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AIBU

How often do you check your phone?

(66 Posts)
mrsmopp Fri 02-Sept-16 18:40:54

For text messages or emails? I seem to expect most people to check at regular intervals during the day. Isn't that about the norm?
I ask because the normal phone is impossible for me due to my profound deafness. So I rely on text or email and my friends and family all understand this.
Except for one friend and we get on great but she only looks at her messages about once a week!! So I might text or email, say, on Saturday, asking if she'd like to meet for coffee on Friday (plenty of notice, yes?)
Then I get no reply at all. Friday comes and I finally get a text saying See you in Costa in half an hour!!
So I drop everything, scramble to get ready and then she is 20 minutes late. I have to hide my exasperation because I really like her except for this which is typical. I asked her today if she preferred text or email and apparently she doesn't really like either and her laptop is upstairs In the spare room. Grrrrrrr
Maybe I should get a carrier pigeon? Or write a letter? How last century is that??,!

felice Sat 03-Sept-16 12:41:54

I have a very simple Nokia which will probably be with me for life, I can call on it, receive phone calls send and receive texts.
Suits me just fine, and a getting elderly laptop, still works so thats fine by me.

Peaseblossom Sat 03-Sept-16 12:22:28

Why not have it charging in the living room, then you will hear if messages are coming through.

Barrowlass Sat 03-Sept-16 12:18:28

Wonderful gadgets, when they work! Putting whole calendar, phone numbers, addresses and the like works well until phone decides to throw a wobbler. Have a 'back up' LG cookie that will take my sim card just in case.

Blondehedgehog Sat 03-Sept-16 12:08:00

I have had a phone since they were bricks. I bought it for safety when I am out of the house. I never hear it ring, it is in my bag, I don't want to carry it in my hand all the time like young people do.
I wish we could go back to before the mobile phone got so popular. I hate being with people who are fiddling with their phones all the time instead of talking to the people around them.

harrigran Sat 03-Sept-16 11:33:33

I look at my phone if it rings end of.

henetha Sat 03-Sept-16 10:41:14

I am addicted to my phone and check it all the time. Can't imagine how I ever managed without a smart phone.

pollyperkins Sat 03-Sept-16 10:40:12

By all the time I mean several times a day! I do do other things!

pollyperkins Sat 03-Sept-16 10:39:20

Badenkate ha ha!!! im on my iphone all the time checking emails facebook texts whatsapp and of course Gransnet!!
Much easier than husbads laptop. Ipad is easiest but cant get Whatsapp on it and thats how i keep in touch with the family!

Seasidenana Sat 03-Sept-16 10:29:29

My iPhone is in constant use as I have everything on it finance, social media, Internet, radio, I player, kindle app, etc. I always have it with me wherever I go and I respond to messages as they arrive. It goes on silent when I'm in a meeting or social event. Phone calls and texts are a small part of what I use it for. I have the big iPhone and find the bigger screen really good for web surfing and reading.

I had a recent holiday where there was no phone signal and no wifi. It nearly drove me potty !

Those of you who think you couldn't manage a smart phone - you could. It's no more difficult than a computer or a tablet. My parents manage very well and they are in their 80s.

Jaycee5 Sat 03-Sept-16 10:28:39

I think I would be inclined to text back 'sorry but as I didn't hear from you I made other arrangements'. She doesn't sound very considerate but probably doesn't realise it.

gettingonabit Sat 03-Sept-16 10:26:19

All the time. Rarely off it. Like now.

Craftycat Sat 03-Sept-16 10:21:25

I am still laughing at Badenkate's post!!
I have my phone to hand at all times & in the car it is on Bluetooth so I can answer it without having to touch anything. It is my lifeline too as Pittcity says.
It makes a sound for each person who sends anything so I know when to look but sometimes if it hasn't made a noise for a while I check it anyway. I use it for checking texts & email too.
I resisted having a mobile for ages until about 8 years ago I was ordered to get one as I walked the dog by myself all though woods etc & my sons insisted. A week later a friend of mine fell on Reigate Heath while walking her dog & broke her ankle. She had to wait over an hour before anyone heard her calling out so I got the pint after that.
Having said this I am not the person who walks around chatting on the phone all the time while shopping etc. I prefer to wait until I can sit in peace to make a call unless it is urgent.

ninathenana Fri 02-Sept-16 22:50:31

I'm checking mine now !
I switch on first thing in the morning and post on the GN Good morning thread. I will then check. e-mails and FB all on my phone. Probably check it 4-5 times during the day. Or more if I get a text alert.

SueDonim Fri 02-Sept-16 22:50:25

Only when I'm out because I live in a black hole as far as signal is concerned. Then when I venture somewhere, my phone is going 'ping ping' as the messages that have been backed up in th system all come through at once.

Allegedly, we're being upgraded to 4G in the coming weeks. I'll believe it when I see it.

Eloethan Fri 02-Sept-16 22:38:25

If I hear it "ping" I check for text messages. Otherwise, it can be some time before I think to check my phone. I suppose my reasoning is that if someone needed to speak to me urgently they'd ring rather than text or e-mail. As you can't hear the phone mrsmopp, I can see why texts are your only way of getting in touch. Does your friend realise this - have you told her?

Pittcity Fri 02-Sept-16 22:33:57

I have my apps set up so that I receive texts, emails, phone calls, facebook messages and all sorts on my phone, tablet and laptop at the same time (get a youngster to set it up for you) DH and I also have synced diaries on all our devices so we know what each other is up to and don't double book. it's a godsend when it works.

Can't read or reply when I'm on the move though like the children do.....

Greyduster Fri 02-Sept-16 22:25:48

Oh, and Happy Birthday, ga flowers!

Greyduster Fri 02-Sept-16 22:24:57

I'm exactly the opposite, katek - I hate phones. I regard mine with hostility from a distance and poke it with a stick! I do as little as possible with it but it thwarts me at every turn. DH is about to drag me kicking and screaming to buy a new one. He says I need an iPhone! I am tying my belongings into a hankie as we speak!

grannyactivist Fri 02-Sept-16 22:03:08

Thanks for birthday wishes - just had fish and mushy peas with The Wonderful Man in a parked car down lover's lane! I didn't take my phone. grin

Katek Fri 02-Sept-16 21:51:34

My iPhone is my lifeline! It has everything in it, notes, diary, emails, documents, messages, photos. I have a battery pack charger case if I'm out for the day and a car charger to keep me topped up. I shop, bank and do the same from my phone as I would from my laptop. I've loved mobiles since they first came out, bit of a geek I'm afraid.

shysal Fri 02-Sept-16 21:36:41

My phone lives in my trouser pocket at all times, set to ring and /or vibrate to alert me. For any without pockets I have made phone sized bags which I sew inside the waistband. I therefore never miss calls or texts. I save battery by not having the WiFi or mobile data turned on, so check my laptop or tablet for Emails several times a day. DD1 suffers from anxiety so I like to always be available day and night, but I do wish Vodafone wouldn't send texts over night.

Does anyone else, like me, always delete most messages and Emails as soon as I have read them, just saving anything important into folders? DD has years worth on her phone!

Pollengran Fri 02-Sept-16 21:24:25

I have an old samsung PAYG. That is fine for me.

obieone Fri 02-Sept-16 21:05:29

Having said that, I forgot that I have now have an old phone from DH. And it has internet. So my costs might go up, I presume? Though I have only googled on it a few times in 2 months.

obieone Fri 02-Sept-16 21:03:37

I use it for phone calls when out and about. That is it. I'm a £30 a year, max, pay as you go person.

tanith Fri 02-Sept-16 20:46:20

I'm finding a bit odd so many people don't check their phones. Why have a mobile if you don't use it for keeping in touch with people? I don't often get calls on mine but my family all keep tabs on each other with texts and messages or arranging meetups its the main reason I have one.