Don't have one, don't need one, don't really want one

I feel exactly the same, and the minute you have one, the floodgates open.
Its www this, and www that..

I remember first time I saw people with mobile phones, that was 1995 or 96 when we went on a visit to Dublin. We were living in rural N.Devon at the time and they hadn't hit there by then. We thought they were hilarious and we'd never want one. A few years later we moved to N.ireland and that first Christmas my husband went to the airport to pick up our son flying from Gatwick. His flight was very delayed and I ended up getting calls from both of them from payphones and relaying messages. That's when we bought a basic,cheap mobile. Then we both got them and now of course have progressed to smartphones which I use for lots of things including whatsapp video calls. I walk the dog in local woods and find it reassuring to have my mobile with me in case I had a fall . Wouldn't be without mine although prefer the landline for proper chats.

I haven't got one, either. I don't want one, and would prefer to spend my money on other things, but I can see a time when I'll have to give in and get one.

My first mobile phone was barely “mobile”, it was so bulky!
I used to travel for work regularly and played games on my phone. (By train!)
Then, as they developed, I found them invaluable as route
/location finders, reading & sending emails, accessing the internet etc.
I really feel that I wouldn’t want to be without one now. I’ve recently upgraded to a Galaxy Z Flip which is small enough to sit comfortably in a pocket but opens up into a very large screen. The text is much easier to read! The photos are so bright and detailed. I’ve just taken a little film of a robin sitting on my hand enjoying his little fat nugget treat and immediately sent it off to friends.
I love my big screen iPad Pro most, but my new phone is a close runner up. ?

For years I had a simple mobile phone and no wish to get a smartphone. Then two years ago I had a text from NHS inviting me to book a vaccination via a code they sent. I couldn't do this on my simple phone and got a bit panicky lest I miss out. DH then insisted on getting me a smartphone. Do I love my smartphone - no. I find it quite difficult to use, can never find things, never opens on the same page twice etc. But it does seem to be a necessity these days. The latest thing to ignite my technophobe tendancies is the way some supermarkets are offering money-off vouchers via apps. No idea about apps and judging by how long DH spends at the check-out waving his phone under various scanners to no avail it doesn't even seem efficient (especially for those behind him in the queue).
I went to a book group meeting recently (first time at this new group). Several of them had their phones to hand so that every time anyone said something like "I think he wrote a book about xyz a while ago..." fingers dashed across keyboards. I go to a book group to talk and discuss, not to do phone research. Not impressed and thought it was really rude. Yours truly, grumpy old Luddite.

I have a basic mobile which I carry with me for emergencies, but not a smart phone. I do not have a major disability only poor hearing, bad short sight, arthritic fingers, poor memory - all common in the elderly. I really cannot use a smart phone (I have tried) as I cannot read the small print, especially numbers and keep pressing the wrong keys. I manage fine via my large screen computer but now all my contacts e,g, Banks, Power Company, GP want me to download apps to access my accounts. Even my political Group has, since lock down, had meetings and updates on Whats App, leaving me to rely on a fellow member to keep me informed.

Granny23

I have a basic mobile which I carry with me for emergencies, but not a smart phone. I do not have a major disability only poor hearing, bad short sight, arthritic fingers, poor memory - all common in the elderly. I really cannot use a smart phone (I have tried) as I cannot read the small print, especially numbers and keep pressing the wrong keys. I manage fine via my large screen computer but now all my contacts e,g, Banks, Power Company, GP want me to download apps to access my accounts. Even my political Group has, since lock down, had meetings and updates on Whats App, leaving me to rely on a fellow member to keep me informed.

You can install WhatsApp on your computer - I do use a smart phone but find typing on it very fiddly so much prefer PC.

I’m sure most of us here remember when a telephone was a moderately sized machine on a table by the front door, attached to the wall, or a black thing in a phone box that ate up small change.

I now have a purse-sized thing in my pocket that replaces not only telephones, but also calculators, notebooks, reference books, bank counters, timetables, notice boards, medical records and cameras.

I understand that some people can’t easily use them because of physical disability or extreme poverty, but for everyone else, I can’t see any earthly reason to brag about being stuck in the past. It’s like saying ‘who needs a cooker anyway when you can cook over an open fire?’ or ‘I don’t need a washing machine because I can wash my sheets in a kitchen sink?’

By deliberately not having a mobile, you’re cutting yourself off from a huge part of modern life. Not really something to boast about.

I have now got one but don’t use often, found that I needed one for online banking with my credit card, for the doctor and some things that I can’t do without it. I hate it. The other thing is I just can’t remember the number so it’s written in large letters on the carrying case.

I’m the same with the Music system my kids tried to get me to install I like the exercise winding up my gramophone gives me and I bet I’m not alone! ?

GEEKESSE I dont think anyone is bragging ,,we are all allowed our own opinions and choices .We've had mobile phones since the 80's a lifetime of not being out of reach of anyone who blagged the number from staff on the pretext that we were close friends and would want to speak to them.Or the half seven calls on Sunday mornings or midnight that bypassed our landline which was EX dierectory for a purpose .
I'm very happy without a cellphone attached to me 24/7 and as I said before I do all the banking ,etc on my laptop or desktop ,not "cutting myself off" from anyone .Certainly never boasted about it either .

Anyone with a brain, knows the value of having and using a mobile phone.

You don’t have to be tech savvy to use one.
But to choose not to have one or have one and not use it, is just plain daft.

I have friends who own one, but refuse to use it for anything other than texting.

Greciangirl

Anyone with a brain, knows the value of having and using a mobile phone.

You don’t have to be tech savvy to use one.
But to choose not to have one or have one and not use it, is just plain daft.

I have friends who own one, but refuse to use it for anything other than texting.

Yes. But there will always be reactionary people. They are a feature of humanity. They are the ones who lose out in the long run.

Why would anyone be losing out by not having a mobile phone?

During the pandemic, for example, I wasn't constantly having my phone pinged. I haven't been at anybody's beck and call, etc, etc.

I'd say my quality of life is improved by not having one.

It’s not about not using it but how much I use it. I have an iPad for all my online banking and buying as the screen and keys are bigger. I have a life other than being joined at the hip to my phone

we have a basic phone - not a smartphone. it is switched off 99% of the time . My view is that phones are for emergency use only. Sometimes I have a code sent to the phone when banking to prove it is me. I inherited a smart phone (again not used) that was previously owned by my brother. When I cancelled his contract I was given £1 credit and 9 months later not a penny of it has been touched. I use it to play solitaire on the bus .

Blue Belle I am with you all the way I wouldnt be without mine, but if you dont need one and woudnt use one well dont bother about what others say, dont let opinions of others make you buy one.

It's also about how much people are pressured to use it.
School dinners - pay by phone.
Detentions - email and text which tell you to look online to find out why.
Open evening- an email and text telling you to fo online to book an appointment.
Bus ticket- order online then show your phone ticket.
Training for work - log onto a site, quoting a security code...

I don't find any of that a boon to my life.

LilacChaser

Why would anyone be losing out by not having a mobile phone?

During the pandemic, for example, I wasn't constantly having my phone pinged. I haven't been at anybody's beck and call, etc, etc.

I'd say my quality of life is improved by not having one.

My phone never got pinged.

MissAdventure

It's also about how much people are pressured to use it.
School dinners - pay by phone.
Detentions - email and text which tell you to look online to find out why.
Open evening- an email and text telling you to fo online to book an appointment.
Bus ticket- order online then show your phone ticket.
Training for work - log onto a site, quoting a security code...

I don't find any of that a boon to my life.

Also banking. Haven't been inside a bank for centuries.

We have to log overtime at work on a phone app.

But mostly mine is used as my clock, as my list of reminders, for whatsapping with all three daughters at once, for whatsapping all four siblings at once, and for looking up recipes.

The phone part of phones is not the most important part nowadays. They are carry-around computers.

If you don't feel the need, don't want, etc, etc, then don't. What's the problem? why do you have to scoff about something others find a boon?

Mine did, completely out of the blue, and caused aggravation regarding work/school about whether we should go or not.

Where have I scoffed, exactly?
Perhaps you could direct me to that, because I am simply responding to a thread.

I love my mobile phone, I spend less time phoning with it but use it for so many other things, it is a boon. It's paired up with my laptop and iPad so they all have the same information. Who would have though even 20 years ago that a phone could do so much.

I only got a mobile phone 10 years ago. I didn't really want one, I don't like being 'always contactable'. But when we were house hunting and moving it was handy to keep in touch with estate agents and solicitors etc. I kept that phone for 9 years until the battery wouldn't charge up any more.

Most of the time my mobile is switched off, or I don't know where it is, much to the annoyance of our AC when I don't answer their calls. I don't carry it around with me and I most certainly never browse the web on it, it's too small for that. I have a desktop computer with a 26" monitor and a custom built laptop with a 19" monitor, also two tablets, not used very often, because I prefer the power of the laptop.

MrHappy has a PAYG mobile but doesn't really know how to use it, he never sends emails or texts and struggles to answer calls. He also has a desktop computer but never uses that either, just not interested.

We've nothing against technology in general but don't want to be tied to it all the time.