For letting someone know if you're running late or are changing your plans.
For making arrangements if you're already out of the house.
For use as a sat nav.
For finding out the football scores.
For checking emails.
For sending and receiving texts.
For quick internet shopping.
For taking photos when you don't have a camera with you.
For keeping notes and lists.
For finding the time of the next train home whilst in the pub.
For quickly finding the location of a certain shop when in a strange town.
For receiving traffic updates.
For keeping track of times and distances when running or cycling.
For setting your Sky+ box to record something when you're out and had forgotten to put it on.
For finding out what that song that's playing in the background is when you know it but can't quite place it.
You win the Internets with that post. I would add:
For translating on holiday or business
For learning about the stars and planets up above and around you
For turning TV volume up or down in public places
For having a library available while waiting at a hospital, barber's, GP surgery, ...
For voice control / voice input when you're slightly disabled
I've had no car the last few days so it's come in very handy for getting a lift home.
I read something about how the day of the Hillsborough disaster supporters at the match were relying on residents of Sheffield to allow them to use phones or queuing for payphones.
If there was a modern day Hillsborough there might be a signal jam but it would be quicker reassurance.
The Huawei y300 for me.
uses:-
1. gaming
2. mp3
3. camera/camcorder (who said I HAVE to do normal things with my photographs?)
4. calculator
5. emergency note pad
6. internet
yes, I know it's cheap but it's better than the Samsung 337 chat (the internet's shite on that one and you can't get any apps for it)
and those same 5 billion without mobiles survive without them now today in 2014
so no you dont NEED them
and do you know what?
i bet theyre a lot happer than 90% of 1st world people
Bollox. I DO need one. If I am visiting a customer and they aren't in I can phone then to find out if they are on there way or forgot. I can get instant messages from my shop to go elsewhere instead of going back etc etc.
Yep and just to add a few more, I've lost my bank card so use my phone to get cash out of cash points.
Using it to quickly search for better deals when in a shop. Using the camera flash light as a torch when searching for things in pitch black.
Using the music/YouTube to play white noise to settle the baby Using it as a timer for dinner To hold group chats when making plans for things
Any many more...
Yep, some more good ones, those I put were just off the top of my head. I always do the ones in bold too!
You win the Internets with that post. I would add:
For translating on holiday or business
For learning about the stars and planets up above and around you
For turning TV volume up or down in public places
For having a library available while waiting at a hospital, barber's, GP surgery, ...
For voice control / voice input when you're slightly disabled
More good ones, phones are completely useless though!
Just like we don't NEED electricity or antibiotics or computers or cars, right?
I mean, there's 5,000 years of recorded history....
That's what I always say when someone comes out with that ridiculous argument of "we survived well enough without them". Completely silly argument, people managed without lots of things, does that mean we should go back to living in caves or riding around on horses?
Bollox. I DO need one. If I am visiting a customer and they aren't in I can phone then to find out if they are on there way or forgot. I can get instant messages from my shop to go elsewhere instead of going back etc etc.
wrong, the service you provide worked before the advent of the mobilefone
I used to repair TVs for 10 years in the 80s and 90s and do 5 calls a day in customers houses
sometimes i would get to a customer and they wouldnt be in despite having booked a call at a specific time
all i would do was leave a card telling them to call the office to rearrange a callout
it of course makes it easier to just call them up and say "where are you?" but its not the end of the world to go the next day
so you dont NEED a mobile fone its just more convenient
no one NEEDS a mobile fone. ive had this arguement with my 15yr old neice
there is 5000yrs of recorded history without mobiles and people got along fine
and there are 7 BILLION people and 2 BILLION fones
so the majority get on fine without one
NO you dont NEED one
Humans are social animals, and what worked for cavemen doesn't work for modern society. It's not worth listing the reasons why, it just is - as they say on TG.
No-one needs one continually, but you only need one occasion where a phone made a big difference to the outcome of the situation for the answer to be yes, you do need one. You might go months even years without needing one, but as soon as you do need one, that answers the question with a yes.
People keep talking about the past and how they didn't need them 30yrs ago. Times change though. Go back further people didn't have fridges, cars, ovens, Tv, radio, flushable toilets etc. As humans we don't really need anything to live, we lived for tens of thousands of years with basically nothing, there are still tribes that do.
If they weren't invented, we wouldn't have them, and we would manage fine.
So "need" is obviously "no"
I think it's better to ask 'Would the removal of your mobile phone have a major impact on your life?'
For me it would be yes. I don't need a car, a kettle, music, a Tv, a bed etc, but removal of my phone would have just as big an impact on my life, as removal of these items.
If they weren't invented, we wouldn't have them, and we would manage fine.
So "need" is obviously "no"
And if they didn't exist society would behave differently in a way that doesn't require easy communication. We are where we are; a phone is a need. How you define need on the scale from a toddler needing a toy to needing water after 3 days in the Sahara is up to you, but the way life works, phones are incredibly useful at least some of the time. That they aren't for 90% of the time and that they also have frivolous uses is neither here nor there. From time to time, a phone is incredibly useful and can positively improve a situation, and as we don't tend to have a phone only when we actually need one, the answer is not 'no I can manage without', it's 'yes, as occasionally its incredibly useful'.
Mobile communities confirm Kurt Vonnegut's categories of karass and granfalloon. It's all smoke and mirrors people. Your mobile phone and your cyber existence is not your life.
It's not my life by a long chalk. Once in a blue moon though it's the difference. I'm gutted that the tenner's worth of credit I put on mine in May has almost run out. I can save a tenner and manage without, or pay it and have another few months of an additional option that may or may not be really useful. Hmmm. Tough decision...
I agree with others I don't see why people say we did without we did without many things for millions of years we did without fire for millions more we did without houses if you look at it from the very beginning of mankind really it until recently we were fine with mud huts and little wooden shacks.
Flushable toilets are brand new in the grand scheme of things and back then maybe people said "We were ok just doing it in the street" doesn't mean to say we should go back to that.
Before mobiles it was harder for me as I have family members with medical conditions I had to keep phoning home every 10-15 mins when out just to make sure everything was ok now I can still phone or get contacted in a emergency.
The Huawei y300 for me.
uses:-
1. gaming
2. mp3
3. camera/camcorder (who said I HAVE to do normal things with my photographs?)
4. calculator
5. emergency note pad
6. internet
yes, I know it's cheap but it's better than the Samsung 337 chat (the internet's shite on that one and you can't get any apps for it)
I have the Ascend Y300 too, gaming is a no-no I find, once I have Hootsuite/Whatsapp and a few other apps on there (nothing major), it's very slow with the one mahjong game I have!
I buy a T-mobile SMART pack for £10 once a month, which has 400 texts, 1gb of data and 100 phone minutes and I never use anywhere near all of it. I remind myself to use the phone to call people and use those minutes because it's not something I've ever done. I do keep Data switched off so I don't really use the 1gb at all. Texting I do use. I imagine the AVG anti-virus and cleaner take up a lot of memory but I wouldn't be without them.
I have a disabled child with epilepsy and very elderly/ill parents, so the phone has been invaluable for me to be able to receive calls more than anything. I've used a mobile phone 5 times to call 999 myself.
I do love Whatsapp, it means I can communicate with my brother in Holland a lot more than I used to, although we also IM on Skype a lot, of course neither are a necessity.
Don't have one, Don't need one, Don't want one.
Sad that some people seem to think they cannot function without them, but if they took a real look at their usage they would find they waste more time using the "phone" and as for needed for work, do people really think they are that indispensable that they have to be contactable 24/7 ?
Does a mobile phone have any real usefulness ?
Yes.........for emergencies, especially now that many of the public telephones have disappeared.
I think it's sad when some people practically boast about not having a mobile phone and make out that those who do have a problem.
It's almost 2015 - if you don't want/need/have a mobile then fine but don't chastise others for simply 'following the times'.
Went without one for months until my daughter bought a new one and I got hers. Is used more now so that I can contact hubby or daughter if something is wrong (couple of years ago got told I have partial seizures) .I don't think I've used it once for that.
no one NEEDS a mobile fone. ive had this arguement with my 15yr old neice
there is 5000yrs of recorded history without mobiles and people got along fine
and there are 7 BILLION people and 2 BILLION fones
so the majority get on fine without one
NO you dont NEED one
Oh, bollocks to that.
No one needed to send chatty letters, but there were hundreds of couriers around the country delivering chatty letters daily for a couple of centuries. It worked for them. There was a collective sigh of relief each time when telegram, telephone, telex, fax and a few other too-cool-to-believe developments in telecommunications came along. In fact, you might as well to say we shouldn't have entertainment as we don't need it. No TV, no cinema, no theatre, no music, etc. Fancy that.
And hell, yes. I do need a mobile phone in the current set-up of my life. Job, children, travel and family.
It's likely I won't need it when I'm that old lady who's having fun with mowing down those who're foolish enough to get in the way of my motorised wheelchair on High Street. Until then, I need my mobile phone. It's practically an extension of me at the moment.
People keep talking about the past and how they didn't need them 30yrs ago. Times change though. Go back further people didn't have fridges, cars, ovens, Tv, radio, flushable toilets etc. As humans we don't really need anything to live, we lived for tens of thousands of years with basically nothing, there are still tribes that do.
In a way I miss the days when I could leave the house and become unreachable, but this interconnectedness thing has way too many benefits to not take advantage of, imo.
For example, to add to what others have said about how valuable they are in an emergency: I'm a type 1 diabetic, and I wear a continuous glucose monitor because my ability to sense hypos is crap, and I have a legitimate fear of passing out and not waking up. Last month we started using an app, sending my monitor's real-time data to the cloud, which allows for access to that data – also, in real-time – in remote locations, like a mobile. This means my husband can keep tabs on my numbers all day, wherever he is, and if he sees that I'm low, I haven't responded to the alarm, and I'm not answering my phone, he can get me help. That level of peace of mind is all kinds of awesome.
In a way I miss the days when I could leave the house and become unreachable, but this interconnectedness thing has way too many benefits to not take advantage of, imo.
For example, to add to what others have said about how valuable they are in an emergency: I'm a type 1 diabetic, and I wear a continuous glucose monitor because my ability to sense hypos is crap, and I have a legitimate fear of passing out and not waking up. Last month we started using an app, sending my monitor's real-time data to the cloud, which allows for access to that data – also, in real-time – in remote locations, like a mobile. This means my husband can keep tabs on my numbers all day, wherever he is, and if he sees that I'm low, I haven't responded to the alarm, and I'm not answering my phone, he can get me help. That level of peace of mind is all kinds of awesome.
That is amazing, it must truly give you peace of mind indeed
Comments
You win the Internets with that post. I would add:
For translating on holiday or business
For learning about the stars and planets up above and around you
For turning TV volume up or down in public places
For having a library available while waiting at a hospital, barber's, GP surgery, ...
For voice control / voice input when you're slightly disabled
and those same 5 billion without mobiles survive without them now today in 2014
so no you dont NEED them
and do you know what?
i bet theyre a lot happer than 90% of 1st world people
I read something about how the day of the Hillsborough disaster supporters at the match were relying on residents of Sheffield to allow them to use phones or queuing for payphones.
If there was a modern day Hillsborough there might be a signal jam but it would be quicker reassurance.
uses:-
1. gaming
2. mp3
3. camera/camcorder (who said I HAVE to do normal things with my photographs?)
4. calculator
5. emergency note pad
6. internet
yes, I know it's cheap but it's better than the Samsung 337 chat (the internet's shite on that one and you can't get any apps for it)
Bollox. I DO need one. If I am visiting a customer and they aren't in I can phone then to find out if they are on there way or forgot. I can get instant messages from my shop to go elsewhere instead of going back etc etc.
And with a mobile you've got the whole lot in 1 pocket. Embrace the 21st century.
Yep, some more good ones, those I put were just off the top of my head. I always do the ones in bold too!
More good ones, phones are completely useless though!
That's what I always say when someone comes out with that ridiculous argument of "we survived well enough without them". Completely silly argument, people managed without lots of things, does that mean we should go back to living in caves or riding around on horses?
wrong, the service you provide worked before the advent of the mobilefone
I used to repair TVs for 10 years in the 80s and 90s and do 5 calls a day in customers houses
sometimes i would get to a customer and they wouldnt be in despite having booked a call at a specific time
all i would do was leave a card telling them to call the office to rearrange a callout
it of course makes it easier to just call them up and say "where are you?" but its not the end of the world to go the next day
so you dont NEED a mobile fone its just more convenient
No-one needs one continually, but you only need one occasion where a phone made a big difference to the outcome of the situation for the answer to be yes, you do need one. You might go months even years without needing one, but as soon as you do need one, that answers the question with a yes.
I think for many it's an age thing.
So "need" is obviously "no"
I think it's better to ask 'Would the removal of your mobile phone have a major impact on your life?'
For me it would be yes. I don't need a car, a kettle, music, a Tv, a bed etc, but removal of my phone would have just as big an impact on my life, as removal of these items.
Flushable toilets are brand new in the grand scheme of things and back then maybe people said "We were ok just doing it in the street" doesn't mean to say we should go back to that.
Before mobiles it was harder for me as I have family members with medical conditions I had to keep phoning home every 10-15 mins when out just to make sure everything was ok now I can still phone or get contacted in a emergency.
I have the Ascend Y300 too, gaming is a no-no I find, once I have Hootsuite/Whatsapp and a few other apps on there (nothing major), it's very slow with the one mahjong game I have!
I buy a T-mobile SMART pack for £10 once a month, which has 400 texts, 1gb of data and 100 phone minutes and I never use anywhere near all of it. I remind myself to use the phone to call people and use those minutes because it's not something I've ever done. I do keep Data switched off so I don't really use the 1gb at all. Texting I do use. I imagine the AVG anti-virus and cleaner take up a lot of memory but I wouldn't be without them.
I have a disabled child with epilepsy and very elderly/ill parents, so the phone has been invaluable for me to be able to receive calls more than anything. I've used a mobile phone 5 times to call 999 myself.
I do love Whatsapp, it means I can communicate with my brother in Holland a lot more than I used to, although we also IM on Skype a lot, of course neither are a necessity.
It's almost 2015 - if you don't want/need/have a mobile then fine but don't chastise others for simply 'following the times'.
Oh, bollocks to that.
No one needed to send chatty letters, but there were hundreds of couriers around the country delivering chatty letters daily for a couple of centuries. It worked for them. There was a collective sigh of relief each time when telegram, telephone, telex, fax and a few other too-cool-to-believe developments in telecommunications came along. In fact, you might as well to say we shouldn't have entertainment as we don't need it. No TV, no cinema, no theatre, no music, etc. Fancy that.
And hell, yes. I do need a mobile phone in the current set-up of my life. Job, children, travel and family.
It's likely I won't need it when I'm that old lady who's having fun with mowing down those who're foolish enough to get in the way of my motorised wheelchair on High Street. Until then, I need my mobile phone. It's practically an extension of me at the moment.
Well said.
For example, to add to what others have said about how valuable they are in an emergency: I'm a type 1 diabetic, and I wear a continuous glucose monitor because my ability to sense hypos is crap, and I have a legitimate fear of passing out and not waking up. Last month we started using an app, sending my monitor's real-time data to the cloud, which allows for access to that data – also, in real-time – in remote locations, like a mobile. This means my husband can keep tabs on my numbers all day, wherever he is, and if he sees that I'm low, I haven't responded to the alarm, and I'm not answering my phone, he can get me help. That level of peace of mind is all kinds of awesome.