Am I the Last Person in US Without a Cell Phone?

You sound like my dad!! He doesn't have one nor does he want one. I asked him if he wanted a prepaid cell phone for christmas, he declined. "I don't want people thinking they can get a hold of me all the time. And the government probably tracks all of that anyway. No thank you." haha

Love to be constantly wired. I'm the opposite. We've had cell phones and no land lines for YEARS! We tried having a land line for about 3 months (because I felt we needed one for safety) and we never ever used it. Not once. So we got rid of that $20 a month and are back to cell phones. I can't imagine life without it!!!

I need one. Do you have kids? When they're in school and you're out and about how does the school contact you if they need to? I got my first one in 2003, and I have never looked back. We also have a landline which it almost never gets used.

This is in response to your "So What Happened?" Some of us with cell phones know how to do all those things you listed too. Having a cell phone does not make us idiots. Geez.

<grin> We had a satellite phone in the 80's that came with it's own gazillion pound suitcase. (Actually, I think it was only 65lbs)

((Most businesses in our area have a policy of not allowing *anyone*, including lost children -as many parents with our public bussing system instead of school busses are furious about-, to use their phones. One has better luck flagging down a stranger and asking to borrow their cell than getting a business to allow you to use your phone))

I have my cell phone... What if I break down somewhere, or I have an emergency and don't have immediate access to a phone? I actually had that happen once... I got stranded in the middle of a snowstorm on a freeway when my car broke down. I didn't have a cell yet, so I had to get out of my car and push it off the freeway by myself IN THE SNOW because I was terrified someone wouldn't be able to see my car through the snow, (I lived in Idaho at the time, and it became a white-out blizzard when I was about 1/2 way home...) and would slam into me. I then sat in my car for 3 1/2 hours (luckily, I was prepared with blankets, warm clothes, and a candle...) until the weather cleared up and someone saw me. After that, I got a cell phone. I really don't use it that much though, but it's great peace of mind for me. ESPECIALLY when all those tornados were coming through here Thursday... I was able to know where my fiance was, and also where the rest of our family even though a lot of the landlines were down. Service was pretty spotty, but at least I was able to get through long enough to know they were safe.

Nope! My grandpa doesn't have one... But my grandma does (Not that she ever turns the darn thing on) :P

I don't think that my great great aunt has one.

Um... Ya, that's it. Just you, my grandpa, and my great great aunt. :)

I'm jealous you have been able to be w/o a cell phone! Mine is only for emergencies and if my kids need to get a hold of me. I hate cell phones b/c people have lost simple common courtesies such as NOT ANSWERING THE PHONE WHEN YOU ARE ENGAGED IN CONVERSATION OR AT THE DINNER TABLE. I hate cell phones! They have caused people to be self-centered and unable to have face-to-face conversations.

I understand you.
I have the cheapest cell phone and use the prepaid card. I use it just for emergencies, very short conversations (make appointments, schedule outings and playdates etc.).I have it with me all the time just in case.

Let me put it this way, my 90 year old grandmother now has one. It is a basic one just for emergencies but still she has it. If you don't want to be bothered you can always keep it turned off unless you want to call out on it (which is what my mom usually does). I had mixed feelings at first when I got one but I had a job doing home visits in some iffy neighborhoods so it was nice to have. Now that I have kids I want to be reachable any time if there is an emergency.

It's good to have even if it isn't your emergency. This past winter we were driving on the highway, in the snow, at night and there was an accident right in front of us (we were lucky not to be part of it). I was on the cell phone with 911 in seconds after it happened. I probably wasn't the only one to call but I know emergency services got clear detailed information as soon as possible.

My husband doesn't have one. He rarely goes anywhere alone so doesn't feel the need to have one.

I got mine last year. I don't talk on it much, but do use it to text the kids to get schedules and pick up times, etc.

It is great when you need one.

First people that have cell phones are not idiots. We do all sorts of things.
30 years ago people were sedentary. Mothers pretty much were home taking care of their kids and had a pretty quiet life. Today everyone is going
in 18 different directions. Many many more cars on the road. No one needs
to be on a cell phone 24/7, but they do come in handy. Case in point: I was on my way to NYC. Was having a shower for my sister. Left in plenty of
time, as I am always early. Well, 10 cars in front of me a tree came down
across the road. Well three hours late, I arrive. Had it not been for my cell
phone, my other sister would have been frantic. I called her and she picked
up and they started the shower without me since I had no idea how long I
would be. I could give you other examples but I won't. For me, it makes
my life easier with pregnant daughters, 5 grandchildren, and a busy husband.

I fought the cell phone for a long time. Then I got a prepaid phone from my in-laws when my son was about 2. We were taking lots of trips out of town by ourselves and they worried about us being on the road alone. Thank goodness I never needed it, but it did give me piece of mind. It cost me per minute, so I only gave the number to family. I now have been added to my inlaws phone, because it was cheaper. No one has the number still. So I have some security without feeling wired to it. I have to admit, it is nice to have the option to call the hubby from the grocery store to check on something when I need it, but I don't want to feel like it's an extra appendage hanging off my ear.

I'm 27 and don't have a cell, haven't had one in forever!! I do, however, keep a charged phone with no service in my car... you can still call 911 in case of emergency.

I would say that yes you are.
Even my grandmother that lives in a nursing home has one.
If I were you I'd get a basic one with a very limited plan just for emergencies.
I don't know how I lived with out one. I do think that it would be the only way I'd keep in contact with my sisters, If I didn't have one I'd never talk to them ever. Also if the kids have a problem at school and I'm not home the school can contact me on it.

I've had one for many years, but rarely use it. I ask friends and family to call me on the house phone unless its an emergency. It almost does seem like a waste of money, but in the few times that I really needed it, it was worth every penny. I also, like knowing that my kids and hubby can always reach me if needed, or I can reach them.

we don't have a land-line (too expensive compared to our cell family plan), so we use our cells. They aren't fancy, just the free ones. We really very rarely use them, at all. I like not being so dependent on a phone. It is necessary we have one, without the land-line. I appreciate not being wired in...with the phone, at least...I could not live without a computer!!

My last hold out friend got one years ago. I think you really are the last hold out. I swore I wouldn't get one back in 1999. Now I feel naked if its not on me. what if there is an emergency? You don't have to be a slave to your phone. Just because its on you doesn't mean you have to answer calls. Like so many things before, you've lived without it your whole life, why do you need it? But then you get it and you can't imagine life without it. I'm sure there were many a person like you who felt this way about washing machines, cars, electricity, indoor plumbing.

You mean I wasn't the last one? I thought I was!

I resisted for years! Why should I want anybody to be able to contact me at any time? But when 9/11/01 happened, and I saw how people used phones to let their loved ones know they were still alive, I thought, "Maybe this would be a good thing to have after all."

My cell phone is my servant, not my master! I don't have to answer every time the phone rings. If the call is important, the person will leave a message with my private [electronic] secretary. I don't give my cell number to everyone, and I don't let that machine distract me when I drive.

And when there's an emergency, I'm so very thankful to have it. I've been stuck on interstates or country roads with a car that bummed out. I've found out a time or two that I was visiting a friend at the hospital instead of at her home (yikes). At home, I still have a land line, because my cell phone service does NOT work well in my particular neighborhood! Go figure.

Gee, I thought my brother was! He didn't get one until 2 or 3 years ago when my mom finally bought one for him after years of nagging him to do it! And he would routinely drive 8 to 10 hours from Michigan to Iowa to visit friends with no way to call if something should happen and no way for us to reach him!

You don't have to be a slave to the cell phone. But if you somehow find yourself stranded by the side of the road, or stuck somewhere in the middle of the night, or caught up in any other numerous possible emergencies, you will probably appreciate having it!

My grandmother is going to 95 this summer and has a cell phone now!

You're worried about a cell phone? My boyfriend's grandparents just got indoor plumbing about 6- 7years after he was born, hes 18. and only because something happened to the house!(fire, something, can't remember) haha. I don't think they have anything but a landline, and I know they don't have cable or internet.
You are not alone :)

I ONLY have one b/c my techno-geek husband insists on having the latest, greatest electronic gadgets. He loves it when I pull out my latest cameras and cell phones and guys start oohing over it and asking questions...he loves answering questions and advising people on the spot what the best rates and deals and services and upgrades and specs are..ugh...

However, I can still do everything you mention....I would not change a tire though anymore...have AAA for those emergencies. I would not feel safe in a large city on the side of the road performing a tire change.

I finally got one a couple of months ago. I don't love it and don't give the number out to anyone but family and my daughter's school. It is turned off the majority of the time. Several women here have phones on their desks. They'll answer their cell phones while customers are in their cubes. So rude. I will not talk while walking around or if in the store or if driving. Heck...I'm tied to a phone all day at work. I'm not going to be tied to a cell phone in my off hours.

My husband and I both own one but we don't hand a landline yet and mostly likely won't until our daughter is going to school. Before then I don't see the need to have it. I just either put the phone on silent or shut it off if I'm being bugged a lot or don't want to be bothered at all.

Yes! Ha ha just kidding.
I like it for convenience and safety especially if I break down.
Even more so if I break down w/kids in the car or at night.
Well....at least you have internet. Ha ha :)
Sometimes it's good not to have all of the modern conviences. Now I don't know what I'd do w/o my cell phone, computer and ATM card. Ha ha.

I have O. but I use it for MY convenience and safety.

I hate to see people "tied" to their phones, with their phone sitting at their elbows every waking moment.

Makes ya wonder who's ruling who?

I've never had a cell phone. If the school needs to contact myself or my husband they can call us at home or at our work. If for any reason they couldn't contact us there, they would use the emergency contact. I understand people liking the peace of mind of having a cell phone but personally I think it's very rare for there to be a school emergency and if there is they would almost always be able to contact you by landline. As for travel, most of my trips take me out of the country or in rural areas in the US where the cell reception is non-existent so there is no sense having one. I don't travel in really bad weather. If I have to travel and the weather is suspect then I make sure the people know my route of travel and when I'm leaving. That way they know if there has been a problem. We believe a cell phone is a convenience not a necessity.

I think you'd have to have a cell phone first to understand what you've been missing. :)

Oh gosh, you must be!

I don't care for cell phones either. Like you I rarely used it so I cancelled it. I sometimes have to travel with my kids and I have broke down on occasion so I needed something. I found myself in front of a million phones at Walmart trying to sort out what would best fit my needs. This lovely older man came to my rescue. He hooked me up with a track phone that so far has only cost me $40 dollars a year. I use it for trips only.

I have a cell phone only because my daughter is now 11 years old and needs to be able to reach me if she has an issue in school or my husband needs to get a hold of me while he's traveling for work, which he does a lot of.

I do have a cell phone, but I managed to hold onto a very old cell phone plan that I was able to convert to my new cell phone. However, that's all I have--a phone. It doesn't text, doesn't do music, doesn't go on-line or use Internet, there are no games; it is strictly a phone. And I still think paying $35/month for just the phone usage of a cell phone is ridiculously high. But. That's the world we live in. When I'm out doing errands and I need to be gotten ahold of, I can be.

But again, my cell phone is strictly used as an emergency phone. Many times, I forget about it and then discover that it's dead and has to be plugged in and recharged.

I actually hate cell phones and would prefer not to have one. I am shackled to my computer all day (I am a freelance editor); the last thing I need is to be shackled to my cell phone. It's amazing how many people are totally glued to them.

I am proud to not be wired in constantly...(in case you're wondering, I only get two people who call me on my cell: my husband and my daughter. That's it.) I'm actually glad that I'm not glued to it, texting all day long. I'd rather talk to people than a little tiny screen.

You're not the one and only, but you are rare. Do you have an answering machine at home? You get messages hours after they're left. That would drive me nuts! How does the school get a hold of you when you are out? I do not know how you do it!

l

I had a pay as you go phone for a couple of years. I was a SAHM, so why in the world did I need a cell phone. I had friends paying for their cell phone bills on CCs who were also SAHMs. Crazy! I do have one now because I am in sales and kindof work out of the car. I'm not on it 24/7 though. I was recenly out with a group of women and about 1/2 of them texted and used their smart phones on and off through out dinner. I couldn't believe it. Anyway, good for you.

I do have a cell phone but I never ever use it. My husband and I both have prepaid minute cell phones. We don't give the numbers out to anyone. I don't text, I don't call anyone from it, I simply carry it for emergency, or so my husband can get ahold of me when ever he or the kids need me.
I really hate cell phones for the most part....I hate that I can't ever visit with someone without them whipping out the phone to text, look stuff up on the internet, turn off an alarm etc. Whatever happened to giving the friend your with your full attention? Also, I won't even answer the home phone when I have company. If it's really important the person will leave a message. I don't use call waiting either, how rude to put the person your talking with on a wait, so you can talk to someone more important. If the other person calling is more "important" get off the phone with the lesser important person and call them back, don't waste their time making them wait for you.
Okay, I'm off my rant.

I had a Tracfone with prepaid minutes but never used it so I let the minutes expire. I personally don't need a cell phone. I miss the days when you didn't have to fight for someones attention to have a conversation. I love when I can talk to my child and they are not texting their friends. I am considering getting my daughter a prepaid phone for emergencies only. Once she is out of minutes that is it.

I didnt have one until my kids were in school. I don't like being on it all the time so I am not. 3 times I have had to go get one of my kids from school. All 3 times I was out of the house so the school was able to reach me on my cell. I also have one prepaid phone that I give to my oldest when he goes somwhere without us. Boy am I glad for that. Once he called me from a sleepover because the parents were fighting and he wanted to come home, and once he called me from a bowling alley and said the mom and dad were drinking beer (I don't care if it was 1 drink), and could I come get him so he didn't have to ride home with them. My kids now have the power to take themselves out of a bad situation.

Nah. I live in twenty minutes out of town and our area isn't covered by any of the providers...

We DO *have* a cellphone (very, very limited minutes). It lives in the car, in case of emergency.

No your not the last...my boss, a corporate Accounting Director for a well known retail chain who makes $100k+ per year does not have one. Her position even allows for the company to pay for one for her and she does not want one. Her adult children have tried to buy her one and she wouldn't accept it. So if I have to contact her while she is not in the office, I either have to call her home or email her. Even after her car breaking down once and her walking a couple miles back to our office, she still doesn't own one!

I don't own one, nor does my husband, and our children certainly don't and won't until their on their own.

Here's my quick rant...if I'm out somewhere, I don't want to be contacted. My business and other people's business is not as important as people seem to think they have become. I don't need to be available to anyone and everyone, 24/7.

If I am at the store, and my husband is at home with the children and needs something, he literally calls the store and has them page me. It's rare, it's embarrassing, but better than toting some cancer causing device around to annoy myself and others.

Also, our land line (bundled with wireless internet) with unlimited long distance (US and Canada) and all the extra features costs less (altogether, with everything) than most cell phone plans. Yay! :)

Never had one until I moved to South Africa. The ONLY reason I have it now is for safety reasons. Never had to deal with anything like that in the States. I miss not having to worry where the phone is, and now I have NO excuse not to be available. I feel a lot less free!

Uhh...I alone used 2,481 minutes last month! lol! I do not have texting and my family lives 2 hours away, so that is how we communicate.

Ummm, you might be :) Love having them for emergency use as well as business. I so appreciate the ability to communicate with my daughter, especially now that she drives. We have both been in car accidents and I would have felt awful if I couldn't respond to her right away. I have a Blackberry (for work), a Samsung droid for my personal cell phone, a land line (home office) and a dedicated fax line.

I know that my ex-bioyfriend does not have one. He is 40 years old and I am pretty sure he does not want anyone to get a hold of him. He is married and has one child but still refuses to get one. I think he likes the feeling that no one can find him.....he can go and do whatever b/c he does not need to be accountable. This is one of many reasons we are not together anymore!

I have had a phone since 1994 when I first got my drivers license and my truck. I have had one ever since. I like the security of being able to call if I have an emergency on the road. I had a car accendent about 6 years ago and if it wasn't for me being able to call 911 from my car who knows how long I would have been sitting there on my side rolled over in a ditch in a ditch. Now that I have a child I can't imagine not having one. If I have car trouble you can bet I will not be walking down the side if the road in the dark, rain with a toddler in tow looking for a phone. I do not use it at the dinner table and I still write out my shopping list and I can hold an intelligent conversation in person, face to face.

Haha I am not anti progress, anti technology, or whatever, but I'm also resistant to being *always* available :)
I have a cell with calling and texting. Texting mainly so I can actually communicate with my teenagers!
I am resistant to have internet access on my phone (pretty much everyone I know does) because I just don't want to be THAT available. And I am a BIG time Girl Scout volunteer/leader.
I hear what you're saying, but unfortunately I think we are dinosaurs...a dying species :)