[jakobegger]

> make sure you don’t leech off of those around you

I think that's a toxic attitude. Picking up the phone for someone else every now and then is really not a big of a hassle. Obviously I don't know the whole situation, but in general I do think that one should be ready to do such minor favors for another human being without calling them a leech.

[bryanrasmussen]

I know someone who lives off the grid like this, they are also too cheap to ever pay their share of airbnb lodging (I will stay with someone else, oh you got it I come stay with you), too cheap to give a bit of scotch tape for taping up a box when clearing out their dead mothers house because they bought that tape for 2 euro, or finally too cheap to buy their own chewing gum when they have had all their other expenses paid (flight, lodging) to go to a wedding in Kiruna Sweden.

on edit: changed some incorrect uses of to to correct usage of too.

[dannyw]

Sounds like they're just cheap; and the off the grid part doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it.

[bryanrasmussen]

exactly the original comment was make sure not to leach, and someone else thought it was a toxic attitude, and I don't think it is too toxic an attitude - because there are people who are leaches after all.

[ferzul]

But there's being a leach, and there's trying to cope given a moral-philosophical decision not to use a phone. And you're not distinguishing them.

[bryanrasmussen]

Yes but there was the original comment which suggested that it was not nice to suggest not to be a leach, because that was a little bit much to assume, so I provided a counterexample where that was a reasonable assumption.

Normally I would not expect, given that thread of conversation, that I should have to explain that my example was not meant to be a universal condemnation of anyone not having a sim card in their phone.

[anamexis]

They aren't mutually exclusive.

[19870213]

Especially because it wasn't that long ago (by my standards) that not everyone had a personal phone in their pocket.

In fact, only 33 years ago my parents had to call the neighbours 3 doors further to call my aunt to notify her (and my grandparents who happen to be visiting her) of my birth.

Although, I admit as someone with a speech impediment, I absolutely loath using the phone. But it's a necessity even as a software developer. But nothing as annoying as having to pick up the phone, only to hear that it was (effectively) the wrong number and they needed someone across the room...

[justinclift]

Or when you (effectively) work night shift, and some #$%#$%# telemarketer decides to call at 9am.

[hunter-gatherer]

I feel you. After my last phone broke I decided to get a dual SIM phone. I set up my phone to block all calls on the first SIM from any unknown number. I got a cheap second pre-paid SIM and essentially made it my 'business number'. On my android I then have it set up to 'Do not disturb' mode during sleeping hours. The transition was a bit more cumbersome than I anticipated, but after it was all said and done, I couldn't be happier with the outcome. My friends and family can get a hold of me whenever, and I no longer get calls from business/employer/etc unless it is in the allocated times I want.

[JeanMarcS]

Or a friend forgeting about jetlag ringing you on a sunday morning when you were sleeping happily (just happened to me this morning :-D )

[seba_dos1]

That's easy to fix though - I am putting my phone to do-not-disturb (or even airplane) mode when I go to sleep every day and I honestly don't see any disadvantages of doing that. If somebody calls me when I'm sleeping, I will react when I wake up. I don't think giving the people on the whole world the ability to wake me up whenever they want to is justified in any way.

[JeanMarcS]

Well I kow I should do that, but perhaps because I'm near my fifties (so lived a lot without a mobile phone), I always fail to remember to active it back when I wake up.

My wife (who is younger than me, as in 16y younger) do that too and have no problem.

For me, if I do it, I sure remember, but 2 or 3 days later :-D

[ryandrake]

I have been on do not disturb mode 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the last few years. It’s actually amazing. It has allowed me to use my phone on my own terms, when I choose to, not on someone else’s terms when they want me to.

[seba_dos1]

Sounds like automating it to enable sounds at some hour when you usually are already awake may be an easy solution.

[matz1]

Sure, it is not a hassle for you but it can be a huge hassle for other people.