Giving in and not

It's almost always a point of ridicule when the topic of not owning a cell phone comes up with one my friends. Some of my friends insist on not owning a cell (we'll call it that from here on), because they fear that the all-knowing device will betray them when they don't want to be found. Sometimes we all would like to be Thomas Pynchon.

My point to them is that owning a cell has more benefits than drawbacks. I've missed meeting up with a friend a number of times because he or she didn't have a phone (although it could all be intentional). Finally, this week, one of my friends submitted to a mobile company and signed her freedom away to her phone bill. Never again will she be unreachable or left alone from the constant ringing and beeping of a cell phone.

But if she does get tired of answering wrong numbers, she can always turn her cell off, no?

And though I'm in favour of owning a cell, I'm against owning a BlackBerry. There is a difference between being reachable by cell and being reachable by e-mail, or much worse, work e-mail.

One of my co-workers who recently was promoted seems destined to be given a BlackBerry. She hasn't said she wants one, and I've already warned her against asking for one: once you're hooked, you are, in fact, hooked to work every minute of the day. While my friend admits there is prestige in receiving a BlackBerry at our work, she doesn't want to be "on-call" when she goes home.

So, yes, get a cell, but no, stay away from the 'Berrys.