I came across this post at Wired blogs detailing a top 10 list of reasons to throw away your cell phone. Most of the reasons listed are self induced and completely avoidable. I’ll just comment on a few.
First is the one about “perpetual availability.” One of my friends gets mad just about every time her cell phone rings. She always says she is tired of people calling her all the time. I always say, “Just turn if off,” or if she’s particularly mad, “Don’t bitch about it anymore if you’re going to leave it on.” But she refuses to turn it off or even leave it at home or in the car stating that she might miss something important. My solution to this problem of “perpetual availability” is to completely ignore my phone most of the time. I turn it off when I don’t want to answer it. I leave it at home if I don’t think I’ll need it. I usually check my messages only once a day and sometimes only once a week. And if it rings and I don’t want to be bothered, I just don’t answer it. Pretty simple.
I’ll also comment on cell phones being “horribly expensive.” I’ll admit that my cell phone costs me more than a land line, but only just a few dollars more. I have the lowest plan Verizon offers. Most of the people I talk to have Verizon, so those calls cost nothing extra. And I rarely use all of my 450 minutes or 100 text messages. My phone was a bit expensive, but you can get a good phone free of charge if you sign a long contract.
And why not sign a contract? All the cell phone providers cost about the same and as long as the service is good, there’s really no difference between them as far as I can tell. Verizon coverage is excellent. I get coverage even when I’m off in B.F.E. as long as I stick to the main roads. When my contract was up last year I searched around at other providers, but they all cost about the same. Since I haven’t had any problems with Verizon, I see no reason not to stick with them. That being said, the contracts are a bit silly and are clearly just a money grab on the cell phone providers part.
Maybe I’m the wrong person to be talking about this since I rarely talk on the phone. I just think people worry about their phones way too much. They are tools for our convenience, not our overlords. People just need to relax and realize that if you turn it off, calls go straight to voice mail.
