AIBU to think mobile phones are NOT a necessity?

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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 agree, it would be a lot of hassle, Disgustingly - it would be up to the individual whether the hassle was worth the benefit of being mobile-free. The point is really that the DWP can't force people to go out and buy a phone (or other equipment) so they offer email as a means of job-searching/claiming benefits because it's possible to use it without cost.

No one needs a phone to actually live.

That's bollocks. Many, many jobs require it. We need jobs to survive.

The point is really that the DWP can't force people to go out and buy a phone (or other equipment) so they offer email as a means of job-searching/claiming benefits because it's possible to use it without cost.

It's not free for everyone, though.

Yes, libraries exist but if the only way to access your "local" library is to spend money on a bus or train or taxi fare, it would be cheaper to buy a phone.

Well it's not is it cheese, if we're being completely technical, most things we have are not absolutely essential to us being alive. As I said, all we technically need is shelter, food and water. There are lots of things, like phones, that make life a hell of a lot easier to live, but no, I'm not going to collapse in a heap and wither away if I got rid of my phone tomorrow.

I agree though that it's daft not to have a type of phone in this day and age as it makes things a hell of a lot easier.

Not read the full thread but I broke down on the motorway yesterday with two DC in the car. I have no idea what I would have done without my mobile phone, should I have waited for DH to send out a search party in 100 mile radius when I didn’t return home??? (we were 100 miles from home coming back from holiday) or perhaps I should have encouraged my DC to walk with me down the hard shoulder to find an emergency phone? Or maybe I could have left them on their own while I went to find the phone??? YABU, mobile phones are vital.

“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.”

I don’t currently have a laptop. When I have in the past I’ve had to get the cheaper ones where the memory and speed are shit and they “freeze” frequently.

I actually have a little in savings and want to get another laptop for a very specific reason (increasing income) but I’m so out of the loop now I’m feeling overwhelmed by the choices and don’t want to waste what is to me a LOT of money on a laptop that in 12 months is useless because of memory/storage/data issues.

@thememorylingers - genuine questions when were you last job hunting? Have you claimed benefits in recent years? When was the last time you were in a library?

Dwp now expects you to spend 8 hours a day actively seeking/applying for jobs.

Libraries - even where they do still exist, rarely have enough computers for demand and what is available is “rationed” for fairness so most now only allow you to book for an hour at a time, maybe longer if they’re quiet but most are actually being well used now precisely because of these issues. In addition cuts mean that councils haven’t the money to maintain up to date computers, printers or servers so they frequently crash, freeze or cannot cope with certain websites.

Dd and I were job hunting a few years ago and using the library for this at times (we could do most of it via phone/tablet but sometimes a computer or printer were needed) and it was murder! The frustration of having spent an hour doing an electronic application or worse going through a potential employers various speed and psychometric tests and to be almost finished when...server crashes! Maddening!

“the DWP can't force people to go out and buy a phone (or other equipment)” and yet that’s exactly what IS happening. Claimants have even been sanctioned as a result.

thememorylingers - genuine questions when were you last job hunting? Have you claimed benefits in recent years? When was the last time you were in a library?

Not me, but my husband has in the last couple of years - he wasn't eligible for benefits due to my income, but had to 'sign on' to get NI payments. I was last in the library about six months ago but my husband goes at least once a fortnight to borrow/return books and he doesn't have a computer/smart phone so sometimes uses the library terminals.

Where I live they're essential. Zero phone boxes. However, we barely have a mobile phone signal either and then it's pot luck if you can actually have a phone conversation; also people just start talking at you, no "are you busy?" Just start rambling on.

Dwp love my county. It's one of the best for getting people off UC "into work". I'm sure people not having mobiles (plenty of shops though ); one library in the county (not open every day) with six computers which are heavily restricted (maximum 60 minutes per day and if you only use it for five minutes you can't go back for your other 55) and don't run a lot of "courses" the dwp pushes people to study online, because you know we're rural so why can't they be done online? Oh and we only have one, not open every day, or any day a full day jobcentre and, there's no public transport anymore and the county is one of the largest in the uk has NOTHING to do with that statistic AT ALL.

Basically the reason so many leave UC has nothing whatsoever to do with finding work. Though the dwp won't accept that.

Millions, if not billions, of government money has been wasted spent making signals better in my area. So far with zero success. They want to try again though

And all our banks are being closed because we are all using mobile banking

Three things you're guaranteed to hear during tourist season - is my phone broken? (nope there's no signal here) Where's the sea? And where's the bank? (it comes once a weekish (depending on weather/if staff can be bothered) for thirty minutes and their priority is business customers not personal). Rarely are we asked about post office answer same as bank.

Still we all have mobiles and Internet so we don't need these things

The really annoying thing? Places with mobile coverage get to keep their services.

I broke down on the motorway yesterday with two DC in the car. I have no idea what I would have done without my mobile phone, Traffic Officers would have found you.

Mere that would be fun waiting!

I’d say it depends on what you use it for. I have my bus tickets for work on mine. I also have work and private email. I also have apps for paying school dinners so I can pay by card. The phone is no longer just a phone for voice communication, it has morphed into something so much more.

I think they’re pretty vital, and I wouldn’t want my DD walking around without one personally. I do worry about her when she’s out, and if there’s ever an emergency she can call me as not many places have phone boxes anymore x

Mine is connected to a sensor lying under my skin that reads my blood glucose and sends it to my phone every 5 minutes, with the phone alerting if it starts to go outside particular boundaries.

So it doubles as a medical device and helps keep me alive and well.

We will see a lot more of this kind of thing soon.

Absent oh I didn’t know that was in use already!

Were you doing finger prick tests before?

@AutumnRose1

Yep, and even with doing 12 or 15 finger pokes a day could not get the level of control I have now!

Continuous glucose monitors are a real game changer. I can literally go to sleep and not worry about dying because my phone will scream and wake me up!

My brother has a continuous monitor too. Absolutely life changing.

I think they are fairly essential for adult life (I don’t use mine that much). I feel worried if I go out without it that school might need to contact me if my child is ill or were to have an accident, I’ve been in situations where I would have been really stuck without a mobile. BUT there’s no way kids need them when the are in school. I think schools banning them/confiscating them is a great idea. It’s like people think it’s a human right to have accept twitter and social media 24 hours a day. Not good for anyone.

*access

Well it's not is it cheese, if we're being completely technical, most things we have are not absolutely essential to us being alive. As I said, all we technically need is shelter, food and water. There are lots of things, like phones, that make life a hell of a lot easier to live, but no, I'm not going to collapse in a heap and wither away if I got rid of my phone tomorrow.

Disagree. Maybe you wouldn't wither away, but I'd sure get sacked and we kind of need money to survive, bizarrely. In 2020 it's clearly not just a question of everything beyond food and shelter being some kind of luxury. There are other necessities.

Of course you don't NEED a mobile phone. It's useful to have one if you're out and need to call for help because you've got a puncture or something. But you don't need a smartphone for that.
Saying you don't have a landline is no reason to have a mobile! Presumably you chose to get rid of your landline? Nothing stopping you from reinstating it.
I know plenty of people (elderly) who manage perfectly fine without mobiles or the internet.
And people managed very well to "stay in touch" with others before the internet ;)

Absentminded that's really great, but the sensor speaks to your phone because that's how it's been set up. It could just as well be connected to its own little alarm device.
Just saying that this kind of medical monitoring could be done without a phone.

that's really great, but the sensor speaks to your phone because that's how it's been set up. It could just as well be connected to its own little alarm device.

No - the phone automatically send the data to my wife's phone, so this adds another layer to my safety net.

For example, if I'm at home and my wife is out of town for work, her phone alerts when I go low. So, at night, if she didn't see me start to come back up and also can't get hold of me, she can send an ambulance.

We have never had to use this but many parents of kids fine this invaluable, they can keep their children safe at school/ on sleepovers etc via this function - they can constantly check the data and text their child to reduce their insulin or give more etc as well as being alerted to acute emergencies.

My phone also sends all the data to my doctors.

My point was phones are rapidly evolving to become something different, they are not just for calling/ texting/ surfing web, socioculturally we are moving towards interacting with them in a very different way.

abscent see its things like that for medical conditions which many dead signal areas in the uk are at danger of missing out on. And there are a lot of places with dead signals. I know someone who that would help so much but living where they do they cannot have it.

Becca it's a shame they can't connect it to a landline or a pager or something like that. I am sure that technically it doesn't have to be a mobile.

I'll mention it to them, thanks.