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I agree we're on the path, Gerti and unless mobile phones are superseded by something else, they will come to be seen as a necessity eventually - but I don't think that will happen until a lot more people who grew up without them are dead.

Yes, of course you can adaline but not many people do. It's also not quite the same as when those things were the only way of communicating. It's like taking a trip on a heritage steam railway, compared with when steam trains were running on the mainline - pleasant but has an air of artificiality.

I’d imagine that if you asked people are mobile phones a necessity, (almost) all under 18s would say yes, the vast majority of those aged 18- 30 would say yes and that percentage would decrease as you moved up the age groups. That means that if there there will be a ‘shared understanding’ within the next 10 years or so.

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

I'm an old gimmer too, lived the majority of my life pre internet. But I don't share your nostalgia for snail mail and sitting on the stairs to talk on the phone, or the frustration of finding a phone box that worked only to find the person was out ....

That means that if there there will be a ‘shared understanding’ within the next 10 years or so.

How are you getting the 10 years, if you are starting the 'non-essential' group from 30 upwards?

If I couldn’t check my emails at a moments notice
Log in to the app that work has to access documents
Or just take a phone call at almost any given moment in the day I wouldn’t last very long in my job.

I have to go to new places in a rush several times a day (new cities and towns not just new streets) and without my phone it would take me too long to find my location - though an in car sat nav would work here, in my experience they are not as good

Aside from that, it’s safer, easier, there are no phone boxes and peoples lives are busier now.
I’m sure a washing machine or dishwasher or fridge or car or tv all weren’t necessary at one point.
I suppose they’re not now either, but most of us will have most of those things, many households having multiple of some

Maybe in your life it isn’t necessary
But in mine it is.
You don’t need to have one and I do.
I’m not sure why you would care what other people see as a necessity in their own lives, or presume your experiences and needs match everyone else’s.

But I don't share your nostalgia for snail mail and sitting on the stairs to talk on the phone

I feel very nostalgic about those things, so clearly a difference in taste.

but I don't think that will happen until a lot more people who grew up without them are dead.

Funnily enough it's the OP's DM who thinks it's a necessity

TheMemoryLingers I remember those times with great affection but I wouldn't want to go back to that way of communicating

I'm pretty addicted to my phone and it does make life easier in many ways. I use it for work, for banking, for entertainment, for keeping in contact with friends and family. It's my phone and my camera and my wallet and my alarm clock and my radio.

However I could certainly live without it, as could everyone. It might be inconvenient, it might be expensive, it might be frustrating, it might be boring, but everyone could live without a mobile.

The Tories sold off Royal Mail and unsurprisingly, the cost of postage has gone up up up. 76p for a 1st class stamp now.

I don't know where the mobile use percentages are now or how they relate to age

but my mum is 82 and she's got friends in the same age group, or older, who are annoyed she's only got a dumb phone and doesn't use WhatsApp.

but everyone could live without a mobile

I wouldn’t be able to do my current job. So if I could guarantee closing my business and getting new employment then I could. Otherwise I guess the benefits system would compensate for the lack of phone?

My parents are in their 70s and won’t go anywhere without their mobiles. They use Google maps in their cars to find and direct them to places. They call and text each other. Yes, over 65s may as a group be less attached to their phones but my parents had mobiles by the mid 1990s and rely on them more over time and the OP’s mother shows how quickly people can adapt.

I’m 40 and think they’re essential! I couldn’t say in what age range the non essentials would outnumber the essentials but I’d guess it would be at least 65+

40 ish

Apart from shelter, warmth and food what actually is a necessity though? It's facile to pick on mobile phones.

I work shifts as does my partner. I have to trust my 11yr old to get too and from school on her own. There is no direct bus route, she would have to walk 20 mins out of her way to the nearest bus stop which goes close to her school, then take a 30-40 min bus ride for a walk she can do in 30 mins. But She has to walk though a questionable area to do so. To me her phone is essential. We don't have a land-line (virgin doesn't require one anymore) she texts me to say she has left the house, and then again to a say she has arrived at school. Same on the way home. In today's society for me it is a necessity for her safety. Yes she could get mugged etc I understand that. But when she is out with her friends I can track that she is where she says she is going to be etc.
I also work quite remotely without my mobile her school or my ill mother would not be able to contact me in an emergency, well they could phone the office who then would not be able to contact me without my mobile. I could be in the office, I could be in the middle of a field or up on a roof!
Also one of my dds schools only communicate via an app or text. Without it I would be clueless to what is going on as they now very rarely update the website and have gone paperless on parental communication.

I never sat on the stairs to talk on the phone. For those of us who are old enough, there’s an echo of the way landline use changed in the way mobile phones are regarded. By 1995 my parents had mobiles and three landline phones in the house (2 downstairs and one up.) One of my friends had the one phone in the hall with a rotary dial. Not everyone moved at the same pace.

Also the job centre now insists that you have a number to contact you on, you can top up a mobile from £5 without it being tied in to a contract. Could be wrong but I don't know of any landlines that are that cheap, don't require a credit check and don't tie you in to a contract for 12-36 months now!

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

I agree to a point, but, apart from emails, I'm not sure how you use an iPad for communication. It would be useful if it was possible to run WhatsApp on it.

I wouldn’t be able to do my current job.

But the fact that jobs have evolved to use current technology doesn't make that technology an 'essential' in the broader sense - i.e. for personal use. A motorcycle courier couldn't do their job without a motorcycle but that doesn't translate to a motorcycle being an essential possession.

I no longer have a landline, or rather won't once a move in a few weeks, a fancy one is a luxury but my 3 year old iPhone (and wasn't the latest model then) is sim only and cheaper than a landline and fibre connection, he uses a work one with unlimited data

It always amazes me how many people say they don't have landlines. The reception on mobiles is still quite poor on occasion. I've frequently had work calls where I miss half the conversation. If I am at home I ask people to call my landline, but I can't control what sort of phone they are using to call me of course.

Smartphones aren't a necessity but I think having a basic phone is important, if only eg if you break down when out and about in the car.

I don't like businesses calling my mobile though. They don't know where you are and whether it's convenient, yet if you decline the call they will keep calling back. It's very rude and entitled. At least if they call the landline they know you're not driving.

Lots of forms now will only accept mobile numbers and not landlines I have only experienced this once, and it was very recently - like in the last few days but I can't remember what it was now.

Also, so many of the services I use including online banking require SMS verification. What would you do if you couldn’t receive texts? You wouldn’t be able to bank or do lots of things Email works too.

I could manage without one if I had to. I mean I didn't have one for the first 23 years of my life.

However it's now a big part of my life and it would make life more difficult without. I have one device that can be used for multiple purposes. It makes life easier.

My family calendar is on there - shared with Dh and teen dd - and also my work calendar.

I access all emails and messages from friends, family and work on my phone. I do have a home landline phone but that doesn't help me if needed in an emergency or if we are away. It's also so much easier to keep in touch with family and friends as hoc most days rather than a once or twice a week phone call.

I also use my phone for snapshots. I have a proper big camera for special events etc but just when out and about or travelling hand luggage only having a decent camera on the phone is great.

Talking of travelling and planes - I'm on the way home from the airport. We didn't need to have a widget of paperwork with us - boarding passes on the phone, all hotel.l, parking and car reservations on here, even my hotel room key was on my phone.

I'd need something extra to listen to music. At present I can access music on my phone which is then also sent to the speakers if at home. I don't have to buy individual CDs as we can just stream.