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yeah, i plan on that. but look at how far "the most basic" phones have come. it's pretty tough to get a basic flip phone. hopefully they'll keep making the "kid" phones which are very dumbed down. but 10 years from now, i can see virtually all phones being sold being smartphones. you can always disable features. but another issue will be that all of their friends will have the nicest phones i'm sure (we do live in NJ, so it's hard to shelter someone lol). so that will be added pressure. maybe i'll move back home to PA where everything is 10 years behind.
Basic phones - new ones - are still available. Consumer Cellular has a good selection, and some of them are free. They are aimed at the senior citizens who aren't interested in the latest technology, just in being able to keep in touch. The one thing they don't have is a full data plan. They also don't have contracts, and as far as I've been able to tell, any ATT or Cingular phone will work with them, even a smartphone, but it will only work as a basic phone, no websurfing.
Someone else said something about why get rid of a landline just to have something newer, and that they used broadcast TV. I have to have a landline because where I live, I can't get any internet connection at all unless I have that landline for DSL. No dialup available, period. I don't even have a phone plugged in to the landline jack because I'd get constant calls from collection agencies for whoever had that number before, and telemarketers. You'd be surprised at what the "do not call" doesn't exclude! I don't get those calls on my cell, and once I move, I won't need a landline at all, and I don't plan to have one.
The area where I live also does not have broadcast TV - none at all. If I want to watch anything on TV, I have to either have a dish or watch online. Same with radio - there are a couple of stations that reach my town, but not my house because it's in a dip, a null spot for anything broadcast. And if I want to listen to radio, it's online radio - if I wanted to listen to broadcast news on the radio, I'd be SOL, because the only radio broadcasts around here are either classic or modern country. "News" is which school won the latest whatever game against some other school, and I don't mean college sports, I mean high school and middle school.
When I move, which I'm planning to do in the very near future, I will rethink other options. Right now, what I have is what I can get, except for a dish, because I can't read the menu. And once I move, I'll probably get Skype or something similar and use that, while maintaining the cheapest cell plan which will cost around 10.00/month, because that is the one contact number I have for my family.
NJBest, I could not disagree more that children need more access to technology, as I strongly believe that the young are particularly vulnerable to a dehibilitationg erosion of attention brought about by unfettered access to the virtual world. Being able to Google information is not the same as learning it, and children need time to make connections for themselves before computers start making those connections for them.
To quote author Maggie Jackson: "The way we live today is eroding our capacity for deep, sustained, perceptive attention -- the building block of intimacy, wisdom, and cultural progress. . . . The seduction of alternate virtual universes, the addictive allure of multi-tasking people and things, our near religious allegiance to a constant state of motion: these are markers of a land of distraction. . . . This is why we are less able to see, hear, and comprehend what's relevant and permanent, why so many of us feel that we can barely keep our heads above water, and our days are marked by perceptual loose ends. . . .We are are on the verge of losing our capacity as a society for deep, sustained [and meaningful] focus." -- Distracted: The Eroding of Attention and the Coming Dark Age, pp. 13-14.
Older people may use technology, but young people have come to inhabit it, and so it goes that I shudder every time I see one of my son's peers in third grade carrying around an iPhone or see the glazed look come over my own child's eyes when my husband hands over his Android.
Last edited by formercalifornian; 04-24-2011 at 09:14 AM..
Absolutely it is. If you listen closely, you'll be able to hear those same people complain incessantly about the economy and the fact that they just can't seem to get ahead.
I know someone with an iPhone who does this. Complains about how America is becoming a 3rd World Country and is 56 with little in retirement savings, yet pays $100 a month for his iPhone service
These same people MUST have the latest IPOD, IPAD, etc. They stand in line for 12 hours to get the first ones out, when the previous model is still working fine. One has to assume they are very wealthy (doubtful) or they are the ones with the six figure credit card debt and living paycheck to paycheck. Sounds like are government: spend, spend, spend.
These same people MUST have the latest IPOD, IPAD, etc. They stand in line for 12 hours to get the first ones out, when the previous model is still working fine.
I'm not one to stand in line to wait for anything, whether its a table in a restaurant or to buy a new product. But if some people choose to do so, no biggie. Different people have different interests.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ellwood
One has to assume they are very wealthy (doubtful) or they are the ones with the six figure credit card debt and living paycheck to paycheck.
I am curious to how you jump to either assumption. It is quite possible that many of these people simply can afford to make such purchases. The cost of these items is not terribly extravagant for many people.
I don't have a smartphone because I don't need one (nor, accordingly, the expense of one). Now, I'm not one who feels strongly that if something isn't a need, then I'm not getting it, or anything...there's plenty that I get that may not be a necessity, but I get it because it interests me. However, in this case, phones don't really interest me (online access does, obviously, but I already have that without a phone, and don't need it at my fingertips).
I don't care one way or another if other people choose to own them. But, for me and my purposes and needs, it's a no-brainer savings method not to own electronics with costly usage plans when it's really no big sacrifice to me to go without, 'cause I'm not really interested.
These same people MUST have the latest IPOD, IPAD, etc. They stand in line for 12 hours to get the first ones out, when the previous model is still working fine. One has to assume they are very wealthy (doubtful) or they are the ones with the six figure credit card debt and living paycheck to paycheck. Sounds like are government: spend, spend, spend.
Sad indication of the future generations...
OR - they are smart with their money and saved for the purchase. Or they don't spend money on other things they they feel aren't important that others may.
Like I said before - just because some on here don't put value on certain items, doesn't mean that those who do - who have these items - are wealthy or in debt! I guess maybe some definition of wealthy is different than mine.....
You misunderstood my post. Nowhere did I say the savings from not having a land line justifies the cost of a data plan. The bottom line is total amount spent for the phone bill. Whether I have a data plan or not, the $30-40 not spent on land line is paid towards my cell phone bill.
I, for one, am not worried about a measly $30 for unlimited data. I travel a lot. I am able to handle all of my business via my smart phone. It is well worth the $30 for the data plan. There are many times where I would be required to purchase wifi/internet when I am traveling, but with the use of my smartphone, that is not necesscary as I can us my 3g signal. I just came back from a trip across the country. Wifi/internet fees would have easily cost me more than $30 had I gone that route. Now, do you want to argue that point as well????
it wasn't just you. a couple people said that they were saving on their landline, so the smart phone/data plan were ok. it may not be exactly what you meant, but it's what some others said.
i'm not anti-smart phone at all. i'm not saying you should be worried about the cost, or that it's wasteful. i've even pointed out the numerous ways they help us save money (gasbuddy, shopsavvy, etc). but i was just pointing out that the landline comment that came up a few times, while it may be valid for overall budget, it's worth cutting for most of of because we have cell phones, not because we have cell phoens with data plans. that's all.
the internet while travelling is another great point on ways we can save moola with a smart phone!
If a student is carrying a truly expensive piece of technology, my first thought is that it was a gift from Mom & Dad. My parents, who were not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, sent both my brother and I to Europe the summer after we graduated from high school. A couple of iPhones would have been significantly cheaper.
i worked my behind off in college through work-study job, an on campus non-work study job, and a part time job at blockbuster. helped keep me funded to be able to have a cell phone, participate in local social activities, and pay for my books and other supplies instead of always using loans.
most people it might be a gift from mom and dad, but i think many people would be shocked at how many kids, even at "well off" schools (stereotypes), are busting their behinds to graduate with a little less debt than they otherwise would.
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