Confessions of a German Cell Refusenik
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009Most people have a cell phone nowadays, but there are still some who refuse to be constantly available. I am one of them. Of course, friends and family wonder why I don’t need one as so many have come to rely on this gadget. From my view point and in consideration of my life style, I can only see advantages for not having one.
The weekend edition of the International Herald Tribune featured an interesting article The Cell Refuseniks, an Ever-Shrinking Club talks about us, the minority of nonusers of cell phones. The article stated that U.S. wide, 15 % of the population does not have a cell phone, either because they are older, less educated, or they just can’t afford one. When I read that part, I realized I did not fit that group . But then the article also mentioned a subset who just simply refuse to be always available.
Having a land line is sufficient when working from home. I get enough private and business calls while teaching. During class I often have to promise the caller a return call after hours. So when Feierabend (quitting time) finally rolls around, I still have to pick up the phone to answer the earlier inquiries while handling household and family matters at the same time. Should I have a second phone? No way.
My free time is reserved for me. While I am out running errands, I do not want to answer any phone calls. This is my time to enjoy talking to people face-to-face at the bakery, or just letting my thoughts run wild. I do not want to be available at all times. I have been with people in restaurants who got constantly buzzed and I found it annoying themselves. Did they turn it off? No, some need to know when they are needed…
Not having to rely on a cell gives me a sense of freedom. I am free to choose and also have nobody to fall back on – in form of a cell phone. What happened to making decisions on your own? The customer at the bakery calling his wife to tell her they are out of sesame seed bread rolls and what should he get instead. Surprise her, I’d say! Make life less predictable and more interesting.
An executive is a person who always decides; sometimes he decides correctly, but he always decides.
- John H. Patterson -
Real emergencies are rare. If I really missed the last train home, I could always approach one of the many cell phone holders and ask them if I could use their phone by offering some money. There are some cases, when having a cell phone is of advantage. In other cases, it did not do much good, as people have been killed with a cell still in their pocket. Yes, it could be a life saver, but what’s the probability law?
Go ahead, love your cell phone like a Tamagotchi, spend your time and money on it. I don’t need it (yet), and I would only consider it if my life style drastically changed.
