Pete,
How long have you had that burner phone?
When the phones get outdated they are unsupported in all sorts of ways.
The memory gets faults just by aging. The battery uncharged? Or too old?
Murphy’s law your car breaks down in a place with no reception. You hoof it.
After some checking, it appears to be about 3 or 4 years old. Based on the model number, it is supposed to use 4G (LTE) technology.
As I wrote in the previous post, I charge it up every few weeks, after making sure it starts up properly and I can still make calls. I can also send a text to the carrier, and they text back with my remaining minutes and end date for the pre-paid plan.
I’ll probably buy a new one in a few years, but I think I will need to buy a new desktop computer first.
I’d argue cell phones are absolutely essential now — not just for communication, but also for banking, health services, and even job applications. The real question is how to define “essential” in an age where digital access equals opportunity. From an investment angle, this makes mobile infrastructure and handset makers pretty resilient across economic cycles.
Why is a cell phone essential for health services?
DB2
I use the calendar in my iPhone for doctor appointments. It also provides directions to the doctor’s office plus a 24 hour ahead of time alert. Just in case this fails I also have the doctors appointment in my reminders and on my Franklin planner along with the doc’s reminder card. Old school belt & suspenders type.
Oh, yea, and least we forget my iPhone also reminds me when the doctor’s bill is due.
Regards,
ImAGolfer
All nice, but certainly not essential for health services.
DB2
Yea, I guess I could try to get the guy to come to my house and do his thing.
Calling 911, n caregiver or other responsible party, etc.
There’re apps that detect falls.
I guess “essential” needs to be defined.
ralph
That would be some concierge service.
However, I suspect I could get to my doctor’s office (and on-time) without a cell phone. I vaguely remember doing that for decades, but my memory isn’t what it used to be…
DB2
Health insurers are moving to electronic insurance cards rather than physical cards. You have to get the insurance co app on your phone to get access to your insurance card. Sure, you can also go to their web site to download or print a paper copy. But either way requires internet access.
Medical practices everywhere have moved to Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Patients are often given access to their EMR via a phone app or web site. There are multiple EMR providers, so you might need to access your records on one system to provide them to a Dr on a different system.
That’s just a couple of things I can think of quickly. I’m sure there are a few more that I haven’t thought of.
—Peter
Sure, but the internet is different than a mobile phone. In general, the only “new and different” thing about mobile phones is texting, which hardly seems essential to health care.
DB2
My point was that a cell phone itself, in terms of calling or texting, may not be essential for health care, but access to information, including your proof of insurance and medical records among others, is becoming essential for health care. And that information often requires access to the internet.
But let me ask which is easier and more cost effective - internet available only at your home, or internet that is with you all of the time in your pocket or purse?
–Peter
It’s no contest, but of course that is not the question asked in the thread title.
DB2
But in essence, it is the answer to the question.
Up thread, you suggested that the only real breakthrough in cell phones is texting. But I think that is incomplete. And the question in the thread title is worded ever so slightly incorrectly.
To address both of those, I’d answer that cell phones are not essential, but smart phones are. Smart phones provide internet access with you all of the time. And that internet access is what is quickly becoming essential to not only medical services, but much of life.
Brief little diversion. My church does some outreach to the homeless in our community. One of the things we do is provide access to showers (along with food, water, and basic toiletries) on the church property. That access time is at the same time I go to our weekly band rehearsals. So I often say hi to the people who are hanging around, waiting for their turn. One of the other things we provide is electricity. There are only a couple of outdoor outlets, but the folks running the ministry put power strips in and let people charge up their devices - mostly phones.
Without a smart phone, these people would have a harder time accessing public services. Social workers are there, too, and they check in with people via cell phone if they miss the shower.
So yes, smart phones have become essential for much of modern life - even for those living in their car or on the streets.
–Peter
Computers create huge productivity gains for me. The cell phone is just as much of a gain.
My iPad linked to my cellphone is my total complete highly portable office. With my failing eyesight I need a big screen.
Did you ever have your cataract surgery?
DB2
No, because the eye doctor discovered my problem was NOT cataracts (remakably clear he said) but rather macular wrinkling, aka macular pucker. I can still drive safely, but my enjoyment of visual art is made difficult, and reading is no longer high speed and easy.
Sigh. As Grandma warned me long long ago “Old age is hell, but better than being dead…”
I had a vitrectomy back in 2019. It helped a lot.
Related story. A friend of mine had a vitrectomy on his right eye back in the '90s. Several years later he was going to see his new doctor as his previous one had retired. He asked for a copy of his medical records and noticed that they showed he had had a “vasectomy, right side”. His doctor chuckled and said, “Well, are you sure? They did put you out, didn’t they?”
DB2
Mom had her pucker operated on but by an older doctor. Big mistake. He screwed up.
