samclem said:
I've got one, and (aside from the safety isssue) I'm pretty sure it pays for itself by reducing the amount of drivng we do. "DW, I'm at Home Depot, 5 miles from DDs school--you want me to pick her up and save you the trip?" "Hey, I'm at the supermarket for some things. Do we need anything?" etc)
LOL! said:
It is true that cell phones can make a family more productive. I do not think it is a badge of honor to not have cell phone. And I am a fairly cheap bastard.
Spouse had a cell phone & pager with work, and it was painful.
As for cell phones with work, I think that in the long run it's cheaper and more effective to train people to make decisions without having to call you first. Yeah, it takes more initial time & effort & money to train people to make decisions instead of calling you, but that "calling you" part could be done just as easily by Monster.com's monkeys. Sometimes not being in touch with your staff for an hour or two can be a very beneficial thing for the staff, for you, and even for the customer.
As for family productivity, maybe a cell phone isn't the best way to improve it. Heaven forbid families should have to be as productive in the old-fashioned way-- by talking about it face-to-face, planning ahead, and not being so "flexible" with changes to the plan or pushing the envelope until it loses temporal elasticity. If you have a cell phone then there's no incentive to try the planning approach.
I find myself getting annoyed when my PILs are on their phone line for more than an hour or two (they have dial-up and it's not uncommon for their phone line to be busy for 5-6 hours). Then I realize that I'm getting into the bad habit of demanding that everyone be instantly available for my slightest whim. That perspective helps me realize there's usually several other ways to accomplish my desire-- sending them an e-mail or (*gasp*) making a decision on my own.
I think a lot of Hawaii's amateur hikers & boaters would have stayed out of trouble if they didn't have a cell phone in the first place. It's like carrying a gun-- it can give you a sense of false confidence.
I can tell a lot about a person by whether they can actually follow my driving directions to our house or if I have to "talk them in" through their cell phones. We had one person who needed my continuous communication until a block from the house, assured me she could make it, hung up, then shortly pulled into our driveway. As I was going out the front door to greet them, our phone rang. Spouse went back to the kitchen only to discover it was the person sitting in our driveway announcing her arrival. I guess hauling her butt out of the driver's seat and actually ringing the doorbell was no longer her habit.
In the last decade I've rarely seen an erratic driver distracted by the radio, their kids, or by other minutiae of operating a vehicle. It's been cell phones. The other 5% has been seatmates with cell phones.
If a cell phone worked as well and as easily as a land-line phone then I might consider getting one. However they're a technological hassle and just one more personal possession to keep track of at a time in my life when I can barely locate my reading glasses. I think that cell phones are an opportunity to waste a tremendous amount of configuration time & money on something that's just never been necessary. A convenient crutch, yes, but not necessary. After a generation, personal computers have only recently gotten to the point where most people can make measurable improvements to their lives without needing full-time support staff. Cell phones, in my opinion, just aren't there yet.
I'm just not sure how I'll react when I see a surfer in the lineup with a cell phone. I'm amazed I haven't seen one with an iPod yet.
