sawa"}
{"commentId":1607685,"authorDomain":"careyfelts"}
"It was absolutely the worst thing that ever could have happened."
my mom getting shot in the head with a .357 was the worst thing that ever could have happened to me. how does it compare?
feel like an ass yet?
you make me sick...
{"commentId":1607685,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"careyfelts"}
#14 - Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:07 AM EDT{"commentId":1611697,"authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
you make me sick...
Who are you addressing? The author of this article isn't reading the comments here, only Newsviners are. Do we make you sick?
...feel like an ass yet?
{"commentId":1611697,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1614918,"authorDomain":"careyfelts"}
i was adressing the person that was interviewed for the story, but, would you like me to focus on you? i could, but it wouldnt be too fun for you..
and before you make yourself look like even more of an @!$%#, yes i know the person isnt reading this.
i am going through alot of problems, and the article just struck a nerve. it upsets me that people have gotten to the point that if they lose their phone, they sit on the curb and suck their thumb, crying like a lost small child.
while i go through things like my mother being murdered, friends commiting suicide, wife cheating on me, friends turning their back on me cause im 'o so serious.
all it is is that i am envious of a life where the biggest woe is a lost cellphone.
now, do you feel like an ass yet? or are you as cold and heartless as i think you are.
trying to get people to realize honor is not petty and naive. trying to tell people something that may make their future years easier and happier is not petty and naive.
you can hate, but ya dont affect me bub, im not going the way you are, and very glad im not.
{"commentId":1614918,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"careyfelts"}
{"commentId":1614983,"authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
I'm sorry for your loss. Hey guy - I don't know you from Adam. I thought that statement was hypothetical. Still, the only people reading your "you're an ass, you make me sick" comments were Newsviners.
or are you as cold and heartless as i think you are.
What makes you think I'm either cold or heartless? My wife was murdered 21 months ago. It sucks. I've been there. There's no need to lash out at strangers on the internet just because you're hurting.
{"commentId":1614983,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
{"commentId":1617042,"authorDomain":"careyfelts"}
sorry for your loss.
i was only trying to make a point to the people who read the article and comments, and to let out a little frustration.
i meant no disrespect at all to you or anyone else. like i said, i just wish my only woe was a lost cellphone. heck, i even wish i could afford one.
these were my first posts on this site. im pretty bored and figured this would be a good place to comment on things. i did not intend to start a flame war or look like a troll. i apologize to anyone that was offended. sometimes folks just have a bad day, and thats all it was. after a rough day, this article had my stomach in knots, so i really said something simply to blow off some steam and to make people think.
once again, i apologize if i upset anyone.
{"commentId":1617042,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"careyfelts"}
{"commentId":1607765,"authorDomain":"jalind"}
I've had a cell phone for about six months and don't understand how people can lose them so easily. Managed to do without one for a long time and could do fairly well without one now. Sole reason for having one is occasional convenience; not being able to find a pay phone at a shopping mall was what pushed me over the edge. Regarding data, I keep my PDA and phone backed up on my home computer. Really no excuse for not backing up critical information if it's kept in a tiny device that might fail or crash (or apparently for some, get lost/stolen). If one decides to keep all the eggs in a single basket, it needs to be a darned good one that's protected from harm.
I can think of a many things much worse than losing a cell phone, and while I've not suffered the horridly violent tragedy of another poster, I've lived long enough to have experienced things significantly worse and substantially more frightening than losing a phone.
I was hoping for some greater, more general or abstract thoughts about technology dependence, but am disappointed it's lacking in this article. We are a society now that relies heavily on a number of complex technologies that are provided and controlled by others. Not just a few others, but major organizations with complex systems for creating and delivering them. Water (as a municipal utility), natural gas, electricity and gasoline name just a few of them. Would you be able to survive on your own without any of those? For how long?
{"commentId":1607765,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"jalind"}
#15 - Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:50 AM EDT{"commentId":1607984,"authorDomain":"weazerdogg"}
I am very, very proud to say ... I don't have a cell phone! There is absolutely no reason for me to be that connected to the world! No, I'm not a shut-in and yes, I have alot of friends. Both my parents, who are in their 60's and are basically technologically stunted, have cell phones. There is no reason for anyone to get ahold of me whenever they want, and I guess there isn't anyone I can't wait to get home to call. I plan on holding out as long as I can, I'm really starting to enjoy the looks I get when I proudly anouce " I have no cell phone!" :)
{"commentId":1607984,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"weazerdogg"}
#16 - Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:53 AM EDT{"commentId":1611698,"authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
and I guess there isn't anyone I can't wait to get home to call.
Like the police when you see someone crash on the road?
{"commentId":1611698,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
{"commentId":1612221,"authorDomain":"gandchinkle"}
I am getting rid of my pay plan at Verizon and getting a pre paid phone card at one of the dept. stores we have both now and never run out of min. on our pre paid cards so now out with Verizon and here comes another pre paid phone this is cheaper overall and we still can reach anyone in case of an Emer. Seattle Wa
{"commentId":1612221,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"gandchinkle"}
#17 - Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:20 PM EDT{"commentId":1625114,"authorDomain":"Manoutdoors"}
I'm in my late twenties and have had a cell phone since 2004. I hate having a cell phone and I believe it is one of the worst inventions of the past 50 years. If it wasn't for work requiring one I would instantly get rid of the thing. As it is, I don't answer it most of the time. There is no need to have instant access to other people. It should be illegal to talk on one while driving, even with a hand free device. Hopefully someday, talking on a cell phone in a public place will be like smoking, you can only do it out side or in special areas. I can't wait.
{"commentId":1625114,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"Manoutdoors"}
#18 - Thu Mar 27, 2008 8:08 AM EDT{"commentId":1924755,"authorDomain":"meredith-canales"}
Yep. That's precisely right. I got my first cell phone at 20 years old, when I was pregnant with my first child. I am now in my late twenties, and I have to have the thing. I am a reporter, so it's strongly tied into my work. I hate it, though. I wish I could run over it with my car. I feel more and more tied to it every day.
And yes, I could think of worse things than losing it.
I have made it a practice to cut back on cell phone time and try not to turn the computer on at all when I'm at home. I tie technology to work. And when I'm home or out with my family, work should be left at the office. I wish everyone felt the same way.
{"commentId":1924755,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"meredith-canales"}
{"commentId":1643566,"authorDomain":"kehoedds"}
The ubiquitous cell phone is robbing us of the virtue of planning ahead. I see clueless shoppers clogging grocery aisles, plastic glued to their ears as they ask how many jars of spaghetti sauce are in the cupboard, while ramming their carts into my ankles. Getting ten 20-somethings together on a Saturday night takes an exponential flurry of speed dialing. And when I'm cut off while driving, whether the light is red or green, the offending driver is usually talking on a cell phone.
Rather than enjoying the independence of a mere walk to a friend's house, children are being tracked like animals. And, as I see the potential loss of solitude that this quarter pound of electronics can inflict, only my spouse and two children know my number - and know that any message left may remain unheard for weeks.
{"commentId":1643566,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"kehoedds"}
#19 - Tue Apr 1, 2008 10:53 AM EDT{"commentId":1644248,"authorDomain":"klaassy1"}
I was forced by a friend to get a cell about 4 yrs. ago - I like the convenience of it - if needed, and use it for nationwide calling to speak with family on the same plan. Other than that - I could do without.
HOWEVER, I have been stalked thru my cellphone by a jealous boyfriend (ex) and if I didn't answer the calls, the texts began - he ran up over a $700 bill on my account sending me tons and tons and tons of unwanted text messages and left many many many voicemails I HAD to listen to in order to delete.
At times, I'd like to toss it out the window.
{"commentId":1644248,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"klaassy1"}
#20 - Tue Apr 1, 2008 1:51 PM EDT{"commentId":1680634,"authorDomain":"tang"}
Back in '97 I got so fed up with my cellphone dropping calls that one day that I tossed it into the lake while I was driving across the bridge. I ended up going without a cell phone for about a year and a half, until my friends who were sick of calling each other to get ahold of me finally pitched in and bought me a cheapo prepaid cell phone. Soon after, I caved in and went to a "normal" plan again. During the same time w/o a mobile phone I also canceled my tv service and generally unplugged myself from as many things as possible. It was kind of nice! I eventually got basic tv service again just so that I could watch South Park after I had already seen all the DVDs of the previous seasons. Now, I'm as wired as one can be again. *sigh*
{"commentId":1680634,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"tang"}
- 1 vote
#21 - Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:29 PM EDT{"commentId":1695207,"authorDomain":"rascal2pt0"}
It happens to the best of us. My wife and I are without cable right now, but your damned sure we have cellphone plans and interent.
I miss the TV, maybe in a few months we can add that service. I'm missing the new Dr. Who episodes :(.
{"commentId":1695207,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"rascal2pt0"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1924772,"authorDomain":"meredith-canales"}
Uh... '97? I remember '97. My parents had a flip phone with the little screen that displayed the green numbers. And it was about three times as big as the ones now. And it was ungodly expensive to use and unreliable. No wonder you threw it over a bridge.
I miss the days where I just had a home phone.
{"commentId":1924772,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"meredith-canales"}
{"commentId":1736438,"authorDomain":"skylightsauc"}
Cells phones are one of the most invasive technologies ever! I received one as a gift for use during in emergencies since I travel daily, but it is dead more often than not. My purchase of 500 minutes of air time proved way too much for a year's use. I can make my plans before I leave my home or office and have no need to carry on a constant gab fest. I prefer that no one know where I am, and don't want to be tracked down. People today seem to need constant connection to others, and I am not sure it is a healthy sign of the time that we can't spend time alone with our thoughts. Plus the rudeness it breeds is outrageous.
{"commentId":1736438,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"skylightsauc"}
#22 - Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:52 AM EDT{"commentId":1737169,"authorDomain":"synthetic"}
I have to admit that I love my cellphone. It's my phone, watch, camera, alarm clock etc.. I sometimes accidentally forget it at home can't go back for it (mostly due to the fact that I don't have a car) and feel lost without it. In fact I missed some important phone calls recently because I forgot it at home and am still bummed about the outcome of someone not being able to get ahold of me. Even though I barely use it I still feel better with it. I like to have that instant connection if someone wants to make plans for later on or I've got the day off and my daughters school needs to get ahold of me and I'm not home. While I think the girl being interviewed for the article may be a little on the dramatic side, I know I'd be pretty upset about losing my phone. Not only do I have lots of pictures and info in there, it would cost allot to replace. I think cellphones are great but even I get annoyed with people living with them stuck to their heads or constantly texting. I choose to answer calls and ignore just as many. Just because I have a phone don't mean I have to answer it. Sometimes I just turn the ringer off and let call display record every call I chose to miss.
{"commentId":1737169,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"synthetic"}
#23 - Sat Apr 26, 2008 2:14 PM EDT{"commentId":1737890,"authorDomain":"r-robinson31"}
My family has four cell phones. We have the family plan. My husband has a phone. I have a phone. One is left at home and my mother has one. We no longer have a land line. We found it cheaper to get rid of the land line and all the phone calls coming in from misc. salesman, even though we were on the do not call lists. I was tired of answering the home land line from my kids friends calling all the time. I was tired of answering the land line for my husbands business calls in the evening. I was tired of being half way home from work ( a 30 minute drive) and my pager going off. My choice was to turn around and go back to work at the hospital to find out that they just had a message for me, or to go on home and call in and learn that I had to go back to work for a call in case. There were no pay phones on my way home from work that I could stop and use. So, my getting a cell phone has been wonderful. Now, I only answer phone calls that are for me. My husband only answers calls that are for him and my kids get calls on the phone that is left at home. If we are running late getting home from work, we can call home to check on the kids at home via our cell and the home cell. If the kids, one or both are going somewhere, we sometimes send them with the home cell, so they can call us if they need us to pick them up at a certain time. Especially if we are out too. In today's busy lifestyle of sports, work, school and all our other activities going on, our cell phones keep us organized and connected. No, I don't feel compelled to answer every time it rings, I love that I have caller ID. Many times it isn't convenient to answer the phone. I don't like to use my phone while driving or shopping or in public places but it is the greatest, most useful asset in my life. I have lost my phone. Having it fall out of my pocket in the ladies dressing room while trying on clothing. I was devastated that another female would pick it up in the dressing room and not turn it into the help desk at the store. And this just before Christmas. I had 100's of pictures of family and 100's of songs saved on my memory card as well as 100's of contacts of friends, family, kids sports teammates phone numbers and email addresses and home addresses. So much information that was not saved anywhere else. I occasionally uploaded that info onto my pc but hadn't done so in awhile. I did not password protect my phone as it was a pain to put the password in every time I wanted to access my phone. I felt terrible that whomever stole my phone from that dressing room gained access to all my information. Yes I replaced my phone and yes far worse things happen to people, including myself in the past, when you consider life in general. but I still felt violated. I now keep my phone password locked at all times. Yes I have to put in the code every time I want to call someone, check a message, send a message, or do anything else with my phone but when I remember how violated I felt last Christmas, It is all worth it. So to all you cell phone users out there, please be safe and be careful. I can't live without mine but I do so with a cautious and conscientious and considerate mind. AS WE ALL SHOULD. Thank you for listening to my opinion. D
{"commentId":1737890,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"r-robinson31"}
#24 - Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:46 PM EDT{"commentId":1743766,"authorDomain":"WitchyWoman"}
I am not a fan of cell phones. For one, I have hearing loss and the quality is never as good as land lines. Add that on top of "cut-outs", "cut-offs", and wind noise, etc.etc. .... I truly cannot stand receiving calls from cell phones.
My own cell phone - I average about 10 minutes per month.
And U.S. Cellular has been screwing me for 35.00 per month for 15 yrs.
Phone numbers? No problem - I memorize phone numbers easily - so I've never used my cell phone as a "phone book".
The ONLY reason I have one is so I can be contacted when away from a land-line, such as: out running errands. Or, in case of emergency (while out running errands - HA).
ps: To all you "cell phone folks" out there:
If you just HAVE to drive and talk at the same time - Pull Over!!
You are usually going WAY too slow (I'm sick of trying to get around you) - plus, you don't pay full attention to your driving, that is putting ALL of us in danger!
-Teresa in Tulsa
{"commentId":1743766,"threadId":"238172","contentId":"1381695","authorDomain":"WitchyWoman"}
- 1 vote
#25 - Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:17 PM EDT{"canLink":false,"threadId":"238172","isPrivate":false}
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