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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How often do you have your phone on you when you're just at home?

90 replies

blablablablablablablabla · 30/12/2021 09:29

When out and about and busy, I don't have my phone on me much and can miss calls / messages.

When in the house, I tend to have my phone near by. In the event there should be an important call etc. And just generally

What do you do ? Do you ever just not have your phone on you for the whole day, even if you're at home, doing nothing ?

OP posts:
BooksAndGin · 30/12/2021 09:30

Me. I have on me sometimes but usually I don't. I prefer a book to a phone.

Sparklingbrook · 30/12/2021 09:32

Other way around for me. When I’m out it’s with me when I’m home I’ll leave it in my bag a lot of the time.

Original poster
blablablablablablablabla · 30/12/2021 09:34

Do you never worry there might be an emergency and someone can't reach you ?

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 30/12/2021 09:36

I have a landline at home. They can try that.
I would probably hear my mobile phone even if in the bottom of my bag though.

TheSpiral · 30/12/2021 09:36

Yes other way around. When I am at home I hardly ever check my phone, unless one of the kids is out. We have a landline in three rooms and I am much more likely to hear that. Anyone who is likely to want me in an emergency knows that.

Squirrelblanket · 30/12/2021 09:39

I always have my phone with me at home. I'm less likely to check it when I'm out as it will need in my bag.

Original poster
blablablablablablablabla · 30/12/2021 09:40

I don't have a landline and I think as I have family abroad etc. I would feel very anxious leaving my phone just in my bag for 8 hours plus during the day.

People would be really worried about me if I didn't answer the phone for that long.

It must be a long established habit I didn't realise I had.

OP posts:
Emerald5hamrock · 30/12/2021 09:41

I am always missing calls at home.
My family removed me as their emergency contact.

bonetiredwithtwins · 30/12/2021 09:43

I have an I watch - if my phone is in my bag the calls just come through on the watch so rarely miss any these days

RedSnail · 30/12/2021 09:45

I have my phone on me and switched on 24/7. It alarms if my blood sugars go out of range but only connects to the sensor if I have it on me.

RampantIvy · 30/12/2021 09:47

When DD is at home I don't always know where I have put it. When she is away at university I always keep it with me.

Simonjt · 30/12/2021 09:49

@blablablablablablablabla

I don't have a landline and I think as I have family abroad etc. I would feel very anxious leaving my phone just in my bag for 8 hours plus during the day.

People would be really worried about me if I didn't answer the phone for that long.

It must be a long established habit I didn't realise I had.

Why can’t you hear it ringing?

I have mine on me all the time, but thats because its also a medical device.

AuntieMarys · 30/12/2021 09:50

My phone is never on for calls...if people want me they can leave a message. I hate the sound of ringing phones.
And unless I recognise the number, I never return a call.

JohnSmithDrive · 30/12/2021 09:50

Mine would only be nearby at home when I'm using it which is often too much

Otherwise, I'd hear it ring if you called me, but I could go all day without seeing a message.

DressingPafe · 30/12/2021 09:51

My phone is at that annoying stage where the battery drains quickly, so mine is often not even on. It can be off for days before I think to charge it. Family know that in an emergency it’s best to send me a quick email. I use my iPad numerous times a day and any new emails pop up. I can then plug my phone in and call.

That has only happened once though in the past several years. So I don’t see a need to have a phone with me at all times.

SomethingSuss · 30/12/2021 09:52

Wait..... you can put your phone down? Grin
My family and friends always laugh and comment on me answering calls on the first ring because I am usually on my phone whether it's reading the news, looking for recipes (only time I don't have my phone in my hand is when I'm indulging my love of cooking) or falling down a Tik Tik or YouTube video rabbit hole.

BooksAndGin · 30/12/2021 09:55

@blablablablablablablabla

Do you never worry there might be an emergency and someone can't reach you ?
No I don't leave it on silent so I can hear it go off.

It's really unhealthy to be on your phone 24/7, it effects the way your brain behaves.

Original poster
blablablablablablablabla · 30/12/2021 09:55

@AuntieMarys

My phone is never on for calls...if people want me they can leave a message. I hate the sound of ringing phones. And unless I recognise the number, I never return a call.
How do you ever talk to medical professionals ?
OP posts:
MsAgnesDiPesto · 30/12/2021 09:58

Mine is somewhere downstairs when I'm at home - I don't have it with me in the office when I'm working (I've worked from home forever, years before the pandemic). We have a landline and anyone who needs us in an emergency would ring that (older parents, mine have no mobile signal at home so use landline to landline).

I don't use my phone for anything other than calls and texts, and music in the car - I have a tablet for everything else, which I use a lot. I can't be doing with peering at a phone for the internet etc. but that might be a function of my middle-aged sight.

It might also be generational - when I first had a mobile it made calls and sent texts, and you could play snake on it. I was already nearly 30 and I've continued to see mobiles in the same way - to use when you're out if you need to make a quick call, or look something up in a bind.

I can't bear the idea of being glued to it all the time.

Hedgesfullofbirds · 30/12/2021 09:59

Frequently leave mine lying around somewhere - I regard it as a neccessary evil for modern life, a tool to do a job, can't get excited by them, but it is my servant, not my master and certainly don't want it permanently attached to me by an umbilicus!

Original poster
blablablablablablablabla · 30/12/2021 09:59

I'm not on my phone 24/7. I'm just available most of the time, if someone should ring me or need me.

I may have it out of earshot maybe for an hour maximum. But then I'll have to get it to make sure no one has tried to call me.

My parents/ husband often ring me, needing things / help quickly and it would hold up their time if I wasn't available. Let alone if they were just calling for a chat and I didn't bother to answer for 8 hours or more. They'd be really worried.

I think it's quite selfish, to not be contactable for a really long time if you're just at home, actuallyX

OP posts:
JohnSmithDrive · 30/12/2021 10:07

How big is your house that it's often out of earshot? Grin

Sparklingbrook · 30/12/2021 10:09

If I’m hoovering in the house I won’t hear any phones or anyone at the door but I am still going to hoover.
If I hear my mobile or the landline or the door I’ll answer it. But I don’t carry my phone around the house unless I’m expecting an important call from the NHS or whatever.

AuntieMarys · 30/12/2021 10:11

blablabla why would I need to talk to a health professional?

userisi2 · 30/12/2021 10:13

I get notifications through my watch. I switch on "do not disturb" when I sleep or in an important meeting, other than that I am pretty much always contactable.