Seniors and cell phones - could you (or do you) get along without one? (weather, move)

[jean_ji]

We are cell phones only since we snowbird and don't need a landline. I have my phone, DH has a company phone and I get a corporate discount on my plan through his company as a benefit. I'll miss that when he retires.

My parents 92 and 90 have never owned a cell phone, they had OnStar in their car when they did road trips but they stopped traveling about five years ago. Dad does have a new laptop he got a few weeks ago, he's pretty good at things but it's probably a matter of why pay twice for the same thing; landline and a cell.

My MIL, who is 85, has a landline and has had a cell phone for years and upgraded to a smarter one in the past year. She was a systems analyst before she retired and is not technophobic in the least, she likes to know how everything works and keeps up. This summer during our visit with her, she was teaching our great niece how to work a word jumble on the crossword section of the newspaper. Our g-niece used her phone to google the jumbled letters and got the correct answer. Not exactly the point of a word jumble, but a pretty funny mash-up of new and old.

[cdelena]

We have cell phones, rarely use them, and consider them outgoing devices: If I want to talk to you I will call you.

[lancers]

Originally Posted by akck

For the age group you mentioned, a better question would be if they could get along without their landline. I'd guess a majority could not. Actually, we still have ours because many accounts are associated with it and it's the only number our kids can remember besides their cell phone number (they also remember some of their friends parents landline numbers).

To answer your original question, my deceased FIL could go without. They had a cell phone, but only used it for travel and would only turn it on at a set time each day. My parents never had them. About the time they came out, they had pretty much stopped traveling and had no need to be in constant contact. In fact, my mom would cut long distance calls short because she remembered when they cost big $$ per minute. Old habits were hard to break even when long distance calls cost the same as a local call in the latter part of her life.

I could not get along without my TWC unlimited long distance landline phone. BTW my phones are cordless. State of the art. To me a phone is a phone not something to watch movies on or to text people I might as well be talking to. I don't get that at all.

[Vision67]

I'm 66 and I have an iPhone 5 handed down to me for free by my son.

My kids use cell phones to text and share photos and do Facetime. So I'm glad I have one but I'm not addicted to it. It's useful for reading the NYT or the Economist while waiting in lines or for appointments.

[Clemencia53]

Originally Posted by lancers

I could not get along without my TWC unlimited long distance landline phone. BTW my phones are cordless. State of the art. To me a phone is a phone not something to watch movies on or to text people I might as well be talking to. I don't get that at all.

Get a corded phone as a backup in case power goes out - unless you have a generator. I still have a landline also.

And lines generally still work during a power outage.

[Vision67]

My wife just has a flip phone from Tracfone. She uses it just for phone calls while away and it does have bluetooth so it connects automatically to her car for hands free talk.

That one is a bargain at just about $100 per year.

[SUSMUSIC]

Hi,

I do have a cell phone, an iPhone. I use it to make calls since I don't have a landline. I mainly use it for texting, photo sharing, and for google maps and directions. Initially, I wasn't too crazy about this phone (too complicated). However, I text more than I used to. The photo share application is very hand to send and receive family pictures. When I need directions, this phone is a big help although sometimes the directions are a bit off.

The phone has taken me awhile to get used to since I'm not tech savvy and I don't use many of the other features of this phone.

[bigdogmom13]

I'm 61 and my SO is 64; we both have smart phones. Neither of us have them on 24/7 but we do use them a lot for looking up traffic, looking for restaurants, reading emails, etc. He rarely texts; I do a little more frequently. We still have a landline as well. Maybe some day we'll get rid of it but I don't like feeling tethered to my cell phone.

[matisse12]

I do not have a cell phone and have never had one. I did try a Tracfone 6 years ago, but stopped using it after one week because I did not like it.

I think the importance of cell phones is vastly over-rated to the point of ridiculousness and absurdity. And I cannot stand the way people are so overly-addicted to them and are constantly looking at them because the urge to check the phone pretty constantly becomes a psychological, neurological, and brain addiction. And talking on them in public (usually loudly) is a huge annoyance and scourge of society.

That said, I am thinking of getting the $3 per month plan thru T-Mobile solely and just to be able to contact senior transit when I'm waiting for it to arrive.

I like my landline and its superior sound quality. Also, no fading in and out.

If you're thinking maybe I'm not technologically savvy - that is inaccurate - I have used computers extensively since 1987 at work, and have had numerous laptops and desktops at home for many years, and use a computer extensively in my daily life and have for decades.

[CapnTrips]

I'm 63 and have a "dumb" cell phone with a minimal data account. But my 86 year old aunt, who over the past year has been in and out of hospitals, rehab centers, and assisted living more often than she has been home, has gotten a lot of use out of her smart phone. There were times when she could not get out of bed for extended periods and land lines where she was were not reliable; her cell allowed her to consistently stay in touch with family and friends.