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Comment by cheschire | Hacker News Reader

Try explaining to people that you’re a programmer who doesn’t own a cell phone, and count the seconds till this term gets raised. It’s disheartening to watch our society practically force others through attempted shaming to follow the acceptable path. I admit feebly that I bought a cell phone because the infotainment system in my car is garbage, and that seems to silence the worst of it, but I feel it’s going against my own values to even bring up that glorified internet radio as roughly equivalent to their pocket leash just so I don’t have to defend my pride yet again.

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I'm somewhere in between - I do have a smartphone (and even use some location-based services), but I'm pretty picky about what apps I'll use on mine. Not to mention, I only use Gmail for things directly related to the Play Store.

I've been a tech/gadget freak for pretty much all of my life, but I'm really starting to utterly hate the Internet of Shit. If I'm going to run a surveillance camera, I'd much rather build a Raspberry Pi-based system than buy a commercial one. I damn well DON'T want my car connected to the internet - if I want internet in the car, my phone will do just fine. When I bought a TV about a year and a half ago, I made sure that the set itself was dumb as a rock [0]; any "smarts" get plugged into HDMI ports.

[0] If I looked for a TV today, I might not even have that option. :(

I imagine programmers, on average, need phones less than other occupations do.

I wear the label proudly. ;-)

When people call me a Luddite, as they invariably do, I tell them (my opinion) that the Luddites weren't anti-technology per se, but concerned about the effect of technology on society.

Now, I do happen to own a cell phone, but mentioning its cost (40 bucks plus 10 bucks a month) is usually sufficient to earn me the Luddite tag.

Have you written about your motivations or experience without a cell phone?

I've been considering getting rid of mine (and a local friend switched to a dumb phone[0]) but RMS is the first person that comes to mind when I think of a programmer without a cell phone.

[0]: http://jordancrane.me/2018/04/16/the-dumbphone-chronicles/

I'm a bit like your friend, and I add one more twist, I have my phone off quite frequently. Not switched to silence, just off. I don't need to be reachable at any time of day or night.

I'm also a programmar without a phone or cell. No TV either. I beat people to the punch & laugh about being a technoluddite. Goes along with my at-home development environment being a linux tty & staying off Facebook. Have a nice century old home. My boss is thinking of buying me a cell. I tend towards a lot of seemingly contradictory behavior: philosophically I'm somewhat of a stoic/hedonist hybrid

I think programmers are more likely to opt out of things like cell phones. More likely to be technically competent enough to be work around challenges of going with simplicity & more likely to want that simplicity. Also more likely to see behind the curtain of this post privacy world

I haven't written about it, but that's a good idea. Thanks!

> Try explaining to people that you’re a programmer who doesn’t own a cell phone, and count the seconds till this term gets raised.

Reporting in! Nobody has ever called me this -- to my face, at least.

Like no cell phone at all? So did you just use a landline? Or did you tell people to email you instead of calling or texting?

I prefer email for things that don't require my immediate attention. Landlines are my preference for home, but the bundling of VOIP has made POTS cost ineffective, and lazy companies are too quick to use SMS for their 2FA now that it's becoming a requirement to have one nearby regularly.

At some point I may end up just moving my data-only phone from my car to my home as part of my commute but 2FA requirements right now are still light enough I would rather suffer the inconvenience of walking back to my car to get the device I use for my radio.

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