Going out without your phone

lucky14

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 8:31 pm

Kumphort wrote:

As I was reading this post earlier this afternoon I put my phone down and accidentally, for the first time in years left my phone at home.

how did you feel? Smile

gp2.0

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 9:05 pm

I voted other because it depends why I left the phone at home.

-if I left it at home on purpose while running errands, and DH is with the kids and knows I don't have my phone, I feel free
-if I left it at home because I forgot and didn't notice the whole time I was out that I didn't have it, I feel nothing because I was busy doing other things
-if I left it at home and went out to work and the kids are at school I'd be very nervous, I want to be available to the school at all times
-if I left it at home by mistake and DH is with the kids I'll feel bad because I know DH might try to reach me and he won't know why I'm not picking up
-if I'm stuck somewhere doing something boring for an hour like sitting in a doctor's waiting room, I'll feel bored without my phone

heidi

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 10:25 pm

animeme wrote:

I learned through hard way that now that there are cell phones, you are expected to be able to reached almost instantly by your kids' schools and caregivers. One of my kids fell and broke a bone in school about 7 years ago. My phone wasn't working and it took the school a little over an hour to reach me, and they were not happy.

And that's aside from my own need to be reachable at all times in case something happens to one of my kids or parents.

Many many moons ago when I was a little girl there were no such things as cellphones (gasp!). So there were emergency contacts. I fell in school and hit my head and had to be taken to the hospital. My mother was out so her emergeny contact-- my aunt, came to be with me in the ambulance. I don't remember feeling abandoned or anything-- and I lived to tell the tale without too much trauma.

sky

Fri, Mar 24 2017, 7:32 am

Nervous
- What if kids need me - get sick at school - get home and I'm not home, etc.
- accident or car travel - years ago I got into an accident alone on the highway at night with another car. I was really scared. It was just me and the other guy - who was not being nice at all (he hit me) - on the side of a dark highway. b'H the police showed up pretty soon after. I would hate to be in that situation again.
(ETA: didn't mean he hit me, he hit my car)

Last edited by sky on Fri, Mar 24 2017, 11:42 am; edited 1 time in total

yo'ma

Fri, Mar 24 2017, 10:32 am

heidi wrote:

Don't they still ask for emergency contacts? They do in my childrens schools.

cheese cake

Fri, Mar 24 2017, 12:33 pm

I voted yesterday that I'd feel nervous but I just experienced it this afternoon. Was in a rush to get out with the kids and left my phone at home. At first I panicked that I lost it but then I remembered that I didn't take it to begin with. I actually felt free, I could spend some quality time with my kids without the phone buzzing all the time. I wasn't out for long so I wasn't nervous that someone would try to reach me emergency. Came home and my phone was same as before no missed alerts Smile

greenfire

Fri, Mar 24 2017, 12:58 pm

I'd like to ask what's a phone ?!

perhaps the answer should be too much in technology because people are becoming rude in the street ... talking, texting, ignoring & almost bumping into the humans in the street or saying thank you when you pay the cashier or not getting run over by a car

in the 60's & 70's & 80's they didn't have phones ... we all survived

Marion

Sat, Mar 25 2017, 12:01 pm

Sometimes I do it intentionally. (What could be so urgent in the 15-20 minutes it takes to pick up a child from gan/school that I need to have the phone on me when I'm WITH the kids?) When it's by accident it's usually for a full day and then I'm more panic-stricken as no one can reach me at all.

shabbatiscoming

Sat, Mar 25 2017, 12:35 pm

I love going out without my phone. I dont do it usually because my credit cards are in the pouch that holds my phone, but when I do, I absolutely feel free. I didnt get a cell phone sill I was about 23 anyway. There were no cell phones when I was little. It was what it was and people dealt just fine.

Raisin

Sat, Mar 25 2017, 4:37 pm

I would find it difficult. Even though like shabbat I didn't have a phone till I was in my 20's and a smartphone a couple of years after they came out, now I find I am very reliant on it. I don't care so much about missing a few text messages, but I use the podcast, maps, google and other apps a lot.

Hey I also never used the internet until I was in my late teens.

On shabbos I enjoy the switch off. But I rarely go out for a walk unless I have a friend to walk with.

slpnsg

Mon, Mar 27 2017, 4:29 pm

I feel like I have no concept of how much time has passed since I don't wear a watch. At work, I will leave my phone at my desk and go to see a patient and be completely lost as to how much time lapsed.
And I can't bring myself to get a watch. Don't like wearing things around my wrist.

BabsB

Tue, Mar 28 2017, 6:22 am

I don't feel nervous about my kids because the school/caregivers have my husband's phone number as well.

I don't ever do it intentionally but love when it happens accidentally or it dies and I have no charger. I'm always SO thankful for the reminder to look up and see what's happening right in front of me.

FranticFrummie

Tue, Mar 28 2017, 9:41 am

I have a weird double standard. I have a kosher phone, and I don't like being reachable 24/6. Sometimes I just want to be free with my thoughts when I'm out and about.

On the other hand, I get nervous when DD goes out without her phone, even though I know that all of her friends have their phones with them, too. I get annoyed when DH goes out without his, and I need him to get something from the store for me.

I know, logically, that anyone can borrow anyone else's phone in case of emergency, but still...

Now, if I lived way out in the country, and there's a chance I could get eaten by bears, I for sure would bring my phone with me at all times! In the city, I just don't worry that much.

Anyone here old enough to remember pay phones, and how your mom always made you carry a quarter with you in case of emergency? Anyone old enough to remember needing to carry a DIME, or being able to *gasp* call "collect"?

yo'ma

Wed, Mar 29 2017, 5:06 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

Anyone here old enough to remember pay phones, and how your mom always made you carry a quarter with you in case of emergency? Anyone old enough to remember needing to carry a DIME, or being able to *gasp* call "collect"?

I'm not old enough for a dime, but yes for a quarter. We always had to make sure we have a quarter just in case. Now a quarter won't do you any good because good luck in finding a pay phone. When I come to the states and land I sometimes need to call someone about picking me up, but I don't always have a phone that works there or it sooo expensive to make the call. My sister suggested I use a pay phone next time. That's what I tried to do next time, but lo and behold, there were none to be found.

chocolate fondue

Wed, Mar 29 2017, 5:21 am

In England (or at least in London) we use cell phones to pay for parking. So I'd get nervous if I was out driving and couldn't pay to park. I'd get nervous anyway in case DH or one of my kids needed me. But not many people call my phone besides for my family.

kalanit

Wed, Mar 29 2017, 8:53 am

Definitely nervous, I'm such a worrier - a million possible things that could wrong go through my head if I somehow forget my phone.

I remember pay phones charging a dime and phone booths with rotary dials everywhere.