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The emergency on the road is why I bought us cell phones. Way back when they were analog and weren't smart phones yet.
However, due to my various medical issues, my 'LL has a feature my cell dies not.
The 'LL is "flagged" for first responders to note a person with serious medical issues lives at that stress.
My cell phone doesn't yet have that location feature, as someone noted above you have to be able to tell them where you are in an emergency. They are working diligentlyvon the problem, as some will show what building perhaps in a large city, but not what floor or what apt number in a building with 108 floors and 6000 units. They are trying to get it pinned down.
There IS a family safety app called "bsafe" that you can load, and your family can load in an emergency. You have to turn on the feature for your family to find you and they have to turn if in so you can't spy on them. But in a natural disaster where you might get separated it will give you the general location they are in. It may show you what street corner or building but again not exact unit.
Once it's activated by both parties it can get to the general area, such as a public shelter, or a transportation hub for evacuating.
It can also act as an alarm if someone on your buddy lost his in danger, they can signal you with the app.
Good to have, and as locations get narrow down and exact locations can be signaled in event of an emergency, cells will be just as valuable as a flagged 'LL.
Both have their value in an emergency, so I will keep both.
like everything else it's not the "thing" it's the abuse by people.
Now people who loved them always use the "emergency contact" excuse but I've seen more use for "evil" than "good". lol
Now I've accepted that they are now an evil part of society but this is my take on them.
1) Why are people 3X as loud on them. seriously?? last weekend outside my house I heard a young women yelling and thought some thing was wrong, ready to call the cops I look outside my women and it's lovers drama on a cell phone.
2) rude behavior. I love how you're in the store and folks now treat the employees like they are their slaves not even worthy of eye contact. Now I worked retail long ago and it was horrible then (literally one of the reasons why I stayed in college) but I cringe when I see someone shove their merchandise at the check out person while yapping on the phone. no smile, no hello, no nothing.
3) rude behavior II. no one understands "Please silence your cell phones". My pastor this summer literally had to stop a sermon to speak on the number of accidental rings. Yes, hearing Justin Timberlake in the middle of a sermon is pleasant. let's not even begin the movie drama.
4) driving. Yeah right everyone has hand free and no one ever texts while driving.
5) emergencies are really an excuse to call you at all hours for any stupid reason. Instant access is not what it's cracked up to and now if people don't get you immediately they actually get an attitude. oh excuse me, is my employment that allows me to pay my mortgage getting in your way of asking "what are you doing"???
When my kids call me, it is never an emergency. It usually goes like this, "mom did you buy ice cream, we don't have anymore"
I had to laugh out loud at your number one example. One of my siblings is always shushing me and expecting all of us to talk in low voices when we are out and about - but when she gets a call - OMG - you would think she had a loud speaker. Just so loud!
Number 2 - I've read comments from some store employees hate having to make small talk - they have heard it all - so are happy that you are tuned out.
Number 3 - Yeah - don't understand not silencing your phone in church. I went to a funeral mass this week and there was some kid watching a video on an ipad in the audience.
Number 4 - I live on a street that leads to the elementary in my town - I see moms on the phone TEXTING and calling. Probably the first ones to freak out if something happens to their kids - yet they endanger them all the time. I say moms cuz I've yet to see a dad driving the kids to school. I do see lots of men texting and probably checking their GPS - what happened to kind of checking your route before you take off?
Still have landline. Also have a prepaid cell through USCellular at $6.44/mo. for emergencies/safety - have had it for 10 years at least. Never leave home without it. Do keep it charged, have replaced the battery a few times - buy that off eBay for $5. Rarely use the phone except to call if I'm running late, etc. Load minutes about once a year ($15-$20) - minutes never expire. Annual cost overall, about $100.
You don't spend hundreds of dollars each time a new smart phone comes out??
I don't do without one to save money. I do without one because I think they are a pain in the ass. Will die one day whether I have a phone or not. . . (no disrespect intended Mr and Mrs 5150). Not many places I would be not surrounded by them, anyway. . .
Just hope that when the emergency happens the cell phone does not get destroyed, too.
DH had a stroke while washing second floor windows. He fell off the ladder. Broke a bunch of things including the phone. He couldn't call anybody. I was at the grocery.
At present, my cell phone is my own version of "I've fallen and I can't get up!"
Maybe someday I'll need something dedicated, with a simple panic button interface.
Good to have something, just in case!
My mom had a cell phone but 'forgot' to keep it with her. I got her a Life Alert system and that was better because she actually wore the button. Those are great if something happens and you're still conscious enough to use it. My mom had a major stroke, sitting in her recliner and wasn't able to use it...if she even thought about it. Can't imagine what a stroke like that must be like but she didn't survive it more than 11 days. So, so much for a cell phone AND Life Alert. Although I think both are a good thing to have available if you want/need them.
I have a smart phone but it's in a zip lock in a drawer. I activate it if I'm going on a road trip or something and then let it go till the next one. I like having a smart phone on trips because I can still access the internet, etc.. Otherwise I couldn't care less about any cell phone.
like everything else it's not the "thing" it's the abuse by people.
Now people who loved them always use the "emergency contact" excuse but I've seen more use for "evil" than "good". lol
Now I've accepted that they are now an evil part of society but this is my take on them.
1) Why are people 3X as loud on them. seriously?? last weekend outside my house I heard a young women yelling and thought some thing was wrong, ready to call the cops I look outside my women and it's lovers drama on a cell phone.
2) rude behavior. I love how you're in the store and folks now treat the employees like they are their slaves not even worthy of eye contact. Now I worked retail long ago and it was horrible then (literally one of the reasons why I stayed in college) but I cringe when I see someone shove their merchandise at the check out person while yapping on the phone. no smile, no hello, no nothing.
3) rude behavior II. no one understands "Please silence your cell phones". My pastor this summer literally had to stop a sermon to speak on the number of accidental rings. Yes, hearing Justin Timberlake in the middle of a sermon is pleasant. let's not even begin the movie drama.
4) driving. Yeah right everyone has hand free and no one ever texts while driving.
5) emergencies are really an excuse to call you at all hours for any stupid reason. Instant access is not what it's cracked up to and now if people don't get you immediately they actually get an attitude. oh excuse me, is my employment that allows me to pay my mortgage getting in your way of asking "what are you doing"???
When my kids call me, it is never an emergency. It usually goes like this, "mom did you buy ice cream, we don't have anymore"
Re #2...I don't often have people on cell phones come through my register but had a 'goodie' the other day. On the phone from (before) start to finish, and I usually don't care, but she told the person on the phone that she had a "rude cashier that hates her job". lol How she came to that conclusion I will never know since I never said a word or rude action toward her. Some folks are just strange. Maybe she thought I was rude for not talking to her but, hey, I'm polite enough to NOT interrupt her phone call, right?
Re #4...yesterday I was driving home from an appointment and saw a lady in the car next to me just yammering away and nobody in the car with her. I figured she was on speaker phone or something but she was pretty animated too so maybe arguing? Anyway, I thought then that when we used to see people doing that we probably thought they were a tad squirrely and now we just assume they are on a cell phone. lol
My mom was a schoolteacher. I remember a few times we had to call her for a minor emergency at home. We had to call the office. They sent a staff member down to her room to mind her class while she came to the phone. It took forever and the principal was not pleased with the disruption. Nowadays, teachers have cellphones and can be reached in emergencies and they can check their texts when on break for less urgent information, like "mom, we're home safe."
We have a landline and use it for our phone calls. We have Tracphones which cost us under $100 a year to keep with us for emergency contacts. Wife and I each carry a Tracphone.
I hate cell phones, had to carry one for business during the mid 90s. The cost was outrages sometimes over $300 per month, much of it for roaming. I now have a Bluetooth smartphone (tracfone) @ $100 annually. There is noway I will carry the phone with me around the house, but with Bluetooth I connected it to all my 5 landline wireless phones. In the car it’s also connected by Bluetooth and I can listen to the almost 700 songs that are stored on it. For the small cost of a bundled landline, I’ll will keep the landline.
How do you connect it to your landline phones? You call forward or something like that?
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