How the smartphone killed the three day weekend

Seeing as bloggers tend to be a little more tech-savvy than our counterparts, I wonder how many of us on our forum are affected by technology during our supposed time off.

I know my family is affected. Hubby's work keeps him plugged in pretty much 24/7. Now that I'm helping him full-time, I see how much this has affected his life. There's no time clock to punch, no feeling of "Hey, I'm off until tomorrow!"

Don't misunderstand me! I am loving this life style. The freedom it provides, despite the 24/7 hookup, is well worth the hassle. The people I really worry about are those who, like me before I retired, are tied to a time clock yet still take on unpaid duties, as this story addresses. I had to be an hour away from my work place at all times in case I needed to return or respond, yet I was never paid for call time. There are those from my prior workplace who are being contacted while they are on vacation and asked to either come in or respond. And all because of technology.....remember the days when taking a vacation meant being away from the landline?

http://redtape.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/24/18463775-how-the-smartphone-killed-the-three-day-weekend?lite

Melissa B wrote:

Seeing as bloggers tend to be a little more tech-savvy than our counterparts, I wonder how many of us on our forum are affected by technology during our supposed time off.

I know my family is affected. Hubby's work keeps him plugged in pretty much 24/7. Now that I'm helping him full-time, I see how much this has affected his life. There's no time clock to punch, no feeling of "Hey, I'm off until tomorrow!"

Don't misunderstand me! I am loving this life style. The freedom it provides, despite the 24/7 hookup, is well worth the hassle. The people I really worry about are those who, like me before I retired, are tied to a time clock yet still take on unpaid duties, as this story addresses. I had to be an hour away from my work place at all times in case I needed to return or respond, yet I was never paid for call time. There are those from my prior workplace who are being contacted while they are on vacation and asked to either come in or respond. And all because of technology.....remember the days when taking a vacation meant being away from the landline?

http://redtape.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/24/18463775-how-the-smartphone-killed-the-three-day-weekend?lite

The very reason I do not own a cell phone of any type. Don't need one, don't have one and ain't gonna get one.

I love my Galaxy Note II "phablet", which is a big-ass phone... almost a tablet, with a stylus and such. But I'm retired and rarely get a call that puts me in the "work" mode. (I still dabble with mapping, web pages and graphics.)

I'm seriously considering getting rid of my land line altogether. I have been on the Do-Not-Call Registry for years and still get half a dozen telemarketer calls per day. I get probably 10 calls from telemarketers for every legitimate call.

Eric wrote:

I love my Galaxy Note II "phablet", which is a big-ass phone... almost a tablet, with a stylus and such. But I'm retired and rarely get a call that puts me in the "work" mode. (I still dabble with mapping, web pages and graphics.)

I'm seriously considering getting rid of my land line altogether. I have been on the Do-Not-Call Registry for years and still get half a dozen telemarketer calls per day. I get probably 10 calls from telemarketers for every legitimate call.

Eric, have you reported the telemarketers to the FTC? If you number is on the DNC, most telemarketers are banking on the called party no reporting them. You can file a complaint on the website. If they are reported and found not to be in compliance the fines they have to pay are pretty substantial.

https://complaints.donotcall.gov/Mobile/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx

Here is the link to report a call.

Many times, the caller ID just says "Toll-Free Caller" or "Private Caller". No originating number is shown.

I haven't made a complaint yet, but probably will. Sometimes I'll answer and give the caller a profane string of expletives after telling them I'm on the Do Not Call Registry.

It doesn't do any real good, but I feel better after having ranted at the bastards.

Technology can make you a slave. I have a cell phone but I usually don't use it unless I am going to be away from home for more than a day. And I do not give businesses or non-close friends/relatives my cell phone number. I think it's awful that people can't go out to dinner anymore without their damn cell phones ringing or them constantly texting people. I don't want to talk on the phone when I'm having dinner. I don't want to be called. I really don't want to be bothered at all on my cell phone, unless it's important. My husband only very recently got a cell phone (he HATES them!) because he is recently on the road a lot.

nekochan wrote:

Technology can make you a slave. I have a cell phone but I usually don't use it unless I am going to be away from home for more than a day. And I do not give businesses or non-close friends/relatives my cell phone number. I think it's awful that people can't go out to dinner anymore without their damn cell phones ringing or them constantly texting people. I don't want to talk on the phone when I'm having dinner. I don't want to be called. I really don't want to be bothered at all on my cell phone, unless it's important. My husband only very recently got a cell phone (he HATES them!) because he is recently on the road a lot.

Agreed Neko. I have one only because I had a flat tire on the beach one day around 5 am! They can serve a purpose, but no, I don't give the number to anyone but my Daughters.

Happiness is NOT having the phone ring!!

Not giving out your cell numbers is really worthless. Most telemarketers now use random number robo-dialers and are not even on the line until you pick up. They have no idea who they are calling, just trying to get someone on the line so they can try and sell you something.

I have Caller ID on my home phone which displays on my TV screen. If the caller has no name associated with the number or it is listed as Out Of Area or even in it has a name associated with it, if I do not know the person I just do not answer the phone. I figure if it is important enough they will leave a message, but I would venture to say that 99.9% of the callers do not leave a message.

I very, very rarely get calls on my cell phone from unwanted or unknown numbers. I am not sure why, because we get them on our home phone line. I do the same though...I do not answer unless I recognize the number and/or name. And they rarely leave messages although sometimes they leave a stupid recorded message.

Ghost_Rider1949 wrote:

Not giving out your cell numbers is really worthless. Most telemarketers now use random number robo-dialers and are not even on the line until you pick up. They have no idea who they are calling, just trying to get someone on the line so they can try and sell you something.

I have Caller ID on my home phone which displays on my TV screen. If the caller has no name associated with the number or it is listed as Out Of Area or even in it has a name associated with it, if I do not know the person I just do not answer the phone. I figure if it is important enough they will leave a message, but I would venture to say that 99.9% of the callers do not leave a message.

Agreed!