Do You Judge People On Their Cell Phones?
Rich Davis brought up an interesting point today. He was talking to someone who wanted to possibly do some business with him, and when he pulled out his cell phone to get Rich’s number it was some old flip phone from a few years ago. Instantaneously, Rich no longer took him seriously.
These days your cell phone almost defines the type of person you are. You would think that a business person would almost always carry around a Blackberry, or a technically comparable phone. You could put the iPhone and the new Android phones in the same category, but they also have a bit more cool factor.
Rich lumped people people who don’t have a cell phone that should be commonplace today (iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Palm Pre, ect) into two categories. They either can’t afford it, which he is not ragging on clearly, or they just aren’t tech savvy and out of the loop. We don’t necessarily think judging someone on their phone is right, but we are pointing out that it is something that happens more so now.
How do you judge people when you see their cell phones? How do you react differently when you see someone pull out an old school flip phone, versus a new smart phone?
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20 comments
I actually heard you talking about this as I was driving around looking for a cell phone for my fiancé. He’s looking for a plain flip phone; nothing added (not even a camera). Why? Because he’s had a touch screen for 2 years and it’s garbage! He’s the type of person who runs his phones over with the truck or drops it in a puddle of water, and then it doesn’t work anymore. So, instead of paying hundreds of dollars every year for a new phone because he’s clumsy, he’s now only getting a cheep phone. So Rich, what category would he be in?
I don’t judge people based on what kinda phone they have. Some people just don’t want a smartphone or they like the phone they have now and it just happens that they’ve had that phone for a couple years.
A person with a “basic” phone tells me that they like to do business and personal contact via voice, and not text or email. That can be a good quality. However, I know some people who have a basic phone like that and it doesn’t work very well (either it’s broken and the person is cheap, or the phone is just SOO outdated, AND the person is cheap). So no matter what KIND of phone you have, it better work properly, if it doesn’t, then I won’t take you seriously.
Well if yuo judge their phone then you probable judge their cloths, hair and body shape. So your just an idiot ! I have a flip phone thats ugly as hell but for my job it works better than an of those over priced pieces of shit cheap phones you talk about. Do buisness with the person because the know the tradenot the phone .
In general, I am pretty tech-savvy and therefore feel the need to have the most up-to-date phone within reason, I don’t just replace them every few months. My Canadian carrier offers me a free upgrade every 18 months, and that’s pretty much when I upgrade to the newest and latest thing.
As for judging people what kind of phone they have… yes, I definitely think it speaks volumes about the type of person they are… I couldn’t care less what else they have though, clothes, etc. I’m not one to judge, I wear sweatpants and band t-shirts every day of my life (literally).
But a phone indicates on a pretty reasonable level how willing you are to keep up with today’s standards. Our entire world is essentially dictated by the pace of technology, and if your belongings aren’t compatible with other people in your life and/or what other people in your life are doing, then you will be left behind. For example, it’s hard to video conference/skype with an outdated laptop/desktop that has no video camera! Even the latest $300 netbooks have one.
At school, I can pretty much identify who is in my group of friends and who isn’t (as obnoxious as it may be/seem) by who has a blackberry and who doesn’t. We don’t all fall within a particular subset of the population (socioeconomically), it’s just that blackberry messenger is our primary form of communication and without a blackberry – it’s impossible!
I bought my phone three years ago, it works perfect for what it does; sending and receiving calls, generally, it even works better than most people’s multi fuction phones of today. and I even have text and email disabled on my phone!
I won’t replace my three year old phone until it fails to perform a good job as a phone; to me, its more of a sign of efficiency. Would you rather do business with someone who wastes money on gadgets they don’t really need for their job? Or would you prefer to do business with someone who is keen with money and knows where to put it?
Technology advances, but people need to learn where to adapt and where to draw the line.
But, yes, you can judge people by their phone; you can always spot the sheep by the trends they follow.
When you get your phone repaired, the repair shop will give you a cheap phone as a temporary replacement. Maybe that wasn’t his phone. Maybe he was using an old one until his phone got fixed. Maybe it was a loaner phone. Maybe you just passed up on the best business deal ever. Maybe he thought you weren’t cool enough to put in his iPhone. Who knows.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Don’t judge a person by their phone. You never know!!
I heard your conversation this morning about judging people by their phones. Well I would love for my husband to have a blackberry (mainly so he wont use mine all of the time) but he works on a ranch so there is no sense in him getting a nice phone whenever the first week he has it it breaks. He would like to have one but it just doesnt fit with his job. So no I dont think you can totally judge people by their phones. By the way thanks for giving me good laughs EVERY morning! You guys are great!!
A phone is just a phone, why should you judge someone because of what phone they have. The world has become such a materialistic place and its a shame..
The thing that Rich is failing to consider is that people have different spending priorities. HE may be into spending money on electronics, but that doesn’t other people are. My husband and I make great money but refuse to throw it away on a new cell phone if our current ones are working fine. We prefer to spend our money going to Europe every year to see and experience the world rather than fill our life with meaningless stuff. At the end of my life I’m not going to care that I had the newest cell phone but I will value the experiences I had with the people I love.
Low self esteem equals the need to look important. Must be a New York thing. Fools your all a bunch of fools if you think a phone determines your status in life. Come back to reality people.
Ok, I already sent a message about this earlier today, but now I gotta comment again. The first message noted why I don’t have a smart phone despite the fact that I’m a techie. I don’t use the phone enough to warrant an expensive plan and I don’t want to be so connected to the world every second of the day. So it isn’t because I’m behind the times, I know all about how awesome the phones are, I just don’t want one. And it isn’t because I can’t afford it. I can, but I’d be wasting my money because I’d only use about 15% of what I paid for.
Moving on … I would like to turn the tables and judge those with the smart phones. I think a lot of people have them that shouldn’t. I’m talking about people on power trips who think they are more important than they actually are. I’m talking about the people who have the phone attached to their hip every minute of the day and they aren’t doctors on call. Some people really overdo it. These are the “crackberry” addicts.
Everybody judges though. As human beings, it is almost automatic for us to judge. However, we also have the ability to look beyond our initial judgments, knowing we could be wrong, and actually look deeper. That is the key. You can make a judgment about someone based on their phone or how they look, it is natural, just don’t act on that alone. Actually get to know someone so you can verify your suspicions. You may be surprised how often you are wrong.
I don’t judge a person by JUST their phone but it goes with it by the way they look, talk, dress or so forth then I can understand. I have an iPhone but don’t expect me to be business like or so. I just have one because I’m pretty up to date on technology.
The only time I judge someone by their phone is when they pull out their iPhone. Silly people. Enjoy your paperweight. I’ll stick to phones that run on networks that actually work. Welcome to the new category, happy to throw money at useless technology!
I think its understandable to judge depending on the situation. Obviously, some people are not going to use a smart phone based on their career in life (ranch workers, farmers, mechanics etc). But in the business world, its more expected and common place. I would have been the same as Rich. If you want to do business with me, and you’re rockin’ an older phone, how do I know you are going to be available when I need you to review an email I sent you, or to review and edit a document I forwarded you that need to get done etc. Now, keep in mind, there are very capable business people who just dont have the technology gene. I sell phones, and I have dealt with older business clients who feel the pressure to use the newer advanced phones, that fall flat on their face with understanding it. They get frustrated and lose important time from their business work spent trying to learn how to use the stupid phone! It’s a fine line..
I never a judge a person by thier phone. I had a Palm Smartphone and hated it! I just got a simple phone. I told my husband, all I need is a full keyboard to text, and a camera because you never know what a kid will do, I may want to capture that minute. Other than that, I don’t need all the apps, and crap. husband has an iPhone and I don’t like it. I hate the touch screen. Had one, hated it. Who cares about what kind of phones that people have. I’d rather judge them on thier character.
I don’t judge cuz I have a shitty phone,but I’m waiting 4 my upgrade in June, so I get phone free…an android…HTC Moment, I already checked it out, Rich STOP assuming & judgeing…:)
i dont really beause i am only in the 8th grade so ya lol
I just wanted to comment on this issue because I feel that it is wrong to judge someone based solely on what kind of cell phone that own. Do you realize that there are organizations that collect old used phones to be recycled for our troops, for the elderly and for people in abusive situations. So before you start judging someone based on their cell phone stop and think!! If you were judged solely on the things you say, everyone in this country would think you were an asshole!!! So please for your own sake stop judging people on superficial things because if you don’t stop it will come to bite you. Karma’a a Bitch, baby!!!!!
I think judging someone by their phone is shallow. You say they are not tech savvy, broke, or that their business is not thriving. You say you wouldn’t hire someone if they pulled out a flip phone during a business interview. Well, here is what I say….if they pulled out a phone at all during an interview I would not hire them. If they can’t even make it through the interview without their phone what are they going to be doing during work? After all, where I work we have a strict no phone policy. Would you want a nurse who is on their cell phone all day or one that is actually taking care of you? Tech savvy…..I have a prepaid flip phone. I am currently writing an EMR (Electronic Medical Records) system for the hospital I work for….guess that is pretty un-tech savvy! Face book, E-mail….I do it on my home computer. I can survive without being connected to a computer at all times. I pay my bills, I am not broke, just economically savvy. Did I mention I also grow my own food? Fruit, veggies, and protein. My kids are going to grow up with a good sense of money management, they will not covet their neighbor’s possessions, and not superficially judge people. I say GROW UP!
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