Jingle

Since I got my smart phone I just text my Daughter or Granddaughter. They are able to return text when they have time. We are retired and only have each other to talk to most of the time. Seems we never run out of things to talk about. We still have a house phone for necessary calls.

cashs_mom

My husband and I have flip phones, too. While there are times that it would be nice to have a smart phone, there are a lot of times I'm glad I don't have one. Like when I get my bill! I'm not very attached to my phone and don't want to be. I carry it in my purse (never in my hand) and if I'm near my purse and hear it ring I will answer. If not people can leave me a message and I'll get back to them. I don't really like having to be at the beck and call of an electronic device. It's bad enough that my car is smarter than I am and beeps at me to do this or that!

Julia, I don't blame you for being mad about getting a text at midnight. I believe texting should be the same as phone calls. Not before 9 in the morning or 9 in the evening unless it's an emergency or you have asked beforehand. Yeah, I'm old fashioned like that.

Iraxy

I have a smart phone with unlimited minutes but last month I only used 30 of them. I do text my children and my friends out of town periodically. My DH has a phone but I don't think I ever call him because he only carries it infrequently, and he does not have the texting feature. BTW I love texting because then I don't have to talk! I have managed, somehow, to keep the television and the telephone out of our bedroom our whole married life. We have not missed either item. Still talk each other off to la la land every night. Oh, I also talk to people in the store. My husband always asks "why?"

Darcyshannon

I use my phone to keep in touch with friends across the country and world. However, I think whoever I am with takes precedent. I value face time and today spent the day with a friend. I also take time to read real books. I do like audio books for when I am tired and my eyes are tired.

The time of a call depends on the person and relationship. Some of my close friends and I have extended hours.

quiltingcandy

I lived on the phone at work for over 35 years, at home I hate to talk on the phone (and I have been retired for 9 years). I love my smart phone - it does fill up waiting time and keeping in touch with family and friends. For me, I would rather text information back and forth than talk on the phone. I love getting together with people, I just don't want long conversations on a phone if I can avoid it. And if we are meeting up, texting makes it quick and to the point. My SIL always wants to talk on the phone when she is driving, I let it go to VM and call her later so she can focus on her driving.
My DH would get on Facebook when we go to a restaurant to "check in" and sometimes stays on it. Used to drive me crazy and he would say, "I am just catching up". So I started playing games on my phone - when he gets on his phone I start a game and for some reason that just bugs him. And since it gets him off his phone - Mission accomplished! Not sure why he thinks his time of FB is of more value than my game playing, but he does, and so he gets off his phone.
I do keep my phone close - when I am home alone and don't answer the phone my family gets worried. Usually I am in my sewing room and just don't hear it - but I am quick to worry too, so they come by it honestly.

SueZQ from MN

Like many of you, my pre-retirement job involved a lot of time on the phone, but not now. We have a land line that is attached to an answering machine that allows us to screen most of our calls. We do not have cell phones. If you call us before 8am, while we are eating, or after 9pm, expect to leave a message. If it's an emergency, we'll call you right back, if it's not, we'll return your call when we can. When did things change so that people now have the idea that everyone should be available to them 24-7? Guess my age must be showing again.

DebbieJJ

My DH and I used to build telephones, and we absolutely hate the phone! (You should have heard those ringers going off while being tested for each shift in the plant!) But it is a necessary part of our lives, as we have family all over the U.S., and we need to keep up with them. Not only that, but we still have a landline, my DH has a flip phone, and I have a smart phone. Our landline also rings on my smart phone because I had our phone carrier to set it up that way, and I can block the numbers that I don't want to answer on my cell phone, but the landline will still ring.

illinois

I recently commented to my grandson that I sometimes wish that phones were still attached to the wall so a person had to go to the phone to make a call or answer it and he looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about. But then my daughter got to thinking--her kids (oldest almost 20) have no recollection of a phone with a cord. Before cell phones there were cordless phones in most homes.

Iceblossom

I'm another one who considers phones work. I actually loved being a receptionist, but I don't love talking on the phone (and at work I usually had the hands-free headset).

I don't see well enough to use a smart phone. I know... I can make things bigger but y'all don't understand how big I need. I have a flip phone with large keys for emergencies, and it does really help to meet up with people when a cell phone is concerned.

But the cell phone for my convenience only, not for other people! I've only given out the number to maybe 12 people, most of them family and none of them business related.

The hubby's job doesn't allow phones on the production floor which is where he works. It is about 7 miles from home to work, he currently doesn't have a phone at all. My phone is on the Friends and Family plan of my son's dad. They chip in to cover the $20 a month to cover it for me.

I use no-mo robo on our land line and we screen our calls. Again, the phone is for my convenience. My friends know I don't really like talking on the phone and if they want to talk more than 3-5 minutes, I go into speaker phone mode and continue along with what I was doing when they called. I love my friend in Arizona and since we haven't lived in the same state since 1983, we do a lot of phone calls. Is funny, even when I just spoke with her the other day, every call is at least an hour. But I love her and I love our phone time, but no... I don't need any funeral planning or donating to any random organization with a horrible return on donations.

bearisgray

I did not realize - at first - that when I texted someone - that their phone would alert them.

I thought it was like a letter in the mail - the person could "open" it and read it when it was convenient.