Harvey Kartel wrote on 11/09/10 at 22:14:44:


Yea, I remember a time when no one was driving while being distracted by calling/texting on a cellphone (which seems like an eternity ago but tbh it's been like 10 years since people really started having cellphones. I remember when my first stepdad had a car phone; I felt like I was in an episode of the Jetsons or something.). I'm not a huge fan of cellphones, although I do have one out of necessity. (I live 3 hours from my family and friends, and with semi-regular drives home, if I get stranded in the mountains, I need to be able to make a phone call to get help.) My friends thought I was insane the two years I voluntarily went without a cellphone, although not having a phone actually was really nice.

I don't get why people insist on being glued to their phones or why we need all kinds of apps for everything on phones. Yes, it may make things more convenient, but I think in a way the convenience of finding information dumbs people down. (Example: I don't know that many people my age that can properly use a map to get somewhere or read road signs and get where they need to go without use of Mapquest/Google Maps/phone apps.) I think for me, it's a combination of being raised by my grandparents and currently working in a library (seriously the best job I've ever had, I love it!) that gives me so much more appreciation for pre-technology ways of communication/information seeking.

AlexPenev wrote on 11/09/10 at 14:56:47:


I very much agree with this.

I was the last of my friends to get one, but now I own a very simple cell phone for which I buy prepaid minutes. It's just a phone with a couple VERY basic little games. There's no camera or internet or touch screen or anything like that. Money is really the reason I don't have a fancy one, though. I do refuse to talk on my phone while driving unless I suspect there could be an emergency. I get irritated when I see others talking/texting on phones while driving.

I think that asking everyone to cancel their service is ridiculous. While cell phones do have drawbacks, they provide a tremendous amount of help to us during emergencies and other inconvenient situations (like your car dying).

If you choose not to have a phone, you are anti-social.  

If you would prefer not to have a phone but do out of necessity, get rid of it because you're not going to use it because you're an anti-social freak.

I don't mind about people spending time on their phone, however i complain about what phones have become. In the company i'm working on, everybody has either a blackberry or an Iphone, and people spend their time comparing the applications they just downloaded and so on (although its true that blackberry are useful for the daily work)...I'm like the only one who kept my old phone