get rid of the phone and you save a lot of money per month
?
Have you tried living without a phone? This is very hard to pull off in America. You need an email address. Ok, fine, you say, but that doesn’t mean you need a phone. Okay, so you need to pay for home internet and have a PC? Still a cost here.
No, you say, walk/drive to the library every time you need to check your email. Every time you need to use a website to make an appointment or fill a form out. Every time you need to check google for information (by the way, I have saved thousands of dollars by googling things, I am sure you have, too).
There’s still a cost here - time. Many people who have smartphones in America don’t have home internet.
You still need a phone number if you’re employed. I’m sure there are jobs that will put up with not being able to contact you, but good luck with that, I’m sure they pay well. You’re paying for a dumb phone or a land line either way.
And you’re right, it is a choice. I choose to participate in society, and that pretty much requires the internet. I choose not to live naked in the woods, surviving on what I forage like a bear.
bluGill@kbin.social 1 year ago
By making that choice you pay the price. I knowany people without a phone, they live in a different society. Most are old.
urist@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
Bingo!
Try balancing a job and kids, reaching companies and schools without a smart phone. It will cost you time if you can’t just reach into your pocket. Example, schools in my area put school closures on Facebook and through email. Guess you could listen to the radio if you didn’t have access. Or watch the news on TV (Oh, actually, TV is a luxury, nevermind, much less useful).
Smart phones are not an expensive luxury anymore, they’re a tool. They’re a tool that the younger, employed and child-raising part of society is assumed to have. I’m not saying you can’t do it, it’s just, well… Hope your kids can adjust to college life if they haven’t been exposed to tools like easy access to the internet. Their peers will probably have smart phones, at least as teenagers/young adults. Doesn’t bode well for them. You can get a cheap smart phone, even used iPhones aren’t always that expensive, though I think androids are far more economical.
BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk 1 year ago
The person you’re replying to is a moron, basic maths tells me they’re wrong. My phone costs £400/year, let’s round that up to £500 for ease of calculation (less once the handset is paid off, but I’ll give them the best possible argument). Living in a 3 bed semi, nothing fancy, decent area. Currently my house would cost £200-250k, I’ll take the lower end, again benefits their argument. At £500/year it would take 400 years for me to save for my home. Not a big fancy home, a relatively small starter home. My smart phone is not the reason I can’t afford a bigger house.
urist@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
Yea I know, lmao. I work with people who think that some people don’t deserve smart phones. It’s cathartic to argue about it on the internet.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Wouldn’t a radio also be a luxury? Should we be spending money on anything other than ramen and a rug to sleep on?
urist@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
Excellent point. Radios are clearly pushing it, I’m sure some of them cost like $20. People can just learn how to do without!
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 year ago
By making the choice to not have a job since you don’t have a phone, you’re not going to be able to buy those toys. Or afford rent.
randomdeadguy@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Out of touch