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?

oh, and the same friend, who lives a long way away, once delayed putting in her expenses at work because some sort of mobile was needed for it. She ended up waiting till she saw me because apparently everyone else just had a go at her

I told her I'd do it this once, but apart from that it was "get a phone".

Yabu. Obviously.

oh, and the same friend, who lives a long way away, once delayed putting in her expenses at work because some sort of mobile was needed for it.

I'd have said at work, either you provide me with another method of submitting my expenses, or I won't be doing whatever it is you want me to do that incurs them.

I don't, on principle, use my personal devices for anything work-related. Fortunately, we can do everything we need to do on our work computers.

TheMemory "I'd have said at work, either you provide me with another method of submitting my expenses, or I won't be doing whatever it is you want me to do that incurs them."

agree. but there was an alternative method and she didn't like it. Yes, she is a PITA generally.

Also won't stop working when Apple etc hack the software to make you buy a new one

I still use an iPhone 5 for some of my accounts. Works perfectly well.

Let’s face it, people seem to think being “tech free” is a badge of honour.

It really isn’t, it’s just a different way of living - no more or less valid than anyone else’s.

@BarbaraofSeville virgin has their own fibre optic network so you don't need a landline or even landline connection and it's not a mobile internet either. That's why I keep saying no landline.
They are scumbags tho.

It doesn't matter though. My point stands. Mobile is essential if one doesn't have a landline, which many simply don't nowadays.

TheMemoryLingers

I don't understand the argument of "what happened x years ago"

The question asked by the OP was, are mobile phones a necessity or not? No one is arguing that they are notconvenient.

My point TheMemoryLingers is that the shared understanding of what is a necessity changes over time. So giving examples of how things functioned in the past is irrelevant to how life works now.

the shared understanding of what is a necessity changes over time.

I agree that it does - for example, we'd almost all consider having electricity and running water at home was a necessity nowadays, whereas at one time those things would have been a luxury - but I don't think the shared understanding is there yet with regard to mobile phones, because there is still a substantial number of people who manage without one altogether, and still more people who view them more as a convenience than an essential.

Yabu.

A basic smart phone is a necessity these days and actually saves you money. An iPhone 11 otoh is a luxury.

Well absolutely nothing in life is really essential except food and shelter, so if that's what we're talking about then of course they're not essential.

Doesn't mean that it would be desirable to do without them though.

And water Isabelle

@TheMemoryLingers
Your last comment is exactly my take on it

@mencken
internet access is also pretty much essential now. But not everyone needs it outside the house. That is the difference that MN can't cope with.
This!

My husband seems to manage perfectly well without one. He does have an iPad though.

My son's school and school transport expects parents to be pretty much instantly contactable which would not be possible without a mobile phone unless I never left the house.

Well, I mean, of course they're not necessities but life would be pretty boring if we only allowed ourselves to have the essentials.

It's handy for children to have mobile phones. I remember as a teen having to use pay phones to call my mum if I was in town and wanted a lift or similar. There aren't any pay phones anymore.

"He does have an iPad though."

I think, for this discussion, anything that can do communication while you're out counts as a phone.

Lots of things aren’t strictly essential. I mean, I wouldn’t die if I didn’t have a car. But as I live rurally and there isn’t a decent bus service, I’d be very limited in what I could do and where I could go, and I wouldn’t have much flexibility - it would be bike or the dial-a-ride bus, which must be booked by 3pm the day before and has limits on where it will take you. A car makes life much, much more convenient. Same with a phone. I can look things up (directions, for instance), keep tabs on where DH is when he’s on the way home so I can get dinner ready / hold off if he’s stuck in traffic. I can call for help more or less anywhere - like when I stopped to help a woman who’d crashed her car on a rural road fairly recently. Plus all the nice fripperies like a camera, social media to keep up with family and friends and things. I just FaceTimed my mum while she was at my sister’s place (120 miles away from me), so was able to say hello to everyone, play peepo with my older niece and look at my newborn one - wouldn’t have been able to do that if Mum hadn’t taken her phone with her. It’s nice to be able to do these things.

Well, I mean, of course they're not necessities but life would be pretty boring if we only allowed ourselves to have the essentials.

You say that, but I think mobile phones have taken some of the excitement out of everyday life. There's no suspense any more - no waiting for a call or letter and then settling down to enjoy it. I've got boxes and boxes of letters from when I was a student - nowadays people just send text messages (or post all their updates on social media). It's not the same - I feel sorry for people who missed out on the pre-mobile phone era, really. There are so many small pleasures they'll never experience.

I don't have one now. I used to but could never get a signal where I live and used the mobile so rarely that it was a waste of money. I've managed just fine for the last 5 years and have no desire to get another.

Surprise, surprise, it's 2020! YABU. We don't have a landline. Haven't for years.

TheMemoryLingers

butI don't think the shared understanding is there yet with regard to mobile phones, because there is still a substantial number of people who manage without one altogether, and still more people who view them more as a convenience than an essential

I agree there are different views on how far down the line we are towards accepting the device is a necessity but I believe we are firmly on that path.

I suppose I find it a slightly amusing thing to get annoyed about.

If the discussion was about the way in which people use their mobiles e.g. are permanently locked to it, then I could understand.

"There's no suspense any more - no waiting for a call or letter and then settling down to enjoy it."

one of my friends has her phone connected to her computer. Her texts are like long letters. I literally see them, have a quick glance and then think "Okay, I'll read that after dinner"

My DD is 13 and has a smartphone and a PenPal.

Tech and tradition aren’t mutually exclusive.

You say that, but I think mobile phones have taken some of the excitement out of everyday life. There's no suspense any more - no waiting for a call or letter and then settling down to enjoy it.

You can still make phone calls and write letters even if you use a mobile!