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AIBU?

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Original poster

To not have a mobile phone?

65 replies

madeoficecream · 06/09/2018 17:18

I did have one once but havent for the last 5 years.
I have a landline and I have a laptop. So I can get skype and facebook messenger and emails. My husband has a mobile and sometimes people send him texts for me but he has it with him at work usually and works long hours.
My eldest son had just started school. My friend was amazed I did not have a mobile and suggested I would need one so I was always contactable by the school.

What are peoples thoughts on this? Is there anyone else out there without a mobile phone?

OP posts:
SachaStark · 06/09/2018 19:48

I am exactly the same, OP! All my friends look at me like I have two heads, but I gave up having a mobile phone four years ago, and have never gone back. Am in my 20s, so lots of my friends can't at all understand life without a mobile.

I have all apps and social media I want on my iPad. Have a landline which my mum calls me on. Husband makes me take a spare, cheap PAYG when I go hiking or driving without him in case of emergencies or breakdown. Beyond that, no calls, no texts,

I find it really invasive to be instantly contactable Hmm I have a busy life and work 80 hours a week, so can't be doing with people whinging about texting back every hour of the day.

LightastheBreeze · 06/09/2018 19:54

I usually just have my phone on do not disturb then only DH and DS can contact me as they are favourites. I don’t like being in contact all the while, I don’t use WhatsApp at all
So yanbu

LightastheBreeze · 06/09/2018 19:58

I use my iPad and iMac for texting, it’s easier as they are bigger, iPad for bank, phone is too fiddly, it’s just for emergencies really like if car broke down

OutPinked · 06/09/2018 20:04

I mean, most people didn’t have mobile phones until 20 or so years ago so generations of children survived at school without their parents being contactable 24/7. If the school have your landline and DH’s mobile/work number then they will always be able to contact one of you should they need to.

LightastheBreeze · 06/09/2018 20:09

DS is 25 and when he was young school had our landline no. and work landline no.

bubbles108 · 06/09/2018 21:22

What happened in the olden days

I'm assuming that people who think like this don't have electricity or running water or central heating?

Nor do they use 21st century medicine,

Nor do they use mechanical transport. Like cars or buses.

Let's all live in the olden days because of course mobile phones are the work of the devil

ShatnersBassoon · 06/09/2018 22:35

Husband makes me take a spare, cheap PAYG when I go hiking or driving without him in case of emergencies or breakdown.

Yes, right. Against your will, your husband forces you to you carry a gadget that you think is absolutely useless. Unless, you think that actually there are uses for a mobile phone...Shock

Poodletip · 07/09/2018 18:30

The school will take a dim view if they can't get hold of anyone for over an hour if they have a sick or injured child needing attention. Do you have anyone on the contact list other than yourself and your dh? What people did in the past is largely irrelevant to the expectations for now.

notacooldad · 07/09/2018 19:42

The school will take a dim view if they can't get hold of anyone for over an hour if they have a sick or injured child needing attention*
So what are they going to do with their dim view?
We are allowed to have phones on us a lot of times at work but we are expected to have them off on the 2nd Thursday in the month between 10.00am and 1.00pm for our staff meeting. No office phones get answered then either. DP works 50 miles 70 miles away in the lake District and is often on the mountains in a poor signal area.
We managed to get through the school years without much fuss but others in our team are in very similar positions.

LightastheBreeze · 07/09/2018 20:04

A lot of jobs, you are not allowed to have a mobile phone, only at breaks so not everyone is instantly contactable. Retail staff can’t be constantly on their mobiles, when DS worked in a supermarket his phone was in his locker. Likewise a lot of factory workers

Kewqueue · 07/09/2018 20:06

I do have a phone but turn it off when I teach. When my son was taken ill at school they phoned my work and someone came to find me in person.

Nothisispatrick · 07/09/2018 20:19

I don’t think it’s true that most people can’t check their phones at work. I work in a school office so call parents for sick or injured kids all the time and have never had an issue getting through, even if I leave a message I always get a response within 10-15 mins. I would call work numbers for parents who work in hospitals or other schools. I am technically not allowed to use my phone at work, but I’d hear in my bag if it rang.

Also based on personal experience of dealing with horrible sickness and injuries with school children, as a parent I would prefer to be contactable at all times. The last two incidents I dealt with 999 refused to send an ambulance but thankfully the parents were near by and contactable both times.

I also had a scary moment last year when my car broke down in the middle of nowhere. I was able to call aa and dp, who got an uber out to me, plus keep a track of how far away he was through whatsapp, plus I would’ve been able to call the police had I needed (I won’t go in to details but I was very vulnerable as a lone woman where I was).

This ‘people coped’ argument doesn’t fly. People coped without modern medicine or indoor toilets, life and technology moves on. You’d only be contactable to others at all times if you gave your number out to everyone!

Givemeallyourcucumber · 07/09/2018 20:26

DH doesn't have a phone. And he runs a very successful business.
I only have a cheap one that does nothing but text/call.
It's brilliant!

Poodletip · 10/09/2018 22:16

So what are they going to do with their dim view?

If it happens repeatedly then it becomes a child protection issue. It doesn't have to be a parent, but there does need to be somebody that can be contacted in an emergency and who can collect the child promptly (within an hour) if necessary. Apart from anything else, it's utterly heartbreaking trying to look after a very sick or injured child and not being able to get hold of someone to come for them.

I can't use my mobile phone at work either but if necessary my childrens' school would call the one where I work and someone would come and get me. Normally though my DH is contacted because he's easier to get hold of and it's easier for him to get away if needed.

chillie · 10/09/2018 22:34

I don't have one either and have three kids in secondary school. They all have one so I can call them and there is one in the car. No WhatsApp for me and I am so grateful for no constant messages. Phones are supposed to be for my convenience, but it appears these days that it is there for everybody else to contact you and reactions when you do not respond are not always polite. It is my wish to whether I respond, not others right that I do so. I won't be getting a personal mobile anytime soon!

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