A Man Who's Never Owned a Cellphone

Posted3 months agoActive3 months ago

billybuckwheat

19 points

6 comments

rnz.co.nzOtherstory

calmmixed

Debate

20/100

Technology AdoptionCellphone CultureMinimalism

Key topics

Technology Adoption

Cellphone Culture

Minimalism

A man shares his experience of never owning a cellphone, sparking a discussion on the benefits and drawbacks of living without a mobile device in today's society.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Light discussion

First comment

Peak period

2-3h

Avg / period

1.5

Key moments

01Story posted
Oct 1, 2025 at 2:30 PM EDT
3 months ago
Step 01
02First comment
Oct 1, 2025 at 4:14 PM EDT
2h after posting
Step 02
03Peak activity
3 comments in 2-3h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03
04Latest activity
Oct 1, 2025 at 9:35 PM EDT
3 months ago
Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (6 comments)

Showing 6 comments

testing22321

3 months ago

1 reply

I had a dumb phone from 2011-2015. I have not had a phone of any kind since.

I just don’t think it will make my life better.

supportengineer

3 months ago

3 replies

How do you login to anything, like a bank account, or even an email account?

mikestew

3 months ago

Desktop computer? I'm not seeing the disconnect: why do you think a phone is required? OTPs? There are solutions for that.

m463

3 months ago

I think you just answered why I see "call me" (in addition to "text me") for 2-factor login codes. I guess the "call me" dialog can be used to call a home phone.

but yeah, I wonder what kind of other id "factors" they have.

testing22321

3 months ago

Laptop

throwaway81523

3 months ago

I'm pretty sure RMS has never had a cell phone. He also (as of 10 or so years ago) had famously never eaten at McDonalds. He went to some lengths to maintain that. It wasn't really about disliking the food or the company. He said he wanted for there to always be at least one person on Earth who had never eaten there, and the only way to ensure that was to make himself be that person.

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ID: 45441356Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 4:53:34 PM

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