Ask the Readers: Could You Survive Without a Cell Phone?
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Michael, Guest, and Ernest S. for winning this week's contest!
For those of us with cell phones, it is almost impossible to imagine what our lives were like before cell phones. Between the ability to make phone calls, text message friends, and check emails, most of us would have a very tough time functioning without our phone. However, there are people who manage to get by without having a cell phone.
Could you survive without a cell phone? Would you be able to use email, Skype, or instant messenger services for all your communication needs? Why or why not?
Tell us if you could live without a cell phone and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!
Win 1 of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards
We're doing three giveaways — one for random comments, one for random Facebook "Likes", and another one for random tweets.
Mandatory Entry:
- Post your answer in the comments below
For extra entries (1 per action):
- Go to our Facebook page, "Like" us, and leave a comment telling us you did, or
- Tweet your answer. You have to be a follower of our @wisebread account. Include both "@wisebread" and "#WBAsk" in your tweet so we'll see it and count it. Leave a link to your tweet (click the timestamp for the individual URL) in a separate comment.
If you're inspired to write a whole blog post OR you have a photo on flickr to share, please link to it in the comments or tweet it.
Giveaway Rules:
- Contest ends Monday, September 26th at 11:59 pm Pacific. Winners will be announced after September 26th on the original post. Winners will also be contacted via email.
- You can enter all three drawings — once by leaving a comment, once by liking our Facebook update, and once by tweeting.
- This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered, or associated with Facebook.
- You must be 18 and US resident to enter. Void where prohibited.
Note: Due to recent changes in Facebook's promotions guidelines, we have restructured the entry format of our giveaways.
Good Luck!
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I have survived without a cellphone but only for a short time. Its hard to live in NYC and there are no working payphones for when you need to make a call. So I have gone back to having a cellphone but it is prepaid.
I could easily get along without a cell phone, they are nice but I am often threatening to get rid of mine just for the peace and quiet that I would have. I lived for 5 years without any kind of phone and loved it.
Physiologically, yes. No problem. But I do like being able to text someone something the moment I think of it instead of having to write it down or remember to e-mail them later. Another reason, I can't really live without a cell phone is because I don't have a landline. My cell phone is my only contact number - aside from a work number that I haven't even memorized.
I think I could do it, but it would be a painful transition. I really like being connected when trying to coordinate things away from home (e.g., picking someone up at the airport). Also, I feel like my smartphone really helps me to be more productive during the day.
"Liked" on Facebook
I couldn't do it. I haven't relied on a home land line for close to a decade. I'm not home a lot, and pay phones are few and far between. And, to be blunt, I'd become a social outcast if I wasn't accessible to my family and friends through text.
No. I work at the company (named for a fruit) and need it to survive :)
i could easily and willingly survive without a cell phone. i keep my phone on at all times in case my elderly mother has a need otherwise it would be off. i am not an anti social person i just don't have that much to say. i work in the service industry and have plenty of contact with people so i don't have the need to "feel connected" at all times.
I like your facebook page!
Yes. Easily. I do not text, and have a 15 dollar phone, with a plan sim. I would not miss it much, but I feel like I am SUPPOSED to have one so my teens can reach me. Once they are both in college- it's gone!
I COULD live with out my cell phone, but never would I want to. We do not have a home phone
it would be very inconvenient but i think it's doable to live without a cell phone.
tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/oshkoshbgosh123/status/116685222686363649
i like wisebread on facebook
I've never had a cell phone, and don't plan to get one. Life is better without giving someone the ability to contact you anytime day or night. To me, a cell phone is just one more hunk of junk to tote around. It'll never catch on ... :-)
I could survive without my cell phone, but not without a home phone, too. I don't do anything on my phone now, except make and receive calls, get voicemail, rarely text, take pictures, and keep important notes.
Of course I could, but it's nice to have.
Yes, I live without a cell phone and without Facebook, and Twitter (no extra entries for me). My husband and I travelled to Canada and Brazil this summer without cell phones and without our laptop computer. We will try to hold out as long as we can. A few years ago we had the free year of OnStar in one of our vehicles. That was the closest we came to having a cell phone. No cell phone bill makes wisebread sense to me.
Yes, I can live without my cellphone. There are very few people who call me and they can always call my landline. I have not subscribed to a data plan and have been using my cell's web capabilities only where I can get free wifi. This means I can wait until I have access to a computer before checking my emails and social networking sites. I don't rely on my cell for that.
I don't have internet or cable at home (I use the library to rent DVDs of TV shows I want to see or movies, and also for occasional internet use) so my cell phone with internet is the only way for me to check the weather when I am at home, so I don't know that I could do without it, at least without getting another more expensive service(internet or cable).
Yes, I could survive. It's not preferable, but it's possible. I don't do THAT much with my cell phone. I make the occasional phone call and the even rarer text. It's mostly nice to be able to be reached when needed or to not worry about being stranded without a method of contacting someone.
I would not be able to survive without my cell phone. Because I have few minutes on my plan, I've tried as much as possible to make calls through Google Voice or Skype with family and friends - but it would be impossible or at least extremely inconvenient without a cell phone on hand.
I currently don't have a cell phone. Haven't had one in over a year.
It would be quite difficult, but I'm sure I could. The only people that really contact me are my mom, my boyfriend, and only a handful of friends. I commute and live at home, and all these people have the number for the home phone. I skype with my boyfriend, although he does like to check in with me via text message throughout the day. Mostly the phone is used for texting. I honestly don't use it that much for the $50 a month that I pay!
I think I could go without my cell phone and I have a "smart" phone. We are all so used to being connected and having the ability to do so many things at our fingertips we sometimes neglect other things. Sometimes I intentionally leave it at home for a day to remember what it was like not to constantly be "connected"
I could survive without but I'm not sure my family could stand my not having a "leash".
I haven't had a cell phone for over 2 years now, and don't miss it a bit.
Have a desktop computer for email & Facebook, check them daily and
that is enough.
I guess not, I just purchased one yesterday
Like you on facebook...carriedupreeconley
Tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/weeziestoy/status/118253620574687233
No, I wouldn't feel safe driving around without one, especially now that there are virtually no public pay phones anymore.
I'm already a Facebook fan!
I tweeted!
http://twitter.com/#!/FakeGradSchool/status/118543305733718017
I can and do live without a cell phone. Happily.