Over the past few years, even I have noticed that public pay phones are now practically non-existent. And it's true, for safety reasons, that everyone should have a mobile phone with them in the car in case of a breakdown or emergency. It's just common sense.
So when I got my new apartment, I made the dreaded decision to get a cell phone rather than to put in a "land line." That way two birds can be killed with one stone -- rely on the cell phone at home and take it with me when I go.
Did I get a smart phone? Oh no. Too complex. I got an old-style flip phone. I couldn't get the model pictured below, unfortunately, but I did get the otherwise uncomplicated kind that they typically market to seniors. Go ahead, patronize and/or mock me. I don't care. I'm fine with it.
My phone has no apps. I have no internet plan. You can program people's phone numbers into it, but I have no idea how. I'd like to change the ring tone, but I have no idea how. You get the drift. I consider myself lucky to have figured out how to send and receive calls and check the voicemail.
Having to recharge it every week is a pain in the ass. I'm always scared the phone will crap out just when I need it most.
But does my flip phone make me feel like I'm on Star Trek with my very own communicator? Yes, yes it does. My 9-year-old self's dream has come true a mere 47 years later!
45 comments:
Always so gratifying to see someone who's even more technologically (waouh, had a hard time spelling that !) challenged than I am. Thank you.
I have the most basic mobile phone on the market, I don't even know what it is, and I just leave it in the car the whole time and never bring it in to the house. The only time I use it is to ring my younger daughter on her posh iphone to say "I'm here" when I pick her up from someone's house and don't want to get out the car and get her. Normally because I'm in my old gardening clothes and I stink.
I use a flip phone because I would destroy anything else working outside doing lots of dirty jobs. I have to use an old army field bandage pouch as anything that I bought got ripped up by briars and hanging on stuff from my belt. I see lots of flip phones in use. We had to get rid of our land line because the sorry phone company wouldn't come out and fix our phone line.
I too made do with the most basic of mobile phones for years. Finally, someone gifted me with a smartphone. It's fantastic! Now I get to play mindless games!
Although Google map is useful to have. BTW, great photos used to illustrate your point.
It took me a long time to get a cell phone as well, and it only happened because the people upstairs had somehow managed to use my phone line while in their basement. Started with a flip top for a few years, now have my second smart phone, and I love it. I have bingo on it and wherever I am I can look something up on the internet.
Mary
You are not alone. I have a flip phone .. no internet, no texting. I can change the ring tone. ;)
I am the last person in Canada without a phone now.... It is lonely.
Garry has one like yours, I think its a good idea to have one, I would like to get rid of our land line, no bells and whistles just a phone would be good, but we will all succumb, resistance is futile, lol
oooh, Debs, you will now be able to set naughty messages to hot ladies :)
As strange as it may sound I don't have internet on my mobile either. I refuse to become the slave of my phone... I use it only to call taxi and to wake up in the morning LOL
I just made the switch to a smart phone. I still have no idea how to work it!
TGIF!
I love my iPhone! It replaced our home phone and in the last year, I can honestly say I haven't missed having a land line. I spend WAY less time talking on the phone now too. Do you text?
No, texting is too space age for me. That's what email is for.
My kids drug me kicking and screaming into the current century. And while I had fun with my smart phone initially, I have found that I leave it sitting on the charging shelf more and more. It is more of a nuisance a good portion of the time.
I'm still wanting a ringtone that sounds like the Star Trek communicator.....
Drives my family bonkers that I won't carry a mobile. What they don't know is that I got one and haven't given the number to anyone. It's only use is for the Hubby to contact me in an emergency.
Don't feel bad. I miss my flip phone every single day. I am always doing something wrong with this smartphone of mine and I hate it.
my family hates that I don't take the cellphone seriously. I forget where I leave it and they have to call it to help find it, that's if I remembered to charge it. I leave it home when I go out. All in all I do realize it can be a life saver but....pffffft, I'm busy being me.
I love the flip kind! But alas, I have an Android smart phone to which I'm now addicted. Lol. I was a holdout too, until hubby convinced me to get one for safety reasons. Now I'm an addict, and call it my precious. Must have my Precious! You will likely hold on to some of your Luddite tendencies. I know I have held onto some of mine.
I'm with you kid...I have a phone but rarely turn it on...don't leave me any text messages cause i"ll never get back to you...
I love the flip phone picture with the rotary dial. Funny how it looks just like mine.
I don't like the iPhone. the apps are too expensive and it's so over rated. Give me an inexpensive flip phone anyday. Besides, I only use it for emergencies.
Well you techno wizard, you! You crossed over to the dark side, eh? My advice is now that you ave taken the plunge, to go right out and buy Steven King's book 'Cell'. Bwa ha ha ha, bwa ha ha ha!
Welcome to the dark side, Debra! LOL... I've had a flip phone for years, and that's about it. It rings about 6 times a year, and most of those rings are wrong numbers! No internet, no texting, no complicated plans...nothing zip zero. Just a simple phone in case of emergency, and one that is hardly ever used. And only a handful of people have the number in case of emergency. It's a dinosaur level phone. But I'm okay with that. I got pulled into the dark side just a little bit (did it when I was a single mom and was concerned about safety stuff when I was out alone with the kids), but I refuse to go further! Refuse, damn it! LOL...
I had a good laugh with the photos! I especially liked the flip phone with rotary dial. Hahahaha...
Wait until I tell my Piano Man that my dumbphone makes me a cooler Trekkie. ;-D
I don't have one but Hubby does so we just share that. Hate those little frickin' phones. But yeah, it's nice to have it when we're out and stuck somewhere on the road.
Congratulations! I sort of know the feeling. Although I've had a cell phone and no land line for years now, I just finally transitioned from the flip phone to a smart phone after years of being teased. However I'm still having difficulty understanding why people are glued to their phones. The screen is still way too tiny compared to a computer screen!
I can hear you laughing about me charging my phone every night. I only got a smart phone because I'd be at meetings for work, and everyone else would pull them out and look at their calendars to schedule stuff. Now, sometimes, as convenient as they are, I wish they hadn't been invented.
We have a land line. Perfect for our phone usage needs. Our cell phone, one that he and I share, is a flip phone with no apps and no internet service. We buy minutes, probably spend $100-$200 per year, and no monthly fees. If he is out of town he takes it along, and vice versa when I am out of town, just so we can stay in touch with one another. We are simply not heavy phone users and it pisses us off the the nth degree when we see our roadways filled with people talking on their phones as they drive and we see them swerve across center lines etc. I have very strong feelings about cell phones in vehicles so will just shut my mouth before I get in trouble.....
Ok, I guess now I am the only person in Canada, who doesn't have a cell phone. Seriously, I don't ;o)
You did not have a cell phone till now? And i thought i was weird because i do not have facebook. Soon you will figure it all out and before you know it, you ll get frustrated over angry birds!
I have a "basic" phone too - because I'm cheap and I will not pay for a smart phone. So, who is the smart one, really?? :)
I'm also not on social media.
I don't want people to be able to contact me and know what I'm doing all the time. I like being mysterious.
ps: I can't change my ring tone no matter how hard I try. Is your phone a Samsung by any chance?
Oh my entire circle of friends, I was the very last to finally get a cell phone. Now that I have one, I couldn't be without one lol.
HI Deb, your post was amazing and made me smile ! Love your charger Kitty! I am a hermitess and have never had a cell phone yet..lol...I'll let you know when i come out of my coccoon.
mine is pretty basic..I can add numbers and I can text, although the damn letters are so small it takes me forever to send a text..welcome to the modern age of telephone.
I'm amazed you're allowed to have a cell phone. I didn't think you were allowed phones in your cell. However, I did watch a documentary on how said phone gets smuggled into the cell.
Welcome to technology. I have an iPen.....
Gary
I did not have a cell phone (a mobile phone as it is called here in the UK) until late 2007. I didn't use a smartphone until 2011. Not I cannot live without it.
LOL! Debra, I am so with you on this! I got my first cellphone when I was 'on the road' with my work....for emergencies.
Now that I am not working, I just recently said goodbye to our 'landline' and got a smart phone. BUT, none of it's 'smartness' is activated....just a phone, thank you very much. I really don't need to know who 'liked me' on FB or what the latest edition on Huff Post is. Just a phone to use like the old ones....except it fits in my 'bag' or pocket.
Call me ~~ let's talk!
My wife and I are probably the only persons in the U.S. that still have flip phones from the early 2000's.
We don't use apps. We don't text. We don't sent pictures.
In fact, I daresay that my wife is one step ahead of me in the Luddite department as she actually uses a tablet to play her games and (gasp!) go on Facebook.
Father Nature's Corner
Welcome to the WOOORLD of Tomorrow!
I'm with you, I would love a Jitterbug phone (that's what they called one brand of 'senior-marketed ' phones here, with GIANT number buttons!) I really miss my flip phone. The thing I miss the most? My flip phone would hold a charge for 2 days. My smart phone? Will not even hold a charge for a day! True story.
One reason, though, is because I'm always ON it, looking at my blog, reading other people's blogs, and uploading sill pictures to social media. It's fun, but I do always have to charge it, which is annoying. And it worries me when the power out, because we don't have a landline either.
Flip phones forever!!!
I too waited as long as possible to get a cell phone. Had the same one for 5 years now. Can only make calls and send text messages with slide out keyboard. My brother and I are the only people in the world that don't have unlimited texts plan. And we never go over the limit.
Ha! I have a very old cell phone myself. People laugh but do I care? My 87 year old Dad is better at technology than I am!
Star Trek, flipping it open, you are too funny.
Beam me up, Scotty!
You're just like my Mom...but not quite as bad. She's actually afraid of her cell phone! She never carries it...it rang once and she had no idea how to answer it! Lol
My daughter The Heir has a flip phone and does not want to upgrade. I have a phone that is supposed to get on the Internet, but I've only once been able to get it to work. It is good doubling as a camera, though. Finally figured out that one.
the name Smart Phone has a certain Irony to it. I have one, and have no real idea how it works. there's not much else that can make me feel very stupid.. other than a 'smart phone'
Actually you might like a smart phone some day... when you get more techy...
I never thought I would like a smart phone either.. until I got one! I really never used my dumb phone, but find my smartphone easier to use and more fun than the dumb one.
I'm thinking the flip phone in your post isn't for real?
If it is for real, I really want one.
I still use rotary dial land lines, and love my wall phone in the kitchen.
My husband thinks I'm nuts; but I always know where the phone is.
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