Can you live with out a cell phone ?

Yes , I have heard people say their ear or head is getting hot on their cell = there has to be something VERY WRONG with that !
I have always thought it could lead to brain tumors .

[link to www.scientificamerican.com]

I went without a cell phone for about a year or so. Felt like I was on vacation!

Only time I missed it was when my car broke down

They would lose it! We didn't have computers or video games and it was a requirement that we go out and play. If we got bored we found stuff to do.

Built go carts, sports, etc. Sometimes there were shenanigans but pretty much harmless, like ding, dong ditch LOL

We had to get creative and socialize...even if we wanted to watch TV all day there was nothing on except for early morning or afternoon..no cable (oh the horror)

I don't see many kids out playing anymore, no more jump rope, hop scotch, etc. I haven't seen it in years and it's sad.

Last Edited by geminilion on 12/18/2012 05:19 PM

I was just offered galaxy note 3 smart phone for Christmas . I turned it down . I want to keep my freedom !

Yes your right ! 100% it forced kids to be much more creative . I remember summertime's building tree forts and playing outside for hours . Then taking cardboard and sliding down dry grass hills . I have kids now and all they talk of is the new cell phone , video game or computer . that is what they look forward too ... . Kinda breaks my heart in a way .

Yep...

But I understand most people don't want to...

Cell phones now are like Cigarettes were in the 60's...

The "in thing"...but when all the data starts becoming more public about the health risks people will be a little less attached to them as they are now and there will be more laws in place to restrict voluntary usage.

Wonder what we will be hearing in the years to come about how dangerous cell phones really are .

In the 30s they used to have this foot exray machine you could see the bones of your foot in a shoes stores= later they found out those people were getting sick from radiation that worked around it .
[link to www.orau.org]

I have a prepaid cell phone (old school type not smartphone) that I keep for emergencies and occasionally use. I think it's good to have one. Doesn't mean you need to use it all the time. I also don't understand how people spend so much time on their tiny phones while the world is around them.

But people can live without cell phones. They've done so for centuries. :)

I don't have a cell phone, haven't for a while. The biggest problems it causes are during dating, when I'm traveling in other cities and making plans with groups of friends.

yes, I could live without a cell phone.
went 30 yrs before I got one.

I will say this, it's a great time killer for me, just like the computer. but, we don't play on them at dinner. In fact when we go out, me, my wife and two grown boys.

we have a rule, first one that slips up and checks the phone during dinner picks up the check.

That's a good rule !

Went to one of my daughters friends party's . Walked in and saw all these teens . They were not talking to each other but just sitting there text-ing . I thought what a sad world it is !


Its not the same world anymore.


OP I had friends tell me almost an exact same story. The kids were all sitting in the same room, not talking, just texting each other. I found it hard to believe, then I saw your story.

The human condition aint gonna be all that human for much longer.

Ya know some will give us a hard time about not accepting change, etc. and hell change is part of life. I have no problem with it and go with the flow.

But I see the sinister creep of an anti human agenda going on here with our technology, esp. as humanity progresses ever more toward the stupid.

I'm so glad I didn't reproduce.

Mine has been out of minutes for about a month. I am mostly home but if I were not I'd make sure it was always refilled just because I do have two children, and because I think it they do come in handy, but I didn't even get one until 2004.

I am thankful because my kids, 6 and 8, much prefer to play outside than play video games except in the winter then they do play some video games but they also do artwork, read, and play make believe. I have a rule though. When the weather is nice, they stay outside or if they must come inside, no electronics, i.e. PC, PS3, TV, etc. Must be harder though for the parents of older kids. It's not like you can control them so easily anymore.

I have NEVER owned a cell phone.

Not because I'm scared but because I don't see a need to have one. The world was just fine before them.

Never had a cell phone, never will. Never understood the need to be available all the f...ing time.

It is harder I have teens and ok you can't exactly say "GO PLAY outside ! ... good rule though for the younger ones !

Yup, can live just fine without it. I leave mine off almost all of the time. Family hates it, especially when I am on the road, but I don't care. Have it in case of emergency, but cannot see a reason to turn it on unless there is something important going on.
Wish I could say the same for the many, many, many folks I see on the phone while driving.

32 years old. Never had a cell phone. Other than family I don't really know anyone. When the landline rings there's an 80% chance I just ignore it. Usually it's a spam caller anyway. I can get a little snarky on the phone and tend to mess spam callers around. They always pretend it's something MEGA important and they can't tell you what it is if they need to talk to someone else in the house. Usually it's PPI (payment protection insurance) that we don't need, debt repayment (don't have debts) or fake insurance companies trying to get us insurance on things we already have insurance for. Y'know the type; they sounds so worried because your insurance is RUNNING out even if you only renewed it the fortnight before. LOL. Fucking asshats.

I'm guessing EVENTUALLY I'll have to get whatever mobile device that "has everything" in the future (phone, music, video, money, car keys, ID, etc.) but for now mobile phones are worthless to me.

I'm guessing EVENTUALLY I'll have to get whatever mobile device that "has everything" in the future (phone, music, video, money, car keys, ID, etc.) but for now mobile phones are worthless to me.


ok after starting this thread and writing all of this just got a package .
found out someone got me a new Samson galaxy S3 note phone . lol now what do i do ? hmm guess i will just use it for emergency then I dont want to be one of those mind controlled addicts ! ok i like that is has an 8 MP cam . I need a camera wherever i go...

Very interesting...can you explain.

yeah uhm i wondered about that too ? ...

i found this ? [link to www.personal-development-coach.net] not sure what he was on to though ?

I get along fine without one now, but I'm OLD. When I was a teen, I had the phone receiver surgically grafted to my head. That lasted about 10 years.

We don't even have a regular cell phone in my home. We live on a tight budget, both being in grad school and with a daughter. We have a land line and a pre-paid phone which we put money on from time to time when we really need it (long trips, out of state research, etc).

We get by just fine like the billions of people who have lived prior to the 1990s.

Well the good news is that the home phone bill has gone down since the 90's . Can get unlimited long distance now . I remember my Mother's phone bills in the 80s they were like 500 a month cause she used to call 3000 miles away daily .

Can't wait to live without it.

Being a father is hard!

Sure could...grew up without a cell or computer. Problem is our infrastructure could not.

I grew up before cellphones, and feel I would hate to be a kid now, always having to answer to the parents when out. I would have hated that!

Actually - why does anyone want to be always available do people, 24/7? Yuk

Just hard to understand. I prefer to get away from relatives, boss, work, etc. -- Away from people and constant banality and harassment...

Also - with everyone so broke, why do they waste their $$ on phones, and plans, minutes, etc. Hard to understand.

I think we as a culture are just being conditioned . If suddenly we had to live without the modern toys most could adjust .

I personally have lived without a cell since 2004 and have been fine . I would have a harder time living without a camera though .