Can you believe that people ever had social lives without cell phones????

[JanMichael]

I mean wow! How did groups of teens EVER figure out what to do on a Friday night without a Blackberry or some antenna hanging from their ear???

I'm shocked that any of those luddites from the 80's and early 90's ever got their act together. They didn't have spell check on everything!

But really...On a Saturday night...How did they all manage to get together and screw around without a mobile phone for every kid???


Did they use smoke signals? Or send telegrams?

Beats me man...I'm 38 in two weeks and I can't for the life of me figure out how I survived in the dark ages. But yet I had dates! I went to parties! I met up with friends! I did other unmentionables!

All without a fucking piece of plastic glued to the side of my head:-)

Like magic it was...People able to plan their time without the help of Outlook...

I simply can't imagine how the world got by...

[Droopy]

1. Your OP is the first sign

that you are getting old. And before your time I might add. :P

[JanMichael]

2. But, but, but, I'm a crazy Leftist that's in great shape!

I'm just tired of zombies with Ipods where their brain should be....

[Blue_Tires]

3. cell phones are overrated

don't have one; don't need one

[Floogeldy]

4. You're having a nervous breakdown.

Relax, and enjoy it. ;)

[JanMichael]

6. I wish.

Sadly I'm incapable of having a nice "let it all go" spat.

[Random_Australian]

5. Yes n/t

[u4ic]

7. People with cell phones have social lives?

Not the conversations I've overheard. :eyes:

[madeline_con]

8. People actually used to visit each other. n/t

[NMMNG]

9. I went 37 years before I got a cell phone

I'm still amazed when I see ten-year-olds walking around with cell phones. I really can't imagine what they need them for. (And I mean need, not want.)

I had a very active childhood and even more active adolescence. I walked, rode my bike and played softball. As I grew older I went downtown on my own, went skating, to the mall, to parties, and did stuff best left unsaid. ;-) All without the benefit of a cell phone (which I'd never even heard of back then).


Amazing, eh?

[Shine]

10. I'm not that much older than you and it still amazes me how the world has

changed, technically, from our early years.

I had a strange experience recently of calling somebody who had the audacity to NOT have an answering machine. It was very frustrating and made me realize how much we take those damn things for granted. I mean, who DOESN'T have an answering machine these days?!? :shrug: Obviously, this particular person didn't, and it was weird.

Yup, times have changed....


:hi:

[mykpart]

11. We didn't have an answer machine for a while, and

all our friends complained because they had so much trouble reaching us. So we got the machine, and they never leave a message! We get lots of hangups, though!

[Shine]

23. Well that's just plain ole RUDE!

:eyes: sorry about that.

[northzax]

27. in the stone age

when I still had a landline phone, I never put a machine on it. the people who really needed to reach me knew to call my mobile.

I have since gone 6 1/2 years without a landline. even when I'm at a family member's house, I still instinctively reach for my pocket to make a call. habit. course, I'm one of those guys who carries on multiple conversations at the same time, talking above the table and texting below it. and I'm 31.

[HuskerDU]

12. You used to have to use a booth when making a phone call

in public.

I wish that were still the case. Somehow rudeness is considered 'cool' these days I guess.

[Jamison]

13. I'm getting rid of my cell phone soon.

I only have 2 more months on my contract anyway. I only used 29 minutes ALL of last month. I used to talk on it more, but I primarily use IM via pc to talk to people anymore.

[NewJeffCT]

14. Things change

Back then, you'd actually have to make plans in advance by calling a girl for a date, and then planning the dinner and/or movie. Now, you can just speed dial them on your cell and say "hey, let's meet at TGI Friday's"

Back then, people would have to make a thorough grocery list. Nowadays, you can go to the store & call your spouse to give them exact details on what sort of meat you want, or if they forgot something, they can easily call you to say, "hey, pick up some broccoli, too"

[JanMichael]

19. True one doesn't have to think anymore.

Now that's what I call progress.

[Mutley]

15. Pay phones!

I was a teenager in the early to mid 90's (Okay, late 90's too. I'm 26 :P ) and I spent a lot of time hunting down payphones and buying pre-paid calling cards. In that respect life is much easier with cell phones. But sometimes the leash gets bothersome and I just have to leave it at home.

[Darth_Kitten]

16. Back in our day, we TALKED..........

in person, maybe on the telephone. Didn't have no fancy computer. ;)

I'm almost 38, too, and wonder about the state of this world sometimes. I hate cell phones, they are just beyond overused.

[DS1]

17. It's an advancement in humanity

whether you agree with it or not. People are getting wired, communication is evolving, and soon enough, you won't even need to be physically at a party, it'll be all virtual.

Deal, homie.

[JanMichael]

18. I get it now. It'll be like Logan's Run, Permutation City or the Matrix.

And we can have virtual sex, virtual food, virtual friends, virtual ideas and virtual minds. We can be virtual people!

Sounds sweet, where do i sign up? Can I do it online?

Thanks pal!

[DS1]

20. The answer is

:hug:

[progmom]

21. yeah, and when you blow a tire on the highway

...you can call AAA from the safety of your car. ;)

And when you're a new mom and nervous about leaving your kid with your husband and actually going out for a business dinner....you know you'll always be available for questions like: "Progspawn just fell down and scraped his face up pretty bad. Should I put rubbing alchohol on it?" :o

So, as annoying as it can be for other people to have them, I find them extraordinarily useful in many situations.

[Pithlet]

25. Yep.

I love knowing that my son's pre-k can call me anytime, anywhere. I don't have to worry when I go out that they're trying to get ahold of me. I may have saved someone's life having one. I called in an accident I came across in the middle of the night, and was able to call 911 right then. Several people were critically injured, and time was precious. I'm glad I didn't have to go seach out a payphone in the middle of the night in a rural area. I rather like this new modern convenience, whatever anyone else thinks about it.

Besides, I dont' see how a cell phone is any different than a computer as far as new technology goes. If a person uses a computer and comes on DU and communicates with others here, they're certainly using a new technology that wasn't prevelant ten years or more ago. What's wrong with taking advantage of new technology to make life easier? I've never understood these cell phone rants on a message board.

[Misunderestimator]

26. I once followed a drunk driver for about 20 minutes while on the phone w/

911. He was swerving ALL over the road and into oncoming traffic. Finally a cop pulled him over because of my call. I also called in a brush fire once that was about to get out of control.

Plus, I've called for roadside help four times in the past five years or so... definitely a big time (and aggravation) saver.

[Thtwudbeme]

28. The rant is about social calls, not emergency calls

huge difference.

As far as cell phones in cars, it sure would be a pleasure if people could figure out when to shut up and drive. I doubt 90% of cell phone calls made by drivers while the car is in motion are emergencies.

one more thing to think about: remember, I was a paramedic....look at road rage incidents, and cell phone use in cars. Notice anything?

Instant communication is great---when used properly.

[Pithlet]

29. I was talking about cell phone rants in general.

People are always ripping on cell phones and the people who have them, and the angle is sometimes "How did people survive before them?". I don't think the mark of how useful new technology is whether or not we could survive without it before. And, human beings are social. I don't see anything wrong with a technology that makes that easier and quicker. Yeah, people managed to be social without them before. But now it's easier. I don't think it makes people stupid or lazy to make use of that. I don't think we "think less" because of it, anymore than I think we use our brains less because we use the internet and message boards. This didn't seem to be a rant about whether they were used properly, but about the people that use them.

[Thtwudbeme]

31. I don't think Americans have enough common sense or manners

to use their cell phones properly in public.

Point blank, I think it is rude as shit to interrupt a conversation with "hold on my cell phone is ringing," and then have to listen to that person say, "5 o'clock at TGIF? Sounds great. Yeah...Saturday sounds good too...oh no kidding the weather looks great...."

We have turned into a rude country, and we use our cool new technology to be even more rude, and isolated. Even though we seem to think that talking on the phone is "putting us in touch," it's actually more isolationist. They are only keeping us in touch with our little tiny circle while tuning the rest of the world out.

I can't even think about ipods right now.

[Pithlet]

33. I just don't see it that way.

:shrug: I also love my iPod, though, so...

ETA rudeness has been around forever, and I don't think there's any more or less of it than any other time. Technology that helps make things easier probably also makes being rude more convenient, but I think that's a mark against the rude person, not the technology or anyone else who happens to use it.

[Thtwudbeme]

34. Try spending a day or two without the cell phone or the ipod

walk around at the park...or the mall...or a college campus. Notice the people with ipods and cell phones.

These "Techno" people aren't engaged in life: they are only engaged with their technology stuff--and whoever is doing what passes for singing these days...or whoever they are talking to.

[Pithlet]

35. I don't agree

I don't think it's possible to know that about a person based on a few seconds observing them using technology in that moment. Someone's walking down the street with an iPod. That person could be me, someone who actually enjoys life very much, and is just as connected with life and the beauty of it as she was before iPods were around. It's just a tool, like any other. It's no different than what you and I are doing right now; communicating with each other with a relatively new tool. When I took my call from my child's teacher yesterday telling him that he had a rash and I needed to pick him up right away, I looked no different than the person who's taking a call regarding a get together that evening.

[Thtwudbeme]

36. Pithlet...if I am interuppted in a conversation at school or work

by someone's taking a cell phone call...I think I can understand the difference between "my child's teacher is on the phone," and "the movie starts at 6:00?"

You might not LOOK different...but, to the person you are talking to, there is a huge difference---and the second type of call makes the phone user a rude jerk.

[Pithlet]

39. The cell phone wasn't being rude.

The person was. That's my point. It seems like you're making a judgment on the technology and by extension the people who use it, and that is where I disagree. Sure, when someone stops talking to me to take a social call on their cell phone, I think that is rude. But, I don't extend that to the cell phone and by further extension to the people who use them. I don't think "cell phones are the scourge of society!" I think "Boy, that person was rude".

[Thtwudbeme]

40. So, we're going to the gun forum now?

;)

Seriously, you and I are not going to agree on this issue.

I can't stand the way Americans act now with their damned phones--or their big assed SUV's....it annoys me to say "hi" to a neighbor walking by feel like a jackass when they keep going because they had their stupid ipod in--or riding the elevator with an ipod person.

I despise it. I doubt you are a rude person, as I said to Dr.G below, I have known you for a long time on DU, and you have never once struck me as rude---

we are going to have to agree to disagree.

Steph

[Pithlet]

41. LOL

I think maybe we do need a cellphone gungeon. :)

[Thtwudbeme]

42. heh

no kidding! We could combine it with the SUV forum! ;)

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

43. so if you listen to an iPod alot and talk on your cell you're disengaged

from life? I think that's a bit extreme

[Gormy Cuss]

45. Common sense and cell phones?

There's rude and there's inappropriate. I was grocery shopping recently and walked by a fellow shopper who was talking to someone about his dire medical prognosis. I was visited a beautiful, serene spot on the coast and had the harmony disrupted by a teen who decided it was a good place to talk on the phone about her sexual exploits while standing about 10 feet away from me. I've heard more than enough details of pending business mergers and closings to get an edge on investment strategies.
Sure, cell phones are handy, but they aren't equipped with Agent Smart's cone of silence and too many people still struggle to accept the idea that they don't need to shout.

When I ride BART, I expect the short info calls ("I'm running late" or "please stop by the grocery store on your way home.") I don't expect to listen to the A type road warrior spend the next half hour pretending she's at the office. It is particularly unnerving when the person is standing next to you on a crowded train. Once I heard a guy berating an employee in such an over the top way that I glared at him until he ended the call. Normally it would not be my business to tell him he was being an ass, but he was making it my business by doing so two feet from my nose.

[NewJeffCT]

22. And, people are a lot more "connected" these days

People can stay in regular contact with distant relatives much easier now due to cellphones & email. Recent studies have indicated that this sort of contact has soared in the past decade. While you may not like all your relatives, this is generally a good thing.

Heck, my wife calls her family in China on a weekly basis for about 2 cents per minute.

[fleabert]

24. we passed notes and LIVED on the land line...

I'm 32

[DrGonzoLives]

30. Oh, look, another self-righteous cell phone rant!

I mean, I suppose I could shell out another $70 a month for a land line I'll never use. Would that make me a better person?

[Thtwudbeme]

32. Nope. However, if you use your phone rudely in public

that be something to think about.

I have known you on DU for a long time; you have never struck me as the rude type.

[riona]

37. You think you've seen it all

but today in a buffet restaurant (which by the way has excellent veggies and fresh fruit), I saw a mother calling her daughter from the buffet line. The perfectly healthy daughter was in the same restaurant - a few tables away and plainly visible.
:shrug:

[dolo amber]

38. Some people enjoy booze.

Some people enjoy technology.

Both can make people rude. Both are unnecessary. Both are a matter of personal taste.

[CanuckAmok]

44. Yeah, but you can talk to a bottle. Can you drink an iPod?

Didn't think so.



Count it!!

[Ravenseye]

46. Well, I agree with you

I think some people missed the real point of this rant which I read as basically "there's a time and a place."

I have a cellphone, and when I am in a meeting, or hanging out with people, I set it to silent. If i'm talking with someone in person, I look at my phone to make sure it's not an emergency or higher prioirty (work or something) and if it's just Joe Schmo calling, they can leave a voice mail.

I was at the corner store last week and there were three teenage girls, maybe 14-15 all talking on their cellphones, one was not only talking on her phone, but punching stuff into her blackberry, and a second had TWO phones. Seriously, two phones.

It's my latest nonsensical rant to my wife. Teenage girls with cellphones.

Sure overall the technology is great. A quick IM is easier and more timesaving than a call can be. A cellphone is a good way to have a mobile office, and to stay connected to people, as well as to use in emergencies.

Seriously though. You go out and you see these flocks of kids and they're all apparently talking to other kids in some other mall. I mean what's the point?

Even the older generation is falling sway. We're disconnecting from each other. I heard recently how the bowling leagues are dying. Literally. Younger people don't bowl anywhere near as much as the older folk, and bowling leagues are starting to fade away. People in my neighborhood used to sit on their porches and talk to each other on nice evenings while the kids ran around and played. That doesn't happen anymore. The flicker of the television and computer monitor bely the truth.

Technology is a wonderfull thing, but I think our 'modern' society is beginning to abuse it and I don't like where it's headed. I'm not a luddite. I love technology. I work with technology. I just try not to abuse it.

Now pardon me. My wife and daughter just got home, so i'm going to go spend time with them and turn my monitor off.