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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not have a mobile phone?

57 replies

mrsruffallo · 03/03/2010 20:58

It is strange how many people are outraged when you tell them you don't have one. Or they say 'I've got an old one if you want'
No, I don't freaking want
I can't stand all the fiddling people do with them, or you are talking to someone and they answer their mobile

Who wants to be that accessible
It's pathetic
Maybe they have brain controlling devices inside

OP posts:
yellowcircle · 03/03/2010 21:09

I think it's best to have one for emergencies. A cheap pay as you go one.

When you break down in your car, they are extremely useful. My MIL is nearly 70 and she asked me to get her one for this very purpose.

yellowcircle · 03/03/2010 21:10

You can keep it switched off and not give the number to anyone - just for use when you are desperate.

diddl · 03/03/2010 21:12

I don´t have one either.

Can´t see the point.

bernadetteoflourdes · 03/03/2010 21:15

YANBU you are fantastic a real Luddite and I applaud you. I have to have one for work and it is disgusting cheap garish pink plastic and cost a fiver on pay as you go. Ikeep it in the car and people choke on their derision when they see it but I dont give a F Mobiles are the most robbable items but I wouldnt give a shite if mine was nicked. My dh has a mobile from 1991 languishing in a draw I almost feel like cranking it up and using it as a retro anti fashion staetment YAWN

CoteDAzur · 03/03/2010 21:16

YABU. And YABVeryWeird re "brain controlling device".

Original poster
mrsruffallo · 03/03/2010 21:29

Cote- I've heard of odder things

I don't drive either, don't trust cars

OP posts:
CoteDAzur · 03/03/2010 21:43

What, cars have mind controlling devices, too?

Or are you worried they might be possessed and do things on their own?

Original poster
mrsruffallo · 03/03/2010 21:45

No, just machinery is unpredictable, isn't it

You know where you are when you are walking

And I think the effect of mobile phones on the wiring of the brain is still under close scrutiny

OP posts:
usualsuspect · 03/03/2010 21:45

I love my mobile phone ..

brimfull · 03/03/2010 21:47

but they are so convienent

boo hiss at your luddite life

olderandwider · 03/03/2010 21:48

My DB has - no mobile, no computer, no car. He has a phone but is never in to answer it. If you want to ask him something, you have to virtually put it in writing. He's single, not working currrently (but self-supporting) no dependents, and seems very happy.

Original poster
mrsruffallo · 03/03/2010 21:48

Sorry Usual S, that makes me shudder
Why do you love it...how is it possible tolove cheap plastic?

OP posts:
brimfull · 03/03/2010 21:49

olderandwider-blimey are we related , I have a db exactly the same

Original poster
mrsruffallo · 03/03/2010 21:51

Even house phones...they demand you answer them don't they?
No matter what you are doing everything must be dropped at the ring of a phone

I like the sound of your brother, older. I would love to letter write more often, a very special and intimate form of communication

OP posts:
usualsuspect · 03/03/2010 21:52

I love it nearly as much as my computer in fact I love my new phone even more now I can access the internet on it

serinBrightside · 03/03/2010 21:53

Who wants to be that accessible?

Well me for one!

The only people who know the number are close family and friends and the kids schools though and I never, ever fiddle with it!

Original poster
mrsruffallo · 03/03/2010 21:55

The thing about cars is they are really ugly aren't they?
And the way they just zoom along, isolating the people within from society. And the room they take up with their parking needs.

I'm just fed up with it all

OP posts:
BikeRunSki · 03/03/2010 21:58

MrsRuffalo, you are comfortable enough with a computer and the internet then?

olderandwider · 03/03/2010 22:03

ggirl - I thought only I had had a DB like that! He seems to have pared his life down to the bare essentials. He is very easy-going and quite a funny bloke, but takes forever to decide to do anything (has no deadlines I guess) and just drifts along through life. He is the least materialistic bloke I know - unlike moi .
He did have a mobile (I bought it for him) and he just never learned how to use it/charge it and then it turned into a huge saga of needing to find a mate down the pub to tell him how to switch it on after the battery was replaced. He is just not really equipped for the 21st century - but I still love 'im.

MrsC2010 · 03/03/2010 22:04

I used to be a real technology addict, always had the latest phone. But now I have gone the complete other way! I have a very basic phone that was pay as you go until my husband got fed up with my permanent forgetfulness when it came to credit and added me to his phone bill for £10 p/m. I am rubbish with it though, it is permanently on silent at the bottom of my bag because I hate being disrupted by it. This way I can see who has contacted me, get texts etc and have ti there for emergencies. It has replaced my watch this week as well as the battery has gone. It probably only gets checked once a day if that...people must think I'm rubbish.

TottWriter · 03/03/2010 22:08

I have a mobile, and it is a very useful tool. When I am out and about, I am able to recieve calls from doctors etc, which can lead to me getting cancellation appointments rather than waiting months to see a specialist. A mobile phone also means that in an emergency, I can be reached - so if I was out, and (god forbid) something happened to my DS, my DP could call me and I could get to him straight away.

It is also useful for trips out - rather than risk missing someone by arranging a meeting point, I can simply call them and ask where they are now so to meet them there.

I don't think it's possible to be unreasonable to choose not to have a particular item as long as you don't insist others follow your lead, but I do think that some of your reasons are a little misplaced. Having a mobile phone does not mean you have to be its slave. My nan has a mobile which is always turned off, unless she is out and about and needs to call someone (and there isn't a payphone). You can't get through to her, but if her car broke down in the middle of nowhere, she wouldn't be stranded. My other nan was in a car accident last year in the welsh countryside, and broke her wrist. My cousin was in the car with her, and was not only able to ring for help, but could take photographs of the damage on the phone to be used as evidence in the insurance claim. His mobile phone was a valuable asset, which he controlled, and usedto prevent them being stuck in the cold.

I would never presume to foist a mobile phone on someone whi didn't want one, however, so I can honestly say that I think the people who try to get you to use one are being unreasonable if they do anything other than make an offer before knowing you don't want one.

fluffles · 03/03/2010 22:09

the problem is that because generally society has embraced mobile phones, it's now very hard to find a payphone... i wouldn't be happy without a mobile if i was on a long journey in the dark in a relatively quite area on my own for example. You certainly would be hard-pressed to walk to the "nearest pay-phone" if you broke down these days.

olderandwider · 03/03/2010 22:09

mrsruffalo - you're right I guess, but when you are trying to find out something urgent (we've had a lot of legal stuff to sort out recently) it can be frustrating! I sometimes feel like I'm in a Thomas Hardy novel with letters crossing in the post when a simple email would have sorted everything out.

BigBadMummy · 03/03/2010 22:15

I love my mobile phone.

It means that when my DCs are at their fathers they can text me to say "night night" and I can reply with "love you".

There is no landline there so it is my only way to communicate with them.

And running a property management company where tenants phone me and say "I have water peeing through my ceiling" I can provide a much better service by being able to get hold of a plumber on their mobile. If I had to wait for the plumber to get home and listen to a message on the answer machine the landlord's house could be ruined.

Similarly I don't have to be tied to the house to do my job. I can go for a picnice in the park or take the dog for a walk and still be able to deal with the flood at number 24.

Original poster
mrsruffallo · 03/03/2010 22:35

You are quite right fluffles-I've noticed that too

Don;t mind the internet so much as it provides information that would otherwise me inaccessible

OP posts: