I would love to just NOT have a cell phone.

[ScrimpAndSave]

I always respond to emails right away...it is much easier for me to do that.

[FrugalTexan75]

I have a cell phone, and use it as my only phone. However, whenever I am someplace where it would be inappropriate for me to receive/answer a call, I have it on buzz - sometimes I'll put it on buzz when I just don't feel like answering the phone.

To me, just because I have a cell phone, doesn't mean that I *have* to return the phone call right away, nor do I *have* to answer it every time it rings. Just like if someone called my non-existant landline and left a message on the defunct answering machine, there is nothing written in law that I have to return the call in a certain amount of time.

That said, I do usually answer my phone when it rings (unless in an inappropriate place to talk on a phone) and I usually return any missed phone calls within a day or less.

But, I do not get annoyed when someone I call doesn't answer my phone call. Nor do I get annoyed when they don't return my phone call within five minutes! I have no idea where the person may be, nor what they may be doing. If the person is at work or in a movie theater or in a checkout line, etc., and they answer the phone, it actually annoys me!

I have actually stopped calling my mom except for on Fridays when I *know* she is not at work, because she will answer my call even when she is in tutoring a client! She's even answered the phone in the movie theater before - here I am chatting away and she's whispering back - then I figure it out! Ugh! **I have finally gotten her to put it on buzz, at least when she is around me.

Anyway, I find it is very useful to have with me, especially when I get lost going from one place to another, I can then call my dad or my stepdad for directions.

[GrimJack]

We do not have a cell phone (though we are considering buying one to put in the car for emergencies). We have very little use for a phone at home. I worked at McCaw in the 1980s and cell phones got old real fast. We keep one of those really old boxy phones around for emergencies - quite often when the power goes out, the phone will still work because the phone lines carry their own small voltage (to activate the bell). I imagine eventually the landlines will go away, but until then i will stick with them.

[PrincessPerky]

Try emailing folk who call you...then it is their job to answer you back....

[Cylenchar]

Most of the calls I get are wrong numbers so if I don't have a name assigned to the number in my address book I don't answer it.

[asianpear]

haha, i really hate answering my phone as well. let's be hermits together. jk, that would make us NOT hermits.

[prosper]

I just hate that if someone calls me, I HAVE to call them back - or else I am being rude. I really, really hate that. If someone calls be during the school day on a Monday or Tuesday...guess what...they aren't going to hear from me until the weekend because I am too busy with teaching and my own schooling.

And is there some unwritten rule that I need to get back to them within 48 hours or else I am a horrible person? UGH!

I think it can come off as a little rude if a person does not know that you return majority of your calls on the weekend. If you explain your callback policy to the people that you gave your number to, it can go a little smoother.

[SavingGuru]

mobiles can be annoying but i really couldn't live without mine!

[MonkeyMama]

I agree with the others. My phone is for emergency. I don't have to do anything. (I don't have to answer it & I don't have to call anyone back. Of course, I don't give anyone my cell phone # so maybe that's why I don't see the big deal). If you don't give the #, they can't call you...

[amarowsky]

I really hate my phone too, but I need to have it on most of the time because I'm on-call at work. But when I'm not on-call at work and I'm working a normal shift job, I put it on total silent or just leave it at home. But not answering my phone early in the morning for 1st shift has gotten me in quite a heap of trouble a few times I really really really hate phones.

[Kevinb81]

i really konw your feeling!!