Mobile phones (Cell phones in US speak) and the 'Why don't you use the app?'

[KitaYama]

Kita, sometimes I think people should be required to take courtesy lessons from the Japanese. Two very important people in my life were born and raised in Japan and they are real treasures. One is married to my nephew.

We have our prolems too. No one is perfect. West cultures are very rich too and have a lot of surprises. You also have a lot of aspects which we have to learn.

 

[KitaYama]

Particularly those folks who give us a typical USA name with an accent straight from the Middle East.

A while back, I was listening to a radio station and there was an episode where someone in UK had purchased a PC and had some troubles with it. So he called the support and the guy in help center was in India. I've never heard something as funny as that conversation in my life.

 

[AccessBlaster]

I do find it strange people carry mobile telephones around everywhere, but never use them as a phone. They will take the obligatory selfie or messaging but not a phone call.

Generally speaking I like phone calls, it makes me feel like I'm still part of something real, whereas a text is cold and detached.

I think a lot of confusion can be had with text messaging, just look at these threads. If we were all on a zoom or conference call there would be little misunderstanding because we could judge things like tone and tenor.

 

[Pat Hartman]

@KitaYama I have a cell phone because it has become a necessity. Up until about 20 years ago, there was a pay phone in every business and practically one on every street corner. The cell phone has killed the pay phone making it a practical necessity for everyone to have a cell phone in case they need to make a call when away from home. I got one back when everyone was getting them because I had a long commute and spent a lot of time travelling and had had a few occasions where I broke down or had an accident. So, it is a means of summing help. And I've used it to call AAA (the auto club) if I got a flat tire and needed roadside assistance. For that type of thing, the cell phone is a life saver. But I don't want to be tethered to it. My grandchildren carry them around so that they are always in the same room with them. They aren't as bad as some people who never let go. At least they aren't constantly checking the phone when we are talking. I've been in restaurants where there were four people at a table and all four were immersed in their cell phones and not interacting with the people around them. This is truly a sickness that has been foisted on us by Big Tech. That leads me to social media. You are correct, this website is my only social media. I don't use FB (permanently banned but that's another story), or anything else. They are time suckers. Every time I look at a video on YouTube, I end up looking at 3 more and have wasted an hour minimum. This is the total raison d'état (French phrase) of social media applications. They do everything they can to suck you in and keep you there and YouTube is a master at it. Do you know that the people behind social media, the Silicon Valley (California area) tech moguls send their children to private schools and the schools do not allow cell phones or other high tech devices? They don't let their children get hooked but they sure want to hook ours and have pretty much succeeded.

The no financial transactions is my way of rebelling (and attempting to keep my finances from being hacked). I do not like the way the world is moving away from actual money. You are OK with this. Most people are. But being a programmer gives you at least some knowledge of what they are doing so I don't actually know many programmers who have handed over their life to a phone no matter how convenient it would be. Every piece of software you interact with wants to collect data from you so they can sell it. Anything that is "free" means that YOU are the product. They are giving you something for "free" so they can collect your data and sell it. You say you have nothing to hide. I don't either. Most honest people don't. But I still don't want to be tracked every minute of every day. It makes me feel like I am living in 1984. This book was required reading in high school in the 1960's. I don't think it still is because my grandchildren never read it. I should have made them read it so they can see what is going on around them. Freedom is a precious thing and the younger generation has no clue what communism is all about and how close we are to the point of no return.

Not giving my cell phone to people keeps them from calling me on it. It isn't that I don't want to talk to them. It is because I don't want to have to carry my phone from room to room. My close friends and family all have it. But if I'm home they can reach me any time or leave a message and I'll call them back. They also know that in an emergency they can try my cell but I won't check the messages. I went to join truth social recently but they insisted on getting my cell phone so I didn't join. I never give my cell phone to businesses. That is just a license to suffocate you with ads from them and everyone they sell your contact info to.

I get enough junk email. I absolutely don't want the junk cell phone calls and texts. At least we have a "do not call" registry for "land lines". That keeps the junk to a minimum. The problem is that if you have ever done business with one of these pests, they get the right to ignore your "do not call" request. My husband was a sucker for the "police" and "fire department" and "veterans" people and generally gave them small amounts of money. I finally looked up these "charities" and the intended recipients never got more than 5% of the money donated so I finally got him to stop. These "charities" are nothing but scams.

Never forget how the Canadian government froze all financial accounts of the protesting truckers. They literally couldn't eat unless someone gave them cash. That was the plan to break the strike and it succeeded because it not only affected the truckers, it also affected their families who also couldn't eat once they ran out of cash. Yes, it is very convenient to not have to carry cash. That is also a way to get people to overspend. I'm not sure what the actual number is today but I think the average American is carrying $10,000 in credit card debt at 25% (or higher) interest per month. There are other reasons then the convenience of using credit cards for that but if you don't pay your cards off every month, you are spending yourself into oblivion. The current credit card rates are considered usury and are banned in most states. Because we are a country of 50 states, different states have different rules and so all the credit card companies have moved their "headquarters" to South Dakota where these usurious rates are allowed. So there are buildings in South Dakota and Delaware (another state with favorable incorporation rules for companies) that house thousands of "headquarters".

I know how all this sounds. If I sound paranoid, maybe I am but maybe I'm right and I hope you will at least think about what I and some of the others have said. I don't know any way to protect myself or my family from the people out there who are trying to control our every thought but I will not go down without a fight. I have friends who have fled Communism and Socialism and understand the hell they lived in and why they had to leave and now we are so close to a tipping point that it is hard to see a way back if we go over.

 

[DickyP]

It only goes back to what real life is.

Agreed.
And I understand now about bills - to Brits they are notes.

 

[DickyP]

To make it clear, in UK, if you pay cashless, you don't receive a receipt?

Yes you do but sometimes vendors don't want to or try and just send electronic one. I don't stand for it. The actual law is that for £5 or more they have to offer one, and for less they have to give one if asked.

The real surprise is those people who don't want one! The law applies irrespective of how paid.

However, what the law requires and what people do is somewhat different unless you stick for you rights.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

So he called the support and the guy in help center was in India. I've never heard something as funny as that conversation in my life.

I can imagine, because I've had a few of those myself and was saddened to learn that I probably knew more about computers than the guy on the other end of the line. Of necessity in college, I learned how to understand folks with heavy accents, because at the time, Univ. of New Orleans had a top-level Chemistry department, one of the reasons I went there. The 2nd and later-year doctoral graduate students were asked to help the newcomers. Because of its reputation, we had Chemistry students from nearly every time zone. (A couple of zones are mostly water, so have lower odds on having students from there.) At one time, I had to deal with folks from Pakistan, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Egypt, the Philippines, ... and Texas.

When I was working with the U.S. Navy we had a support contract with COMPAQ and later, with HP (who bought out COMPAQ). In it, we had the right to demand USA-only support staff. I cannot tell you how often I ran into folks with Middle-East accents who wanted to help with a USA Department of Defense computer. But I was within my rights to request a USA support person and usually did so. But I never made that call on a cell phone - because we were not allowed to use them in the building. It house Secure servers and wi-fi is an absolute no-no in Secure facilities.