JENN McKINLAY: I was soundly scolded the other evening and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Why was I lectured? I’m so glad you asked.
Hub and I do not keep our cell phones in our bedrooms and we do not have a landline. Subsequently, if someone calls late at night, we have to stumble to the kitchen and check to see who it is and why would they be calling after 9 PM?! Seriously, the audacity! As I was complaining about this to a Hooligan, it suddenly turned into a lecture on how I’m old and should keep my phone nearby. (Picture Jenn glowering here). I was assured that this stance was for safety reasons, but it just felt rude to me.
So, how about it, Reds? Do you keep your cell phone on your nightstand or do you keep it elsewhere to ensure a good night’s sleep?
HALLIE EPHRON: My kids say the same thing, but I’ve got more than a few years on you, Jenn. So I’m just glad they’re looking out for me.
No land line here, either, and overnight I keep my cell on my night stand with the sound muted. You can designate “emergency callers” and (I think) if they call the phone’s supposed to ring. Or that’s how I think it works. Have not tested it. Yet. And I think it’s sweet and adorable that your son worries about being able to reach you if he’s worried about what you’ve gotten up to.
HANK PHILLIPI RYAN: Totally keep my phone on the nightstand. Cannot imagine not doing that.
We still do have a landline, since if you call 911 from a cellphone, it does NOT know where you are, but the landline does. (That’s why dispatchers now say “911–Where’s your emergency” instead of “what’s your emergency.”)
Oh, in every way I think it’s important to have the phone nearby.
LUCY BURDETTE: Yes phone on the nightstand, set up as Hallie described. I use it for my bedtime stories–like THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, or lately, listening to a Jenny Colgan book that I’ve already read. That way I don’t have to pay attention too much or worry about what I’ll miss.
PS we don’t have a landline either
PPS sometimes I do get in trouble by doomscrolling because it’s so convenient, but I lecture myself sternly about that…
RHYS BOWEN: my phone lies charging beside the bed every night and the first thing I do when I wake in the morning is pick it up! I confess to addiction. We still have a land line that John insists on keeping. And if I forget to take off my Apple Watch before bed it shakes me to remind me to get up and move at 3 am
Lucy, I also listen to Calm bedtime stories when I can’t sleep.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: Absolutely plugged in on the nightstand! I have to put ointment in my eyes at night so listen to audiobooks to go to sleep. I do not give in to the temptation to doomscroll. I silence the ringer. We do still have a “landline” number, but it’s actually VOIP (internet phone) so I don’t know if it identifies us to 911. I guess I should ask my techie/ex-dispatcher husband.
And, like Rhys, I confess to checking the phone first thing in the morning instead of doing something positive like meditating. In my defense, I usually check the weather and read the blog!
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I’m midway between the yes phone and no phone positions. I do keep my phone on my nightstand (I don’t listen to anything except ambient noise on my Alexa, but I do like to unwind with a few rounds of Ultimate Jewels.) However, I always turn it off, unless I’ve got reason to think one of my kids might need to get in touch with me - for instance, when Virginia is traveling back and forth from Europe. When it’s on, it’s on Do Not Disturb with the select callers feature; as you might imagine, the select callers are my three children.
I used to have it on more frequently, but to be perfectly blunt, all the older relatives I might need to know about in an emergency have already died! My sister and brother might want to tell me about an issue in their families, but they wouldn’t need me in the middle of the night - and honestly, neither do my adult offspring. And I REALLY value my sleep!
We dropped the landline back in, I don’t know, 2010? Out here in the heavily forested countryside, the phone lines would go out as frequently as the electricity. My cell is more reliable, especially since I have a constantly-charged battery pack.
JENN: Maybe it's because I'm a child of the eighties, where we were punted outside and told not to return until we heard my dad whistle but I frequently leave the house without my phone, too. Shocking, I know!!! I just don't feel like I need to be in touch with everyone all the time. Is it just me?
Your turn, Readers! Cell phone on the nightstand, yeah or nay?
Nope, no phone on the nightstand . . . it stays in the living room when we go to bed. We do have a landline so either of the girls could reach us that way if there was an emergency. I almost always remember to take my phone with me when I go somewhere, but I don't feel like I have to have it right beside me or in my hand all the time . . . .
ReplyDeleteVery healthy, Joan!
DeleteNope, no cellphone in the bedroom. I leave it in the living room.
ReplyDeleteNo landline. I gave it up in Toronto way back in 2012.
Easier for me to do than others, since I have no close family left alive in Canada.
Distant relatives in the US & Japan would not be calling me in the middle of the night!
Phone calls in the middle of the night are the worst.
DeleteNo, my cellphone sits on its charger in my master bathroom overnight. My husband’s is doing the same in the other bathroom. And I have mine set to Do Not Disturb with my son, d-i-l and husband as my select callers. We just gave up our landline a year ago when we moved. My husband has talked about getting a VOIP, Debs. I know about as much as you do about that. — Pat S
ReplyDeleteSo smart, Pat!
DeleteLike others, no landline. The phone stays face down charging next to the bed but on mute, with my sons and my sister set as exceptions. After I'm in bed, I never look at it except to check the time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm awake, though, it's always in my back pocket or my purse. No exceptions!
You sound like my kids with their phones - always on them!
DeleteWell, I'm not always on it, but I like to have it at hand (or at butt, as the case may be, LOL).
DeletePhone on night stand but used as alarm because the power goes out frequently and I have to be up by 5am. It's on mute for everything else.
ReplyDeleteI have used mine as an alarm when I travel. Very handy.
DeleteYes, cell phone is plugged on nightstand. I turn the silencer off before I go to bed and when I walk up turn the ringer back on. No landline here either.
ReplyDeleteI need to get better with my silencer. I turn it on and forget to turn it off.
DeleteYes I have my phone on the nightstand on silent. We gave up our landline when we moved and I am not totally okay with that. When we got Lifealert for my mother the installer cautioned us against connecting it with internet phone. He said there are frequent outages when the internet company is running updates. She did still have a hardwired landline we could use. Ditto for the remote thing the cardiac clinic used for running reports from her defibrillator.
ReplyDeleteI just want to add that the frequent outages to internet phone lines proved to be true. The school district I worked for went to internet phone and there were often times we couldn’t even call the office let alone a number outside of the building. I started keeping my cell phone on my body after that as a safety precaution.
DeleteOur landline went out and we never even noticed.
DeleteNo phone in bedroom. Phone is plugged in downstairs in my office. My husband's is downstairs plugged in on the side kitchen counter. To be honest, unless I'm traveling (usually for medical appointments in Vermont), I rarely glance at my phone except to call to make appointments. I often don't carry it. I rarely get calls so I have no need for screening, but my older sister uses the same feature others mention. I am amazed by all the things my friends can do on and with their phones. I use the alarm feature to remind me to take my meds 3 times a day and, with the Libby app and Audible for audiobooks, and the occasional use of the camera, I am satisfied with my version of high tech. (Due to an accidental crushing of my last phone, an old hand-me-down from my daughter, I was forced to upgrade this summer to an iPhone 8.) My friends have learned that texting me is sending mail to a dead letter office. One once wrote, "Will you get this in six months?" My siblings however often communicate by group chat and unless it's summer, when I'm listening to audiobooks every day out on the farm, I'm generally a day or two late to the party. My kids email me and would call in an emergency. (Selden)
ReplyDelete"dead letter office" -- I am dying, Selden! LOL.
DeletePhone on nightstand in sleep mode. No landline since 2010.
ReplyDeleteIn pre-cellphone days, we had a friend visiting and we were all at Oktoberfest. We left before he did and the next morning came out to our answering machine to hear a series of plaintive messages. Our friend had gotten stabbed in the hand (not too seriously) breaking up a fight and was trying to get us to come back and pick him up. A kind Jägermeister shot-dispenser took pity on him and let him crash at her place.
It's amazing we all survived those pre cell phone days.
DeleteKathy Lynn Emerson chiming in again. It isn't just you, Jenn. We still have a landline but the extension by the bed has the ringer turned off. If its important, the answering machine in the living room will take a message and we'll see it first thing in the AM. My husband is glued to his iPhone during the day, in part because it controls his hearing aids and he listens to music through them, but mine lives in my purse, turned off except when I'm our running errands (in case I need emergency help on the road) and set to ring only when the call is from my husband. Yes, I am a dinosaur.
ReplyDeleteRight there with you, fellow dinosaur!
DeleteMuted cell phone and landline. My kids now text me before they call, which I appreciate.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate a text otherwise I answer, "What's wrong?"
DeleteWe still have a landline but it is not as dependable as it was before everything became electronic and digital. Back in the day, the power could go out and you probably still had use of the phone. In any case, we have a landline phone on the nightstand.
ReplyDeleteOvernight, my phone is in the kitchen on mute. If my phone were in the bedroom, even the little light flash that happens when a text arrives could wake me up.
If Irwin forgets to turn off his cellphone, we are frequently awakened by his walking group friends texting until the wee hours. Most annoying. He shuts his phone off when that happens.
Our kids live far away. We cannot help them in an emergency.
My husband's group chat with his six brothers can be a problem, too. He has sleep mode enabled, so it doesn't wake us in the middle of the night. But if he forgets to also turn down the volume, the second sleep mode goes off, all the notifications from overnight come pouring in. (Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.) Sometimes we are not quite ready to be awake even then!
DeleteHub's band group chats go on all night, thus, no phone in the bedroom.
DeleteNo landlines. Cell phones on the nightstand for both of us, but they both go into Do Not Disturb/Sleep mode at 10. We have certain numbers, adult children, siblings, that will ring through at any hour.
ReplyDeleteVery efficient.
DeleteOn the night stand, muted, not plugged in…as (hope this is not TMI) carry it on middle of the night trips to the bathroom. In those early days before cell phones, but not before emergency alert devices, my mother fell on such a trip, her emergency alert device, on the night stand. Feeling that it’s time to move on to cheerful September things…arrival of pumpkin spice and Christmas decorations, anyone? And, Jenn, listen to your sons…they love you. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteYour poor mom, Elisabeth. Yes, I'm glad the boys care but...sigh.
DeleteI don't have a landline anymore. When I purchased the car I'm currently driving, dropping the landline enabled me to afford the monthly payment so after 45 years with the same phone number, it went away.
ReplyDeleteMy cell phone usually finds itself on the bureau when I got to ACTUAL bed (falling asleep on the couch for 2-3 hours doesn't count). But it is off and not charging. I either charge it before I go to bed or while I'm puttering around in the morning before heading off to do whatever I'm doing that day. Since I don't make a lot of calls or text much, that charge goes through the day no problem. Especially since I use a flip phone and not one of those phones that you could run the nuclear defense system from.
As for why I don't have it directly next to me (other than I don't have an actual nightstand) is that I figure if I'm getting a call after midnight, someone's dead...or someone's going to be dead (for calling me).
LOL, agreed, Jay. No calls after 9. Seriously.
DeletePhone on nightstand but turned off. I suppose I could set it up so only my kids could call but haven’t done that. I’ve managed more than half my life without a cell phone so think I can also do that thru the night. And anyone legit who might call me has Julie’s number.
ReplyDeleteAnn, my concern is not who would call me but who I would need to call. Unlike you, I live alone. Good to see you here. Elisabeth
DeleteThank goodness for Julie :)
DeleteJenn, good that Hooligan cares. And can voice it, yes? to phone in bedside bookshelves-I use it as my alarm -which is birds chirping. I sometimes look at weather and FB but mostly save that for iPad downstairs with coffee. We have a landline but it’s downstairs only so wouldn’t hear it even if it did ring. I hate talking on the phone (but once I start…) so most of my friends would text me, and I keep my phone on silent.
ReplyDeleteYes, Suzette, I suppose I'm grateful that they care. Love the birds chirping - brilliant!
DeleteJenn, I was a child of the 50s and surely punted outside all day whatever the weather…probably farther than you in the 80s when my friends were raising their children. But now, my concern at night or alone during the day is not someone trying to reach me, but me calling for help. It is all a matter of perspective. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteYes, it is perspective. I have had to use my phone in a couple of emergencies and I was grateful for it.
DeleteNo landline here for many years. I, too, use sleep mode on my cell phone as it is charging on my bedside table overnight. One positive feature about sleep mode, at least the version I have, is that in addition to the pre-approved numbers, it will put through any number that tries you three times in ten minutes. I take comfort in that, thinking that if, for example, someone was tryng to call me on behalf of a close loved one, they would probably do that.
ReplyDeleteSince we returned from our trip to Japan, I have taken to using my cell phone's alarm clock feature instead of the bedside alarm clock I have used for many years. I just finally realized that the phone alarm is a gentler, more pleasant sound to wake up to, especially since it starts at a lower volume and gently builds until I get it turned off. I had been using a radio alarm, and it could be quite jarring, depending upon what song, commercial, or commentary happened to be playing when it went off.
Susan, what kind of phone do you have that allows the 3-times-in-ten-minutes calls through? That sounds like a very useful feature. — Pat S
DeleteFor iPhones it is in Settings/Focus. Go into each type of focus and click Allow Notifications/People. At the bottom there is a switch for Allow repeated calls. If on, the second call within 3 minutes will ring through.
DeleteI have an LL Bean alarm clock that wakes you up with a soft flashing white light. I have dreamt it was a lighthouse so many times. LOL.
DeleteI love this!
DeleteI'm with you Jenn. I used to always leave my cell downstairs charging...however, lately I've been bringing it upstairs and have it either in our bedroom or our den which is right next to our bedroom. I read a "real" book in bed which causes me to fall asleep within about 15 min. No cell phone in the morning until I've check JRW, and a few games and NPR on my desk top computer. Then I read the (real on paper) newspaper.
ReplyDeleteFrom me above...We have a landline but we primarily get spam calls. I think we just keep it because out of fear we might need it in an emergency. Probably could do without it.
DeleteYes, I love my paperback/hardcover books before bed.
DeleteMy phone is in bed with me, usually on mute. I don't use it though--I read for a few minutes before turning out the light, then I listen to public radio when I'm going to sleep or if I wake up overnight. I still have a landline, but I don't even have a phone plugged into it at this point. I've been retired from 9-1-1 for a long time, and the technology has advanced, but I remember being very frustrated when I had to call several cell providers trying to find out which one was the carrier for a given phone number. They each had different hoops we had to jump through in order to get information about the subscriber. Meanwhile, tick tock, the time was flying by.
ReplyDeleteHappy Labor Day all! I'm grateful for unions--the folks who brought us the weekend, as my old bumpersticker said.
Amen on unions, and thanks to Amesbury, MA's George McNeill, the father of the eight-hour workday!
DeleteYes thanks for reminding up Gillian!
DeleteAnother proud defender of unions! And thanks to Mr. McNeill! — Pat S
DeleteVery grateful for unions! Thank you for mentioning it!
DeleteNo landline here. I don't leave my phone on my nightstand, but it's on my dresser. Er, on the island. Oh, wait, in my purse. No, I leave it...
ReplyDeleteIf you're getting the idea that I frequently leave my phone all over the house, you're right. The other morning, I had to use the "Find my" feature to locate it. Clearly no doomscrolling going on for me.
It's also on a sleep/DND schedule, so it mutes all notifications and only lets phone calls from people in my Favorites list (family, basically) through. But yeah. I grew up with "phone calls between 9pm and 9am only mean bad things." If someone is calling me, it means there's a person in jail or the hospital. Don't bother calling me in the event of death; I can't do anything so wait until morning.
I do wear my Apple Watch to sleep to track sleep and for an alarm. If I set a sleep schedule, it mutes all notifications on the watch as well. So I suppose I could get a phone call that way even if I have left my phone... wherever.
I've thought of getting an apple watch but I'm resistant to another device. Maybe I'll rethink.
DeleteI was too, but it's turned out I use the heck out of it for tracking my sleep, fitness, reminders to take my tablets (which I always forgot until it was too late), and other things.
Delete
ReplyDeleteFirstly, my phone is for my convenience, not for others'! I have discovered that if left to my own devices, I'd be fiddling with my (cell) phone deep into the night. So now it shuts down at 9:30, even if I am in the middle of something. I can turn it back on if I so desire but it is best if I don't - then I can read whatever book I am reading. Then the cell phone is actually put in my purse in the hall (in case I need to make a quick getaway in the middle of the night.)
However my landline is next to my bed, in case I need it. No idea what would happen if say I fell and couldn't get up on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Which brings up another point. When I am showering I always have a phone in the bathroom with me. I don't answer it if it rings but it is there if I need it. I learned that lesson from an aunt who was stuck in her tub for more than 24 hours! Once I fell out of the shower when I lost my balance but I landed in a laundry basket of dirty clothes and wasn't hurt.
Since I live alone I have to consider such things.
Very wise, Judi. Falls are to be avoided at all costs.
DeleteI still have a landline phone on my bedroom dresser.My cell phone is usually on my kitchen counter and I usually take it with me when I leave the house.
ReplyDeleteDianne Mahoney
Perfect set up.
DeleteJenn, you are not much older than my daughter! I'd be incensed at the implication that you are a doddering geezer already. LOL
ReplyDeleteElisabeth makes an important point: living alone, with falls in the middle of the night being common, having a phone close is crucial. My friend Judy fell in the shower a few years ago (she may have blacked out because of Covid) and broke both ankles. Her cell phone was in her bedroom, 30' away, and it took her almost two hours, naked, wet and cold, with no help from her lower legs, to crawl to it. Now she wears an Apple Watch 24/7 since she lives alone, and is 79 years old. And not very fit, to say the least. So now I usually take my phone into the bathroom when I shower, just in case.
Steve is like Selden, almost never has his phone on him--especially when I need him. And he leaves it in the kitchen at night. He couldn't hear it ring, anyway, since he takes his hearing aid out. My phone is on the nightstand, turned to Do Not Disturb, but with exceptions. I still have an elderly parent, and my mother, 95, lives with my brother. Mother has no conception of how frail she is, so she is always trying to do things by herself, like picking things up from the floor and losing her balance. She has made many middle of the night trips to the ER, and my brother or SIL usually at least alert my sister and me. Plus, I have kids living in or traveling to farflung spots. Youngest is in Malta for the holiday weekend, and I am her emergency contact. Then there is the grandson, living on his own for the first time, here in Cincinnati. I am in the Sandwich Generation, with extra filling.
We also still have a landline, since it's been Steve's family's business number for umpteen decades. Since we mostly get spam and political robocalls on it, I have the Anonymous Call Rejection feature turned on, then all calls forwarded to my cell phone. Verizon has pretty good spam rejection, so almost no calls filter through except real people. We would get rid of it, but Steve still gets a couple calls a year from old, old friends who don't have any other way of reaching him. Plus, the internet service with the phone company is the best for us.
DeleteKaren, Rick makes fun of me for taking my phone in the bathroom when I take a bath at night, but I'm usually listening to an audiobook. Also, I occasionally have vertigo and tubs are slippery!
DeleteWise choice, Debs.
DeleteExtra filling - LOL!
DeleteWe still have a land line and one of those extensions is right next to our bed. I still worry that if there is a BIG emergency like a bridge collapse a few years back, then the cellphone network may be useless as it will be overloaded. Calls before 11:00 PM are fine as we east coast folks have a ton of west coast friends, but not that late to just start a chit-chat conversation. Most folks just text at any hour and that I can deal with when feel like it!
ReplyDeleteTexting is the best!
DeleteWe have a landline phone. It is a CaptionPhone, which is free from the state of California for Hard of Hearing and Deaf people. Yes, I have a cellphone on my nightstand. I rarely get calls in the middle of the night. When I actually got a call in the middle of the night, I turned it off! Like Edith, I look at my phone to check the time at night.
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful service!
DeleteWe have a landline, and use it more than the cell phone – that is for emergency. It charges in the dining room at night, having read audiobooks to me all day. I don’t answer the phone after supper – not my time to be nice to anyone, and I really hate telemarketers who call before 9. Phone is not looked at until 10 (again time to go to work and listen). Doom scrolling is listening to the news in the morning and then after 9:30 at night before quitting for the day. I usually don’t have my phone when needed, or when out, or if I go for a walk – not something that enters my mind. Probably should because I fall into the old and the klutz category, but it is too heavy in my pocket. Besides reception here can be iffy, and as for the landline – it used to be that if power went out the landline still worked whereas the cell towers usually did not, so land line was better. Lately though, the land line seems to go out after 24 hrs no power, so not much good in a hurricane. As for emergency squawks – my radio squawks in the middle of the night if I need to know – magic I think. It is probably something that I should ask my son in law, but I cannot face having to listen to a lecture on the history of electronics, and still be no further ahead after my eyes have glazed over.
ReplyDeleteHistory of electronics - LOL!
DeleteIt is interesting to note on life’s differences, as our kids just left (they were here since Friday), and they had a friend here all the weekend except for sleeping over as well. They were all 45-ish, and have kids 6-8. Their phones never stopped pinging. What time the bus was coming for school pick up, who the teacher might be, time to order school lunches for the week, reminder that the dog was going to the vet on Tuesday, and probably would the sky be blue or pink tomorrow. It did not warn that there was an impending rain shower, to happen about now! (weather was for sunny all weekend) – kids came in as drowned rats.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, our land line and answering machine stayed silent – ahhhh peace.
Exactly.
DeleteLike Diana I have a CaptionPhone due to my deafness. Because I have bilateral Cochlear implants which I don’t wear while sleeping having my cell phone by my bedside is useless unless I would choose to wear my Apple Watch which could be set with a notification to alert me to a cell phone call but not one from the landline which we still have. My husband and I just discussed whether to give up the landline but because he isn’t attached to his cell phone and NEVER has it by his bedside, we decided to keep the landline in case one of our kids has an emergency and needs to reach us overnight since he would hear the landline. If I were living alone I would need to research options for an accessibility device that would wake me if an emergency call from one of a select family group needed to reach me.
ReplyDeleteBoth of my in-laws have hearing aids. Maybe a caption phone would be a solid investment. Hmm.
DeleteFrom Celia: I think it lovely and applaud your H, thoughtful kid! When my dad died, I returned to Cornwall to be with my mum and start the business of that sad event. Once it was time for me to return Stateside, I begged her to let me get her an emergency call pendant. She utterly refused. Several days of arguments followed but she was adamant. I don't think I mentioned she was legally blind etc. Finally she agreed a buddy call daily with a close friend. Picture me thinking, 'one call, what about the other 23 hours in the-day'!
ReplyDeleteBut it was a good lesson for me and to share the tale.
When Olivia said she worried about me falling and Victor forgetting how to use the phone, so I would be lying there, my answer was swift. I'll wear an Apple Watch, and I do, religiously. I even try to charge it when I'm sitting, doing rather than when I'm moving as I love to see my step count.
I'm a me and my phone are besties, wither I go so does it. No landline. I use do not disturb and my watch is set to stay dark during the night. I view this as a stress relief tool and am happy it will take the initiative and call if I hit the deck any time.
Yes, Celia. Brava for taking care of yourself. Elisabeth
DeleteNice of you to accommodate your daughter. I am working on my mom as she's off in the wilds of Canada on her own so much. I'll mention the watch!
DeleteI completely get where you are coming from Jenn (and I do not keep my phone with me at all times. In fact, I sometimes purposely leave it at home to get a complete break from it and remind myself that there’s more to life than being “connected”). But, living alone when my husband travels does make me feel a little vulnerable so I keep my phone in a basket on the floor next to the bed face down. I never have the volume turned on my phone either. I have hated the sound of a ringing phone since I was a kid! Hate talking on the phone too. Oh, I guess I might be a phone hater…??? I have had many complaints from family and friends about my lack of accessibility. But that has not changed my behaviors. When there have been “situations”, I’ll have managed to find out within a reasonable amount of time. In my defense, I work in a field where I cannot take calls or respond the second someone contacts me. So I haven’t been responsive since I got my first cell phone. And I’m fine with that (I also don’t have kids). I am such a modern tech curmudgeon! (I was born in the great year of 1970 and survived the wonderful decades of not being connected!)
ReplyDeleteWe're of an age, Stacia. My kids marvel that we didn't have phones and our parents had to be reminded that they had kids at 10 PM every night. LOL.
DeleteIt is so fascinating to read these! I am never without my phone. I kind of get panicky when I don’t have it. (Someone told me that is called iPanic —Which I think is hilarious!)
ReplyDeleteiPanic is perfect! LOL
DeleteiPanic - LOL!
DeleteJenn, I am with you. I have a "dumb" phone and it usually isn't near me, or if it is, I have it on do not disturb. I despise being ruled by a "screen" and to me the dreaded cell phone falls right in that category. That being said, when I had a land line I did have one bedside, but folks knew there had better be death or dismemberment involved if they called me after 9 PM. I think this addiction to that little screen has caused folks to lose all sight of boundaries and that is most troubling to me. Folks so absorbed in screens that they fail to see cars coming right at them and cross the street without ever looking. That, however, is a topic for another discussion. --Victoria
ReplyDeleteSeriously thinking of going back to the flip phone. I do not want to have to buy a new smartphone every two years. Keep it simple with texts and photos. No apps, which often need upgrades. The upgrades feel like bottomless money pit to me.
DeleteMake flip phones cool again! I'd be in. I still miss my itty bitty keyboard.
DeleteI still have a landline, mainly for 911 purposes. I have a cell phone that I keep with me at all times, in case of emergency. (I had to call 911 for a neighbor a few months ago, and I instinctively reached for my cell phone . That’s when I found out that they now ask “where’s the emergency?” Such an improvement from when I called 911 for my disabled sister many years ago when she fell walking from my car to her apartment building. I called 911 from my cell phone, the call was picked up from some other city that was unfamiliar to the operator, and then the call got dropped. I grabbed her keys and ran up to her apartment to call on her landline. Everything went through just fine.) I’m not getting rid of the landline. There have been times when cell phone service in my neighborhood has been spotty, indefinitely. Without my landline, I wouldn’t have had contact with anyone. I keep the cell phone on my nightstand overnight on mute, and I use it as my alarm. I have a sleep app on the phone, and I use that to help me fall asleep. I also use the cell phone for virtual meetings and some medical appointments. My cell phone has definitely improved the quality of my life.
ReplyDeleteDebRo
That's a wonderful endorsement, DebRo!
DeleteI keep my cell phone across the room on my dresser. I have it on a charger so it charges overnight. It's in sleep mode so the light doesn't bother me. I keep it in my bedroom in case of emergencies. I really don't want to be woken up by it unless it's really necessary.
ReplyDeleteSame! Sleep is precious especially when I'm on deadline.
DeleteI think I'm the only one in my family that takes my cell phone to bed with me. I have it on the charger and have it turned on. My husband leaves his phone in the living room, and my daughter and her family leave their phones on the kitchen table when they go to bed. We haven't had a land line for quite a long while now. One thing I need to break the habit of is scrolling through my phone while in bed and watching those stupid little short movies. Have the rest of you see how they are popping up all the time on FB? Or, is it just because I've watched several, I've triggered the video connection to them. It's a whole new (?) industry. They take you so far in the story, and then you have to pay or get a subscription to the particular company that produces it to see the whole little movie. I confess to doing that once. But, I am swearing off those little time wasters that are all pretty much the same kind of story line. I need to go back to Calm. I love their bedtime stories, especially about the trains. For you other Calm story fans, have you listened to Crossing Ireland by Train narrated by Cillian Murphy? I could listen to his voice all day and night, and the story is interesting, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd for keeping your cell phone with you when you reach a certain age, like my 71 (I never quite believe that's my age when I say it). We seniors and really anybody should keep their phone with them when they outside or on a walk. From someone who has fallen, I highly recommend it.
Ah, yes, that “certain age”…feels so much better to have my phone on and with me, Kathy. Elisabeth
DeleteYou're right, Kathy. I imagine I will get better about it eventually.
DeleteYea - but on do not disturb and charging. We don't have a landline and we do live in the back of beyond so I want to have an emergency outreach available, just in case!
ReplyDeleteVery wise!
DeleteBoth my phone and Kindle are on my nightstand, plugged in during the night. They were my alarm clocks while was working. Yes, I needed two alarms to get up and get ready for work. Now my phone is my alarm clock, but I do set the Kindle's alarm if I have an early appointment to be sure I actually get my self up and moving. Since I never get/got any calls, I decided to give up my landline about five years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe landline became all sales so we were happy to let it go.
DeleteI try to keep my phone with me all the time, especially when I'm outside doing chores. It's mostly a safety thing but I also have a fun step counter app so like to keep track of my steps. (For Android it's called "Fantasy Hike" and is basically Frodo's journey from Hobbiton to Mount Doom. I haven't managed to get out of the Shire yet:-))
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy Labor Day, everyone, with thanks for the unions!
DeleteThat is a much better step counter than mine! The Shire - LOL.
DeleteJudy Browning here. I am one of those Luddites who only used the cell phone as needed, while driving, out and about, etc. I have an ancient iphone that needs to be updated, but not to 16, so I procrastinate. (If I'm ever suspected of a crime, the police will note that "her phone was off at the time, probably to hide where she was.") So, no phone on the night stand. The landline is in the living room. But, after moving to a retirement community, I have one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up" devices very close.
ReplyDeleteLOL!!! I shut mine off all the time and forget to turn it back on.
Deletenope, not on the night stand. AND it's on do not disturb. I frequently forget to charge it also. we have a land line for emergencies. I have trouble sleeping sometimes and will listen to Sense and Sensibility. I love the language in the story and since I know it, it is soothing to fall asleep to. I do carry mine outside, but that is so I can listen to audiobooks while doing yard work.
ReplyDeleteI love audio books! Best feature on my phone.
DeleteHappy Labor Day! No landline here, only spammers used it at our old house. I keep my iphone nearby when I'm sitting, on me when moving. All I need to do is trip on one of the staircases in this house and yikes. I charge it at night on my bedside table. I don't get that many calls on it, and certainly not late at night, so I don't mute it.
ReplyDeleteThat works!
DeleteYes, my phone charges every night on my nightstand. I use my phone as an alarm clock on the days I work (only 2 days a week) or if I have early plans. I don’t have a landline any more. I rarely get calls over night and, if it becomes bothersome, I can turn on the Do Not Disturb feature.
ReplyDeletePractical!
DeleteAbsolutely have phone on night stand! For emergency updates and alarm in the morning!
ReplyDeleteI'm warming up to the idea.
DeleteMy cell phone is only turned on when I want to make a call. It’s definitely not on when I am sleeping. I still have a landline with five handsets spread around my house 😊 I’m not married to my cell! I control my own life 🤣
ReplyDeleteLOL! Same!
DeleteI think the last time I got a call in the night was my son calling from Phoenix at 10 pm your time saying, breathless and choked up, "The baby came." Said baby arrived three months early to her birth mom weighing two pounds and, yeah, we were all breathless and sobbing for a couple of months. Blessedly, Miss Ida Rose is totally thriving and on par with age milestones if not height and weight - she's growing but she's still a peanut.
ReplyDeleteThat was from me!
DeleteWhat a scary call with such a wonderful ending :)
DeleteNo landline since we moved to Portugal 5 years ago. And no nightstand. Both Rajan and I leave our phones charging overnight in the living room.
ReplyDeleteSame!
Delete