Do you take your phone everywhere?

[Estermay]

I have read people astounded that others do not take their phone everywhere. I don't. If I am going out to a barwith friends I leave it at-home. No point losing it, which i would if i took it. Or if I am popping out to the local shop I leave it, I don't need it.
So do you take your phone everywhere?
YABU = yes I do
YANBU = I dont

@Raincloudsonasunnyday but I am not a single parent. DP can deal with any emergency e.g. call an ambulance for one of the DCs and call the place I am at. If I am somewhere like the cemetery I will soon be back anyway as I don't go there for long.
We all managed before phones. And real emergencies are very rare. The one time we had one I couldn't contact DP as he was at work and not allowed to have his personal phone on. So I just left a message saying I was in an ambulance, not to worry its not life threatening, but dc is going to be admitted. All it meant was that DP got to the hospital slightly later than he would have.
And I am quite happy to have teenage dcs unable to contact me with their idea of an emergency when I am at my parents grave e.g. I can't find my top.

Oh and I also read books on my phone with the kindle app! I think the OP has an odd relationship with their phone if they think it’s just used to take pictures with?

Yes I take it everywhere but I’m not on it constantly. I have a disabled adult child who doesn’t live at hime so I need to be contactable .

If I get ill I will get a taxi home. If I was seriously ill friends will take me to hospital. Only place I could witness an accident without lots of other people also seeing it is the cemetery.

Yes as I use Apple Pay, because my shopping list is in Notes and my to do list is in Calendar.

Also I always think if something happened to me (I'm not sure what exactly) I could call my family.

If I get ill I will get a taxi home

So would you use someone else's phone to sort this? It's not always possible to flag one down.

Just because you take your phone out, doesn’t mean you are going to be on it all night?!

Exactly. I really don't understand those who have one but don't take it out. Having it with you is just sensible. It doesn't mean you have to use it but if you do need to use it then surely it's better to have it with you, it's a bit like insurance, handy to have in an emergency.

Yes because I keep my bank cards in the phone case. Which actually I probably shouldn't bother doing anymore now I've got Apple Pay.

Yes, because I can't buy anything or call my driver without it.

I don't usually take it when I walk the dogs, as even knowing it's in my bag or pocket affects the way I feel. And yes, I could have an accident, but I would rather have the aloneness of not having it all the time.

Ok!

Seriously, do whatever you want to do. Why does it matter what other people think? If your DH or others in your life don’t mind, who cares?

(I suspect the reason you’re posting is because they do care and you’re looking for backup/justification. It’s a bit like non-drivers insisting they’re not putting anyone out by cashing a lift, seeing as they’re going anyway. Some people are fine with it, some aren’t.)

If I go out with friends it's either very local so walkable, or in town with taxi ranks. Going to the taxi rank is usually quicker than ordering one.
But it has never happened and us unlikely to. If I felt ropey before going out, I would either not go, or taker my phone.
Unless you have something serious like a heart attack, feeling ill enough to go home doesn't normally happen over a few hours.
But there might be times you have to ask friends for help. You lose your phone. You get spiked. Etc etc. I know MN has a horror of ever asking friends for any help though.

I don't take mine if I'm walking the dogs - I like to leave it at home and be away from it for a while.

otherwise I always take it- I need it to pay for things, listen to music, check maps, check my emails, spend pointless hours scrolling on twitter.

I do take my phone everywhere (when I remember) as it is always handy to have if plans change, a taxi doesn't show up, need to check something at home, use contactless through phone or whatever.

But being old school I don't otherwise use it when out as I don't use social media or take a lot of photos. I focus on where I am.

I have never lost, or smashed a phone ever (although I have vomited on one in my handbag in the taxi home 😳, it didn't survive, but the taxi driver seemed happy his cab stayed clean!).

@Estermay - that’s just passing on responsibility for everything to your friends or passer by though. If they all decided not to carry phone then it would be a disaster.

Would you really not want to know sooner rather than later if there was an emergency?
I mean if my Ds fell down the stairs and was unconscious and rushed to hospital, I know my dh would call ambulance and be with him, but you would just get home at like midnight to an empty house, with no idea child was in emergency surgery. And you wouldn’t be able to call your dh to find out what’s going on if he decided not to bother carrying phone either.

Iv had nursery call at 10am to say Ds needs collecting asap as teacher had accident and not enough staff now for safety, wouldn’t you feel rubbish just turning up at midday when every other parent had made the effort?

Some things are emergency but say dh text asking if I can get sugar for baking cookies with Ds when at shops or something and it’s just inconvenient if I didn’t know whilst already out.

@Raincloudsonasunnyday I laughed at your comment. I posted as I said because some people are horrified that someone does not always take their phone out. And I idly wondered how common that attitude was.

I didn’t have one until I was over 30. I take mine everywhere, because a) although it’s fine not to be contactable that doesn’t mean it’s not better, generally, if you are, and b) being contacted is only a tiny part of what I use mine for -maps, reference, camera, paying for things, tickets for things I’m going to…

@Caspianberg I do carry my phone a lot, but not always. I already said that DP would just ring the bar I was in.
DP has a minimum wage job where at times personal phones must be off. We cope fine with that.
My dcs are teenagers so no issues with childcare.
People these days seem primed to imagine the worst. No wonder levels of anxiety are so high.

And people keep talking about practical things they can use phones for. IME most people use it for social media when out and about, or watching videos.
It's nice to be present.

Always. It used to be phone, wallet, keys. Now it's just phone & keys.

I use my phone to pay for things so I generally have it on me if I’m out of the house.

I take it everywhere. I use Apple Pay for everything. I have two small children I need to be contactable for. I use Uber for most journeys.

So all your friends who do take their phones spend the time you're together at the bars etc on social media or watching videos? If so the problem is your friends not the phones. It's perfectly possible and normal for 99% of adults to bring their phone with them and be present in the moment.

I can’t imagine nowadays having teenagers who are out and about alone and them having no way to contact parents in emergency. I would like that when Ds is that age he knows if he ever needs us to come and get him from a situation he isn’t happy with will get there asap

obviosly if your dh cant have phone at work, then teen would presumably know schedule and they would know to contact you instead? But you decide not to have phone?

YABU.