What Is The Point Of Mobile Phones/Smartphones? Do We Really Need Them?
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
September 25, 2012 10:03am CST
I had to say that I own a mobile phone in order to put this discussion in but I can assure you I don't actually own one (shock, horror) lol.
So, this is why I am asking the question as I don't actually miss something I've not owned for ooh, 5 years? Something like that.
When Mum was here (neither she nor my Dad have a mobile phone) we went out in the rain and I wanted to contact John at home as Mum fancied buying an umbrella from The Range, which wasn't within walking distance.
I managed to find a public telephone box (yes, they still exist) and ring John up. 60p minimum charge but that's OK, it's not as though I'm paying hundreds a month lol.
He told me where we should wait for him and he arrived within about 10 minutes of the call.
Now, when Mum is at work she has to sit with the other two at dinner-time for half an hour. Mum likes to chat. She isn't a nosy person, she likes talking about TV, politics, anything and everything if someone would listen...and she wants to listen to others as well.
But neither of them speak.
As soon as all 3 of them sit down, the two with the Smartphones get them out and start farting about on Facebook and the like. No words spoken at all.
Mum puts up with this for a couple of minutes, then she actually goes back into the kitchen to do extra work, just so she's away from the silence.
Don't you think it's all getting a bit out of hand? What's wrong with the art of conversation between the people you are sitting with, rather than communicating electronically with people you don't actually know very well, if at all?
I find it bizarre and unnecessary, not to mention the cost!!
So, this is why I am asking the question as I don't actually miss something I've not owned for ooh, 5 years? Something like that.
When Mum was here (neither she nor my Dad have a mobile phone) we went out in the rain and I wanted to contact John at home as Mum fancied buying an umbrella from The Range, which wasn't within walking distance.
I managed to find a public telephone box (yes, they still exist) and ring John up. 60p minimum charge but that's OK, it's not as though I'm paying hundreds a month lol.
He told me where we should wait for him and he arrived within about 10 minutes of the call.
Now, when Mum is at work she has to sit with the other two at dinner-time for half an hour. Mum likes to chat. She isn't a nosy person, she likes talking about TV, politics, anything and everything if someone would listen...and she wants to listen to others as well.
But neither of them speak.
As soon as all 3 of them sit down, the two with the Smartphones get them out and start farting about on Facebook and the like. No words spoken at all.
Mum puts up with this for a couple of minutes, then she actually goes back into the kitchen to do extra work, just so she's away from the silence.
Don't you think it's all getting a bit out of hand? What's wrong with the art of conversation between the people you are sitting with, rather than communicating electronically with people you don't actually know very well, if at all?
I find it bizarre and unnecessary, not to mention the cost!!3 people like this
20 responses
@kenshin2143 (1880)
• Philippines
25 Sep 12
Cellphones were really made for communication, to send SMS, and make some calls. However, as time passes by, cellphones are getting more and more complex, from cellphones having camera, to those that are known to us as smartphones, indeed the use for such complexity really change the way we think about cellular phones. With regards to the discussion whether we need it or not, the answer would be, WE DO NOT NEED IT. However, as it becomes more and more popular, our way of thinking drastically changes and as we cope up against technology, we find ourselves wanting such things.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 Sep 12
Technology must be leaving me behind then as I really can't be bothered with all that nonsense. I have a digital camera, why would I want a phone that can take pictures..and what kind of pictures? Why are people obsessed with this? I don't understand it.
@protoboard (234)
• Mexico
25 Sep 12
Janey I can see your point. I too own a digital camera, it takes awesome pictures and are like real pictures and not the ones everyone is sharing with Instagram. I do have a cellphone with a camera and while I prefer the quality of my digital camera I don't always carry it around with me. You know what goes with me every where I go? That's right: my cellphone!
Now the cellphones aren't just devices to make calls and send SMS. Now we can get so much things done with a single device. We can easily take pictures, hear music, watch movies and videos, edit documents and so much more. Is the cellphone the best tool for all those tasks? I'm pretty sure it is not, but still is great that it can be used for them.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 Sep 12
Cameras are small though. Mine is and I take it everywhere too. Just sayin' lol.
@lacieice (2060)
• United States
25 Sep 12
I have a cell phone. It's not a smart phone. It's a basic phone to make calls and text. It doesn't even have a camera. It's a prepaid phone, which means that I have to buy minutes and service time. Since I don't use it a lot, I spend about $10 to $20 a month for it. We don't have a land-line phone...just the cell. It's the least expensive way I could find to cut costs and still have a phone when I need it. Works for me.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (47332)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
25 Sep 12
I'm with you. I don't have a cell phone, either. Heck, I hardly use my normal landline phone!
I don't know which is worse, to sit with two people who are accessing FB on their phones, or to sit with the same two people carrying on separate phone calls.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 Sep 12
When I used to commute to work on the train - in those days (not all that long ago) the in thing was actually phoning people and saying those inane words, "I'm on the train!" It drove me nuts as the journey wasn't that long so why people had this desire to suddenly ring people up only 20 minutes away was a bit much. If the train was delayed, fair enough but when it was on time..bloody annoying lol.
I've not witnessed the new Smartphone phenomena of Facebook and the like (in the workplace) but it will be interesting to see how I react to it when I do finally get a job. Probably walk away like my Mum does.
I've not witnessed the new Smartphone phenomena of Facebook and the like (in the workplace) but it will be interesting to see how I react to it when I do finally get a job. Probably walk away like my Mum does.1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
26 Sep 12
Oh yes, I forgot about those lol.
1 person likes this
@lampar (7584)
• United States
25 Sep 12
I guess it all depend on the type of business or profession you are in, smart phone can come in handy for certain group of prefessionals and businessmen or women. It may be an 'overkill' for many users where many of the features in it are seldomly use or necessary for them to go about their daily life. I sure like to own one if i can afford it and the monthly bill come with the monthly activated subscription services, it definitely can do a lot more than my present cell phone can do, it is no harm of owning one as far as i am concerned.
@lampar (7584)
• United States
26 Sep 12
It is because of all the bans and disclosure law by those authoritarian regimes and semi-authoritarian governments in many part of the world on the use of state of the art propriatory encryption technology in Blackberry device making it not much of a stand out smartphone anymore. They adversely affected the popularity of Blackberry globally. It is just too complex to spell all out what a smartphone is capable of doing, but for a novice phone user, it usually doesn't means much of a difference between a smartphone and an ordinary mobile phone, so i will say that it is only useful in the eye of the beholder base on individual level of technical knowledge. 
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 Sep 12
Is that why the Blackberry aren't as popular now..'cos they're a bit limited in what they can do in the workplace?
I'm a bit behind with this technology lark.
1 person likes this
@Youreyes4Today (2356)
• United States
20 Nov 12
Having a cell phone I can see, but these now that are more of a communicating computer.. Not needed if one has a computer already. Heck now they have you using an Ipad and a smartphone and and and and and... cost cost cost cost..
We do not have a landline anymore. ok, My daughter got me a cell phone. I don't have a smartphone, don't want it. Just a phone to call or be called is all I needed.
Communication with my daughter/daughters is like watching the roll of the eyes when I speak to them. Just to talk with them is like a chore. so I gave up on that too.
@Youreyes4Today (2356)
• United States
20 Nov 12
I don't know about going backwards, there is still communication just not with the voices we were born with. It is with the voice of our hands typing or texting.
Because of all these though I have had more contact with family in another state. It isn't voice, still I have an idea what is going on with them by being apart of a social network. I don't need all the gadgets to be able to do this. There is some good that comes out of it.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
20 Nov 12
I think people will become mute in time as there is no point to speech. We shall go backwards in our evolution.
@protoboard (234)
• Mexico
25 Sep 12
I'm pretty sure we don't need smartphones at all but I also think that they are awesome tools and am glad that we have them around. Maybe for you, for me and for many others having a phone capable of making calls and sending text messages is enough, but for many people having a device capable of editing documents on the go is a must. I think that they are really needed in bussiness environments. They are expensive, yes, but if they are used as a work tool they are worth it.
What I really don't get (and can't even stand) is why there 12 of 13 year old boys and girls owning iphones. That's just not right.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 Sep 12
I'm starting to understand them as a work tool now and I agree it can't be a bad thing having a Smartphone if it allows you to do the things you say.
I also agree that 12 or 13 year olds having them..well, that sounds like a status symbol thing, rather like the Sony Walkmans of old, maybe?
1 person likes this
@sk66rc (4250)
• United States
17 Jan 13
I use my phone mainly for work... I work as a translator & place I work for relies heavily on communication between the office & employees... I travel a lot so I can't really be tied down to 1 spot... And since I travel a lot, I call my friends & family... I go through around 2,500 - 3,000 minutes of voice calls on an average month... I guess it all depends on people & situations...
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
17 Jan 13
Well, at least you are using your phone for what it was intended i.e. speaking to people. I guess you'd be totally lost without it my friend?
1 person likes this
@rosekiss (30414)
• Eugene, Oregon
10 Dec 12
In my situation, if I don't have a cellphone, then I am not able to communicate as well, since I don't have a landline. Sure it can be costly by having a cellphone, but I don't pay as much as my daughter, who pays over $200 every month for her cellphone. She is paying for a line for herself as well as her husband and my grandson. I think it is so tupid, as she doesn't have the money, even though she works. At least I don't have to pay her cellphone, and that is a good thing. If it weren't for the fact, I don't have a landline, I probably wouldn't have a cellphone, but then you can't take a landline phone with you wherever you go. That is what so nice about the cellphone, that it can be taken wherever we go, and do whatever we neeed to on them. I am glad I have my cellphone, as I do enjoy it a lot. Take care, and have a great day.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
11 Dec 12
It's unbelievable how some cellphones are so expensive now, depending on what you want them for, of course.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
3 Oct 12
Many, many years ago, I was pushed into owning a celphone because of my job. I had an office job, but I liked going out to customers and suppliers. The boss didn't know where I was most of the time. And I liked it that way!
Unfortunately, in the name of productivity, we were issued celphones so we can be located at any time. That professional 'need' then has grown to evolve into a necessity in my personal life. The smart phone has even managed to include my hobby of wanting to be in front of the computer all the time.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
3 Oct 12
LOL! That's it, isn't it? No-one can hide from their bosses anymore.
What a shame!
@inertia4 (27960)
• United States
5 Oct 12
I see what you mean about smart phones and computers and the internet. We do live in a totally different world these days. We grew up without all this technology. I wish they did have this technology when I was growing up. I would have loved it. But it is now part of the fabric of life today. This too will change in the future. Every generation has their own thing so to speak. And this is no different. We can only imagine where they will take this technology in the future. I remember the days of phone booths and also the beginning of cordless phones. I had one and I was amazed how the signal reached outside my house. But those days are gone and the new generation has taken over. I;m with it, I love my cell phone. But I agree, I don't sit there Tweeting or posting on FaceBook.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
17 Oct 12
It's funny how certain trends 'come back' as well. I've just put some newspaper in the litter tray, along with some litter and spotted a photograph of a guy absolutely surrounded by Cabbage Patch Dolls. Three of his four rooms in his flat are full of them. Fortunately, he's single (is it any wonder lol) but he said they're 'easier to look after than kids.'
Oh..right!
I didn't like them first time round. I thought they were creepy!
@bluespygirl (2112)
• Philippines
18 Nov 12
A friend of mine told me a this story. She and her husband is watching television in the same room. My girl friend posted in her facebook about a certain situation and the husband answers! I mean, do they really have to post it? Gone are the days to them that they chat. They are in the same bed, room and yet they "talk" using their gadgets.
Mobile phones used to be a call communicating device then comes the text messaging. Nowadays, there are smart phones and they cost a lot! Most people don't use it the features and applications I believe. Unless they are working or have a business that requires them to do some things. Most people don't need smart and expensive cell phones, I believe so. And yet, it is a status symbol or something nowadays
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
18 Nov 12
Yes, I know exactly what you mean. We have been invited to a house-warming party next Saturday so it will be interesting to see if anyone gets their Smartphones out. Last time we did this these gadgets weren't really on the scene but they are now, of course.
@thewonderboy (7501)
• India
17 Oct 12
Our technology has developed a lot and it has converted a simple mobile phone which was used for communication had turned out as electronic gadget for entertainment. This is the one of the vast development which we can see in the path of communication. The technologies of communication has passed out from 2G to 3G and it is turning to be the next.
Each of us people have their own works and the type of the phone they need depends on their work they do. Most of the advanced phones was made to meet the needs of the people especially for the business use but it has changed, such phones are now in the hands of the common people who do not use such facilities.
Each of us our own likes and the right to choose what we choose. If the person have a good wealth he can purchase what he or she need. We cannot stop them anymore.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
17 Oct 12
No we can't..unless we run out of energy, then we're f*cked (pardon the French).
@shaqziad (655)
• Malaysia
25 Sep 12
Well, i survive until today without smartphones, and i plan to keep surviving. I do have a simple mobile phone, the one which can be use to make call and SMS, as well as setting alarm.I feel sorry for your mom. i face a similar situation last Eid Al-Fitr. It's a celebration here, where friends and families visit each other. A friend of dad come with his family. there's two sisters around my age, and dad say we use to play together when we were babies. So i was expecting a little chat with them, while the adults talk by themselves. Maybe just talk about weather, any trivial thing will do. But instead both of them bring out their smartphones and tablet. I'm speechless, i get up to my room and didn't get out until they go back.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 Sep 12
How rude of them to do that and is a prime example of what I'm on about. We'll be losing the power of speech soon the way it's going!
By the way, you can come on a night out with me and my Mum if you like. I'm sure we'd find loads to talk about; phones are banned lol.
@mr_pearl (5018)
• India
26 Sep 12
Oh Janey... I really can't believe this... You don't need a cell phone.. Now, I agree that people have become a little unsociable due to their online activities... But the smartphones are useful to people like me... I stay alone.. I don't and can't have a landline (as I'm hostelite)... Moreover, the public phones have disappeared too... LOL... Before 5 years, there used to be a public phone at every 10 feet... Now we can't find one in 10 kms...
I have always thought of buying laptop, but something goes wrong... So my smartphone is the only way keep me 'connected'... :-)...
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
26 Sep 12
I think they're very useful in an emergency. But they've become so much more, alarm clocks, computers, calculators, cameras, calendars, games, etc. etc. I think some people do spend way too much time on them. I use mine for calls, texting, checking e-mail, games and a few other things, but I am majorly resisting doing any kind of financial transactions on my phone.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
3 Oct 12
I know what you mean. I've not owned a mobile phone (by choice) for about 5 years and I'm amazed at how advanced they are now. More like miniature computers than phones. You're right about them doing too much and I think people keep using them for different things to justify having one in the first place!
A woman goes past our window with her head bowed, tapping away on her phone. She does it walking one way, then coming back with a bag of shopping..non-stop in fact. I'm dying for her to get run over as she drives me nuts with it. She doesn't even look where she is going.
A woman goes past our window with her head bowed, tapping away on her phone. She does it walking one way, then coming back with a bag of shopping..non-stop in fact. I'm dying for her to get run over as she drives me nuts with it. She doesn't even look where she is going.
@marguicha (223077)
• Chile
26 Sep 12
I couldn´t agree more with you. I bought one, the prepaid card type) for an emergency now that I´ve been ill. Sometimes I had to call a cab to take me from the Metro to my home. I also ring my youngest daughter´s home when I visit because they never hear the bell. But I don´t use it for anything else. I probably spend $3 a month on it at the most
@alberello (4752)
• Italy
26 Sep 12
Well, I agree with you, maybe we do not remember when, up to the late 90's, we did not own a mobile phone, because it was "a rare commodity for the chosen few", as the cost of purchasing and operating the equipment.
Today, whether we like it or not, we have become a little slaves of this mobile technology.
You know I saw a television service, which left me completely astonished!
The launch of the new iPhone5 literally made people crazy enough to transform the atriums of the shops in camp, ready to be among the first in the world just to have the satisfaction of having bought iPhone5!
However, in the society we live in, you are a person to be admired, being able to live for up to 5 years without a mobile phone.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
3 Oct 12
I really don't need a phone but it does annoy me when I get an interview for a job and they look at me 'gone out' when I tell them I have no mobile phone for them to contact me on. I feel like a dinosaur giving out my landline number instead but no way am I going to get into debt with a mobile phone just to satisfy a chosen few who have more money than sense (or not in the case of those who really cannot afford them but feel obliged to have on in order to please their friends or work colleagues).
I'm the same with Facebook as well; refuse to have an account.
@changjiangzhibin89 (16762)
• China
27 Sep 12
For some people,mobile phones or smartphones don't do them any good ,only they feel a bit out of it when they see so many people own them.Others totally use them as toys,as you have mentioned a woman on the bus played games without regard to her son.I have had a mobile phone for many years.I still use it now even if I have been retired,for one thing,it doesn't cost too much;and for another My wife can call me if something happens during I go out or dine out with friends ,you know my Mum is in her 90s.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
3 Oct 12
Oh yes, for emergencies I agree..a godsend for many people.
@edwinmiller (61)
• United States
26 Sep 12
I think everything is all right with cellphone but finally it is up to the consumer how he/she wants to use and how he/she want to keep track of measurements of cellphone's usage. I agree as technology becomes more & more advanced, the ability of people to percept and think about is drastically changed. But i dont know in which direction this ability leads people. Different people have different views for cellphone. For some it is tool of employed while for others it is something else.
