I'm taking a stand...or am I?

[Anonymouse]

This is going to be a long one. I make no aplogies for this.

I arranged to meet a friend of mine - my best friend, incidentally - at 1:30pm to go to the cinema. I was a little over half an hour late, because the train that should have got me there at 1:34 didn't come at all. I got there just before she, understandably, decided to give up.

Afterward, as she often does when we go to see a film, she dragged me into a mobile phone shop to try to persuade me to buy one. But we have a difference of opinion as to the degree to which a mobile is essential to my escaping from my current (warehouse) job and becoming a programmer. She believes it's essential to the professional image, and she seemed rather annoyed with me when I held firm. I'll admit she had a point in that if I'd had one I could have let her know I was going to be late.

The problem here is that no-one, EVER, has convinced me that the damn things are essential to anything. I hate it when people, especially when they're 30+, say 'Ooh, I don't know how I'd manage without it'; my immediate thought, every time I hear this, is 'Then how the hell did you manage 10, 15, 20 years ago?!' When I'm walking through town and, it seems, every third person is sporting a mobile as if it's part of their ear, I don't think 'hey, I should get one' - it just annoys me. On the 'pet hates' thread I mentioned hating that 'I'm just getting on the bus' thing. The thought of joining that crowd makes me shiver.

But now I'm wondering:

Am I right and the (apparently vast) majority wrong, or is it the other way around?

Am I right in thinking mobiles are antisocial and intrusive, or am I behind the times?

Am I right in taking a stand against what I see as the worst social mistake of the 20th Century, or am I a rebel without a cause?

Am I right to think I'd just be joining the conformist herd, a thought that scares me, or am I being left behind? I am, in many respects, a misfit, though I quit apologising to the world for that when I hit 30 (BTW, I hit 40 last month!). I remain convinced that misfits are essential because without them 'normal' people would have no yardstick to judge their supposed normality, given that it's a wholly relative term. But am I overdoing it?

Hence the poll. I particularly want to hear comments from anyone here who is an IT professional, especially in programming-related fields. I want to hear from anyone who has a mobile and wishes they didn't. At this point, I confess, I know nothing whatsoever about using one; the only thing I do know is that they annoy the hell out of me and every fibre of my being screams in horror at the very thought of having one.

But is it possible that I'm sabotaging my chances of escaping from a job I hate? Would it really help that much?

I really need to know. Please vote.

[Russ]

I'd say they're essential items, if only for women who might feel vunerable if their car breaks down on a motorway etc.

[Chris W]

Personally, I have got used to having a mobile phone, and when i don't have it now (i frequently lose them) i have to change my lifestyle a little.

I don't think they are necessary, but for many can be extremely useful... for example- I travel a long way to work every morning, and if i am going to be late I need to let someone know so they can open up for me. I drive, so if i get stuck in traffic i couldn't get to a phone - hence mobile very handy (handsfree of course).

My dad has a mobile phone which he had since he was a software consultant- mainly because he spent a lot of time travelling and it provided him with a way to check in with the office, do business while travelling, get internet access on the move etc etc.

My mum has only had a mobile phone recently, and she has this just incase of emergencies. Normally it is turned off.

Different people use their phones for different things. One thing I do wonder though- is what annoys you about mobiles? I'm curious...

[bmxbandit]

you can get a basic phone on pay as you go for £20 now, so for emergency use, that's spot on!

they do have their uses, but being permanently and instantly contactable can be annoying. remember you can always turn it off or simply not anwer a call - the phone is for your convenience, not the callers!

for my - and to declare my position, I don't own/use a mobile phone - but, if that was causing a problem between me and my partner, I would get one.

my excuse is that I am never, normally, more than 25 minutes from a land line.

I was a little tempted by the recent 'basic' models, i.e. more about useability than features, but price wise they seem comparitively expensive.

But back to the point - I think it is more about how your G/F perceives you, that is important here

[Anonymouse]

Originally Posted by Chris W

One thing I do wonder though- is what annoys you about mobiles? I'm curious...

Mainly the fact that everyone who has one seems to be on the damn thing most of the time, and doesn't even think about the possibility that people around them - me, for instance - just don't want to hear private (and usually incredibly trivial) conversations. Private conversations should stay private. More than once I've heard one half of a couple arguing with the other half via mobile - eew!


I seem to recall there are also possible health risks. Okay, it hasn't been proven they're harmful...but by the same token, it hasn't been proven they're not. I want proof.

I also wonder what all these people aren't doing and should be doing while they're chatting/texting/whatever. While I was on the 2 - 10 shift, this used to really get on my wick, to see people messing about like this when there was work to be done.

Even if I were working as a programmer, I just don't like the idea that anyone from work would be able to call at any time - it seems to me to be too convenient for bosses to use this as a means of influencing workers to take work home with them, which is something else I object to on a fundamental level. We already work the longest hours in the EU; who wants to work even longer and not even get paid for it? No. We've all seen what happens on that road - and employers these days are so bloody demanding and ungrateful you won't get any thanks or recognition for working yourself into the ground.

Nor do I like the idea of using them to check in with work...that can work both ways. The whole thing just seems too intrusive.

Or, again, is it just me?

[Marge]

I really couldn't be without a mobile phone, in fact I have two. I live up north and t'other half lives down south so if I'm driving there and get stuck etc I can ring him and let him know so he's not worrying (one time I drove down there took me over 6 and half hours ) It gives me peace of mind that help, should I need it, is instantly available and not having to try to find help which has happened to me previously (late at night on the M60)

[Maggy J]

No a mobile phone is not an essential..However in a world that does use them extensively some folk may find that by not having one they are limiting their chances of getting a job,or buying that house or report an accident just because they have to physically find a working landline.

I never wanted one but won one.I gave it to my then 15 year old daughter who thereafter used it to let me know when she was going to be late,needed picking up because she had missed the last bus and any changes in her plans without having to seek an unvandalised phone box and scrabble for change.

I also about this time was having to drive up the A32 to visit a sick family member and driving back home late at night.My car was having problems and the inevitable happened.Luckily I came to no harm but my husband(who also hates mobile phones) insisted that I have one so that if I ever broke down again I could get the RAC to me that much quicker.

Having seen the difference that refurbished mobile phones have had on the continent of Africa in making people who usually have great difficulty in communicating, able to run and organise their lives and businesses so much better because the great distances that they have to communicate across disappear when they have a mobile phone in their hand.Indeed there are entrepreneurs who have set up a small business where they charge a small amount for the use of their phone.If Africans find a mobile a good thing why can't you?.I only use mine to stay connected to my daughter and for emergencies when travelling.The rest of the time I don't bother with it.In fact my husband(who now possess his own),my son and daughter are the only one's who have been given my number.You can do the same thing and only give your number to those you wish to.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

Mainly the fact that everyone who has one seems to be on the damn thing most of the time, and doesn't even think about the possibility that people around them - me, for instance - just don't want to hear private (and usually incredibly trivial) conversations. Private conversations should stay private. More than once I've heard one half of a couple arguing with the other half via mobile - eew!

Owning a mobile does not mean you have to use it all the time. Even if you do use it all the time (or even regularly), you don't have to have trivial conversations on it. You don't have to be a member of the "I'm on the train" brigade.

I seem to recall there are also possible health risks. Okay, it hasn't been proven they're harmful...but by the same token, it hasn't been proven they're not. I want proof.

I can't offer proof, but I will say the following. Mobile phones have been around for 20 years now, has cancer increased?

I also wonder what all these people aren't doing and should be doing while they're chatting/texting/whatever. While I was on the 2 - 10 shift, this used to really get on my wick, to see people messing about like this when there was work to be done.

As long as they were doing it during break times, I don't see any problem. If they weren't, the management should do something.

Even if I were working as a programmer, I just don't like the idea that anyone from work would be able to call at any time - it seems to me to be too convenient for bosses to use this as a means of influencing workers to take work home with them, which is something else I object to on a fundamental level. We already work the longest hours in the EU; who wants to work even longer and not even get paid for it? No. We've all seen what happens on that road - and employers these days are so bloody demanding and ungrateful you won't get any thanks or recognition for working yourself into the ground.

Nor do I like the idea of using them to check in with work...that can work both ways. The whole thing just seems too intrusive.

Or, again, is it just me?

Sadly, programming is one of the careers where that is worst. Possibly because you are working against deadlines the whole time, and possibly because if a computer system fails due to a bug, then the company running that system may well fold.

Actually most jobs I know of where that kind of dedication is required, they pay an on-call supplement to the wages.

Also bear in mind that the law requires an 11 hour break between shifts.

Regarding whether to get a phone? I say it's up to you, but bear in mind that you don't have to use it regularly, you don't have to sit there texting for 8 hours a day (although some people seem to), you may not even need it switched on the whole time.

You might also find it helps if you are looking for a job. If the company or agency advertising the job want to talk to you, they can. If they can't, they'll give the job to somebody who they can talk to.

[tick]

If you had 3 children spread over the country you would be glad to have one.
Also if you have ever broken down in a car the same.

[bmxbandit]

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

Or, again, is it just me?

i do agree with a lot of what you're saying, but is it not people's (mis)use of mobile phones, not the phones themselves, that is the problem?

[Shaun]

I think I need a pee. Should I start a thread to ask CF if I should go or not? Afterall it's such a big decision.

[laptopsrd]

I've voted in the useful camp. Although personally I wish the things had never been invented, has caused me too much grief over the years with people (especially partners!) expecting me to be available to answer inane questions at the drop of a hat. As for is it preventing you from getting employment as a programmer... . Not that i can see! I have a team of 3 programmers and 2 techies and a Business Analyst. We all have mobiles, but I cant think of any times I've HAD to be in contact with them and insisted they have their phones to hand.

[handyman]

I would say that if your going for a job in programming your putting your self in a technological field . Whilst its very arguable that you don't see the need fo one maybe you would have thought the same had you been around when the telephone was invented or tv or the internet.

Speaking from a IT managers perspective, if you do become a programmer and I cannot reach you to fix a bug in a program you have written that's costing the company £10,000 an hour because your not by your landline phone and do not have a moblie then i'm not going to be very happy.

Get one I say, move with the times.

[Angua]

Remember this when you use "the latest" all singing all dancing phone, the more of these there are the more phone masts there will need to be; and all the different companies hate being made to share a mast or site and will avoid doing so wherever possible.

Personally I hate the wretched things and only have mine for emergencies (must be almost a year since I topped up the credit).

Why send texts at 4am? My friends bloke does.
It seems to have killed the art of conversation in the younger generation.