How important is your cellphone to You?

Omagh, Northern Ireland
May 15, 2011 8:17am CST
Do you suffer from cellphone withdrawal if you have to turn the thing off or concentrate on something else for even a short space of time? In a restaurant,if a table didn't have an array of phones dotted around the table top surrounded by cutlery,glasses,and drinks and instantly ready for use,then they're buried at the bottom of a handbag "Entertaining" the surrounding diners while they're being fished out (On LOUD setting,of course!) so the owner can have scintillating chats about "Being in the restaurant and at what stage they're at with their Meal" with the surrounding half dozen tables pretending to ignore it... So..CAN you live without a phone poised for some facebook mobile action or on call ready standby every second of your day? Just wondering!
4 people like this
26 responses
@nashtom (23)
• United States
15 May 11
Apparently my cell phone is not that important to me for I can walk out of my house and leave it behind. I do not suffer from cell phone withdrawl for I do not always carry it with me. The only times I really carry my cell phone with me is when I go to school or I am away at a powwow so that my mom can get a hold of me in case of an emergency.
1 person likes this
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
15 May 11
Welcome to Mylot! I'd be like that myself if I was just on my commute to work...I'm living not far away from my job,and would have no time while working for catching up by text or surfing...so,no biggie if I forgot it,as anyone who knows me can get me at work if it was important! though I'd prefer to have one with me when on days off...
• India
16 May 11
Hi, My cellphone is important to me because all the important calls comes on my cell, and that I have to pickup. Because the deals are always happening on my cells. Some important things which I needn't to say thats also happens. Sometime I get annoyed by this cellphone but still I like this and important to me.
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
16 May 11
Hi Gyani! If you need a phone for business,then it's a business tool and is a necessary thing to have with you...but I wouldn't like to think I couldn't have a break to have a relaxing meal uninterrupted by people calling Me or those around Me!
• South Africa
15 May 11
i cant... i have a blackberry and i am always talking to all my friends on BlackBerry messenger, its free, and thats why i use it :) often i can leave my phone, depending on who im talking to and what im talking about :) if its nothing serious then i leave my phone in my pocket or in my room, however i always try to take it out with me, wherever i go :)
1 person likes this
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
8 Jul 11
Thanks for the background,That was news to Me..I honestly wasn't aware Blackberry as a company had been around for so long or come so far in their evolution towards a smartphone..
@sk66rc (4250)
• United States
20 May 11
Actually, original blackberry was designed as a 2-way "pager" when they first came out in 1999. As a "messaging dedicated" device progressed, it went from 1 way numeric pager to alpha-numeric pager then to 2 way messaging device, they evolved to include their own e-mail system, or e-mail server. Then finally in 2002, they merged voice call, or phone system, into the device. Blackberry line came a long way from being a messaging dedicated device back in the days to all-in-one device in relatively short period of time.
@sk66rc (4250)
• United States
15 May 11
It's fairly important to me because I rely on my cell phone for work. I don't listen to music or play games on mine, I only use it for what it is, a phone.
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
15 May 11
The cellphone has evolved and developed into having so many additional functions now,it's almost rare to find someone only wanting or needing a simple,basic phone that'll just do calls..that's worth another discussion,methinks..."How many functions on your cellphone DON'T you use?!"
1 person likes this
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
16 May 11
I like the idea of using gadget functions in ways like you describe-that one of yours is a useful business tool!
• United States
17 May 11
Yes sometimes i feel lonely with out my phone. I feel like i am lost. Thanks for sharing Hope you have a great day
1 person likes this
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
17 Jun 11
That's the thing..without the phone to hand,you get to thinking about what you might be missing..it's separation anxiety!
@allknowing (130063)
• India
8 Jul 11
I am not addicted to my cell phone but it saved my life when I met with an accident. It helped my companion inform the right people to be there to care for me. I use it as and when I need it and I sure know it is an indispensable gadget.
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
10 Jul 11
My issue with cellphones is that they can sometimes be an annoyance,a tether,keeping you close..Your experience (Glad it helped save your Life!) shows that the tether can also be a lifeline....
@allknowing (130063)
• India
10 Jul 11
We have the freedom to use it judiciously which is what I do. I have the landline that takes care of my connection with the world when I am indoors but when I am out I do take my cellphone with me though selectively.
• United States
15 May 11
I'm starting to get tired of my phone. I use to be really addicted to my phone but nowadays I feel empty because I'm always on the phone rather than the things that matter the most to me. I think if my phone was taken away from me for a day then maybe my day would be better off. That means no more facebook or twitter or instant messaging, maybe then I could focus on the things that really matter the most.
1 person likes this
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
16 May 11
Agreed..if it helps improve your life,it's a good thing...but if it's just there keeping you tied up all the time,it's not.
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
4 Jun 11
Hi. ShepherdSpy. Having a cell phone is not all that important to me at all. I can turn my cell phone off and be completely fine with it being off too. When I am not expecting any phone calls, I will not have my cell phone turned on at all. My cell phone is very much needed in my life, but I can do without having it turned on, if I really don't need to use it.
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
17 Jun 11
Turning my phone off for the cinema or somewhere the noise or disturbance of it ringing would be restricted (Or should Be!) doesn't bother Me..I could happily leave the thing off until I had the need to use it again..
• United States
16 May 11
I think my cellphone is important to me, but it's something that I can survive without. I never leave my house without it, but the majority of the time when I have it on my I'm not using it. I guess I just like having it on me for convenience. I only got my first cellphone at 23 years old (last December). I've survived that long without one. It annoys me when people are spending time with other people but are on their phones the entire time. I think it's rude. If I'm out eating with people I usually take my phone off, or if I get a call I keep the call under 5 minutes. The thing I can't live without (figuratively of course) would be my iPod Touch. I'm always checking Facebook, listening to music, watching movies on Netflix, or playing games on it.
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
8 Jul 11
It seems everyone from teen to Adult now has a phone...Congrats on holding out as long as you have without one!
@Danuska (190)
• India
30 May 11
live ha? i cant survive even a minute without a cell phone.
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
17 Jun 11
You like staying connected
• India
16 May 11
It depends on person to person, for me its not so important because i like to make much of the communication face to face. Few get obsessed with it, few need it for personal purposes, few for business and few just to show up.
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
8 Jul 11
Agreed..being able to talk face to face with those you have and want to be in contact with is the ideal...unfortunately,business,travel,and family life can be so widespread these days that substitutions end up happening,leading to the rise of wireless messaging and phone technology,and our dependence on it in turn...
@mantis36 (4219)
• Philippines
16 May 11
cellphone is very important to me, especially those cellphones with a half inch antenna - as i will use that antenna for self defense, if any snatcher want go rob my cell, i just have to held my cell grasp with my hand and poke the antenna unto snatchers adam's apple....
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
8 Jul 11
Was it only James Bond who had a cellphone that doubled as a Taser,or have they produced one of those for real yet?!
• Tallaght, Ireland
16 May 11
Pah!! I can't even imagine what might happen if we lost our cellphones accidentally!! i have a blackberry and lots of contacts and messages stored in it confidentally.,so if the phone is lost anytime - all the stored data inside is gone forever and never recovered!!
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
16 May 11
Sounds like you have info that's important to you-Some cellphone services will offer data and contact backup services,and you can buy sim card backup gadgets..
• Portugal
16 May 11
I think i can live without him..one/two hours..because i have a smartphone and i use him a lot. Call's,email,internet,facebook,whethear,so on. so on.. My girlfriend sometimes in food table, said me that i shouldn't use the phone on table lol anyone this happen's?
@Galena (9110)
16 May 11
you shouldn't. it's very bad manners.
• Portugal
16 May 11
hi know..it just happen few times :)
• India
18 May 11
its like my breath..lolz...seriously now i am in my teenage , and my bfrd mesege me now and every sec so i always keep it with and love to keep it with me love to hear the beeping sound when the message is recieved...
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
17 Jun 11
Yep,having someone special in your life,it's good to be reachable by them,even if it's just a text message..
@gtargirl (5376)
• United States
15 May 11
I am pretty dependent on that little piece of technology but I'm not all that bad. In a restaurant I actually put it on vibrate and it's within reach in my purse. When I'm in church it is completely off and then I always forget to turn it back on till I get home that night and find a gazillion messages. It is a cell phone generation. My kids tell the whole world where they're at, but then again the whole world tells the whole world where they're at, at any moment etc. etc. Nobody cares anymore.
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
16 May 11
I almost wish for a "Get Smart" "Cone of Silence" gadget to go along with a cellphone..privacy and discretion seems to have gone out the window,trying to hold a private conversation while surrounded by strangers or friends!
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
15 May 11
i actually dont have one so i have managed to live without one. however, in saying that, my 18 year old daughter cannot bear to be seperated from hers at any given time!
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
15 May 11
I was remarking on another discussion how I'm still getting my head round the idea of the current generation of teens and tweens growing up not having known life before these things came into our lives..they're more connected than in our day!
@Galena (9110)
15 May 11
not very important at all. it's just a phone. I've been known to leave it switched off for over a week on forgetting to switch it back on after the cinema, or not getting round to recharging it for ages after it runs down. it's useful to have just in case I need it, but it's not a big part of my life at all. it's just there if I do need it. I think it's very rude when people use their phones while in social situations with people face to face, and people who continually check their phones just come across as sad, lonely and a bit pathetic really.
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
16 May 11
They're useful to have if you need to be connected,but I don't see a need to be tethered by them..it's like a nervous habit in social situations..is there REALLY somewhere you'd rather be when at a social event that a cellphone is going to help?
• Indonesia
15 May 11
It depends. When I have nothing to do, then the cell phone is really important for me. Otherwise, it's not
@staycd (11)
• United States
15 May 11
I really depend on my cellphone. I don't like leaving the house without it. I have children and I am always worried that something will happen and someone will need to get in touch with me. I don't play games on it or tweet or Facebook, its just a phone for me. I don't have a home phone so this is the only phone i have. I think back to when I didn't have a phone and don't know how I made it on all those long trips. I guess if you don't have it you don't miss it....right?
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
15 May 11
Phone use has evolved so much since the cellphone was invented and we started moving away from the "One phone per house" we had before..the number of lines now in use has gone through the roof when it seems nearly everyone has one,from young to old..If you need to be in contact with family,it's a necessity....but you don't have to like being tethered by the thing,either!
• Philippines
15 May 11
I can say my cellphone is really connected to my life. We are in the 21st century where technology is being utilized to high levels. My cellphone today is the easiest way to contact me. It helps me communicate with the people I know. I can say it is one of the most important thing that I own because I use my cell phone not only for recreational communication but for work and important matters. Today I applied for a work in a hospital and they communicate with me through my cellphone.I am not saying I won't survive without my cellphone, what I'm saying is that life is easier with this thing by my side.
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
16 May 11
It's a 2 edged sword situation..they're so useful to have to be available to everyone you need to stay in contact with...but the downside is you're available to them ALL the time as well! Are there times you'd consider switching the phone off for some privacy,or letting a call go to voicemail?