Resisting a Cell Phone Culture

Maybe it's because I live on the side of a hill that sits on the fringe of cell phone tower range. But I can't seem to get over the frustration when people call my cell phone while I am at home. Call my home phone!

Some people don't have landlines anymore. Fine, that's their choice, but most of the world still has landlines. Those technology-forward folks have strong cell signals and assume everyone else does, too. They assume that because they only use their cell phones, I should be the same. I should no longer use my primary number because they don't. And for some reason, these people are incapable of grasping the concept that they should try me on my landline first.

They HAVE my numbers, all of them, but insist on calling my cell phone as their first and only point of contact for me. My phone will ring in the evening while I am at home, and because I know the call will sound broken up, I won't answer. I don't even retrieve the message they left until I am on the road somewhere the next day. To me, cellular service is still MOBILE service, often used as a quick convenience, not some everyday "catch up on everything" call. But I'm suddenly realizing that I am the minority here. (It's my 71-year-old mother in law who makes me feel like I'm behind the times when she calls on her cell phone to mine.)

So here's where I made a mistake - recently I started turning my cell phone off (gasp!) whenever I am at home. I figured people would take a big hint that if it goes staight to voicemail, call my landline. Duh, right? Well.. no. My doctor's office called last Thursday with an emergency related to my baby and I didn't get the message until Sunday night! I freaked out when I heard the words, "Come into our office immediately for another ultrasound..." Luckily, nothing was wrong and it's just a false alarm. But hello, call my house!

Here's another thing that pisses me off about cell phone culture: People who assume that just because they pay for text messages in their cell phone plan, I do, too. Um, no. I text message as fast as a snail and only do it three times a month. I don't pay for the service because it's silly. But the following is a real text message conversation I recently had. Please tell me why this couldn't be done over the phone or even in email. Why do I have to pay for these text messages???

You testifying on Monday and Tuesday?
No, I'm 9.5 months pregnant, I can't go.
I need you.
But I told you weeks ago.
My son is the most important thing to me, I need you to help me get
custody.
Yeah but please understand
I do, but you need to understand me, too. It helps my case for a pregnant
woman to testify against my ex wife.
I want to help but I have Dr appts and am exremely uncomfortable
I'll bring pillows
I need to put my feet up
You can do that
Please don't make me feel bad...

etc etc etc...

So annoying. Other examples are people texting me at midnight on a Friday asking about work stuff, or texts that I get days after they've been sent because, again, I do not keep my phone on during the weekends!!!

Another thing, and I'll make this short, is people who call me from their cell phones because they get free long distance, but they don't get it that they have bad signals and I can't hear them and they end up yelling during the entire conversation. UGH

OK i'm done... I hate cell phone culture.