Who Doesn't Have a Cell Phone

[ellacott]

With all the hoopla about the text message from Obama I wondered how many people don't have a cell phone.

I don't have one and it's a surprise to some people. I don't talk on the phone a lot and I had a pre-paid phone for emergencies. I wound up losing a lot of minutes because they didn't roll over.

[mike_c]

1. when I retire I'm going to use Ulysses' trick and travel with a phone...

...until I find a place where no one knows what it is. That's where I'll live.

Cell phone? I often don't answer my land line-- why would I want a cell phone?

[NJmaverick]

2. These poll numbers seem a bit skewed

I would expect 80-90% of DUers have cell phones

[ellacott]

3. Maybe it has to do with the small number of people who voted

I thought it was going to be pretty competitive. There are many on this board that don't have TV or don't watch TV. That surprised me so I thought there would be a lot of people who don't have a cellphone.

[astral]

42. Yep, no TV, no cell phone.

. . . and I barely have a car.

[eshfemme]

4. I'm one of the people in the 18-24 group who only has a cell phone and no land line.

[Arugula Latte]

5. I finally cracked more than a year ago and got one.

I was like a dinosaur to most people, before that.

[texanwitch]

6. I have two but would be happy without either one.

I have one for personal use and one for work.

[mwooldri]

7. I wish there was a 3rd option...

... I choose to have a cell phone but I don't absolutely have to have it.

My wife on the other hand... wants and uses her cell phone. Because she needs one, turns out if I want a phone it's more economical for us to get a shared plan. 80%+ calls on that phone are from my wife. Other main use is to communicate with those members of my family in the txting world - if I want to get a hold of my sister urgently then I txt her.

Mark.

[MilesColtrane]

8. No cell. When everybody's dying of brain cancer I'm going to be all like, "Can you hear me now?".

[PfcHammer]

46. Yep. Cell phone is a nice convenience, but I only use sparingly and

mine is prepay. 10 years from now, the poll is gonna read "Who Doesn't Have a Brain Tumor"

[jonnyblitz]

9. the minutes on my pre-paid cell phone roll over.

I barely talk on mine and I get away with spending as little as $20 every three months. The minutes roll over as long as I make that minimum "minutes" purchase on or before the 3 month expiration date of my prior minutes. This sure as hell beats $50 a month and minutes that don't roll over which is what I had with T-Mobile (non-prepaid)

[SemiCharmedQuark]

11. Yes, I have a prepaid as well. It works out nicely.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

10. I did not have one until recently. My car broke down and I could not find a pay phone that was stil

in operation. They've pulled many of them out.

[Forkboy]

12. The last thing I want is people getting ahold of me.

They're lucky I answer the regular damn phone as often as I do. I plan on never having a cell phone, or any device that makes it any easier to reach me. :)

[PufPuf23]

13. I have no cell phone.

I live in the mountains where there was no cell service until July 2008 (and the service may not be permanent). There have been several large forest fires nearby and a large fire camp set up in town (with more people than actually live here). The regular phones come from a microwave relay on a mountain ridge into the valley that was built about 1970. I saw a firefighter talking on a cell phone in the parking lot of the one small market in town and asked how are you doing that? He said the reception was great. Lo and behold there is a 40 ft or so cell tower on wheels next to the microwave relay receptor for the landlines brought in for the fire fighters.

[dolo amber]

14. Amish people

[skypilot]

15. I don't have one.

I still have a land line phone and I'm usually annoyed when it rings. Maybe one day I'll find myself in a situation where a cell phone would come in handy and I'll break down and buy one, but so far that situation hasn't come up.

[Terry in Austin]

16. I keep my land line as a courtesy to the telemarketers

;-)

[Arkansas Granny]

17. My kids recently gave me one when my land line was experiencing

problems and the birth of a grandchild was imminent. I'm not wild about the idea and only 3 people have my number. I forget to charge it, so half the time I can't be reached on it anyway.

[KamaAina]

18. Don't have one. Don't want one.

I detest talking on land line phones. Why would I want a squawk box that travels with me?

[skypilot]

19. I still find something vaguely odd...

...about people carrying a phone around with them. It's like carrying around a toaster. I know the phones are small and all but still...

[Left Is Write]

23. My children, my husband, and my workplace don't need a toaster to communicate with me.

Nor would a toaster be of assistance to me should I be stranded somewhere.

So no, carrying a phone with me isn't at all like carrying a toaster with me.

[Ikonoklast]

27. The really cool kids carry microwaves around, silly

No one does the toaster thing anymore.

I do not have a land line at the house since I got a cable modem. No more erasing twenty calls from telemarketers each day just to listen to the one call that I might respond to.

All my kids went cellular.

I am on the road more than I am home, and business demands that I remain in contact with shippers, brokers, customers, and my home office. Twenty-four, seven. Sometimes that means getting a call at four in the morning, due to time zone differences. C'est la vie.

It is an integral part of the way I make a living, as correct and timely communication can make the difference between a profitable deal, or be left holding the bag.

[Arnold Judas Rimmer]

20. Had one for about 7 years, don't have one now.

At the time, it was the only option to get away from the landline regional monopoly. Now there are other alternatives without worrying about "roaming" or how many minutes you have left. And thanks to Chimp and his friends at the oil companies, I'm not taking any road trips in recent history, so who the Hell needs a travel phone? If I did, I'd probably pick up a prepaid phone for that purpose.

[MadrasT]

21. I don't have a "land line"

Only have a cell phone. Costs less (the plan includes long distance, and I make a lot of long distance calls) and is more convenient. Didn't see the point in continuing to pay both bills, so I discontinued the "traditional" phone.

[Fresh_Start]

22. have one,almost never use it

after trying multiple providers can not get reliable reception, so don't rely on it

[bigwillq]

24. I have one.

I use it alot; I am a big texter although I didn't sign up for the Obama VP thing. I am sure I will find out soon enough after it is announced.

[Kutjara]

25. "A cell phone"? As in "one" cell phone?

Amateurs.

[Courtesy Flush]

26. I'm surprised at the poll results so far

If anyone would resist having one, I would. I've had one for a few years, but use it very little. I think people go overboard with them, but I see the value enough to justify having one myself.

The DU crowd is pretty hip. Hard to believe so many have no cell phones.

Don't get one if you can't justify it. Honestly, don't worry about what the Joneses have.

I have one because my employer requires it. They also supply phones, but using their phones would require massive paperwork every time I placed or received a call, so I opted to buy my own and not do any paperwork.

It's handy to have, and costs just over $8 per month.

[Mutley]

28. I have a cell phone and no land line.

[fizzgig]

29. it's the only phone i have

i haven't had a land line in years

[Cairycat]

30. Don't have one, but others in my family do

We got our 18 year old a cell phone when she was 14 - started her on a pay-as-you-go so she didn't run up big bills. When she got a job she went on a plan and my husband inherited her old phone. His work is out in the boonies so it saves worry. And we use them when we travel separately. But I don't really need one. Our 15 year old wants one, but he's been informed that people whose phone conversations consist of half a dozen monosyllables don't need cell phones.

[Kali]

36. my yougest was like that (the monosylables)

figured a cell phone would be a safe gift - 700 text messages the first day. He found his "voice".:rofl:

[VenusRising]

31. None for me.

I don't want one, either.

[IDemo]

32. Have had one for several years but have never 'texted'

And no, I'm neither Amish nor a Luddite, just don't use it.

[emilyg]

33. I don't even care to know how to text.

Use my cell maybe once a week.

[IDemo]

34. That's me

I don't usually even have it with me when I leave the house. I never bothered to learn how to text, although I'm sure it would take all of 90 seconds.

[UTUSN]

35. No gottie ------- n/t

[Kali]

37. husband got one in the late 80's - after they shrank from $1000 bricks

had it for work. We got a second one at some point because I have a bad habit of getting vehicles stuck or broken far away from the house. And I really hate to walk. Especially after dark.

In the last year or so we added the kids on so now everybody has one.

We use them like walky talkies. Great for ordering the kids around.:evilgrin:

[FloridaJudy]

38. I've got one

During the past year, Ever since AT&T bought out Southern Bell, my land line sucks swamp water. Lots of static and dropped calls. Plus every time the phone rings, my Internet connection crashes. Truly crappy service: as soon as I can find another DSL provider the land line is going bye-bye.

I carry it with me, but use it seldom. I have a 200 minute per month contract with CREDO, but rarely use more than 50 minutes. But it sure is nice to have for emergencies. It also has a camera - albeit a crappy one - an alarm clock and an appointment calendar: handy little gadget. It's growing on me, but I doubt I'll ever turn into one of those louts who walk around with it constantly glued to his or her ear. I value my quiet time too much.

[NJmaverick]

39. 50/50

that's pretty surprising

[Chan790]

40. I don't.

I had one for close to a decade, then I decided that I want to be incommunicado 90% of the time. I don't answer my landline either. If you want to talk to me it's all email.

[Pierre.Suave]

41. I thought everyone needed an iPhone...

:shrug:
























:P

[JeffR]

43. I had one when I was forced to have one for work.

I no longer need one and good riddance to the damn thing. What an utterly stupid invention, at least for the overwhelming majority of those who use them.

[DarkTirade]

44. I finally gave in a little more than a month ago.

It's shiny and purple. :)

[old mark]

45. I had one, but I haven't used it in so long, it died.

Never bothered to get another.

Don't like them, don't want one, so there.

mark

[Lyric]

47. Yes, we all have one.

We use the cheap Net10 prepaid ones that cost $15 for the phone, and about $30 for 300 minutes, which lasts us for weeks. We got one for our eight-year-old too, but we programmed it so that he can only call numbers on his "contact list", and the only people on that list are me, ThinkBlue1966, my Mom, and three of our closest, trusted adult friends. We've given nobody his cell phone number--our son doesn't even know his own cell phone number. The only reason he has it is for serious emergencies, and so we can reach him if we need to in an emergency.

Last semester, our city bus was late and he wound up getting home from school before we did. He was terrified, and none of our neighbors were home. It was only for 15 minutes or so, but he spent that 15 minutes crying on the porch, so we decided to never let that happen again. Now, if the bus is late and we're not home when he gets home, he has people he can call, and WE have a way to call him and tell him exactly what he needs to do until we get home. We can even stay on the phone with him until we get home, so he won't be completely "alone." He can also call for help if someone is trying to abduct him, or if he falls and hurts himself on his bike while riding around our neighborhood. I feel a lot safer knowing that he can reach us anywhere, anytime, no matter what.