Cell Phones: Good or Bad?

b_sinning

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Nov 22, 2004
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Savannah, GA
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I love always being able to call anyone anytime I want. I love that I can look up movies on it, browse the internet on it, get directions on it, etc.

But at what cost? Not money but worldly cost. My stress levels are higher because now I'm always available to my job. I'm never out of contact except for when I can stand to be away from my phone which I'm more addicted to than any crack addict.

Plus what is the phone doing to my health? Brain tumor one day? There is studies proving the radiation given off by our cell phones can kill brain cells.

Plus what are our phones doing to the world around us? Here is an article but how it's effecting the bees in an alarming way.
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece

I'm addict that can't break the habit but overall are they worth it?
 
I'd say good. I haven't seen anything convincing about health risks. Stress is still stress, when I worked as a waiter they never called me at home to consult or anything like that. If the job involves more stress then the economics should adjust the same way as they always did.

And if you want to talk about us killing nature we can pull up a lot bigger issues than cellphones ...

On the other side, I don't even want to imagine putting together some of the social events and group project meetings that I've done in the last year without everyone having a cellphone. It makes me wonder how civilization used to function.
 
I don't have a cell phone. It's all good. I've posted about this before but if I'm going to call someone I'll use a landline and IMs are infinitely useful.

A friend of mine has a blackberry which I cant say isnt useful, but you are talking about cell phones. Which shouldnt really include all the 'extras' now thrown on. Seriously though who wants to watch TV on a 2.5" screen. I also still hate people who walk around talking as loud as possible in public AND PEOPLE WHO USE THE WALKIE TALKIE FUNCTION IN THE THEATRE. I throw drinks at them, but I am only one man.

The only nice thing I can think of is that the price I pay for international calls on my landline is dirt cheap now compared to what it wouldve been in the '80s. VoIP would be even cheaper...
 
I hate people with WALKIE TALKIE on their cell phones. Unless you're on a construction site just use the damn phone like everyone else.


I have a crackberry.
 
I used to suffer through dozens of calls A DAY when landscaping, constantly talking to clients, suppliers, contractors, consultants and employees. At least a couple times a day I would go half a dozen calls in a row, using an incoming call as an excuse to end a conversation and then repeating the process. After a while I started to hate the sound of my phone ringing regardless of the ringtone I used so now I always leave it on vibrate. My old number still got a few calls a day for a couple years after I left that company.

Now I don't mind. I like knowing that if I need to contact someone I can. I don't need all those special features (though I do enjoy having a camera always on hand and always having access to AIM) and my favorite phone of all time is still the Nokia 6160. Simple device that only had two uses: communication and an alarm clock.

As for brain tumors, no. All of those studies have been refuted and there's no more evidence to suggest that cell phones will cause cancer sooner than microwaves. As for those bees it seems highly unlikely but as technology improves we'll eventually have tighter communication specs that can avoid interaction with the natural world.

These days if I don't want to be reached I turn my phone off. No big deal. :o
 
There are no problems with cell phones. It's the people who use them and let them control them. It has an off button, ya know?


I never turn mine off though.
 
I went through a period of 2 weeks to test if I could go without a cell phone because my boyfriend at the time did not have one and I was curious how he did without it. It turned out that I could go without a cell phone but everyone else around me could not stand it. My parents freaked and thought I was dead because I turned off my cell phone and did not respond to messages...all the while I still had a land line that NO ONE CALLED! Anyways long story short yes you can turn off your cell phone but the people around you don't seem to adjust to that well. Even my boyfriend who did not have a cell phone could not stand the fact that he could not find me when he wanted and the same with most of my friends.
 
I need my cell phone because of my son. I need to be able to contact or be contacted by his mom at all times. If I ever don't want to be bothered I'll just put it on silent. I text a lot, too.
 
we have bare minimum cell phones. i don't think it has much power over us because we don't have free texting, or internet, or any of that other fun stuff mentioned. we have basic packages and shared minutes, and we use cell phones for emergencies, family stuff, school, driving...i do consider them important to our lives for the reasons just mentioned, but i don't feel like i've lost power to them. if i don't want to talk, i don't. that's what voice mail's for. i wouldn't allow work to take over my solitude time either. it's absolutely ridiculous for anyone to expect anyone else to be on call all the time. life should not be about work. anyone who expects that out of someone has serious issues.
 
I need my cell phone because of my son. I need to be able to contact or be contacted by his mom at all times. If I ever don't want to be bothered I'll just put it on silent. I text a lot, too.


That's one main reason I have mine too.

What about kids and fireflys? I'm thinking of getting my son one when I don't live with him. I need him to know I'm always here if he needs me.
 
I went through a period of 2 weeks to test if I could go without a cell phone because my boyfriend at the time did not have one and I was curious how he did without it. It turned out that I could go without a cell phone but everyone else around me could not stand it. My parents freaked and thought I was dead because I turned off my cell phone and did not respond to messages...all the while I still had a land line that NO ONE CALLED! Anyways long story short yes you can turn off your cell phone but the people around you don't seem to adjust to that well. Even my boyfriend who did not have a cell phone could not stand the fact that he could not find me when he wanted and the same with most of my friends.

Maybe its because I rarely get calls, but to me they can just learn to deal. I had a land line once too but I realized that I never once got a call on it, nor used it. Hell on my cell I get 400 minutes and im lucky to spend 100 on it every month. A funny thing about it, my folks never called me at home until I got rid of the line.
 
I can't imagine not having a cell phone because the thought of not being able to have phone sex with Kiwi while at work is infuriating to me.

INK.
 
i actually sometimes wonder what my teenage years would be like if we had the technology of today back in the early 90's. I mean, cellphone were ungodly expensive, computers were meh... still.
 
I dont have a problem not answering my phone. It is ALWAYS on and I ALWAYS have it. Sometimes I just don't answer it though. All my friends know that it went to voicemail because I didn't want to talk to you then. No biggie.

I also have my work numbers in there too and I NEVER answer them. voicemail screening ftw.
 
I dont have a problem not answering my phone. It is ALWAYS on and I ALWAYS have it. Sometimes I just don't answer it though. All my friends know that it went to voicemail because I didn't want to talk to you then. No biggie.

So what does it mean when EVERYTIME I call you you let it go to voicemail?



I like having mine so that I can call Knyte anytime I need and know that I can get ahold of him in an emergency. I also just don't answer it if I don't want to.
 
I guess that's motivation to use your hands free kit huh?

I don't talk on my phone all that much. I do however text a lot, and use the internet, and play UNO and Monopoly :lol:.

I think I might go insane without one though. Hard to imagine having to stop, use a pay phone, page someone, and stand there and wait for them to call you back ... like in the early 90's.