Cell Phone Link Love
This has been a great week for interesting cell phone blog postings. The topic of cell phones is exploding in the news. Even in this economy, people are still buying and talking about their cell phones. Enjoy these posts; I did!
Jendi of Jendi’s journal mused about the electronics our kids expect these days, including a cell phone.
Well-Heeled, With A Mission posted about staying on your folk’s family plan into adulthood. According to her comment list, her readers feel this is THE way to go to save money.
Rodney at Romov did an excellent job of posting about what to ask before you buy a new cell phone. His five questions are right on the money and well thought out.
Keela Robison from White Pages blogged about a new Carrier Lookup Service. For those who don’t have a home phone, this is an excellent way for people to find you. You can also go on to the site she mentions to block people from finding you!
Bill from Sex In A Sub had a very humorous but poignant post about manners. He had three about cell phones! See if you can find them and enjoy the rest of his list as well.
Dr. Dave from Media and the Family talks this week about teaching your children just getting their cell phones some well-needed cell phone manners. Right up my alley this week. Great job Dr. Dave!
Frank Bruni from the Diner’s Journal at the New York Times does a great job at pointing out the disturbing trend of texting during meals, both in home and out. While Frank admits to doing it occasionally and says its better than a loud call, he talks about how rude it is nonetheless.
How Much Do You Really Want To Know?
I’ve talked in previous posts about using the latest technology to keep track of your loved ones carrying their cell phones.
With GPS installed in a cell phone, you can track the person using it. This is great for kids; but what about those who want to go a step further than simple GPS? Or, what if you are wanting to use GPS or something else to track your spouse?
I did a Google search with the keywords Cell Phone Spying and got over two million results. I narrowed that down by adding the keyword cheating and got 280,000 results. Is this for real? Unfortunately it is. Read more
Family On The Phone Buzzes LaTara Ham-Ying
For the week of May 25, 2009, Family on the Phone buzzes a very busy mom, LaTara Ham-Ying! In LaTara’s own words, she is a “woman of God, wife, entrepreneur, internet marketer, writer, speaker, and an authentically unplugged mom”. That is a mouthful but very true. LaTara’s website, Mom Unplugged, proves her devotion to her faith with every word she writes.
I caught up with her this week and asked her some questions about her family and their cell phones. I know you’ll enjoy her as much as I have.
What are your favorite features on your phone and why? For example, could it be your camera? If so how do you use it? Do you upload your pics to your computer or use it some other way?
I don’t have a fancy phone yet. I have a $10 special but I love being able to connect to the internet when I need to. However, I plan on upgrading to a better phone in the very near future. I am currently weighing my options and considering Cricket or Boost Mobile.
Read more
I Lost My Cell Phone! What Do I Do Now?
You took all the precautions possible and yet your cell phone has been lost, or worse yet, stolen! Besides panicking, what do you do? There are several steps to be taken; some of them immediately. Following these steps will help you to feel back in control a little bit and enable you to get a handle on the situation.
- Call your phone. You might get lucky and someone nice will find it and return it to you. If you have GPS tracking, you’ll be able to know right where your phone is and will maybe get it back.
- Suspend your account by calling your service provider. You don’t want expensive calls being made from your phone. If you don’t report it right away, you will probably be responsible for any calls or downloads.
- Hopefully, you purchased insurance for your phone. If you did, your cellular company may charge you a small fee but you can get your phone replaced. Do be aware that some home owner’s and car insurance policies cover your phone if it is stolen from either place.
- Report it to the police. This will give you an official record just in case.
- Ok, now you’ve done everything you can do. You can now cry over your phone. You are allowed some grief. Most people are very attached to their phones and the photos, games, downloads in them. Give yourself time to be upset.
- If you really don’t get your phone back, then go to your service provider and get your phone replaced. The sooner you get a new phone, the better you’ll feel. Maybe you will even get a better phone this time around to heal your bruised cell phone soul.
photo credit: evelynishere
My Top Ten Cell Phone Pet Peeves
After all the posts I’ve written about cell phones and the family, I’ve never talked about this topic of manners and cell phones.
How is that perfectly respectable and well-mannered people turn into rude, ill-mannered folks when they pick up their cell phones in public?
So, I’ve compiled a list of my cell phone behavior pet peeves and I polled my friends as well. This is what we came up with.
- Loud Talkers - Why do people feel the need to raise their voice while talking on their phone? I swear it is a phenomenon I can’t quite figure out but it happens all the time.
- Texting and Driving - This one goes beyond bad manners. It is just plain dangerous and rude to other drivers. While you are at it, get a set of headphones or bluetooth and keep conversations to a minimum.
- Rudeness to Store/Restaurant Employees - How many times do you see someone talking on their phone or texting while standing in front of a register or while ordering food at a restaurant? It happens everyday to me. I’ve actually seen someone point to what they want on a menu instead of saying it because they were having a conversation.
- Not Turning It Off - Movie theaters, ceremonies, doctor’s offices, church, libraries; where ever you are asked to turn your phone off and you don’t.
- Are You Talking to Me? - If you have a bluetooth on and you are talking, people are going to think you are talking them. Plain and simple.
- Pay Attention Where it is Due - If I’m having an afternoon with a friend, shopping or whatever, it drives me crazy when they sit and chat on their cell or spend the entire time texting their other friends!
- Bathroom? - I’ve actually had people call me from the bathroom on their cell phone. Public or private bathrooms, it is just plain yucky.
- Private vs Public Conversations - Please don’t have those very private conversations in public so other people are forced to listen.
- Ten Foot Rule - As a general rule of courtesy, take your conversation at least that far away from other people.
- Elevators - See above rule. People are trapped in an elevator and have no choice but to listen to you chat away.
Given these peeves of mine, I found a humorous book on Amazon I thought you might enjoy. 
photo credit: Andrew Feinberg
Cell Phone Link Love
Quick Link Love This Week 
Gloria the Drama Queen from Out of a Drama Queen’s Mind had a very humorous post about texting. She wonders if texting one’s thumb muscles to the bone is some form of exercise.
A Cowboy’s Wife informed her readers of a new feature of T-Mobile. T-Mobile’s Family Allowance is a really cool new feature that allows you to allocate minutes to each family member plus decide the amount of texts, downloads and so forth. This is a great way to manage your family plan.
Gretchen of Girl’s Can’t What? posted a plea for girls to not participate in sexting. I appreciated her personal advice about this disturbing trend among teens. She obviously cares a great deal.
Cell Phones You And Your Tween Will Love!
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that my daughter, who is turning 11 this summer, wants a cell phone. I haven’t seen the need for one nor had the funds to invest in one up to this point. I have, however, heard some interesting things about cell phones for kids and I decided to do a little research on them.
It turns out several cell phone companies have phones geared specifically for the younger crowd, the much younger crowd.
This will be the information for those parents that feel their child is ready for the responsibility and priviledge of owning a phone of their own.
Among the many options out there, I will compare the features, advantages and disadvantages of three phones geared for kids.
First I will talk about Firefly Mobile. They have a few phones, including one that has all the bells and whistles of an adult phone. The one I want to tell you about first is perfect for the really young or barely tweens. It is called the Glowphone. Read more
Free Cell Phone For Families In Need
In this world, almost everyone has a cell phone, from kids to the elderly. Most people find it a necessity. But, what if you simply cannot afford to have one? The economy is such that we are struggling to pay our basic bills and the much needed phone is chalked up to be a luxury one cannot justify.
Well, finally the government has stepped in to rectify this situation! The answer? Safelink Wireless.
This program is fantastic! If you qualify, you get a free cell phone, free minutes to use each month, and free service. If you need more than the allotted minutes, you can buy a TracPhone card sold at any TracPhone retailer (Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Family Dollar, etc.) How many minutes you receive depends on your area. The service is now offered in eleven states with four more coming soon! My state (Tennessee) offers 68 minutes of airtime. These phones do support voicemail and text messaging. Read more
Can Teens Survive Summer Without A Cell Phone
If you are anything like me, you get a little nervous or anxious when you walk out of the house and forget your cell phone. I find it comforting to be digitally connected.
I don’t even have internet on my phone; I can’t imagine how I would be phone dependent if I did. I just like knowing I can be reached or reach someone else no matter where I go. If I go out of range of my cell, I am not happy about it.
Knowing this, am I really surprised that my teenage son feels the same way? He wants to be reachable 24/7. He takes his phone everywhere. They allow cell phones at school here as long as kids don’t use them during classes while work is being done. Read more
Teenagers And “Sexting”: How Much Do You Know?
What exactly is “sexting”? This topic has been in the news, on television and newspapers recently.
“Sexting” is sending nude or partially nude photos through one’s cell phone.
According to recent reports, 1 in 5 teens do this. What are the top two reasons they do it? They do it because they say it is fun. Many teenage girls also send these pics to their boyfriends as a sexy present. Read more
