2 years without a mobile phone Bliss

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Disco1

Settler
Jan 31, 2015
538
0
UK
Two years ago today I gave up my mobile phone, I don't miss it all. Its bliss. It started when I left it at home on a trip into the woods for a week end. The piece was an absolutely delightful no worries no contact with the outside world. Now if im out in the woods and someone has a phone I will move camp. Life is so simple without it, next time you go out leave your at home and feel the pressure leave you and feeling at one with natural.
 
i had briefly a mobile phone for work in 2008- it broke, i went from one place to the next (""sorry, we not responsible- you have to go to..."") to claim my warranty; finally i had enough, placed it on the floor and smashed it with a sledgehammer---D*** felt that good!!! experiencing the UNculture with those things (especially in korea) i'm a total mobile phone hater :AR15firin
 

Ruud

Full Member
Jun 29, 2012
670
176
Belgium
www.rudecheers.wordpress.com
I have a mobile phone but only take calls when I feel like it, it only vibrates, no sound, as I find ringtones very annoying and I find it rather rude that a phone rings during a conversation with someone face to face. I do carry it always with me as a backup in case I need immediate help or expect a very important call. As I don't use it often, I can keep it charged for more than a week without recharching it.

I can not totally give my phone up, as it does has helped me a lot in the past to call people when I needed help and when people needed my help.
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,124
2,866
66
Pembrokeshire
I only have mine for work and travelling.
In the woods - and most of the time actually - it is off.
I use it only to phone out (in emergencies) but carry it in the woods as technically, as the organiser, I am also the contact man to give directions to new folk who may get lost coming to the site and the "Can Carrier in Chief" if the manure hits the air con....
My phone is the most basic available on contract and only makes and takes phone calls ... though if I could be bothered to fit a card it could also take bad photos....
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,965
4,616
S. Lanarkshire
My sons run the world using their phones :rolleyes:
Mine is generally in my bag. It's there if I need to phone home to let HWMBLT know a)where I am, b) that I'm going to be late, or c) that the car has broken down and I've phoned the rescue folks.
It's a useful tool; it's your own fault if you let it rule because it can only do what you let it do.

Mine's like John's by the sound of it :) I am firmly in the KISS camp, but the ones the Sons carry are like something out of science fiction. The world moves along, and my son can literally phone me from the other side of the world as easily as he does from his flat in town.
My 93 year old Uncle uses his all the time; he keeps it on and charged and it's a boon and a blessing of a thing for him. From the, "I need a lift home", type call, to the making appointments and phoning home to say he'll be late :rolleyes: it's in daily use.
He runs up a heck of a bill blethering to his 95 year old pal down in Ayr though !

Do I take mine when camping ? usually, but it's usually off, and I try and mind to check it once a day to keep everybody happy at home :)

M
 
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Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,789
1,528
51
Wiltshire
I have a mobile, its in my college bag, along with those strange coloured sticky things and the second pencil case with all those things its handy to have but you dont need every day.

I dont know how to use it, Im told it has some wonderful functions.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,965
4,616
S. Lanarkshire
I use a mobile. I don't own a tv though, and haven't watched one in at least three years. i don't miss it.

I don't miss watching tv either. We do have one, but I haven't a clue how to switch it on or change channels. Last time I did it was a switch and there was BBC 1 and 2 STV and Channel 4. Now it's somekind of controller thingie (one of three that sits beside himself's seat) and I don't have a clue about channels :dunno:
Would I miss it if it died ? Nope, and I wouldn't need to dust it either :D

M
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,714
1,960
Mercia
.
He runs up a heck of a bill blethering to his 95 year old pal down in Ayr though

M

Shop around for him! Plenty of unlimited call contracts out there now for a tenner a month..or maybe twelve or thirteen quid with a big data allowance. It really nice to have a hour on the phone with my daughter on a long car journey, and then have a long chat with my mum on the way home and not worry about the bill.
 

demographic

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 15, 2005
4,694
711
-------------
Guessing that the people who say they manage well without aren't self employed then.
Most of you are either working for someone else who uses the phone to keep you in work or you're an officewallah.

Definition of a self employed builder without a mobile? Self Unemployed.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,665
McBride, BC
I got a mobile as a gift! How cool is that. Don`t work worth crap in the mountains, GPS Hooey is even worse.
Tried to make 3 calls. None went through. Put the freakin`phone back in the box. There it sits (5 yrs).
You go 15km from the village, like the old days = radio phoneéham radio or take a hike.
 

Countryman

Native
Jun 26, 2013
1,652
74
North Dorset
+1 Demographic

I remember back in 1988 my company offered me my first mobile phone. It was like a bag of bricks with a Direct Line style telephone handset on top and cost £1500. I said I would think about it.

That Friday I went into central London and being the Intermational Lover I was back in the day ( See Micky Flannigan sketch) I "pulled" a lovely young lady from Orpington. On Sunday I was sat with her at Brands Hatch on a glorious summer day watching a motor festival.

I looked at her sat there in her Wayfarers and thought " If I had a mobile someone would call now and ruin this"

On the Monday I declined the phone.

By 1999 I was in software sales and flying all over the world. I had to have a mobile that ran the firms software, my email.

By 2009 I was running my own company. My smart phone started to run monitoring software on heaps of computer systems. I get at least 150 emails a day through it and if I leave it somewhere for 10 minutes I will have missed at least 1 call. The phone is next to me all night, just in case.

On the upside I have the forums that feed my hobbies on here, Facebook helps me stay in touch with a bunch of mates that are spread to the 4 corners of the world. Bunch of useful tech.

However this bloody phone is the bane of my life. On holiday I wean myself off over a few days and just check in a couple of times a day . How many Birthday and Anniversary meals has this phone ruined?

At Bushmoot I freak out as I "cold Turkey" with no phone signal. However when I hit that weekend and all should be ok at work it is blissful. No calls, body clock reverts to a more natural rhythm. Stress levels come down,

I envy you for being able to live without a phone. However I doubt I will ever do so again but I will tell you in 10 years time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
24
69
south wales
I love technology, I enjoy 'playing' with my Galaxy S5 but now I'm retired only make perhaps 20 minutes a month on calls.
 

Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
6,453
1,293
Aylesbury
stewartjlight-knives.com
I have a mobile but it just calls and texts. Lots of people find it a surprise that I don't have a smart phone because of how tech savvy I am. I just don't feel the need for it and this way the phone is pretty disposable costing about a tenner - which in turn means it has lasted years! :D
 

Old Bones

Settler
Oct 14, 2009
745
72
East Anglia
I've had about three pay as you go phones in the last 14 years - they are either gifts or are the cheapest I can get away with (although one had to be replaced because it was such a PITA to use). My current one cost me £30, but since its starting to have problems, my next one is going to be a smart phone. They start from £30 for a basic one, and since I now use my Ipod Touch for email, shopping and paying bills, there is no point not having one. The GPS is also handy.

You dont have to have a mobile, but it does make life a lot easier, and if you dont want anyone to hassle you, just switch it off. As far as bushcrafting is concerned, although being alone with nature is great, if that axe or knife slips, unless you have Lassie or Rin Tin Tin around to get help, a mobile is possibly the difference between some nasty looking stitches and bleeding to death unnoticed in a wood. Taking even a basic one is good sense, even if your not using it.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,965
4,616
S. Lanarkshire
You mean like a land line ?
We do; that's the house phone. Most folks I know still have that. It's often tied into the deal for the internet.

M
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
24
69
south wales
On a side note (hopefully without side-tracing the thread) How many still have a hard-line?

All my friends and family still have a land line, I don't know any adult who only relies on mobile (cellular phone) networks. Even though mobile coverage is far better in the UK than the USA land lines are more reliable and internet deals more often than not include land line phones.

I get around 75mb/s fibre broadband, unlimited local/national/international/cellular/mobile calls/internet TV for around 100 dollars USA a month...works out at about a pint of beer a day in costs:D

With friends and family in the USA/Canada/Spain/Australia/New Zealand et al its nice to pick up the phone and talk without worrying about the cost.
 

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