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I work third shift and often answer my emails if I'm having a quiet work night. But then, friends are in very different time zones, plus a couple are retired.
I only use my landline for my 86-year-old friend two time zones away (and erratic on the email) and my 91-year-old aunt who is impossible to upgrade tech-wise.
I do think when I move to my retirement house, I will just have my flip phone, no land line.
As I stated in the SS thread - I am still working at 62 and have to respond to my work phone all day. The last thing I need is to be tethered to a cell phone - dumb or smart - for the other 16 hours in a day.
My dumbphone remains in the OFF position. I use it for road emergencies and that's pretty much it.
I hate texting and will never do it. TALK TO ME if you need me. I have a landline at home and most friends and family have that number.
Also? We have no children. No need to "facetime" with the grandkids.
Our total phone bill - including landline - is $65 a month.
I see a lot of people on here don't like or won't use text messaging. While the constant chatter of kids texting is truly ridiculous, a text is a perfect way to send a simple message "remember to take out the trash" or similar and you don't need to wait for the other person to answer the phone.
More importantly, when the system is under a lot of stress, it can handle a text and will get it through, if slowly, when it won't take a voice call (System Busy). A text can also go through when you don't have many "bars" of signals strength.
So you don't need to sit there typing with both thumbs like a teenager, but do get a small text plan (I think mine is 100 messages a month for like $3.00) it can be useful.
Could I get along without one? Sure, if I had to. Any senior can, it's how we used to live.
No way do I want to give up the incredible wealth of information instantly available at my fingertips, though.
And I sure don't want to go back to paper banking.
................... Got rid of the land line several years ago, don't know why anyone still has that. ....................
You don't know why? I can help you. I have a land line in addition to my cell phone for redundancy. If I need to make an emergency call and the cell phone battery has run down, my land line is there. Well worth the cost to me.
I'd miss it but certainly could live without it. It's not an extension of my body like so many people feel, just a minor convenience that is kind of nice to have.
My hearing is awful and I text as much as I can. All my friends know that and so nobody calls me anymore, they all text me. Same with my wife, although her hearing is better than mine. Cell phone are a miracle device for people like me who won't get a hearing aid. It so much easier to work with texts than phone calls. You don't have to remember what someone said to you, with a text you just go back and read it.
We do not even have a land line, and have not had one in 5 years. So at this point we cannot really exist without a cell phone. I probably do 40% of my internet usage on it. I only use the computer for when I want to type a lot (like for this forum) or really long emails.
You don't know why? I can help you. I have a land line in addition to my cell phone for redundancy. If I need to make an emergency call and the cell phone battery has run down, my land line is there. Well worth the cost to me.
yes and if power goes out and cell phones systems go out, your landline should still work provided you have a corded phone. Keep one as a backup. Power for landline is supplied through the lines. Now if those go down - oh well.
We've lost cell phone and regular service here. Texting still worked for some reason. Police had to rely on radio comm only.
I see a lot of people on here don't like or won't use text messaging. While the constant chatter of kids texting is truly ridiculous, a text is a perfect way to send a simple message "remember to take out the trash" or similar and you don't need to wait for the other person to answer the phone.
More importantly, when the system is under a lot of stress, it can handle a text and will get it through, if slowly, when it won't take a voice call (System Busy). A text can also go through when you don't have many "bars" of signals strength.
So you don't need to sit there typing with both thumbs like a teenager, but do get a small text plan (I think mine is 100 messages a month for like $3.00) it can be useful.
yea - we have a big festival in my small town and you can't make a call. They even set up mobile towers and still nothing.
yes and if power goes out and cell phones systems go out, your landline should still work provided you have a corded phone. Keep one as a backup. Power for landline is supplied through the lines. Now if those go down - oh well.
We've lost cell phone and regular service here. Texting still worked for some reason. Police had to rely on radio comm only.
I moved into a new building two years ago in Massachusetts that didn't even have outlets for landlines! There was no way to order a landline and not even any phone company publishing phone books. As you point out, a corded landline will still work when the power goes out and that's a big plus, especially here in Vermont where cell service is spotty and often non-existent. Comcast markets their bundled phone service as a "landline", and a lot of people don't realize that it will not work when the power is out, or the Internet connection is lost.
That said, I do have a smartphone and I love it. The biggest plus for me is using the parking meter app, where you can simply enter your zone and go on your way. It even lets you know when time is running out and you can add time without ever returning to your car. No more fishing around for quarters to feed the meter.
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