What would you do in this case?

Alvaro Martín Gómez A. · #1 01-01-2010, 03:39 PM

Hi everybody. First off, my best wishes for a terrific 2010 to you and your loved ones!

My thread's title question points to this situation: Yesterday, my double bass master (a Polish guy who is like my father to me - BTW, you can see/hear his band in action here) gave me a cell phone as a present. A Nokia 2630. Nice gesture from him. The thing is...

...I HATE CELL PHONES! I've never had one and owning one has never been in my plans. I suffer from some sort of "chronic annoyance feelings" toward phones and I only have my fixed-line one just for the sake of having some sort of real-time communication with others in case of necessity.

If any other person had given that present to me, I wouldn't mind to leave it buried in the most hidden corner of my house. But again, I appreciate this guy so much and I'd feel like offending him if I don't use the phone. Of course I don't want to give the number to anybody else, but I think it's inevitable that most people I commonly interact with will know of its existence. I've always thought that it's sort of rude to keep the cell phone off (and why someone would have a cell phone if he/she's going to keep it like that?) so I don't know what to do here.

Of course, I love gadgets and right now I'm very amused configurating and customizing it (well, I need a bluetooth adapter for my PC first), but anyway I don't want to think how I'm going to feel when it starts ringing. All of my life, the sound of a phone ringing has been an annoyance to me, not to mention that I don't like to be that readily reachable (unless it's an emergency, of course). E-mail and public cell phones have been more than enough to communicate with others for me.

So what would you do if you were in such situation? I'm a complete ignorant on "cell phone etiquette" aside from turning it off when inappropriate, so I really appreciate your input. Thank you in advance!

Kipaste · #2 01-01-2010, 03:58 PM

Think of it as an mobile answer machine. Put it on silent mode and bury it in your bag or pockets. Take it out when you feel like communicating. Blame mp3 player/work/bass amp for not answering. This method has worked for me for years.

Yvon · #3 01-01-2010, 04:03 PM

What I would do and I would let everyone know about it is:

I would take the smallest contract or just buy a 10$ card or something similar.
I would leave the phone close all the time and use it for emergency only. The can come handy in those situation.

SpamBot · #4 01-01-2010, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kipaste

Think of it as an mobile answer machine. Put it on silent mode and bury it in your bag or pockets. Take it out when you feel like communicating. Blame mp3 player/work/bass amp for not answering. This method has worked for me for years.

+1 to this, although my most common excuse is that I was in the car.

santucci218 · #5 01-01-2010, 04:05 PM

agree for the emergency use thing as well.

DblG · #6 01-02-2010, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by santucci218

agree for the emergency use thing as well.

+2.

Also, you can always use it for the calendar, contacts (phone book), portable alarm clock, calculator, etc... You may also find that you like it too.

Alvaro Martín Gómez A. · #7 01-02-2010, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DblG

+2.

Also, you can always use it for the calendar, contacts (phone book), portable alarm clock, calculator, etc... You may also find that you like it too.

Of course! Again, I love gadgets and right now I'm leaving home to buy the bluetooth adapter for my PC. I've created two ringtones just for fun and spent most of yesterday getting acquainted with this new (to me) toy. I don't have any problems with the telephone itself. It's all about the implications of having one.

fdeck · #8 01-02-2010, 08:58 AM

Don't be a slave to it. Let it be an answering machine, and encourage people to send you text messages.

L-A · #9 01-02-2010, 09:44 AM

Set it on vibrate, turn it off when you don't want to be reached. Your friends will probably expect it from you anyway. It doesn't *have* to be a leash.

Frank Tuesday · #10 01-02-2010, 09:50 AM

I almost never answer my cell phone. The cell is part of my life as a convenience. If I answer it and interrupt what I am doing, it ceases to be a convenience. Use the phone as you want to. No one can force you to answer your phone. No one can make you talk.

Ziltoid · #11 01-02-2010, 09:58 AM

Don't give your number out to people you dont want call from, period. Tell to the one whom you gave your number to that it's for emergencies only.

jady · #12 01-02-2010, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziltoid

Don't give your number out to people you dont want call from, period. Tell to the one whom you gave your number to that it's for emergencies only.

This

Also texting is a much more relaxed method of communicating. You may like it.

Valerus · #13 01-02-2010, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jady

This

Also texting is a much more relaxed method of communicating. You may like it.

Agreed. It's becoming the norm (already has, hasn't it?

) and all someone has to do is text you info, you read it. Then you decide to reply or not, at your convenience. I don't see anything more relaxed than that.

hbarcat · #14 01-02-2010, 02:18 PM

Conform!

Conform!!

Conform!!!

SpamBot · #15 01-02-2010, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valerus

Agreed. It's becoming the norm (already has, hasn't it?

) and all someone has to do is text you info, you read it. Then you decide to reply or not, at your convenience. I don't see anything more relaxed than that.

+1. Instead of the "OMG LULZ!!1!!" incoherent abbreviation style texting you see popularized by preteens, what I do to text is compose as if it were an email.

**jmattbassplaya** · #16 01-02-2010, 03:49 PM

I honestly hate texting lol. Most people don't seem to know that one or two texts is enough.

SpamBot · #17 01-02-2010, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

I honestly hate texting lol. Most people don't seem to know that one or two texts is enough.

Bolded for emphasis, "lol".

Pilgrim · #18 01-02-2010, 04:52 PM

The implication is that people who need to reach you - can.

When you want to be available, leave it on.

When you don't want to be reached, leave it off.

Problem solved.

Jim Campbell · #19 01-02-2010, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Hi everybody. First off, my best wishes for a terrific 2010 to you and your loved ones!

My thread's title question points to this situation: Yesterday, my double bass master (a Polish guy who is like my father to me - BTW, you can see/hear his band in action here) gave me a cell phone as a present. A Nokia 2630. Nice gesture from him. The thing is...

...I HATE CELL PHONES! I've never had one and owning one has never been in my plans. I suffer from some sort of "chronic annoyance feelings" toward phones and I only have my fixed-line one just for the sake of having some sort of real-time communication with others in case of necessity.

If any other person had given that present to me, I wouldn't mind to leave it buried in the most hidden corner of my house. But again, I appreciate this guy so much and I'd feel like offending him if I don't use the phone. Of course I don't want to give the number to anybody else, but I think it's inevitable that most people I commonly interact with will know of its existence. I've always thought that it's sort of rude to keep the cell phone off (and why someone would have a cell phone if he/she's going to keep it like that?) so I don't know what to do here.

Of course, I love gadgets and right now I'm very amused configurating and customizing it (well, I need a bluetooth adapter for my PC first), but anyway I don't want to think how I'm going to feel when it starts ringing. All of my life, the sound of a phone ringing has been an annoyance to me, not to mention that I don't like to be that readily reachable (unless it's an emergency, of course). E-mail and public cell phones have been more than enough to communicate with others for me.

So what would you do if you were in such situation? I'm a complete ignorant on "cell phone etiquette" aside from turning it off when inappropriate, so I really appreciate your input. Thank you in advance!

i felt like that until i had one a while.....got rid of the land line,don't need a watch any more,pix if i get in a car wreck...if you get delayed they're great for calling ahead,and there is no law says you have to be a slave to them

Chunk-O-Funk · #20 01-02-2010, 05:50 PM

My suggestion is to just roll with it, it will probably grow on you and you'll actually like having one.

How do I know this? I just got one a few months ago. Different reasons for my late conformity, though. I don't hate them, I believed I simply didn't *need* one, which for the most part is true. I had a phone at home and at work I'm by a phone all day. If I was out, well, than, you couldn't reach me. I had an answering machine.

Now, it's a different story. I switched internet providers and with their package deals I opted out of having a land line and got just a cell phone instead. One thing I am certain of, I really don't need both.

As far as the annoyance of having a ringing ball and chain goes. Everybody here is right. You don't have to answer it if you don't want to. It rings, you look at the Caller ID and switch off the ringer if you don't want to talk. It's as simple as that and is pretty much accepted. Most people know that you may have the phone with you 24/7, but understand that you can't talk every time someone calls. Personally, I find that I am not receiving more calls now that I have a cell phone and find the conveniences of having one (I can call the Pizza and Chinese restaurant on the way home from work

) outweigh the "ball and chain" annoyance.

Ps
I'm a gadget geek too. For the first few weeks I would just pull out the cell phone and just go through the menu and find out the capabilities. It's a basic phone and my brother predicts I will have a full blown smart phone before the end of the year. (He said that in 2009)

Also, look online for accessories. I found a new car charger cable for .81 cents. Even with shipping it was around $3.25. Data cable for the PC. $5.00, Headphones for MP3's, $10.00. All this stuff would have cost me around $80.00 or more if I paid retail.