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Not having a cell phone means that the world has to run on your time

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Re: Not having a cell phone means that the world has to run on your time

#21

Post by exception »

I used to be highly addicted to cell phones in the '90's.

In 2005 I spent a year working overseas. When I got back I just never got around to buying a new phone. I have to say, it has been extremely liberating.

So much so that we went one further - we don't answer our land-line either unless it's someone we know and we don't check voice mail.

I also don't wear a watch and go to sleep/get up whenever my body tells me to rather than stick to a strict schedule.

You can reach me via email, MSN, GoogleTalk, Skype or hey, knock on my door and say hello!

Re: Not having a cell phone means that the world has to run on your time

#22

Post by jdlegg »

"Lud must have been here."

This reminds me of an essay by Thomas Pynchon: "Is it OK to be a Luddite." Possibly posted to HN recently.

http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_essays_luddite....

Pynchon's point seems to be that the Luddites were not opposed to technology for the reasons we commonly imagine: fear of change, fear of submission to the machine, fear of obsolescence.

Instead, Ned Lud (an historically obscure, possibly fictional character) was a Hero who stood up to and mocked the machinery of a ruling class. Machinery that, incidentally, put many human beings out of work.

Ludditism was more a sideshow act in an evolving campaign of class-warfare. But also a kind of myth.

Cell phones are interesting in this context because they're a double-edged sword. They are both liberating and totalitarian. To give up your cell phone is to avoid the demands of possible higher-ups, but also risk missing timely receipt of profitable information ("The stock market's crashing, sell quick!").

Re: Not having a cell phone means that the world has to run on your time

#23

Post by roc »

I disagree that it necessarily makes the world run on your time.

All it does, is make the default method of communication asynchronous and forces synchronous communication to be scheduled.

It doesn't "make the world run on your time", unless you're still using a phone to interrupt other people with unscheduled synchronous communication.

The responsible way to ditch the interruptions and improve focus is to shift your own communication to asynchronous methods and expectations as well.

I leave my phone on silent (no ring. no vibe.) unless I'm expecting a particular call. I think it's vastly less rude of me to make an unscheduled caller wait until I make time to answer a message than for that caller to have presumptuously attempted to interrupt my day with an unscheduled call or "emergency" email they demand an instant response to.

I have yet to work out a good way for actual emergency notifications to ring through. But until phones provide a good solution to that[1], I'll err on the side of being more productive every single day in exchange for running the risk of being 'out of contact' in the event of an actual emergency.

[1] I've tried setting my default ringer to dead air and setting a custom ringtone for my wife. But that doesn't let me easily flip the ringer back on for when I'm expecting a scheduled call. And I'd still like an email client that will let me set a custom alert rule based on contact. I'd rather not run a second email client to watch an 'emergency' mailbox.

Re: Not having a cell phone means that the world has to run on your time

#27

Post by mrphoebs »

People get freaked out(especially parents)( if I don't answer my cell or If I don't take calls.

I ask them to chill out, explain that there was a time before cell phones, when life on.

Their counter is the standard "what if there is an emergency?" and My counter counter(I know redundant) is "haven't recieved one of those calls in all the years I've had my cell. So, Im not holding my breath".

Re: Not having a cell phone means that the world has to run on your time

#28

Post by Shorel »

exception wrote: post #21

I used to be highly addicted to cell phones in the '90's. In 2005 I spent a year working overseas. When I got back I just never got around to buying a new phone. I have to say, it has been extremely liberating. So much so that we went one further - we don't answer our land-line either unless it's someone we know and we don't check voice mail. I also don't wear a watch and go to sleep/get up whenever my body tells me…

I use my cell phone a lot more for GoogleTalk than for calls.

In fact I have a data plan that has no call minutes. If I want to make a call, I can buy a prepaid card or call from other phone.

Re: Not having a cell phone means that the world has to run on your time

#29

Post by may »

patio11 wrote: post #15
edw519 wrote: post #4

I stopped carrying my cell phone to theaters because I kept forgetting to put in on vibrate. I stopped carrying my cell phone to business meetings because I didn't want to be distracted by the vibrating. I stopped carrying my cell phone to restaurants because I wanted the people I was with to think that no one was more important than them while we were together. I stopped carrying my cell phone to my mother's because…

There are a couple of voicemail transcription services available, or you can use Twilio. I suggest language like "For quickest response, please spell me your email address."

Google Voice transcribes voicemail. A bit hit-and-miss sometimes, but decent (and, presumably, getting better with more data).

Re: Not having a cell phone means that the world has to run on your time

#30

Post by gaius »

roc wrote: post #23

I disagree that it necessarily makes the world run on your time. All it does, is make the default method of communication asynchronous and forces synchronous communication to be scheduled. It doesn't "make the world run on your time", unless you're still using a phone to interrupt other people with unscheduled synchronous communication. The responsible way to ditch the interruptions and improve focus is to shift your…

Absolutely it doesn't make the world run on your time. Being contactable by mobile if your friends expect to be able to is basic politeness. I mean, if we're waiting for a train and one of our group is late and they call/pick up when we call them, we can make a plan, to wait for the next one or meet somewhere else. If not, I don't think it's reasonable to expect telepathy to work... We're gone.
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