Luddites unite!

[dreamer_dachsie]

OK, any other neo-luddites out there?

Today I cancelled my cell phone. Crazy I know. But I don't use it and we want to save money. So I will not have a cell phone anymore!

Anyone else in a similar boat?

 

[rainwood]

I refuse to sign up for Facebook! People keep asking and I've almost given in once or twice, but I'm going to resist as long as possible.

 

[iheartscience]

I just sold my car and am super excited to not own a car! I liked my car a lot, but I moved to a bigger city with great public transportation, so I have no need for it. I would have sold it earlier but I wanted to wait and make sure whatever job I got was accessible by public transportation.

My new job is incredibly easy to get to via public transportation (there are SO MANY options to get me there!) so as soon as I accepted the job I sold it. I'm excited to save the $ every month, and to not have to deal with it! Plus not having a car means less harm to the environment.

My husband is keeping his car because he needs it for work, so I still have access to one if I need it. You couldn't pry my cell phone from my cold dead hands, though! We don't have a land line and I have to talk to my mom and sisters every day!

 

[JewelFreak]

I'm not on Facebook either. No interest. After what I read about the info they collect & sell, I'm not tempted at all!

Don't use my cellphone much either but it's so handy the times you really need it. I toy with the idea of acing the land line, except DH writes books & people call him from all over the world so our number needs to be available. My cellphone only makes calls, though -- no twitter, camera, smartphone, it won't wash my socks or go shopping; just a plain vanilla telephone.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I don't think the luddites are online

I agree on the cell phone. I never use mine so I switched to a pre paid plan. I can't remember when I last bought credits for it.

I am only on facebook because of my business. I refuse to use Twitter.

I don't use the MP3 player I got a long time ago.

I don't have a smartphone.

 

[Lula]

I wish I could ditch my cell phone. I call it my "tether" and I despise it. But I travel for work and do a lot of work via phone, so I can't really get by without one.

My friends know that I am not a fan of texting or IM'ing, so that cuts down on the bill/usage. No smart phone for me, either.

 

[JewelFreak]

I don't think the luddites are online

LOL!!

 

[lyra]

Well...I refuse to give up my landline? I refuse to have an iPod? That's as far as can make it right now. I only use my cellphone to text my daughters and my husband when he is away.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Dreamer, my husband gave up his cell phone 2 years ago and has no interest in getting another one. So I think giving up the cell could be a very good move for you.

Then again, he went hiking this weekend and took my cell phone. I don't mind, I never use the thing, anyway.

I refuse to get a blackberry--my coworkers think this is crazy. My coworkers also send email unti the early hours in the morning and I just refuse to be a part of that.

I had to register for Twitter for work, but never use it. I also refuse to get a GPS because I genuinely enjoy finding places with a map. I like paper books, so I have on interest in a kindle. I have an iPod, but have only used it once in the past 2 years and that was for some Rick Steves walking tours while over in Europe.

 

[Gypsy]

I want to sell my car. But hubby is being a pain about it. HIS car gets crap gas mileage and uses premium grade gas so his sits at home while he commutes with mine. And I can't ask him to sell his, it's his baby. Argh....

I can't go without a cell phone, but I totally would if I could. More than willing to give up our landline.

We're on day 7 of "No air conditioning" (Of course it's been very mild here the last few days, if it hits 87 or higher the air is coming on!)

No twitter for me. And Facebook is only for playing bejeweled blitz this days.

 

[dreamer_dachsie]

I don't think the luddites are online

LOL!!

haha... touche!

 

[lyra]

I like paper books, so I have on interest in a kindle.

I adored paper books, first editions, signed copies, old paperbacks, hardcovers, you name it. I loved the *smell* of them right down to my bones. But then I got a Kindle and even though I thought I'd only use if for "some" books, I quickly got addicted to it and will probably never buy another paper book again. Maybe it can be considered greener? I don't know the environmental impact of making these things, it just "seems" like not using paper is less wasteful. But maybe it's all relative.

 

[VRBeauty]

Luddite VRBeauty reporting for duty!

(More about that later - I'm multi-tasking right now and must get back to the web broadcast I'm hosting tonight!)

 

[monarch64]

Hmm...recyclists to the max, bicyclists, walkers/hikers, we don't have cable/internet/phone service in the house (aside from cell service and internet on both our phones!) re-use every bag, re-cycle shoes, clothing, etc. Trying!!!!

 

[janinegirly]

I resisted cell phones for a long time - seemed like such an annoying fad. But now, admittedly, it's always with me. Got rid of the landline so it does seem like a necessity even though my cell rings so rarely that I don't even recognize the ringer, lol.

I have no IPOD or Blacberry. Everyone around me has a BB - I have no interest in being that accessbile, especially by work. My boss however just asked if I had a BB and said I should get one, urgh - I had been under the radar for so long!

I am on FB but post rarely on my IRL account and don't even understand Twitter. I have a clunky laptop with keys sticking out due to a certain toddler (no IPAD here). I have never owned a car and only just started driving, that has to be some kind of record, lol.

 

[diamondringlover]

I couldnt live without my cell!!! but it is a plain cell, heck its even 4 years old, everyone who has gotten the "new" smartphones have went thru several because they keep breaking, mine is like the energizer bunny, it keeps going and going and going, lol....I dont want a kindle, I do not have have an ipod or mp3 player heck I dont even have a blue ray player...I just upgraded to a flat TV and digital cable last year...I am going kicking and screaming into the 21st century lol

 

[Amber St. Clare]

My cell phone is usually dead--and I can never find it. When I do I find I have so many messages on it--seriously--how many freakin' times do I have to tell people CALL THE HOUSE.

I Pods, kindles, Nooks, crackberrys whatever. I have no interest in them and no plan to learn anything about them. I couldn't even figure out the Smart Board at school............. I had dinner with a friend one night and she was proudly showing me her new phone that had all the apps and {she had to explain what an app was for me}. I asked her if she ever used any of them she admitted she hadn't but liked knowing she could play solitare on her phone in traffic if she wanted. Personally, I like being smarter than my phone.

I will NEVER go on Facebook Twitter or anything else.

 

[zoebartlett]

I don't have a smart phone, and I don't really want one right now. I haven't found a phone that I love. I don't like the touch screen and the buttons on other phones are too small.

I'm rarely on FB and I've never seen Twitter or MySpace. I have a lukewarm relationship with social media sites. I don't like how some people use them to replace having real, in-depth, one on one chats with family and friends.

I've never had an iPhone, an iPod, or an iPad. Since technology changes so rapidly, I'm fine not having to deal with getting the latest and greatest gadget out there once the others are deemed ancient. I just can't keep up, plus, it saves me money.

I've never owned or used a Kindle or any other e-reader. I think about getting one occasionally, but I love real books too much. I do enough reading on my laptop every day that when I pick up a book, I want it be one with a binding and that new book smell.

 

[HopeDream]

I have no car, no cellphone, and a paper pocket calendar.

However, I do love my mp3 player (audiobooks while housekeeping) and Ereader (reading while on transit). I choose technology that serves me, not gagets that disrupt my life and requre more effort than benefit.

Finding a good balance is key.

 

[lyra]

I have no car, no cellphone, and a paper pocket calendar.

However, I do love my mp3 player (audiobooks while housekeeping) and Ereader (reading while on transit). I choose technology that serves me, not gagets that disrupt my life and requre more effort than benefit.

Finding a good balance is key.

That's a great perspective HopeDream. I totally agree. I don't want intrusions into my life. Only family and friends. Limiting use of technology does help with that. Plus I turn things off completely if I want total peace and quiet, including the house phone.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Ummm....does disdain for certain diamond testing equipment count? ( we already know Garry Holloway's answer on this one- in fact if it weren't for Garry, I'd never have known the word)

 

[centralsquare]

I'm in favor of giving up cars and TV, but I couldn't give up my smart phone. What would I distract myself with during boring work meetings? The beauty of the blackberry is that it looks like I'm doing something work related

 

[dreamer_dachsie]

Ummm....does disdain for certain diamond testing equipment count? ( we already know Garry Holloway's answer on this one- in fact if it weren't for Garry, I'd never have known the word)

I think it counts. You are a diamond luddite!

 

[Arkteia]

I was ashamed to admit... but in a company of neo-luddites perhaps I can...

I had several unhappy laptops. This one is good and has been working for long so I was happy till its screen smashed. So instead of throwing it out and buying a new one, I got an external monitor from my friend who did not need it and attached it to this computer and am still using it! I ordered a new computer, for work, but this one is my "spare" one for home. I just physically can not throw out a working computer, even with no screen!

I have a FB and a smartphone. This Droid I got after my BB which I had been using for 4 years dropped and smashed into pieces. Needless to say, by that time the Droid was free. The FB I opened because someone advised me to. I am interested in new ideas in this area but on principle do not open a Linkedin account (this is for professional reasons).

Worst - and I think it is a psychoanalytic case - I almost never watch TV. Usually because I have no time, but even when I have time, I'd prefer a good book. And our house is full of books, from top to bottom, one closet is full of book, too. I have a Kindle but love the feeling of a good book. I have a special penchant for leather-bound volumes. Bought Encyclopedia Britannica for this reason.

I do not use coffee machines. Grind and brew my own coffee.

 

[ksinger]

First, I AM on FB. It has been a boon to get to watch my little cousin growing up: her mother is very good about keeping the family updated - first steps, first teeth, etc. Other than that, no other social media. That is more than enough.

I have a cell phone. A PHONE. Not a "device". It makes PHONE CALLS! (what a concept!!) I do not text on it. My husband has given in to texting because his crew is all under 30 and simply REFUSE to call anyone. Irritates the peewad out of me to be honest, because we don't have a text plan and I flat out don't want to pay for one, but I am anyway. I refuse to give up my landline.

I have an 8 gig Zune. Great for the car and keeps me from having to shuffle CDs.

We each have a laptop, and there is one desktop, all in reasonably new condition.

I don't own a Kindle/Nook. Too attached to real books, plus the types of books I read don't lend themselves well to a reader, so....

I do not game. I work in IT, so almost everyone is under 35, and/or a huge gamer, but I consider any more time spent in front of a screen to be a monumental waste of time. I would rather make something tangible than waste away in front of a screen with nothing to show in the end. Needless to say, my days in IT are probably numbered because of this. I find my patience with technology waning the older I get. It all seems like such a gerbil-wheel tail-chase exercise, and very few ever stop to think if the latest gadget that they simply MUST have, really improves their lives that much. Like most of the Luddites here, I'm pretty dang picky about what I choose to have and why I choose to have it. Bandwagon jumper I ain't.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, I don't see how anyone with kids in their teens and 20's can do without a cellphone or facebook! I want them to be able to reach me in case they need me. This was especially important when they started driving. That is when I got them cellphones! I had to learn to text because that is how they communicate some of the time, and I desired to be able to text them back. I love to see the pictures my older daughter posts on fb of their trips, etc. Plus, in Nov. she and her husband will have their first child, and I wouldn't miss the pictures posted of that baby for anything!

I have a laptop, but I do not use Twitter, or have an Ipod, Iphone, or any other electronics that I can think of. I almost never watch TV as I prefer reading or internet for entertainment. We do still have a landline because cell reception is not as good as the landline in the house. And where we live, you have to have cars.