Have we just lost our minds over cell phones?

To avoid rushing out of the bathroom with my pants around my knees, I just bring my phone in with me. Yes, I’m a toilet texter. lol Im totally ok with my addiction.

Should call it Shixting

Why? Why can’t it wait 5 minutes? Why would you feel like you’d have to rush out with your pants around your knees? It’s not like the text won’t be there if you don’t get it this instant.

SMS…Shit, Message, Simultaneously.

@Dutchess_III
For some it’s crack, others heroin, for some of us it’s these stupid #%&@# cell phones.
Plus my honey is 750 miles away and I don’t want to miss one second talking to him.

@ucme Hahahaha good one!

Never take my phone to the bog, if it’s important they’ll call back.

Or, you call them when you’re free!

Well, yeah, hands free wipey bum time done.

I refuse to get a Smart phone. My husband doesn’t understand I told him that there are times when I WANT to be disconnected, like if we’re camping, or visiting friends. I don’t want the temptation to even be there. I sure as hell don’t want to be watching grandkids, but playing on my phone most of the time and missing out on the cool little things they do (they’re 10 months old.)

I never wanted one because I did not want to become addicted. Then when I first got one, two years ago, I only used it for phone, photos and Facebook. Now I got a Samsung Galaxy and I use it for everything. Unfortunately, I think I am now addicted and in the future, I will always need one.

Nope. Complete technopanic. It happens when we shift to a new model. Phone calls are down – significantly. There used to be a stereotype of a teenager spending all day on the phone talking to her friends. This stereotype has been replaced with the texing teen because of the reality that phone calls are not the preferred mode of communication.

So, some people get a little nervous when people shift their habits. But I suspect that the people who are ignoring their kids because they are texting and shit are simply the same people who were talking on their cell phone 5 years ago, and on the phone or watching tv all day ignoring the kids years ago.

Well, @Dutchess_III, I think you misunderstand something about smartphones. It’s for your convenience, not the convenience of those trying to reach you. When I want to be out of touch, it’s easy to do without losing my GPS, calculator, portable gaming system, camera, flashlight, and electronic library.

And if you’re worried about temptation to do other things, then smash the TV and burn the books too. Or are you disciplined enough that you don’t need to do that? If so, then it should be easy for you to just mute your phone and keep it in your pocket until needed.

@tom_g This is the lack of vision I referred to elsewhere. People just don’t see the connections or similarities.

@Dutchess_III, I’m with @jerv. I have a smart phone. I simply don’t answer my phone when I want to be left alone. I do the same for my home phone. That is what messages are for. Leave a message and I will call you back when I can, or don’t leave a message and maybe I will call you back if it is a familiar number.
I don’t feel obligated to my phone nor to people who expect me to answer right away. It took some time but eventually everyone figured out that I don’t feel the need to kill myself to answer the phone. As for people telling you the phone is ringing, I don’t mind. Sometimes I won’t hear it if I’m in the shower. Mostly because I don’t take my phone in the bathroom. But sometimes I like to know so I can check to see who called. Especially if I may have been expecting a call back.

My phone is small enough, and I generally have pockets enough, that it goes where I go. So when I’m in the loo, my phone is, too. But I don’t answer it there. If my hands are free, I’m generally playing Sudoku on my Palm™.

@Dutchess_III: “Many parents in waiting rooms totally ignore their kids because they’re texting and shit. They’ll be taking a walk with their kids, heads down, texting, no interaction with their kids at all.”

Also, since you don’t know what they are actually doing, let me paint a very plausible scenario. Prior to the modern smartphone, these people might not be able to take their kids to the doctor, or would have to pay a heavy penalty for doing so – in the form of working late and not being able to truly be with their kids. But now, they are able to leave work and bring their kids to the doctor and still be able to do their work.

In other words, the device in their hands could very likely be the thing that frees them to have time later on to really be there with their kids when it matters.

Also, @jerv nailed it. “It’s for your convenience, not the convenience of those trying to reach you.”

@tom_g Avoiding traffic jams using my phone’s GPS also helps make time ;)

When I am visiting other people I don’t watch TV unless it’s on and everyone is watching it, and I certainly don’t read a book. That way I’m free to look around at everyone ignoring everyone else because they’re playing or texting.

@tom_g I understand that. But to completely ignore the fact that their kid is climbing on tables and over and under chairs, bugging other people and they don’t even glance up to check on them? You’re right. They may have been crappy parents before, but back then they didn’t have any choice but to notice what their kids were doing and at least ineffectively tell them to stop, sit down, did you hear me, how many times do I have to say it.
People get on their phones and the rest of their brain seems to shut down in a way that doesn’t happen with books or even TV.

@jerv How did you get the impression that I thought their phones made it somehow inconvenient for me to reach them?

I don’t understand it myself,I carry my cell phone OFF if someone just has to get in touch with me then leave a voice mail if not I don’t want to to talk to them either I need it for work ,the rest of the time I could care less about the damn thing.

Me too @SQUEEKY2. I’ll leave it home sometimes, deliberately.

@Dutchess_III: “People get on their phones and the rest of their brain seems to shut down in a way that doesn’t happen with books or even TV.”

I think you’re confusing focus, function, and work with “shut down”. But again, I disagree. I do not see any difference since smartphones became ubiquitous a few years ago. Shitty parents will be shitty parents whether they are reading a book, typing on a laptop, working on a smartphone, or holding a conference call on Google Glass.

But remember – you don’t know what they’re doing, so it’s easy to imagine that they’re doing something useless. If it would make you feel better, why not imagine something else that might make you feel better. They are just as plausible. How about the person is notifying his/her work or spouse about their sick child. They are cancelling an appointment with a client. Whatever works for you.

OK Tom. Whatever they’re doing, their kids are behaving badly and they’re just ignoring it.

I’m tired of talking to friends, and even clients on the phone, and somewhere in the conversation I hear the toilet flush on their end. Really don’t like to hear that.

If you had a SmartPhone, you’d probably get it. I didn’t understand it until I got my iPhone. I’ve taken my phone to the bathroom before, but I’ve never made a call.

My husband and I went to Outback a few weeks ago and there was a couple sitting across from us outside waiting for a table. You could tell they were on a date by how close they were sitting and how they were dressed, but they said 0 words to each other as they waited for almost an hour – too focused on their phones to talk to each other. That’s taking it too far. If my husband and I are at dinner, I’m not texting.

I don’t have sending text on my plan and S/O has had text disabled, totally.

I’m no more slave to my cell than I am to my land line. If it’s handy and I’m free, I answer it.

I have had to go to the bathroom while using it, but flushed after I hung up.

“Slave to the cell…” sums up my question.

@Dutchess_III In an age where prospective employers only call once, leave no messages, and just move to the next name on the list, even a few minutes while you wipe and flush can make the difference between getting a good job and being on unemployment for another few months waiting to win the job lottery somewhere. I guess you don’t need a paycheck!

Yes, some people get obsessed, but some merely use it as the tool that it is.

Idea for an app. When you hang up, the other party gets the sound of a flushing toilet! Can I sell the idea?