Its not that I dont want to return your message, nor am I lazy .
 

Im only allowing so much of my life to be connected that stupid little plastic rectangle .
I spend countless hours chasing the phone, emails, and texts daily as, Im sure most of you do
I set my phone down sometimes. Shoot me, Im human, busy and like to stop and smell the roses, and enjoy the quiet, and serentiy of the world when I am disconnected .
I dont think putting my phone down for 4 hours, or even an entire day on the weekend makes me a bad person , but it feels like it sometimes .
Anybody else ?
Im glad I am getting closer to the other end of this journey

Don't feel bad, Fred.
I'm not a 'phone' guy and only reason I have one is for emergency reasons mostly. That and phoning home when I'm at the grocery store, trying to remember everything on that list I didn't make before leaving home.
Half the time I forget to even take my phone with me when going places.
Oh well, hardly anyone ever calls me direct on it anyways.

The last guy I was dating would get mad when I wouldn't text back right away. Making it worse, he texted me like all day and wanted instant responses. More than once I told him I can't always text back right away. Personally, I think he was using texting as an electronic leash to make sure I wasn't with another guy.

Anyway, it got really tiring so I broke up with him.

depends on what you are doing on the phone.

had an older man at the DMV once speak up while we are all waiting, silently, ranting about how all the kids are on there phones all day, and why can't we have a conversation with each other instead.

like, what do you think we are doing on our phones? im having 3 different conversations, about 3 different things, with 2 friends and a partner, and im checking the news. and planning an after work happy hour with one of these people. like im using the phone to connect with humans. thats the point of the phone.

these all are more important to me, and better, than having a conversation with a crabby old man who wants to rant about the kids being on their phones so much. like no, dude, no one wants to talk to you. thats a you problem, not a me problem. have something interesting to say, say it politely, and maybe some one will want to talk to you about it. maybe not, hard to compete with all of my friends and loved ones and making plans through this little box, but like like at least you'd be trying.

so like, as along as you are using the phone to connect with humans that you are care about, i see no issue with being on it all the time.

if your just doom scrolling or whatever on social media, taking hours of your life to consume useless content, sure, phones suck.

but the purpose of the phone is to connect to other humans. through a box, or in person, connection is connection. and id rather connect with someone i care about through a box, than someone i dont give a ****, who is interacting with me negatively, in person.

You know you are old when you don't text after 9 PM. lol

Ya. I'm the same way as you Fred.

Ya, funny my newest lady friend and I play it kind of loose with messages. Sometimes its a quick reply, sometimes a day or even 2. We both live busy lives, and both understand that .
Im gonna air tag her ass this weekend so I know where she is at every second of the day . Not.
My friend and his lady have that app, where they track each others locations by phone . If she does not answer, he is checking her location .
Id rather be alone . Trust will bubble to the top one way or another eventually .

I never answer the phone if I am driving. Just leave me a message, and I will get back to you when it is good time for me.

And I really hate the stupid long instructions on how to leave a message if I call someone else. No one at all needs instructions in 2024 on how to leave a voice message if they can't answer.

If ii get a text, and I am not driving, or eating a meal, or in bed sleeping or other activities, I will text you back when it is a good time for me.

And I pay for my phone for my convenience only, not the people trying to reach me. I will get back to you if it is not some BS political or sales call. And NO, I am not interested in selling my house at anything under 5 time market value. I have no intentions of moving until I am wheeled out of here in a wheelchair to the nursing home, hospital, or morgue.

AlI notifications on my phone are off. I run my phone. My phone doesn't run me.

During the free Medicare sign up days I get at least 4 or 5 calls everyday trying to get me to switch.
If I don't recognize the caller's name I just let it go to voicemail

The online voicemail transcription makes it easy to delete all those messages.

Exactly This!!!
I get fussed at because I always have my phone on silent.

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I feel that not answering you phone to a know caller when you are able is rude.

Well, in my case, I am not aware of the caller because my phone is on silent. Now, when my wife and kids aren't home and I am working on something outside, then I will turn the ringer up in case they need to reach me.

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In contrast to most kids these days, I am fairly comfortable leaving the house without my phone on me. Except my wife insists I bring it "in case of emergencies".

It's not my phone usage that makes me a bad person - so maybe that isn't your problem either. :D

I use my phone all day for work… calls, emails, text messages, document access, interweb, pictures, etc. I rarely use my laptop.

Then I use it for a pleasure… calls, emails, text messages, pictures, interweb, etc.

When I stop working, my phone usage well probably be cut in half.

It's a tool, which to some means it's been absorbed permanently into the users palm and can't leave the BORG Hive if they tried.

That would have taken about 2 mins...

LOL! "we don't want to talk to you, but we're happy to talk to other folks."

Actually, I hear/read stories from time to time about folks meeting/talking to really interesting folks that they stumbled across during life, and I think, man, I'd love to meet people like that. But then I think:

I suspect for every gem that you meet, you have to deal with a bunch of dirt.

I'm not a people person and unlikely to engage, certainly not initiate engagement, and unlikely to extend it much. I can be friendly, but not likely to be talkative.

I'm on the back half of life, but younger than many/some of the other folks here. I'm also in IT, so I am at a computer all day and at times can spend a ton of time on my phone. I'm also not afraid to put the phone down, go outside and leave the phone inside. If something happens and Internet access breaks, I don't freak out. I like to think that I'm fairly balanced as far as connectivity goes, at least, compared to many/most younger folks.

I have taken the view, and comment to people who chastise me for not answering my phoned that:

I purchased the telephonic instrument purely for my enjoyment and benefit. I will answer it or deal with your message in a manner consistent with my personal pleasure.

If that upsets you, PFO.

I have my phone set to only ring on calls from people who are on my contact list. All others ring through right to voice mail and then I can deal with their call at my leisure.

D.

Yep, my phone is always on silent, but I do usually know pretty quickly if something comes in. But I don't want my phone to ding every time I get a text or personal email or work email or ....