I hate cell phones

Moonbear

Absolutely! I used to argue there was nothing bad about the cell phones, just the bad drivers who couldn't talk and drive at the same time, but after realizing how many bad drivers really can't talk and drive at the same time, I think they really do need to be illegal while driving (just give a reckless driving ticket or something like that if someone is weaving with their cell phone on). It amazes me how bad people drive when they are on the phone...a slower reaction time wouldn't surprise me, but what surprises me is what you mentioned, that they weave, start driving erratic speeds (they'll drop down really slow, you'll go to pass them, and then they start driving faster). They drive as badly as drunk drivers.

A lot of states require that too, but I'm not convinced it solves the real problem of being distracted. I heard a news story that someone did a study with teen drivers that used the hands-free sets and measured their reaction time and they were as slow to react when talking on the phone as senior citizens are (when you consider that senior citizens have experience and ability to anticipate what's ahead to compensate for slow reaction time, while teens don't yet have that experience, it makes it worse than it even sounds to have that slow of a reaction time in a teen driver).

revelator

Agreed, I hate cellphones. Both mine and those that belong to others, and especially those that are being used by people who are behind the wheels of their cars.

I've stopped taking calls on my cell phone long ago. I just leave it off. I figured from then on it would be an outgoing calls only cell. When I'm out, people can leave a message on my home answering machine, simple as that.

What I have noticed, is that some bothersome people upon calling my cell and home and not being able to reach me, use the opportunity to call my friends whom I may be with in the hopes of reaching me.

I still find it hard to believe, that the idea of people being able to phone you anywhere and anytime, is one of the selling-points in the cell phone industry. You'd think people actually like talking on the phone..

JamesU

you're so lucky...

I hate my cell phone because people sometimes call me in the middle of class. you can bet the teacher likes that...

inha

Being from Nokia-land a cell phone is the only phone I have. As do many other young folks here since it's actually cheaper to keep than a landline.

AKG

I don't get it. I can understand not wanting to be called, but if you don't want to be called, leave your phone at home, turn it off, turn it on silent, etc. I can't believe this is something to whine about.

revelator

Why not just shut it off during class??

Moonbear

I just let voicemail take the call. I initially got a cell phone entirely for use in case of emergencies when I moved 600 miles from all my friends and family and was making a lot of long-distance driving. I didn't even give the phone number out except to a few people who I knew wouldn't bug me all the time but were the most likely to need to reach me for emergencies.

Now that I've had it longer, and travel more, and am away from home a lot (even when I'm at work, I just give people my cell phone number because I'm so often walking back and forth between my lab and office that it's easier to give people the number of the phone that's with me rather than expecting them to try two or three different numbers to find me wherever I am), I have used it a lot more and am glad to have it with me. Aside from it allowing me to be more mobile (I don't have to keep checking in with a secretary to find out if I have messages and then keep scrambling for enough change at a payphone to return the calls, as used to be done when people were traveling for work), it's helpful when you're meeting up with friends somewhere. A few times I've gotten stuck in traffic on the way to meet someone and was able to give them a quick call and let them know I'm going to be late so they don't worry or just stand around waiting and wondering.

Wow, that's really rude! They should just leave a message.

That used to be the purpose of vacations, to go someplace where people couldn't call you so you could get away from the phones; now people bring the phone with them! That is one thing I insist upon, when I go on vacation, I tell people my cell phone will be off and likely not even with me (I'm not taking a cell phone on the beach).

matthyaouw

Mobile phones do have many merits, most of which have already been mentioned. I wouldn't have as much freedom as I do now without mine, as my parents can just call me if they don't know where I am, or if I decide to sleep at a friend's house one night theres no need to go home and tell them first.

One thing that does bug me is that no one seems to call me anymore. If someone wants to ask me to go out somewhere, they always seem to text me. I'd much rather they ring and ask most of the time. That way I get chance for a bit of a chat too, rather than a 255 charachter maximum message.

Monique

Yeah, ditto, I also often get text messages instead of a call. It takes me forever to explain something by text message, while a call would have solved it immediately.

revelator

Actually I much prefer the text message myself, because of the 255 character limit, people are forced to make the message clear and to the point. I guess I just hate talking on the phone (unless the call has some practical purpose). I figure if someone wants to have a conversation we should just meet up and go for a coffee or a beer. Unless it's a call from someone living far away, I don't see a reason for having a chitchat on the phone.

Monique

Last weekend I got a text message: I'm trying to send an email, what do I fill into cc and bcc? It took me three text messages to reply and it took forever to type, I should just have called back.

loseyourname

I don't have a cell phone or a regular phone.

Evo

I don't have a cell phone even though one of my company perks gives me a personal cell phone with completely unlimited use for just $10 a month. I just haven't gotten around to signing up.

matthyaouw

Sometimes they do, but other times they are barely readable. "txt tlk" and all... There have been times I've had to ask someone to write it again without so many damned abbreviations.

Moonbear

I have only used text messaging a few times. The only time it was helpful was on my last move when one of my friends who wasn't allowed to make long distance calls from his office needed to reach me during the daytime while I didn't have any internet access, so he could send a short email to my phone asking me to call him. If people don't want to talk, they can send me email. It takes all day to send a text message, so I will not reply that way. For a while, I even had that feature turned off so nobody could even try.

Monique

My sister is a pro text messenger, I don't know how many characters she can type per minute but it probably is a world record..