AIBU to think mobile phones are NOT a necessity?

[Hypergear]

Inspired by the thread regarding schools confiscating then.
So many people think they NEED a mobile phone now, and view it as a necessity and not a luxury (which I think it is). Yes they're great in many ways and can make life a lot easier but I just can't get my head around people who genuinely think they could not go about day to day life without. My DM for example, thinks there is no way in this day and age it's possible to live without one, this actually makes me lol as she never used one at all until around 18 months ago!

AIBU?

I’m housebound, disabled, mentally ill and on benefits with precious little “support system” to speak of! I’m also now living alone with unstable mobility.

I don’t have a landline as I struggled to use it. No matter which handset I chose it was never loud/clear enough.

I also have several relatives who are very unwell themselves and I need to be contactable for them (I can’t do much for them unfortunately other than be a listening ear when they’re having a rough day, but I hope that’s of some use. And I like to know how they’re doing)

I absolutely RELY On my smart phone and tablet and have for several years.

Even the dwp EXPECTS that people on benefits have a smart phone.

I use it for:

Online grocery shopping
Amazon & other retailers shopping for things I can’t get via the above
Ordering repeat prescriptions and arranging their delivery
Banking & managing my budget (spreadsheet and calculator used a lot)
Topping up my energy meter
Communicating with dwp re benefits (not just phone calls but forms and applications electronically)
Communicating with welfare advice dept re benefits
Accessing helplines and online forums for mh support
Arranging and paying for additional services I need because of my disability
Contacting nhs (though they’re not much use)
Staying in touch with family and friends that live far from me.
I use the camera to magnify things I cannot read even with my glasses on
Alarm clock to wake me if I’m expecting visitors or deliveries
Calendar to set reminders - to take meds, to order meds, appointments, things I want to add to my shopping delivery next order...

I’d be seriously stuck without mine!

Back in the autumn my old one stopped working (google “planned obsolescence”) and it was an incredibly stressful couple of weeks while I called people using my tablet
(Not easy!) and arranged an “upgrade” to get this new one.

The world has moved on and so it has become a necessity not a luxury for many if not most.

“However, it's rarely, if ever necessary to have the most expensive versions.”
I would agree with that though.

Even though I’m an iPhone addict (this is my 3rd) I’ve never had the latest version and I look after them so I only need to upgrade when I can no longer update the os (which is the planned obsolescence I mentioned earlier)

I currently have an iPhone 7 which is perfectly serviceable.

Spot on kalifa.

The speed of progress is amazing. My grandparents all grew up in homes without electricity or running water and outside shared toilet facilities. Perfectly normal to them, I can’t imagine living that way.

But just because they managed doesn’t mean it’s what I should be reasonably expected to have now.

Their dc now all have smart phones, one or 2 resisted until relatively recently but life and society moves on and they have now decided it is a necessity.

“Otherwise I guess the benefits system would compensate for the lack of phone?”
Think again! Phones are definitely essential for dealing with dwp and if you’re on uc you’re expected to have one and be pretty much constantly contactable.

I’m 47 and didn’t get my first until I was 27 and pregnant with dd.

I agree that the op has arrogantly assumed that their life is broadly similar to that of many others when as the thread responses show that is clearly not the case.

My mobile phone and my DDs mobile phone are essential.

I often work 100+ miles from home. I need to be able to contact DD and for DD to contact me easily and quickly.

I don't have a landline and so need to be able to contact her via mobile.

@LidlDonkey my life would not be more difficult without a mobile.

We have a landline so can use that for calls. We also have a laptop, desktop and ipad. No way am I using a phone to do banking, buy items etc. I don't get how people can use their phones to do all those sorts of things with such a small screen. I like a laptop or desktop.

I quite often go out without my phone and certainly don't look at it every day at home

Apparently, you can claim Universal Credit without a mobile number, but you do need an email address:

"I don’t have a mobile number

If you do not have a mobile phone, you will need to enter 00000000000 (ie 11 zeros) instead so that you can proceed with your application. You must then select email as your preferred method of contact to ensure you get all the information you need to manage your claim online."

Can you imagine turning up late to work due to a major traffic incident and just saying you didn’t phone because you didn’t have a phone?

This has sort-of happened to DH several times, except it's the fault of the useless public transport where we live being suspended and he's consequently late for work. His office calls me on my mobile when this happens, because he's given them my number as his contact number (we don't have a landline). From a practical point of view, I can't contact him when he's at work unless it's a dire emergency, when I can phone his manager and ask him to pass on a message - I could email him but he's rarely in the office. When he goes out alone or with friends etc he's uncontactable. It's a complete pain but he insists he doesn't need a phone.

My phone, however, is completely essential. I use it for banking, shopping (I'm disabled so internet shopping is a lifesaver), everything. I have a laptop but it rarely gets used.

As PPs have said mobiles weren't essential even 15 years ago, because not everyone had one and we all had landlines. Now even the DWP counts them as essential.

Yeah, I expect the nursery to contact me by carrier pigeon in an emergency. Of course it's a luxury. Just like being able to summon help immediately in an emergency, which you won't know the value of unless it happens, is obviously a 'luxury'.

Get your head out of your backside, OP. The world has moved on.

Can you imagine turning up late to work due to a major traffic incident and just saying you didn’t phone because you didn’t have a phone?

Yes.

Good luck applying for a job with no contact number, email or internet access.

What smart phones have done, is the reduce the need for a home PC.

Good luck applying for a job with no contact number, email or internet access.

You don't need a mobile phone for any of those.

You don't phone lock but it's a much more accessible way for poor people to have them than a landline plus home PC and broadband.

Slightly off topic
I’m starting to give serious thought as to whether or not to move away from smartphones. They are amazing...But the time wasted is ridiculous, the ability to spend spend spend is never ending.
I need a contact number and the ability to txt. The rest is not so much a necessity. I hate he idea that I’m being tracked, stalked. My every movement is recorded, my searches noted.
Seriously thinking of stepping back.

Anyone else or is it just me?

One of my friends husband's doesn't have a mobile. It's caused big problems at the worst of times and it's just fucking annoying at the best of times. The amount of bother she has to go to asking him to pick up some milk on the way home from work.

Once he was abroad and there was a situation where he was, she had no idea if he was safe or not, she was an absolute mess until he managed to contact her on some randomers phone hours and hours later. All that for the sake of not just keeping a £20 Nokia in your pocket. To be honest I'd probably insist my husband get a crappy phone that I can at least contact him on in an emergency like that, especially if he's travelling abroad and I'd expect him to do it to save me the worry. I felt awful for my friend when that happened, she was beside herself thinking he was dead and she wouldn't know.

No one needs a phone to actually live. Technically all we need is shelter, food and water to live. It certainly makes life a hell of a lot more convenient though for a number of things.

contented I understand completely re tracking

But not time and money. Those are choices.

Oh and I don't think my work would appreciate the answer of 'soz, don't have a phone', if I were running late and hadn't told them.

Phone = TV, broadband, email is a very good point, I’m ashamed I didn’t think of it myself.

The amount of bother she has to go to asking him to pick up some milk on the way home from work

This!

Mine uses my phone to communicate with his friends via text, too. And any phone admin stuff he has to do from my phone.

I've told him for years that the only reason he thinks he doesn't need a phone is because he uses mine!

Graphista, I would much rather use a laptop with a keyboard for many of the things you mention than a tiny smartphone screen with a tiny keyboard. A 10 inch tablet is ok, but I'd still rather have a proper keyboard.

What smart phones have done, is the reduce the need for a home PC Struggling to see why this is seen as a positive. Many very serviceable laptops and Chromebooks are considerably cheaper than a lot of smartphones.

I do have a smartphone and I do find it very useful. But peering at its tiny screen for too long gives me a headache. I also have a laptop for work but I wouldn't rely on a phone for my general internet use anyway.

The amount of bother she has to go to asking him to pick up some milk on the way home from work

My DH has a phone but it's switched off most of the time and in any event he has to get his glasses to read messages on it. So I email him at work if I want him to do something. And I would email him anyway because it's much easier and quicker than texting.

Having Whatsapp on my laptop changed my life. I can type my messages on a proper keyboard. My friends get much longer messages from me now - that may not be a good thing :)

Oh Bocca, I'd have to refuse to allow him to use mine just to prove the point!

If you don't want a smart phone, whatever but I really don't understand the fight against just keeping a cheap phone around so you can at least be contactable!

They are not a neccesity for children. But they are for most adults. I couln't manage without mine.

Cologne, he doesn't work in an office so wouldn't be on a computer to read the emails unfortunately. I'd probably email my DH too if I were at work, simply because I'm already on a computer so no need to get my phone out but not everyone works on one.

Maybe I'm just a bitch but I think I'd actually be mad at my DH if he left me with no way of contacting him at all. What if something happens to the kids? To me? To him? I don't think it's fair to cut yourself off like that when there's other people in your family who may need you at some point.

to have them than a landline plus home PC and broadband

You can access the internet for free at a library, if you live in a town large enough to have one. Again, not very convenient but if you were job seeking, you'd have the time you'd be expecting to be at work to spend visiting the library and waiting for a terminal.

Lots of people on this thread are confusing internet access with mobile phone use. In our family we use the internet a huge amount but not necessarily via a mobile phone.

We live in an area without mobile service and so they have limited use. DS (age 17) hardly ever uses his. DH has a work one which he uses occasionally but not often. When I call local friends it's almost always on their landlines because of the lack of signal.

TheMemory, seems like a lot of unnecessary hassle to me.

Only if you weren't already doing a minimum wage job TheMemory and can afford the travel to the last remaining library in your district. And you;d still need to be certain that they'd email you, not call to let you know they'd like to interview you/clarify anything on your application.