Thanks For Shoving Cell Phones Down Our Throats!

What the hell did we do before there were cell phones? How the hell did we ever survive? Text messages, selfies, blue tooths, apps.......OMG!

I don't like them. I have been forced to own one. Why? Because the stupid companies that think sending a text message for security purposes is the only way to do business.

Especially the convoluted banking system. Want to make a money transfer from your account? No problem we have made it so simple for you, all you have to do is follow these 10 easy steps and then when we text you the special code just put it right here in this little box.

Gee thanks, and if I don't have a cell phone or can't get service for some strange reason? What then? You mean to tell me that you can not send me an email with the code? Really? Man, you people.

God forbid I have a real family emergency where one of my kids needs money and I have no way to transfer the funds without jumping through hoops to get a freaking text message!!!!!!!!

God I hate cell phones.

End of rant!

a reply to: searcherfortruth

I miss Hangstrom Maps. Those and my trusty compass.

a reply to: searcherfortruth

I think we have a real conspiracy here.



On the serious side. The complete dependence society seems to have on phones now is disturbing. I think it's a mistake to rely on one thing for so much. The texting while driving pisses me off the most though. I've seen so many close calls cause some moron thought they could somehow drive straight down the road without actually looking at the road.

Another thing that bugs me is the disconnection from reality. Smart phones and social media are supposed to connect us but they truely separate us. At work during break nobody even talks, they bury their faces in their phones to talk online when there are people right in front of their faces they could be talking too. Does'nt make a lick of sense to me.

Yes, Im odd.. that was established long ago here.. but I have NO cellphone zones in the house. Anyone who violates it get their phone taken. I dont care WHO it is. I dont like them at all and resent that we have to have them as much as I resent my credit union shoving this stupid chip debit card down my throat. Phones.. even before cell phones Id turn the ringer off the home phone. WHen I couldnt do that Id unplug them from the wall. I kept the stupid flip phone until the husbands job demanded smart phones. Ugh.. I can still turn it off and throw it in the kitchen drawer... NEENER NEENER!!

Im selfish with my time and my space... I dont like intrusions from people OR tech. Animals are allowed.

a reply to: Advantage

I don't find it odd at all, before the rise of widespread cellphone use people actually had personal time. No such thing exists now there is no time for oneself when they can be reached anywhere at anytime. Unless of course you do what I do and go to fishing spots that have no coverage!

a reply to: searcherfortruth

Gee thanks, and if I don't have a cell phone? What then?

You learn to fully embrace your microchip implant..

Here is a collection of selfies, if you need some ammo for your post

originally posted by: Thoren
a reply to: Advantage

I don't find it odd at all, before the rise of widespread cellphone use people actually had personal time. No such thing exists now there is no time for oneself when they can be reached anywhere at anytime. Unless of course you do what I do and go to fishing spots that have no coverage!

I have to take getaway time.. I just go in the woods.. for varying times. I have to get away from it for a bit.

a reply to: searcherfortruth

Especially the convoluted banking system. Want to make a money transfer from your account? No problem we have made it so simple for you, all you have to do is follow these 10 easy steps and then when we text you the special code just put it right here in this little box.

Must be the states. Up here in Canada it's only 4 steps. Open bank app, select email to transfer to, fill in amount, send.
If no service, do what you used to do - go to the bank...

I hate going to the actual bank to pay bills, or deposit cheques. But our online system somehow seems easier than yours, judging by your rant. Money appears there from direct deposit paycheque, then it just goes everywhere I tell it too 💸💸💸

I just hate collecting a money transfer, it always feels like a test....the other person needs to make the question easy.....

originally posted by: snowspirit
a reply to: searcherfortruth

Especially the convoluted banking system. Want to make a money transfer from your account? No problem we have made it so simple for you, all you have to do is follow these 10 easy steps and then when we text you the special code just put it right here in this little box.

Must be the states. Up here in Canada it's only 4 steps. Open bank app, select email to transfer to, fill in amount, send.
If no service, do what you used to do - go to the bank...

I hate going to the actual bank to pay bills, or deposit cheques. But our online system somehow seems easier than yours, judging by your rant. Money appears there from direct deposit paycheque, then it just goes everywhere I tell it too 💸💸💸

I just hate collecting a money transfer, it always feels like a test....the other person needs to make the question easy.....

Here even your doctors send you reminder texts for your upcoming appointments.... infuriating. No one SPEAKS anymore.

We may one of the last households in the US not to have a cell phone. The landline has served me perfectly well for 62 years so I'm sticking with it. The last thing I want to hear while driving down the road is a phone ringing.
My children have them for work but when they come to visit it gets left in the car unless they are expecting business calls. If a business call comes in, they excuse themselves from the room to take it.
If we have visitors who take a call on their cell, we exit the room. After a few times, they get the message without us having to say, "That's really rude."
The ones who really bother me are the ones who stand in the middle of the aisle at the grocery store, blocking the aisle while chatting on the phone. One of these days I'm going to say to one of them, "Hang up and shop!"

I remember when cell phones first came out, and there'd be people talking loudly on them as if to say "look at me, I have a cell phone". 🙄

I like that there are places that insist that you turn off the ringer. Like doctors offices, hospitals. Those places, when waiting, the phone turns into my ereader.

They're also talking (in Canada) about fining people for distracted walking because of those walking out into traffic and such.....distracted driving is already a big fine.

a reply to: searcherfortruth

Funny that because I've somehow managed to survive in the world without a fancy cell phone.

My 20-year old flip phone does not have texting or internet... it's just a simple phone... for making phone calls.

I do my banking on my computer, no doctors asking for cell phone texting, no banks demanding cell phone "conveniences", no job demanding I be available at the touch of a button 24/7.

No apps necessary, no selfies, no blue tooth technology, no twitter or facebook check-ins.


I guess I'm a dinosaur.

a reply to: searcherfortruth
And the old phones didnt blow up.....

That is the most likely scenario

to date that i have heard.

I've never owned a smartphone. But my reasons for that are a bit different.

1) I can't afford another bill. My internet connection comes with a phone line, and it's not a smart phone. It's digital voice or what used to be called VoIP I believe.

2) I dislike touch screens. I need the tactile experience of buttons. I need to physically feel what I'm pressing.

3) I don't want other functionality. I just want to dial a number and reach someone and speak to them and then hang up. I'm reminded of an episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles where they travel from the early 90s to the 2000s, and she goes into a phone store and they start their sales pitch. Megapixels, cameras, storage capacity, SD card reader, etc. etc. At the end of their spiel she looks at them mystified and asks, "Okay, but... if I dial a phone number... will it call people?" Lmao. That's about how I feel about about smart phones.

I don't care if that means I'm being an anachronism set in his ways, so be it. Until I have no choice remaining, I won't own a smart phone.

Peace.

a reply to: snowspirit

It's really easy in the US too, and you don't need to go through the trouble of receiving a text message. You can still do it the easy way: turn on the computer, log into the computer, open a web browser, log into your email account, open the email, click on the link to your banking website, log in, and send/accept the money. Absolutely no need to go through all the trouble of reaching into your pocket to check a text message!
(/Sarc)

Plus, you can still do everything the old fashioned way. There's paper maps, physical banks, etc. Most people choose the conveniences and distractions of cell phones, very few "need" to use them.

Thanks for shoving motor-cars down our throats too you bunch of jerks!
But really, I agree with you. I hate cell-phones.

a reply to: searcherfortruth

I'll offer a dissenting opinion although I'm operating on lack of sleep so, it may not be as coherent as I hope.
I think that cell phones, like any other technology, can be exploited for our benefit or can be abused and could be creating a generation of unconnected (physically) and superficial humans. On the other hand, there are, IMO, many advantages and some comfort in having one.

I am 'on call' this week/weekend for work and the cell phone, that I must have with me at all times, allows me freedom of movement (as long as there is service). Just two nights ago, I took a call that became very lengthy and having the phone allowed me to walk up the drive and down the street and not wake my children while dealing with the issue at hand.

My children, I can be in communication with them at any point necessary (as long as there is service) and if there's an emergency or they need me then it is easier than it was when I was a young person to find them or get to them.

My mother, before I got her 'life alert' button, carried a cell phone and more than a few times she called me or the emergency services after having fallen. She was unable to get herself up off of the floor or if she were out in the yard so had she not called, iti may have been hours until help arrived. She carried a little verizon flip phone in her bra (I know breast cancer!) and verizon just never seemed to understand that 'no, we do not want an upgrade'. Her older arthritic fingers could never have navigated a touch screen and the phone was the proper size for carrying the way she needed to.

There is a certain etiquette, IMO, that one should adhere to with cell phones however, few follow these courtesies. I wouldn't discuss personal issues at the top of my lungs with a friend in the middle of a store if we were face to face so I am, often, confused as to why folks seem to think that's okay when they are on a cell phone.

Also, if I am having a conversation at a table (dinner table, restaurant, etc) I would pay attention and make eye contact and be involved both mentally and physically in that conversation and it is incredibly rude to be staring at a phone during that time. I've tried to convey to my children the pros and cons of the technology and the proper (my definition) use of it because I see so much misuse.

Anyway, two cents from someone who is carrying two cell phones on their person this week and I feel as if I can see both sides of the argument for and against cell phones.

I miss the telegraph.