# A Thought On Phones Today



## fmdog44 (Apr 11, 2021)

Phones were invented so we could talk to each other while new phones do everything but that.


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## Packerjohn (Apr 11, 2021)

The voice transmission on the new "does everything but clean your toenails" phones is not very good.  I have a bit of a hearing problem and I hate when I have to listen to a "smart/dumb phone.  A flip phone or the now unpopular landlines were so much better for voice transmission.  Ya, I know, they didn't count the steps when you went out for a walk!  It was tough in the ole' days.  LOL


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## Rosemarie (Apr 11, 2021)

It's strange that we all have phones these days, and yet so many people complain about being lonely.


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## Jules (Apr 11, 2021)

Both our cell phones are better sound quality than our landline.  There’s little market for landlines now, so they don’t put much effort into the manufacturing of them.


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## Pinky (Apr 11, 2021)

Not everyone can afford a Smartphone, nor want one. That means they are left out of the loop for certain specific services. 

The same goes for those who can't afford, or don't have, a computer.


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## SetWave (Apr 11, 2021)




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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

I miss having a land line. One without caller ID. I enjoyed being able to just turn the ringer off and say the hell with it. Cellphones are a pain.


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## HoneyNut (Apr 11, 2021)

I still think it is so cool to facetime/duo-call with people.  It used to bug me when my daughter was young and would wander around the house with friends on her phone and I'd be in my pajamas or something and feel all exposed. 
But now that she's off on her own it is so great to facetime with her and see her.  I am hoping to get my bestie-since-gradeschool to answer a duo-call, I haven't seen her for years and it would be nice to compare wrinkley-ness. 
It feels so futuristic to see each other during phone calls, I feel like we're the Jetsons.


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## Nathan (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> I miss having a land line. One without caller ID. I enjoyed being able to just turn the ringer off and say the hell with it. Cellphones are a pain.


I'd like to get rid of our landline, I wish it did have a ringer that could be turned off.     Cellphones ARE a pain, but they are easy to turn on "do not disturb" with just the swipe of a finger.   As a matter of fact,  "do not disturb" gets turned on by accident alot.  I hate the Touch Technology, but  recognize the necessity on smart devices.


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

Nathan said:


> I'd like to get rid of our landline, I wish it did have a ringer that could be turned off.     Cellphones ARE a pain, but they are easy to turn on "do not disturb" with just the swipe of a finger.   As a matter of fact,  "do not disturb" gets turned on by accident alot.  I hate the Touch Technology, but  recognize the necessity on smart devices.


What exactly is *the necessity* of a smart phone? I don't have one. I don't *need* one. I don't really want one. However, because so many businesses are pushing their services through smart phone technology it's making it practically impossible to not have one. I think they're too damned expensive. I can't justify paying $500 for something that could hit the floor and break. Something I don't know how to use. Something I gotta worry about purse dialing someone if I go somewhere and set my purse down just right. I appreciate what your saying don't get me wrong. I just don't think certain technology is for everyone. You know?


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 11, 2021)

Nathan said:


> I'd like to get rid of our landline, I wish it did have a ringer that could be turned off.     Cellphones ARE a pain, but they are easy to turn on "do not disturb" with just the swipe of a finger.   As a matter of fact,  "do not disturb" gets turned on by accident alot.  I hate the Touch Technology, but  recognize the necessity on smart devices.


We have a wall-mounted telephone (landline), and it's left in the OFF position 24/7. It's for emergencies (power outages, etc).

In addition to, we have a portable cordless telephone upstairs and down, both of which can also be turned OFF, and believe me, we do at times.

I can't imagine living my life around a clunky cellphone. When I leave the house I'm tied to zero, zip, zilch, just the way I like it. Telephone is at home where it belongs, not on my person... ringing and irritating me when I am out and about.

Besides, I find it refreshing to not look like the rest of the ding-dongs out there who look as though they've glued their ears and noses to the screens of their cellphones, and/or cannot make a move or do anything without their cellphones being a part of it.


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> What exactly is *the necessity* of a smart phone? I don't have one. I don't *need* one. I don't really want one. However, because so many businesses are pushing their services through smart phone technology it's making it practically impossible to not have one. I think they're too damned expensive. I can't justify paying $500 for something that could hit the floor and break. Something I don't know how to use. Something I gotta worry about purse dialing someone if I go somewhere and set my purse down just right. I appreciate what your saying don't get me wrong. I just don't think certain technology is for everyone. You know?


There is no necessity.

It boils down to people not being able to pull themselves away from technology.

Funny how everyone in the past managed perfectly well in the department of landlines.

I don't have a cellphone either, and my husband who's retiring at the end of the year said before he pushes the exit door open when he's leaving the office for the last time, will be tossing his into the garbage can on the way out.

He loathes having to use and have a cellphone.


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

I have no landline. It's disintegrated and somewhere in the yard. There's not even a spot for a landline in the apartment. So my cellphone is my only communication means. It spends most of it's time on vibrate and it still annoys me. If I go out to eat with someone I have the decency to shut mine off. I don't talk to people on my phone in public either. Most can't even pee without talking to someone on their phone in public. The only thing I like about it is that if I get stranded somewhere I can call for help....provided I have enough phone battery...*RME*


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> I have no landline. It's disintegrated and somewhere in the yard. There's not even a spot for a landline in the apartment. So my cellphone is my only communication means. It spends most of it's time on vibrate and it still annoys me. If I go out to eat with someone I have the decency to shut mine off. I don't talk to people on my phone in public either. Most can't even pee without talking to someone on their phone in public. The only thing I like about it is that if I get stranded somewhere I can call for help....provided I have enough phone battery...*RME*


I laid the law down a couple of years ago when I was putting on a family dinner. I walked into the living room at one point and everyone was sitting their quiet with their noses glued to the screens of their cellphones.

I told everyone to shut their phones off, put them away, and that I didn't want to see them out again.

The people who really irritate me are those who stand in a bank line-up carrying on a full-fledged conversation with someone on their cellphone.

HELLO, OH HI JOE, I'M JUST RUNNING AROUND TOWN TODAY DOING THIS AND THAT, HOW YOU DOIN'?

WELL I HAVE A LITTLE BANKING TO FINISH UP AND THEN HOW ABOUT WE MEET UP AND DROP IN FOR A BEER AT SUCH AND SUCH A PLACE?

OH, HEY, BY THE WAY, HOW'S JANE DOING? LAST TIME I SEEN HERE SHE WAS RECOVERING FROM HER HERNIA OPERATION.

MAN OH MAN, GOTTA TELL YOU THOUGH, JOE, BOY, DID I HAVE A CASE OF DIARRHEA THE OTHER NIGHT, BUT I'LL TELL ABOUT IT MORE OVER OUR SIT DOWN WHEN WE HAVE A BEER!

OKAY, THANKS FOR CALLING! 

Give me a break! Take your conversation elsewhere DING-DONG, like outside!


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## IrisSenior (Apr 11, 2021)

Cell phones are so much better that the landline we used to have. With landline-need to run sometimes to pick up the phone; I did have caller id and it was a bummer to find out it was an unknown number calling and I ran for nothing. My cellphone keeps me attached to home when I am out. I can turn off the ringer when I want. I can look up shopping when I am out and then map it to give to directions there (don't use that as much right now). I can take pictures and send to others. I charge the phone every night and have a charger in the car when I am driving. We have a family plan so it is cheaper.


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## bowmore (Apr 11, 2021)

I also have a hearing problem, but my smartphone has Bluetooth which is linked to my hearing aids. As far as the cost, We bought Alcatels for $99 new. They do not haveall the bells and whistles, but they work for us.


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## SetWave (Apr 11, 2021)

One day in early 1970 I was home alone and the telephone rang. I looked at it and decided I didn't want to talk to anyone so just let it ring. That was a very liberating moment as I resisted the Pavolvian response to run and get it.
As for landlines, I live in an area poorly covered by cell towers so it saves the day for talking.  Also, this comes to mind, people are fighting the building of cell towers in their neighborhoods and I imagine them talking about it on their phones, "Can you hear me???".


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## HoneyNut (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> However, because so many businesses are pushing their services through smart phone technology it's making it practically impossible to not have one. I think they're too damned expensive. I can't justify paying $500 for something that could hit the floor and break. Something I don't know how to use. Something I gotta worry about purse dialing someone if I go somewhere and set my purse down just right.


That's a pet peeve for me that they are apparently easy to break.  So not only do you buy a phone but then a need to buy a screen protector and a shock-absorbing cover.  And they make the phones so hard to hold onto, but I got a nice grippy sort of case and also a pop-up stand/grip.  Then a holder for the car (which I've never used and just remembered I have!).  Plus the phones are so big now that I only have one brand/style of pants/jeans that has big enough pockets.

I saved money by purchasing a refurbished phone from Amazon.  With it being used and the points I'd saved up on my Amazon credit card, I got the phone for only $250 a couple years ago.  The downside of buying the older used model is that now after only two years the maker doesn't put out any more updates for it, so in another year or two I'll need to buy a new phone.  The upside of the way I bought the phone is that it is 'unlocked' not restricted to a carrier, so it was easy to insert a sim card for Europe when I traveled.

I don't think smart phones purse/butt-call people anymore because one inputs a pin to unlock the phone before using it, so that is a great improvement.

I'm pretty happy with smart phones now, they are tiny computers and I can use it to play games, deposit checks, get two-factor security codes that are so annoying but important, I can ask it for stuff like 'Hey Google, coconut macaroon recipes', or 'Hey Google, happy cat meowing' (that's how I discovered Butters the Bean on YouTube).

Now if I can just figure out how to get it to tell me where to turn when I'm driving I will be very happy with smart phones.

Also, I ask my phone how to use it when I can't figure it out, and it finds the info for me.


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## Nathan (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> What exactly is *the necessity* of a smart phone? I don't have one. I don't *need* one. I don't really want one. However, because so many businesses are pushing their services through smart phone technology it's making it practically impossible to not have one. I think they're too damned expensive. I can't justify paying $500 for something that could hit the floor and break. Something I don't know how to use. Something I gotta worry about purse dialing someone if I go somewhere and set my purse down just right. I appreciate what your saying don't get me wrong. I just don't think certain technology is for everyone. You know?


I resisted the idea of having a smartphone until 2013, but I was becoming aware that a smartphone has numerous electronic devices all rolled into one: 
Phone
Music player
GPS navigator
Web browser
....so I gave it a shot, was going to be my _computer-tech_ project to learn as my hobby is computers.  
I find the cell phone to be indispensable for navigation, particularly in unfamiliar areas.   I rarely _talk_ on the cell phone, my hearing is not good but I prefer texting over yaking on the phone.  I like having a device that I can browse the web with  when out for finding goods and services 
The music player is handy, however the sound quality is poor, at least on the cell phones that I buy, which have been in the $250-$300 range.


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

That's why I just miss my land line. I don't think a phone should need all that stuff. It was designed to talk to people not for all this other stuff. Most of which I don't need when I'm outside the house.


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> I laid the law down a couple of years ago when I was putting on a family dinner. I walked into the living room at one point and everyone was sitting their quiet with their noses glued to the screens of their cellphones.
> 
> I told everyone to shut their phones off, put them away, and that I didn't want to see them out again.
> 
> ...


Last thing I wanna hear about is someone's discussion of bodily functions while I'm eating dinner at a restaurant. Cellphones basically put peoples manners in the corner. I have no desire to sit in a room full oh heathens with no table manners. LOL


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

AND Marg is right. None of us died from leaving the house without a cellphone. Most of our lives we were disconnected from everyone when we left the house and we survived. 

For some this is ok. I'm just not one that appreciates all the stuff cellphones have brought into our modern world.


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> That's why I just miss my land line. I don't think a phone should need all that stuff. It was designed to talk to people not for all this other stuff. Most of which I don't need when I'm outside the house.


Here is my favourite commercial related to cellphones!


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## JonDouglas (Apr 11, 2021)

fmdog44 said:


> Phones were invented so we could talk to each other while new phones do everything but that.


I remember giving a technology presentation to the top brass of a very large insurance company.  One of the closing conclusions presented was the idea that data, text, voice and image would be integrated into one device that would likely be portable.  After the presentation, one of the top SVPs and board member pulled me aside and said, "They didn't believe you."  I think my response was, "That's their problem."  The idea that people would want a multi-function didn't register.   What they didn't understand was that the phone, radio and TV were invented to communicate, not just talk.  The smart phones are just the latest continuance of that trend.


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

Yes but some people as usual...don't seem to have any understanding that there's a time and place for that kinda crap. Talking about someone's exploding bowels in a restaurant while people are eating is inappropriate. That crap wouldn't happen if we didn't have portable communication. Why can't they wait till they get home to do that stuff?

To me it's the equivalent of me standing in a crowded restaurant telling them all my business. I'm sure they wanna know that I shart myself while I was sick with the flu last week and my dentures have some sort of scum on them because I never soak them while they're eating. (Just examples)


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> Yes but some people as usual...don't seem to have any understanding that there's a time and place for that kinda crap. Talking about someone's exploding bowels in a restaurant while people are eating is inappropriate. That crap wouldn't happen if we didn't have portable communication. *Why can't they wait till they get home to do that stuff?*


Oh, it can wait until they get home, Marci, I manage just fine 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

There is absolutely SWEET NOTHING that is so pressing where I need to have a cellphone on me to answer calls, make calls, and surf the web when I'm out of the home for a few hours at a time.  

The people who can't wait are the ones who have allowed today's technology to take over and run their lives. They aren't in control of their lives, technology is. Technology owns them.


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> Oh, it can wait until they get home, Marci, I manage just fine 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
> 
> There is absolutely SWEET NOTHING that is so pressing where I need to have a cellphone on me to answer calls, make calls, and surf the web when I'm out of the home for a few hours at a time.
> 
> The people who can't wait are the ones who have allowed today's technology to take over and run their lives. They aren't in control of their lives, technology is. Technology owns them.


There isn't a day that goes by at work where they don't have their cellphones out. They even have watches with cellphone capabilities when they can't have their cell on them. It's ridiculous. I manage 8 hrs a day with no phone just fine. I'm the only employee whose phone is off and in the locker.


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## SetWave (Apr 11, 2021)

I still think people are speaking to me when they pass by yakking on the phone.


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

The only time I would actually NEED music on a phone is if I were plotting a flash mob dance in the middle of Wal-Mart...like that would ever happen in my little old lady life. LOL


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

SetWave said:


> I still think people are speaking to me when they pass by yakking on the phone.


Same here. It's like WTF?


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## Devi (Apr 11, 2021)

My only thought is this: what if you're out driving and your car breaks down and you have no cell phone on you. Then what?


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## SetWave (Apr 11, 2021)

In the early 70s my mom said one day everyone will have a computer in their house. She sure would be surprised at how that manifested to now when we carry them in our pockets.


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

Devi said:


> My only thought is this: what if you're out driving and your car breaks down and you have no cell phone on you. Then what?


What did you do before we had cellphones and your car broke down?

For that matter...lets say you have your cellphone and the car breaks down and you're outta juice? Then what?

Devi don't get me wrong...I love ya to death...just trying to think in reasonable terms here.


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## SetWave (Apr 11, 2021)

Devi said:


> My only thought is this: what if you're out driving and your car breaks down and you have no cell phone on you. Then what?


That's a good point, Devi, and why I carry one nowadays.


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> There isn't a day that goes by at work where they don't have their cellphones out. They even have watches with cellphone capabilities when they can't have their cell on them. It's ridiculous. I manage 8 hrs a day with no phone just fine. I'm the only employee whose phone is off and in the locker.


Your mention of cellphones out at work is a big no-no in my books, yet I see it all the time, and among employees who are actively working... actively employed in a job position where no cellphone use is required, yet they've got their noses stuck in the screens.

If I were an employer I would make it crystal clear, NO CELLPHONE USE, GET CAUGHT USING YOUR CELLPHONE AT WORK, YOU'RE FIRED.


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## SetWave (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> What did you do before we had cellphones and your car broke down?


Panic?


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 11, 2021)

Devi said:


> My only thought is this: what if you're out driving and your car breaks down and you have no cell phone on you. Then what?


I agree, Devi, cellphones have a place and can be a blessing, but as so many of us know, they are also a curse.


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> What did you do before we had cellphones and your car broke down?
> 
> For that matter...lets say you have your cellphone and the car breaks down and you're outta juice? Then what?
> 
> Devi don't get me wrong...I love ya to death...just trying to think in reasonable terms here.


reposting this since i edited it


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## Jules (Apr 11, 2021)

How many calls do people get on their landlines that they think they’d be receiving them on their cellphone?  Many don’t give out the cellphone number.  

It’s easy to set your cellphone to quiet. 

As for inane conversations on cellphones, those same people can choose someone in line to yap with.  Hopefully not me.  

If you’ve ever had an emergency and the cellphone saved the day, you’d carry one!!!


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## Devi (Apr 11, 2021)

If my car broke down in the past, I guess we'd walk to a gas station to use their phone. Not sure if they (gas stations) still have phone booths.


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

Well sometimes life just happens. Whether we have a cellphone tethered to us or not. But there have been times when I've needed to use my cellphone to call a cab in order to get a ride home from work in bad weather and I had no service because someone was in the process of jacking my phone number. I went 2 days with no service. If I'd had a medical emergency I'd have likely died. It is what it is. I think we depend on technology too much these days. 

If the entire internet or cell services ever were to go down we'd be screwed.


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 11, 2021)

Rosemarie said:


> It's strange that we all have phones these days, and yet so many people complain about being lonely.


Because people are full of baloney!

Push comes to shove, nothing beats human-to-human contact and connections.


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## HoneyNut (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> For that matter...lets say you have your cellphone and the car breaks down and you're outta juice? Then what?


When my daughter was in college there were several times she called me in the middle of the night while she was out partying and said her cell phone was almost out of battery.  I bought her a couple purse size emergency power banks.  I'm not sure she uses them but I haven't received any more calls like that (could also be because she grew up).

It's funny when I watch old TV shows and they get into danger, like in Murder She Wrote when the lady was locked in a steam room and someone turned the temperature up on high, and all the person could do was pound on the door and yell, that's when I think "cell phone would help".   Tho I have a similar thought about shows where people come home and a bad guy is hiding behind the curtains, I think "if only they had a dog it would be staring at the curtain wagging its tail or barking".


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> Because people are full of baloney!
> 
> Push comes to shove, nothing beats human-to-human contact and connections.


That and they're lonely because you can't have a conversation with someone who is so busy texting they're not listening to you. Let alone responding to you.


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 11, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> That and they're lonely because you can't have a conversation with someone who is so busy texting they're not listening to you. Let alone responding to you.


And isn't that the truth!


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

HoneyNut said:


> When my daughter was in college there were several times she called me in the middle of the night while she was out partying and said her cell phone was almost out of battery.  I bought her a couple purse size emergency power banks.  I'm not sure she uses them but I haven't received any more calls like that (could also be because she grew up).
> 
> It's funny when I watch old TV shows and they get into danger, like in Murder She Wrote when the lady was locked in a steam room and someone turned the temperature up on high, and all the person could do was pound on the door and yell, that's when I think "cell phone would help".   Tho I have a similar thought about shows where people come home and a bad guy is hiding behind the curtains, I think "if only they had a dog it would be staring at the curtain wagging its tail or barking".


IF and I say that's a big IF...they are able to get service in that room. Sometimes cellphones don't have any service in interior rooms. Then they'd still be beating on the door.


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 11, 2021)

I'm pleased with my iPhone.

It helps me with depositing checks and other banking financial transactions, pay bills, make purchases, watch television and movies, check the weather, snap a photo make a movie, email, text, serve as a flashlight, magnifying glass, calculator, stores contacts, and dials using voice commands if necessary including 911.

I do have to admit that it becomes addictive when I'm bored.  I keep an eye on my usage and keep it a distance from my chair if I feel I'm using it a little too much.   If need be it could replace my computer and the cost of increased usage would be more than covered by the savings in internet service.  I could also swap my current internet router for a WiFi router and use my iPhone with that when at home to trim costs a little.

IMO now is the time to become comfortable with technology because it could be very helpful to me as I get older.  If I wait I'm afraid it would all be too overwhelming for me to learn at a time when I might need it the most.


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## horseless carriage (Apr 11, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> Because people are full of baloney!
> 
> Push comes to shove, nothing beats human-to-human contact and connections.


The only reason that I have a smart phone is because twelve years ago, whilst still in business with my brother, he wanted to upgrade from our standard voice/text phones. Later, I found out that his phone came with built in satnav so that he could evaluate the distance to the pin when he played golf. We sold our business eleven years ago, his smart phone has now been consigned to history, he upgraded to something straight off the star-ship Enterprise, I still have that original 3G smart phone. Smart phone, that's a joke, damn thing is too smart for me. I still only use it for text and voice.

My landline phone is the same one that was issued to me in 1968, a rotary dial phone. Out of necessity I bought a digital landline simply because the rotary dial phone doesn't show incoming calls so I can't identify the caller. Large companies all now have the synthesised voice response that asks you to press one for the money, two for the show, rotary dial phones lack the technology to do that. The two phones are wired into the same socket with the modern one discretely hidden.

Email is something else that I never use but have, I couldn't be a member here without it. How do I communicate when a written message is required? I write a letter, by hand and, if it's going to a company I enclose a pre-stamped addressed envelope, that always evokes a response. Am I a dinosaur? I prefer to think of myself as: "Old school."


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## PamfromTx (Apr 11, 2021)




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## Don M. (Apr 11, 2021)

I've never had any interest in having a "smart" phone.  Our landline works just fine, and we have a basic cell phone that we take with us when away from the house, in case one of the kids need to call, or we have car trouble.  That suffices for our needs.  I think I paid about $20 for this small phone, years ago, which easily fits into my shirt pocket, and we pay Tracfone about $7/mo. for service.  Some people pay $1000 for a fancy cell phone, and $50/mo., or more for service.  We'd rather spend our money on something more worthwhile.


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## HoneyNut (Apr 11, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> If I were an employer I would make it crystal clear, NO CELLPHONE USE, GET CAUGHT USING YOUR CELLPHONE AT WORK, YOU'RE FIRED.


The managers use cell phones more than anyone, tho theoretically they are checking their work email constantly via their phones.  Also, it allows them to be reached at all times (annoyingly also during meetings).  Our director has a ring tone that sounds like bombs falling.  Not sure who he uses that for but he tends to rush back to his office (pre-covid) when the bombs start falling.

Also two-factor security forces me to have to use my own cell phone to get codes to access some of our work systems.  I kind of resent having to use my own cell phone when doing my work, and it does have a tendency to distract me into checking news headlines while I'm at it. 

It was super annoying (pre-covid) to have people reading their phones during meetings, I wonder if people even realize their responsibilities, they show up without having read or thought about the substance being covered in the meeting, then they don't pay attention or engage.  There are a lot of very passive people these days!

At the office there are signs on all the doors that cameras are not allowed (due to sensitive info), yet really we all have cameras because we have phones.  Presumably they have watchers watching us covertly to make sure no one plays spy (in the office, I guess they are just out of luck during covid).


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## MarciKS (Apr 11, 2021)

LOL the bombs falling is probably a ring tone set to alert them that their boss is communicating. I had a special ring tone on mine so when it went off I knew I was getting called in to work.


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## Packerjohn (Apr 12, 2021)

Rosemarie said:


> It's strange that we all have phones these days, and yet so many people complain about being lonely.


They say that more people are lonely than ever before and they say suicides are up too.  You know I think the trouble is not enough face to face conversation with real meaningful dialogue discussing what is really on your mind and in your heart.  A phone call is nice but it cannot replace someone sitting at your kitchen table over a cup of coffee and both of you "chewing the cud" so to speak.  As for those phones, they are being taken over by con artists trying to steal your money or advertisers trying to sell you something that you don't need.  Technology is alright but its the people who are the problem.  It is people who are addicted to cellphones, addicted to computers, addicted to endless TV.  There are people who use technology wisely and then there are people who become technical zombies; totally brainless who are controlled by electronic toys.


Aunt Marg said:


> Here is my favourite commercial related to cellphones!


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## Aunt Marg (Apr 12, 2021)

Packerjohn said:


> They say that more people are lonely than ever before and they say suicides are up too.  You know I think the trouble is not enough face to face conversation with real meaningful dialogue discussing what is really on your mind and in your heart.  A phone call is nice but it cannot replace someone sitting at your kitchen table over a cup of coffee and both of you "chewing the cud" so to speak.  As for those phones, they are being taken over by con artists trying to steal your money or advertisers trying to sell you something that you don't need.  Technology is alright but its the people who are the problem.  It is people who are addicted to cellphones, addicted to computers, addicted to endless TV.  There are people who use technology wisely and then there are people who become technical zombies; totally brainless who are controlled by electronic toys.


Couldn't have said it better myself!


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## Judycat (Apr 12, 2021)

Smart phones are good time wasters.


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## fmdog44 (Apr 12, 2021)

After I got my second vaccine I sat in the 15 minutes waiting room required after the shot. The room was full of peoples of all ages, sex and race and every single one of them were staring at their cell phones. Some to the extent that their 15 minutes were up but they were too engrossed in their magic boxes.


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## fmdog44 (Apr 26, 2021)

I think I would like to carry an airhorn for those people walking straight at me staring religiously in to their phones.


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## squatting dog (Apr 29, 2021)




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## cdestroyer (Apr 29, 2021)

well your program bounced me to another part of this post before i completed the message remove it at your willi!!!


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## cdestroyer (Apr 29, 2021)

you can buy an LG rebel 4 with 4g technology from amazon for less than forty dollars, it is prepay and costs 25 dollars for 30 days, voice and text unlimited.. you dont always have to use the phone part, you can use wifi for free from your local library, it will also play movies, record movies, pictures, surf the internet, epub books to read and games....fairly rugged phone even when dropped..


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## Buckeye (Apr 29, 2021)

Reading all these cell phone hating posts reminds me about my great uncle Art (Arthur), who was born about 1890, and lived until the 1960s. Back around 1915 his wife (Jenny?) wanted to have indoor plumbing installed in their house. He said absolutely not because he just couldn't understand why "anyone would want to s*** inside their own house".  The smell, etc, would just not be good.  Of course Jenny prevailed, but when folks kvetch about changing technology, I think of Great Uncle Art.  May he rest in peace.


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## MarciKS (Apr 29, 2021)

Packerjohn said:


> They say that more people are lonely than ever before and they say suicides are up too.  You know I think the trouble is not enough face to face conversation with real meaningful dialogue discussing what is really on your mind and in your heart.  A phone call is nice but it cannot replace someone sitting at your kitchen table over a cup of coffee and both of you "chewing the cud" so to speak.  As for those phones, they are being taken over by con artists trying to steal your money or advertisers trying to sell you something that you don't need.  Technology is alright but its the people who are the problem.  It is people who are addicted to cellphones, addicted to computers, addicted to endless TV.  There are people who use technology wisely and then there are people who become technical zombies; totally brainless who are controlled by electronic toys.


Even sitting face to face chewing the cud has changed over the years. I remember when I was younger and my folks used to have coffee with other folks downtown and they'd all talk. You can't hardly find that now. Most people have nothing to talk about. They just complain and gossip. In between texting or looking at their cellphone making you feel like they don't have time to even be there gracing you with their presence. It's a very sad place to be.


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## cdestroyer (Apr 30, 2021)

oh marciKS, you are so right! we used to have someone come by nearly every day to sit, smoke, drink coffee and chat....in all my life not counting family I have never had someone come to my home sit and chat over a cup o joe.......NEVER! I wonder maybe something is wrong with me!


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## Packerjohn (Apr 30, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> Even sitting face to face chewing the cud has changed over the years. I remember when I was younger and my folks used to have coffee with other folks downtown and they'd all talk. You can't hardly find that now. Most people have nothing to talk about. They just complain and gossip. In between texting or looking at their cellphone making you feel like they don't have time to even be there gracing you with their presence. It's a very sad place to be.


I live on the prairies in the middle of Canada.  In all small towns and even in the big cities, they have "the good ole' boys" clubs where each morning a bunch of retired men sit around with their baseball caps on and "shoot the breeze."  They love cafes that offer free refills on the coffee.  You are right, they maybe all they do is complain and gossip but at least they do it face to face.  I guess they all sit around talking politics and telling each other what the government should be doing to make things right.  Right now, we have been locked down for 6 months with CODE RED so the good ole boys must be feeling the pain of not being able to sit together and "solve the world's problems."  I don't belong to such a group as I have too much to do and I am a very active person.  If I wasn't I might join such a group because being with them and "shooting the breeze" is a lot healthier mentally wise than sitting at home and watching 12 hours of TV each day.


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## Packerjohn (Apr 30, 2021)

Pinky said:


> Not everyone can afford a Smartphone, nor want one. That means they are left out of the loop for certain specific services.
> 
> The same goes for those who can't afford, or don't have, a computer.


I had 3 brothers, 2 older and 1 younger than me.  None of them really got into computer nor cell phones.  I have a computer but no smartphone.  Just a nice old fashioned flip phone for those emergencies.  Maybe not having a smartphone really does make you smart.  It's my observation over the years that very few people who have smartphones are smart!  The "smart" part refers to what the phone can do.  Many dumb people sit and stare at their smartphones all day long waiting for those "messages from loved ones."  Staring at a smartphone does not make you smart.  The opposite really!   LOL


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## Pappy (Apr 30, 2021)

I kept answering the guy in the next stall, in the men’s room, until he told me to shut up because he was talking to someone on the cell phone.


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## squatting dog (Apr 30, 2021)

Packerjohn said:


> I live on the prairies in the middle of Canada.  In all small towns and even in the big cities, they have "the good ole' boys" clubs where each morning a bunch of retired men sit around with their baseball caps on and "shoot the breeze."  They love cafes that offer free refills on the coffee.  You are right, they maybe all they do is complain and gossip but at least they do it face to face.  I guess they all sit around talking politics and telling each other what the government should be doing to make things right.  Right now, we have been locked down for 6 months with CODE RED so the good ole boys must be feeling the pain of not being able to sit together and "solve the world's problems."  I don't belong to such a group as I have too much to do and I am a very active person.  If I wasn't I might join such a group because being with them and "shooting the breeze" is a lot healthier mentally wise than sitting at home and watching 12 hours of TV each day.


We've been lucky here in the Ozarks. Never had a lockdown, didn't need masks and all the old guy's, (myself included) sit down at the local gas station and over coffee, (free re-fills) , shoot the breeze, solve all the worlds problems, and on occasion, bitch about some health issue or some doctor's advice that we might or might not listen to.


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## saltydog (May 5, 2021)

You can't see a young person now-a-days without a phone in their hand.  When a young person walks out of a building, or gets out of a car, the first thing they do is reach in their back pocket and pull out their phone.  

Most phones today are no more than pacifiers.


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## SetWave (May 5, 2021)

saltydog said:


> You can't see a young person now-a-days without a phone in their hand.  When a young person walks out of a building, or gets out of a car, the first thing they do is reach in their back pocket and pull out their phone.
> 
> Most phones today are no more than pacifiers.


Young, old and in-between. Just about everyone has a pacifier glued to their brain.


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## caroln (May 5, 2021)

I like having a cell phone on me when I go out.  If my car breaks down I can call my husband or AAA.  If I have a fender bender I can take photos.  If I have an appointment and get stuck in traffic and will be late, I can call and let them know.  All sorts of reasons to carry a phone.  Maybe hoofing it a couple miles to a gas station may work for some, but at 72 I prefer to make a phone call for help.

A friend of mine is constantly stuck at home because she doesn't have a cell phone.  She's always waiting for a call from someone...the doctor, the bank, the insurance company, someone coming to buy something she has for sale, etc., etc.  She can't even go outside to her garden or clothes line because she might miss a call.   I'm so glad I'm not tied to a landline anymore!


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## jujube (May 5, 2021)

Buckeye said:


> Reading all these cell phone hating posts reminds me about my great uncle Art (Arthur), who was born about 1890, and lived until the 1960s. Back around 1915 his wife (Jenny?) wanted to have indoor plumbing installed in their house. He said absolutely not because he just couldn't understand why "anyone would want to s*** inside their own house".  The smell, etc, would just not be good.  Of course Jenny prevailed, but when folks kvetch about changing technology, I think of Great Uncle Art.  May he rest in peace.


My great-grandfather did not approve of indoor toilets. After a bathroom was installed in their farmhouse, he continued to use the outhouse to his dying day.  I was glad for the bathroom, though.


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## jujube (May 5, 2021)

Well, I'm in the minority here but I love my smart phone. I resisted getting one but now i don't know how I got along without it.


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## Pinky (May 5, 2021)

saltydog said:


> You can't see a young person now-a-days without a phone in their hand.  When a young person walks out of a building, or gets out of a car, the first thing they do is reach in their back pocket and pull out their phone.
> 
> Most phones today are no more than pacifiers.


What's scary, is, guys in traffic riding bikes .. on their cellphone.


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## Packerjohn (May 5, 2021)

What you good folks are observing is "Cell phone addiction."  The addiction to cell phone is just as strong as drugs, alcohol or gambling.  If you take the phone away they have real withdrawal pains.  Books have been written on this addiction.  This is the main reason I don't have a smartphone/iphone.  I like talking to real people and I have many hobbies like recording vinyl to digital.


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## Ruthanne (May 6, 2021)

I'm glad I have a smartphone and a landline, too.  I need both for different reasons.


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## Ken N Tx (May 6, 2021)

One day I left home without my phone! All the while I was driving, I thought what would happen if I had car trouble and needed help.

All the numbers I would need to call are I my contact list and I do not know what the numbers are!! My wife and children do not answer unknown numbers and would not answer a call if I borrowed a phone!!

When I got home,I wrote down important numbers and put them in my wallet. I told my wife that if she received a call 2 or 3 times in a row to answer the phone.


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