| > I think that people living on their phones is mainly | > an urban phenomenon. | > | > | You might be surprised. Farmers use theirs quite a bit. | They can order supplies, check the weather and markets etc.
IF they can get a signal. As I pointed out, many can't get a signal at their home.
Actually, though, you raise an interesting point. I've noticed that cellphone addicts often don't really seem to notice how bad the service is. It's often difficult to understand what they're saying due to gaps or static. One would think that at home they'd use the superior technology of a landline phone, rather than subject friends and family to
1950s-quality phone communication. But they seem to just be out of the habit of using regular phones.
Lase week I was on the Boston subway when a young man approached and asked to borrow my cellphone. He was very anxious. His iPhone battery had died and he needed to call his father to get picked up at the station. I told him sorry, but I don't use a cellphone. He repeated his story and then slowly wandered away. He seemed to think I was suspicious of him, never considering that maybe I meant exactly what I said -- that I didn't have a cellphone.
I thought of offering the young man that I could call his father as soon as I walked home from the station, but I decided that by that point he probably thought I was unfriendly at best and an anti-social weirdo without a cellphone at worst, so maybe it was best to leave him to his own devices.... or lack thereof. :)