I'm not as weird as my kids think

**grynge** · May 21st, 2011, 10:20 AM

Apparently so I am told my kids think I am weird because I "HATE" phones and I "HATE" answering phones. My wife I think started to think their was something wrong with me or I was forming some kind of phobia.

Let me explain,
I don't jump up instantly and answer any phone that is ringing the moment it starts ringing,
I don't jump up instantly and have to read any sms as soon as it arrives,
I don't find it necessary to ring my wife when I can't find something at the shops and ask what else she wants,
I haven't had a new mobile phone in around 8 years or more,
I can let the answering machine answer the phone if I am busy doing something or god forbid on the toilet,
If I go on holiday I leave my phone at home,
I often leave my phone at work or home for whole days and sometimes weekends,
I don't need to take my phone to the cinema,
I don't need to ring my wife when I am 10 minutes from home telling her I am 10 minutes from home,
I prefer to see my friends in person and have a conversation over some food or drinks than sms or talk on the phone,
My phone doesn't follow me into the bedroom or bathroom and sometimes doesn't even get inside the house and stays in the car,
I can have 3 word conversations "hello NO bye" or rarer "hello YES bye"

So with these things in mind my wife talks to our family doctor, according to him "I am not weird" and I don't have a phobia as I hate the phone and I am not scared of it, I use it when I want. He said that lately he has been getting a lot of people in my generation feel the same way about phones.

So now I can tell my kids the doc says "I'm not weird"

**JJMcClure** · May 21st, 2011, 12:43 PM

You should ring them to tell them that.

**Clinton** · May 21st, 2011, 3:10 PM

Forget kids.

My doctor and dentist complain because I don't use a watch and I only work to approximate times.

My mother complains because she can't play her MP3s on my music system as it takes only records, cassettes and CDs.

My grandmother complains because I refuse to use Skype.

**mpcovcd** · May 21st, 2011, 3:53 PM

Wait your wife really asked your doctor if you have a phobia of phones?

**crabfoot** · May 21st, 2011, 6:18 PM

I'm just the same as both Grynge and Clinton - but it recently backfired on me.

A week ago a man telephoned me to tell me I owed him money - so when a message appeared on my phone I presumed it was from him and didn't bother looking - we spoke on the landline. I sent the money by BACS asap. Yesterday I checked the message - which was my cousin telling me his mother had died and the funeral was Thursday. Ooops ...

**grynge** · May 21st, 2011, 10:56 PM

Originally Posted by mpcovcd

Wait your wife really asked your doctor if you have a phobia of phones?

Yes I think because we have lots of family that all use phones so frequently and a couple of years of saying I am abnormal for not liking them just got to her, I think she started thinking maybe there was something to this hatred of phones I have lol.

**grynge** · May 21st, 2011, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by crabfoot

I'm just the same as both Grynge and Clinton - but it recently backfired on me.

A week ago a man telephoned me to tell me I owed him money - so when a message appeared on my phone I presumed it was from him and didn't bother looking - we spoke on the landline. I sent the money by BACS asap. Yesterday I checked the message - which was my cousin telling me his mother had died and the funeral was Thursday. Ooops ...

Sorry to hear about your cousins mother, I am luck all my family know that they need to tell my wife important stuff and not message me about it or see me in person.

**grynge** · May 21st, 2011, 11:00 PM

Originally Posted by JJMcClure

You should ring them to tell them that.

If I did that they would either
1. think I was joking
2. think there was something really wrong as I used the phone to tell them something

**JJMcClure** · May 22nd, 2011, 5:03 AM

Originally Posted by Clinton

I refuse to use Skype.

This I don't get. I can talk to people anywhere on the planet for free and with video too if we want. I use it to talk to clients, friends and relatives, I point the webcam at my screen when I'm playing poker sometimes so my brother-in-law in southend and see my hole cards and sweat me, I also use it to text some people rather than using my phone. It's an incredibly useful tool for communication.

Is your problem with skype itself or just any program of it's type?

**Clinton** · May 22nd, 2011, 8:03 AM

I can talk to people anywhere on the planet too. I have a device called the telephone. It charges me a few quid a month and it works.

I don't feel the need to buy something or buy into something simply because it exists. Do I need Skype? I decided I don't. Unlike you, I'm not talking to clients. And if grandparents want to see my kids they can jolly well come down and spend a few days.

From the technical point of view, it's just another thing to go wrong, it's just another attack vector for spam and malicious code especially when the people you're talking to are the average internet nincompoops who have no clue about security. Sure you can edit a registry key to prevent third parties access to the Skype API. And you can use a proxy if you're running Skype on Windows (only Windows, I believe). Do you know that the way Skype is designed it's impossible to detect what it's doing on your system and what data about your system is being transmitted to the Skype servers and supernodes? Or that Skype is very good at getting past firewalls, that the terms allow Skype to use your PC and bandwidth to facilitate comms between other Skype users .... I could go on but I forget all the details, I'd have to look them up again.

Why install another piece of junk when life's perfectly fantastic without it. Sure, I pay a few quid every month for phone calls. I'd feel the pinch if I were on income support, but as things stand now I hardly notice this cost. If it's not a problem it doesn't need fixing.