How many of you don't have a phone?

- Forums - Register/Sign Up - Reply - Search - Statistics -

Small Cabin Forum / Off-Grid Living / How many of you don't have a phone?


Author	Message
Gnerd Member	# Posted: 16 Feb 2021 03:13pm - Edited by: Gnerd Reply How many of you off-griders don't have, or know someone who doesn't have, a phone: no smart phone, no flip phone, no sat phone, no land line? What are your reasons for being phoneless?

frankpaige Member	# Posted: 16 Feb 2021 04:30pm Reply ðŸ¤”ðŸ¤”Wondering if there is such a person that is online? That would be pretty hard core. Flip phone person and loving it.

lburners Member	# Posted: 17 Feb 2021 06:18pm - Edited by: lburners Reply I have been running an Ubuntu phone for years. Closest I can get to not supporting the big trackers.

paulz Member	# Posted: 17 Feb 2021 08:23pm Reply A friend of mine has only a landline, that's as close as I know of. I'd love to pitch my cell phone in the ditch sometimes but unfortunately it's part of life now. Saw a comedian on a Johnny Carson rerun last night, forget his name but he did a bit on getting his first answering machine and realizing what a loser he was, coming home and seeing that big digital 0 on the display. Before that he thought he was just missing the calls.

ICC Member	# Posted: 17 Feb 2021 08:49pm - Edited by: ICC Reply If push came to shove, I would give up my PC before I would give up my smartphone. I don't view not having a phone as a badge of honor. I answer it when I feel like it, I let calls roll to voicemail if I feel like it. The phone belongs to me, the phone serves me, not the other way around. It is a convenience much like electricity or water that comes out of a faucet, motor vehicles that take the place of a horse to get to town. The list goes on.

Aklogcabin Member	# Posted: 18 Feb 2021 09:23am Reply I have a phone because my beautiful wife bought me one. But I don't use it. I sits on the table. If folks need me I tell them to call her. I haven't put it in my pocket for months.

gcrank1 Member	# Posted: 18 Feb 2021 09:37am Reply You live dangerously! Not just because you dont carry the phone but because your wife bought it for you and you dont carry it. (btdt, my wife got me one too)

paulz Member	# Posted: 18 Feb 2021 09:57am Reply I was much like you guys until I joined the local volunteer fire dept. Just had a flip phone. But those young sobs use texting for most matters, even get dispatches by text. Had to upgrade to a smart phone. Since then, I take all my photos with it, don't even know where my camera is. Also, on my weekend Craigslist excursions into the sprawling metropolis it has become invaluable for spitting out directions. And it notifies me when my trail cam takes a photo. And I use the notepad to list things I need to do or get. The alarm goes off every night for my wife to take her meds. I use the calculator frequently. There are many more useful apps I don't have or know about, and I don't know how to use the voice recognition. So I end up taking it everywhere like a nerd kid. But, I don't use it while I drive or walk around, too old for that much multitasking.

ICC Member	# Posted: 18 Feb 2021 10:26am - Edited by: ICC Reply I use a normal calculator, a metric converter, a fractions calculator and a board foot calculator. The grocery shopping app has been very useful during periods of the pandemic when I don't want to go inside the stores. The Telegram app lets me easily keep in contact with overseas friends, quickly and at no cost. The AWC span calculator. I have an app that gets used a lot when we hike and explore. The FedEx and UPS apps let me track and even change deliveries. Kindle app gets used a lot. My recipe book is an app that I cam also access on a PC. I could go on and on. Paul mentioned notepad; I use OneNote and it too is superb; access on phone or PC. Lots of lists, no paper. The phone is just another tool. It has the ability to hurt you if you let it take over your time. Just be prudent. The worst thing for me is I need to take out my eyeglasses to see most of the details on my screen.

Gnerd Member	# Posted: 18 Feb 2021 11:59am Reply Wowâ€¦ looks like Iâ€™m the only one so far! Actually, Iâ€™m not even off-grid right now, though I have been before and will be again. Nor am I a luddite; I have two laptops and can get pretty nerdy on them. Iâ€™m not a hardcore super-survivalist, nor bound and determined to be completely and totally unplugged from the Matrix at any cost. I donâ€™t use a phone becauseâ€¦ I choose not to. Seriously: phones are nothing but a major source of stress and worry to me. They are in no way a convenience; they are a burden. I canâ€™t stand trying to converse with a disembodied voice on the phone. Unlike ICC, I canâ€™t answer the phone only when I feel like it, because I NEVER feel like it. Voicemail, and having to return a call, is even worse. If I have a job that requires taking calls and/or texts (been there, done that) I get this awful sinking feeling every time the rotten thing chirps its lame little song. Iâ€™ve gotten to the point where I just donâ€™t want to put myself through all that any more, and so Iâ€™ve made my choice: to not own a phone. The only bad thing is that so many people seem to have such a hard time respecting my decision. Sometimes itâ€™s almost as if I was choosing to live without clothes, LOL. Yeah, this is a headache, but less so than putting up with all the stress and tension of having a phone just to satisfy othersâ€™ expectations. I could write a whole essay about this. Instead, Iâ€™ll only humbly ask this: youâ€™re welcome to write me a letter, chat with me online, send me an email (to which Iâ€™ll respond when I feel like it), even drop by for a visit; but please, PLEASE donâ€™t ask me to call you!

Gnerd Member	# Posted: 18 Feb 2021 12:04pm Reply Quoting: Aklogcabin I have a phone because my beautiful wife bought me one. But I don't use it. I sits on the table. If folks need me I tell them to call her. I haven't put it in my pocket for months. Aklog, I envy you. I wish I had a wife to handle all the crud I'm no good at, leaving me free to focus on what I am good at. Like in one of those James Herriot books, about the country veterinarian in England: he tells about another vet in a nearby town, a really good one who was much in demand, but who would only take a job if he wanted to, and he never talked on the phone. He let his wife do that, and they were both perfectly happy with that arrangement.

pabear89 Member	# Posted: 18 Feb 2021 12:32pm Reply I have a flip phone and wireless internet thru cell carrier. It is the only way to connect with outside as there is no utilities or mail service even close by. I chose to live in the woods and love it, The people who have my number are counted on one hand and still have fingers left. I do receive one call each day, It from my daughter checking on me. Her concern is she is 60 miles away and I am alone, So a call or text to make sure I am upright and breathing and not in trouble lowers her stress level. And those telemarketeers soon wish they never connected that number.

ICC Member	# Posted: 18 Feb 2021 12:37pm Reply A smartphone is much more than just a phone. FWIW, I would estimate that at least 95% of my phone use is for all those things that are NOT voice phone calls. I have not actually talked to anyone on my phone for probably a week. Email, etc, Yes. Voice, No. Just saying that the owner of the phone decides how and what to use. And if we make a choice to not have a phone that is our choice. I do find it to be a very useful tool.

ICC Member	# Posted: 18 Feb 2021 12:40pm Reply Quoting: pabear89 Her concern is she is 60 miles away and I am alone, So a call or text to make sure I am upright and breathing and not in trouble lowers her stress level. Very good point! I use texts a lot with family members daily for much the same reason. And you never know when something might happen and the phone could be a lifesaving tool.

Aklogcabin Member	# Posted: 19 Feb 2021 01:49pm Reply Gnerd, I am the most blessed man in the world. My beautiful wife does all the business. When folks need to get a hold of me I tell them to call her. I do visit with my 93 year old dad. When folks ask about emergency situations. I tell them call 911 not me. Guess if I need help I'll need to find someone with a phone. I did have a phone for work. I don't know the number though. Don't even know where it is. I just got an email address last week. So others could send me pictures. I don't remember that either. Building a cabin in remote AK. I'm good with that. Using a phone or computer much further than poking around on the net. Not so much.

ICC Member	# Posted: 19 Feb 2021 01:57pm Reply I jusr remembered another thing I love about my smartphone. Of course, it uses Bluetooth for many things. My hearing aids which I wear from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed also have Bluetooth. Phone calls, music, whatever all connect via bluetooth to my hearing aids. That does provide superior sound. They are so good I often forget I am wearing them.

gcrank1 Member	# Posted: 19 Feb 2021 02:07pm Reply Bet they cost as much as a very nice solar-elec system

ICC Member	# Posted: 19 Feb 2021 02:23pm Reply For me, my first pair were life transforming and worth every nickel. After a few years Bluetooth was adopted, added to some. Yes, they cost more but that was also very worthwhile to me. I already had a good solar system... My kids (all grown up) who are quite ourspoken all tell me I became a human again after getting the hearing aids.

mj1angier Member	# Posted: 19 Feb 2021 07:27pm Reply Quoting: ICC A smartphone is much more than just a phone. FWIW, I would estimate that at least 95% of my phone use is for all those things that are NOT voice phone calls. I have not actually talked to anyone on my phone for probably a week. Email, etc, Yes. Voice, No. Just saying that the owner of the phone decides how and what to use. And if we make a choice to not have a phone that is our choice. I do find it to be a very useful tool. This. And the thing I like/ use the most is the camera. It's great for taking photos of things I need to remember, hard to see/ reach bolts that I am going to have work on by feel, the stupid small print on thing like the wifi label password....

ICC Member	# Posted: 19 Feb 2021 09:09pm - Edited by: ICC Reply Don't forget the camera! I also vary the frame size, the proportions or the resolution a lot depending why I am taking a picture. It is a handy notetaker too.

Gnerd Member	# Posted: 8 Mar 2021 11:38am Reply Quoting: mj1angier And the thing I like/ use the most is the camera. It's great for taking photos of things I need to remember, hard to see/ reach bolts that I am going to have work on by feel... I use a digital SLR camera for this sort of thing. It would absolutely be great to have something small that I can keep in my pocket, available whenever I need it; but the functionality and the fast, tactile controls of a DSLR just can't be beat, especially for stuff like those hard to see/reach bolts.

ICC Member	# Posted: 8 Mar 2021 06:25pm Reply Quoting: Gnerd be great to have something small that I can keep in my pocket, available whenever I need it; but the functionality and the fast, tactile controls of a DSLR just can't be beat, especially for stuff like those hard to see/reach bolts. There is no comparing a good DSLR to even the best phones for some serious photography, especially outdoors where even the best phone displays can be impossible to see at times. I have an old Nikon DSLR and a recent Panasonic digital zoom camera. One or both of them go camping and traveling with me. But I get a lot of pictures on my phone that I would otherwise miss because I don't want the bother of carrying a larger camera all the time.

Aklogcabin Member	# Posted: 9 Mar 2021 11:45am Reply I tend to see all the things folks do with their phone. To make life easier. For me I kinda see it like this. I asked the bush plane pilot we use about all the gages n radios such . And how they have helped navigation. He responded, the biggest problem with them is that pilots get used to using them. Then when an emergency happens n those electronics aren't working trouble happens. Folks loose their instincts. Because they have become too dependent on them. For me . And I realize that it is a personal thing. But I see folks n its like that phone is glued to them. When having a visit they whip out their phone n start reading it. May be interesting to see how many folks can actually do math without a calculator.

redneckpaul Member	# Posted: 9 Mar 2021 10:57pm Reply All my co workers have a phone glued to them. I`m the only one who doesn`t carry one. Never had the desire.....I do have a tracfone/Flip phone that rarely gets used. When at the cabin I walk to the top of the hill every other day to call the wife and let her know I`m still alive.

Gnerd Member	# Posted: 11 Mar 2021 10:53am Reply Quoting: Aklogcabin pilots get used to using them. Then when an emergency happens n those electronics aren't working trouble happens. Once I was flying with a guy in Africa, and he turned off the GPS, handed me a paper map, and said take us there. Fun! I use Google Maps fairly frequently, but I don't ever want to be caught without a paper map and wishing I had one.

rachelsdad Member	# Posted: 18 Mar 2021 08:16pm Reply Amazing, So many different opinions/lifestyles/preferences and not one mean spirited post! So rare these days!! Been away too long, really nice group of folks here!!!!

groingo Member	# Posted: 24 Mar 2021 02:08pm Reply A tin can and a looong string, actually have to use Google Voice am in cell dead zone.