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I am an old guy (68) but I have young (23) roommates. My room mates spend every waking minute talking (1%) or texting (99%) on their cell phones. Paying the $40 to $60 monthly phone plan is the number 1 item on their priority list every month. They only work part time and very seldom put in more than 20 hours a week. I jokingly suggested that one of them apply for a local telemarketing job that was hiring people. Her answer was "Oh I could never do that. I hate talking on the telephone".
I pay $35 a month all included with 2.5 or so gigabytes of data. That is more than enough for my very limited usage. I'll save watching movies or other high data requirement activities for my home PC/laptop.
It's true a lot of people are replacing their laptops and PCs with mobile devices. The cost of the mobile device and it's data plan is pretty similar to buying a traditional PC and an ISP.
That would be $70 per month for 2 phones, and it's probably crappy phones and crappy service. I'd rather keep paying my current $45 per month total for 2 dumbphones, since $45 is far less than $70, and because I at least get good coverage.
Believe me, America's economic ills are not caused by cell phone usage.
It might not be 100% of the problem, but Ben has nailed a major part of the productivity issue.
Also, what about what the smart (dumb) phone has done to the family?
It kills me to see kids and their parents at restaurants all with their noses stuck to their phones. What happened to sitting around the table just talking and eating.
Computers, tablets and phones have brought us to the point where we can't communicate with each other on a personal level. They also contributed strongly with inactivity, lack of exercise and the fattening of the US
It becomes "my business" when my state taxes in CA are paying for it. If someone is paying $600 for a phone and paying their own way in regards to rent, food, bills, they can do what they want.
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Originally Posted by Timemachineman
PierceMarx is probably a Marxist. I also suspect this person is a typical American college student. No matter how much you point out illogical behavior or bugs in a system, people like PierceMarx will not change their minds or see reason.......and they often tend to make laughable generalizations.
I would say so, if they don't get that if you can't pay your basic bills on your own, and you're getting rental assistance, you shouldn't have extras like smart phones and cable TV.
It might not be 100% of the problem, but Ben has nailed a major part of the productivity issue.
Also, what about what the smart (dumb) phone has done to the family?
It kills me to see kids and their parents at restaurants all with their noses stuck to their phones. What happened to sitting around the table just talking and eating.
Computers, tablets and phones have brought us to the point where we can't communicate with each other on a personal level. They also contributed strongly with inactivity, lack of exercise and the fattening of the US
This reminded me: my BIL took his adult daughter out for dinner at a nice restaurant to discuss her new job and move to another town. She was constantly on her iPhone answering and sending texts so my BIL just got HIS phone out and started texting HER. She just kept answering his texts as well as others as if he wasn't even in the room
This reminded me: my BIL took his adult daughter out for dinner at a nice restaurant to discuss her new job and move to another town. She was constantly on her iPhone answering and sending texts so my BIL just got HIS phone out and started texting HER. She just kept answering his texts as well as others as if he wasn't even in the room
That's funny! I've been known to text my children that it's time to set the table for dinner just so I don't have to yell up the stairs.
So, are salaried employees working more hours than they ever have because productivity is down ( due to cell phones ) or because companies were running so lean that the expectation is for those salaried employees to work to the bone?
I know some salaried folks who work 60 hours a week and even work at home. I've got a good friend who puts in close to 70 hours a week, yet she says that she keeps catching mistakes from her and her coworkers because everyone is so overworked. Hrm....
Did everybody miss the humor in that column? It was funny, and Stein was self-deprecating. He gets it.
I read it and you can't really get that tone from papers, at least when I read them. I'll re-read it later and see if it works that way though.
I re-read it and watched the video attached and honestly, I don't see it in his self-deprecating humor. Unless his monotonous voice that he uses for acting, voice acting and being a head on CNN's talking head panels don't really show it.
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Originally Posted by mike1003
It might not be 100% of the problem, but Ben has nailed a major part of the productivity issue.
Also, what about what the smart (dumb) phone has done to the family?
It kills me to see kids and their parents at restaurants all with their noses stuck to their phones. What happened to sitting around the table just talking and eating.
Computers, tablets and phones have brought us to the point where we can't communicate with each other on a personal level. They also contributed strongly with inactivity, lack of exercise and the fattening of the US
I sometimes see my mom sucked into her tablet or phone even at the dinner table and she is 61. I'm 28 and I swear I see her on her's more than I am on mine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by seain dublin
It becomes "my business" when my state taxes in CA are paying for it. If someone is paying $600 for a phone and paying their own way in regards to rent, food, bills, they can do what they want.
I would say so, if they don't get that if you can't pay your basic bills on your own, and you're getting rental assistance, you shouldn't have extras like smart phones and cable TV.
How do you know they aren't able to afford it? I never see their home situation so honestly I don't know. I do know there are some hipsters that use flip phones, mainly because they are cheap and they can use that money elsewhere.
August 2, 2015, 12:39 PM|The Commerce Department reported last week that the economy is growing at an annual rate of just 2.3 percent. Contributor Ben Stein thinks he knows one reason why worker productivity is stalling, and it's in your pocket.
Video at link
Hilarious and sadly true. Here is proof of it. If people spend all of their waking time - while not at work - attached to their cellular devices, what leads us to believe they behave any differently when at work? I didn't have the latest and greatest portable communications devices while working and went so far as to toss a flip phone. I didn't need to be in contact with anyone 24/7. I still don't but like my tracfone for emergency purposes. I often forget it at home as it is not something I fiddle with all day/everyday.
I was at McDonald's the other day and at least 75% of the people there were playing on their cell phones. Some people have those ear buds with a microphone and they walk around talking loudly so everyone can hear. I find that annoying to the point of obnoxious. What did people do to waste their time before the internet and cell phones came about?
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I'm 28 and I swear I see her on her's more than I am on mine.
