Do you have a home phone?

[Mark E. Smith]

You often hear the argument that polls are inaccurate because there are quite a few people who no longer have a home phone. They do all of their calling from their cell phones, and that Ma Bell looking thing that used to sit in the corner became a redundant and unnecessary expense.

And, as the argument goes, polling types cannot call cell phones.

My wife and I dumped the home phone a few months back. We both have cell phones, as do our kids. The only calls we were getting on the old thing were unwanted solicitations, many of them from the kinds of unscrupulous concerns we are now about to spend $700 billion to bail out.

Question: Do you (still) have a home phone?

[RB TexLa]

1. They can call my home phone all they want, we don't answer it.

[Marr]

2. No. Cel and internet lines.

[Kutjara]

3. We have a Skype phone and two cell phones.

That probably explains why we never get poll calls.

[dchill]

4. Yes. In fact, what I don't have is a cell phone.

(All 3 of my kids do, though, and my wife had one until I accidentally washed it.)
:hi:

[Skink]

5. My cell phone is a home phone when I'm home.

[habitual]

6. i think it was 3 years or so ago

that we terminated our land line. don't need it anymore.

[NeedleCast]

7. Nope

had my land-line turned off about four years ago and haven't looked back. I don't miss it at all. No more tele-marketing calls, hooray!

[samuraiguppy]

8. cell phone--and just signed

up for Skype this week (which looks like it will be great)

[cdb]

9. Home phone with caller ID

If don't know the name or number, I ignore it.

[DesertFlower]

15. same here. caller ID is great.

i have a cell phone, but it doesn't take messages or anything fancy. i don't give the number out.

[Lochloosa]

10. No, and I'm a 50 year old white male. How about those demographics.

[marlakay]

30. we have cells only 52 & 58 nt

[Midlodemocrat]

11. Yes, We actually have three land lines in the house.

One for my office, one for husband's office and the home phone.

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. I have one, but neither my older sister and her partner, nor my

younger sister have one, nor do ANY of their kids.

I personally cannot understand the attraction of having a tether on your belt 24/7. It's bad enough that I sit next to the phone 8 hrs/day at the office, then have one at home, too. I'll be damned if I'm going to have it following me around.

But that's just me.

[MindPilot]

13. Yes, but I never ever answer it.

I always screen because I hate talking to telemarketers so I guess I'm self-excluding myself from any polls.

[JimWis]

14. Yes - but in my extended family - probably 90% have cell

phones only.

[question everything]

16. Yes, and sometimes I feel like a prisoner in my own home

In the evening, when everyone is at home, I let the machine pick up and in most cases no one leaves a message.

I hate to put family and friends through this screening but I got on the "sucker" list of both charities and, yes, the Democrats. So even when someone gets me and tries to "update" me about the local democratic party, I know where this is going to lead and politely I say that I don't have time to talk to them.

I have given as much as I could to politics this cycle and had to cut my donations to worthy charities.

This means that even though we do have a land line, pollsters will miss us.

I do, however, on a mailing list of a polling service and just last week replied: Obama, definitely will vote, better for the economy, better for people in my state.

[Freddie Stubbs]

17. I have a cell phone and was polled just last week

[Venceremos]

18. I have a landline.

Pew research has already conducted three major polls with both cell phone and landline samples. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/964/

[xanadu1979]

19. Yes, need it for the alarm system and DirecTV.

[Demobrat]

20. I keep a corded landline in case of emergency.

I live in SF and was here for the last big earthquake. The power was out for three days and nothing worked - except the corded phone. So I'll never get rid of mine.

[ogneopasno]

21. Yes; cell coverage is spotty here sometimes.

nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. The question is misleading.

Which is why the polls are mis-leading.

Perhaps there can be an option for
" I have a home phone but do not use it"
or something.

I am sure I am not the only one who has home phone because of DSL, but use cell for calls.
or
have home phone for outgoing calls only because of the incessant recorded sales pitches.

Yes..I have home phone. I never answer it.
I use cell exclusively.

[Fumesucker]

26. With some carriers it is possible to have DSL without having phone service..

I know because that's what I do..

The DSL costs a bit more but I save money in the long run over having phone service as well.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

23. We have one. The only phone we have.

And, we consider it a nuisance only to be answered when we expect a call.

[TahitiNut]

28. Exactly. The LAST thing I want is some electronic leash I have to feed and answer.

Hell... that what answering machines are for! I'll be damned if I'm gonna pay extra for all the bullshit.

[guitar man]

24. nope

45 year old white male here.

[lurky]

25. Nah, and to complicate things further,

my cell # is in another city and state.

[Stand and Fight]

27. Yes & No from me....

I normally don't have a land line phone and my wife and I have cells; however, when we moved to Northern Virginia back in May our cell reception was so bad that we got a home phone. Like you, we only get solicitations on it.

[Sebastian Doyle]

29. Haven't had a "traditional" landline phone since 2000.

Was completely cellular for about 6 years. Went with a VOIP company called "SunRocket" which unfortunately died.

Now I'm using this......



$20 a year unlimited phone calls. Can't beat that.