Buffy and Cell Phones

J

Joshua

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Did you know that before season 7, Buffy was NEVER seen with a cell phone? "Lessons" was the first time we see her with a cell phone
 
Maybe when Joyce was alive and footing all of the bills, she, for some reason, didn't feel that her daughter should have a phone, then, after she died, Buffy either just never got around to getting one or didn't feel that she really needed one. From a practical sense, just imagine Buffy trying to sneak up on a cluster of demons, trying to hear what their sinister plans were for the next apocalypse, and suddenly Dawn calls her to remind her to pick up a gallon of low fat milk and a box of Oreos on the way home. Or, she's trying to sneak up on that same bunch of demons and the Double Meat Palace calls to tell her that the 3rd shift counter girl has the flu, and she has to come and fill in. Set it on vibrate?No good. Demons probably sense vibrations as asily as they hear sounds.

Or, maybe Joss just never had a reason for Buffy or any of her friends to need a cell phone.
 
She had a pager, lol.

There use to be a thing going around a long time ago that if at any point any of them needed a phone, they just hunted down Cordelia and used hers, lol. She's the only character who was shown to have a cell phone from the very beginning.
 
"If the apocalypse comes tweet me" - Buffy, 2013

ew.

Am I right in saying that in the US mobile phones were almost exclusively a contract thing, where you had to sign up for a contract and had to pay a certain amount a month?

We had a Pay as You Go system were you topped up your phone and could use it till the money ran out, but that never seemed to be a big thing in US shows till a few years ago?
 
Black Eye Guy said:
Am I right in saying that in the US mobile phones were almost exclusively a contract thing, where you had to sign up for a contract and had to pay a certain amount a month?

We had a Pay as You Go system were you topped up your phone and could use it till the money ran out, but that never seemed to be a big thing in US shows till a few years ago?
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I know that a pay as you go system existed in 2006 (had one at the time), but for the most part it's been dominated by contracts. There has been a recent push for non-contract phone deals, but they did exist for small cell phone carriers that no one had ever heard of before, so they probably existed during the time of Buffy.
 
Mischlings said:
I know that a pay as you go system existed in 2006 (had one at the time), but for the most part it's been dominated by contracts. There has been a recent push for non-contract phone deals, but they did exist for small cell phone carriers that no one had ever heard of before, so they probably existed during the time of Buffy.
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Yeah that was the impression I got, that they existed but weren't dominant. Like here, when I started secondary school (Everyone would be about 12/13 - that High School?) in 2000 pretty much everyone got a mobile phone that christmas, very few people had them before that, all on a pay as you go system (I had one in 1999 and it was useless cuz none of my friends had one, this massive orange bring that could literally only I don't think it could text). I'd understand Buffy not having one before that time. Just going off American TV it seems like parents buy their kids contract phones, so it makes sense that not everyone would get one, whereas we had a pay as you go system dominant (for younger people) were it was very easy to control costs.

On Veronica Mars I always wondered what she meant when she kept talking about disposable cell phone, but now I'm guessing she just meant a phone with no contract
 
Black Eye Guy said:
On Veronica Mars I always wondered what she meant when she kept talking about disposable cell phone, but now I'm guessing she just meant a phone with no contract
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Well, there are phones you can buy where you never put your name on it, you just buy cards worth X number of minutes, so essentially it's a non-contract phone.
 
Black Eye Guy
Black Eye Guy
Yeah thats what we call pay as you go phones here
I don't think it's that surprising. I didn't get my first cell phone (and it was actually just a pre-paid phone) until 2006.
 
I think society nowadays is ridiculous. I got my first cell phone when I moved to university and only got it because I wouldn't have a home phone, so it was my only method of communication with the family. My brother got his first cell phone at 23. I got my first laptop also for university because it is a requirement. Now I get to see kids running around with iphones and blackberries, tablet, and macbooks, like dam my phone cost me 100$ (without contract) and your 10yo has a 600$ phone???

Anyway that was just my little rent to say, I'm dam glad cellphones weren't a prevalence in Buffy.
 
Wesley Pryce
Wesley Pryce
[No message]
Interesting, I think Angel had one from season 1 or 2 onward. They made a lot of jokes about how he didn't know how to use it.

Frankly, I like that she didn't have one. They annoy me.
 
touchthesky said:
It is ridiculous seeing 4 year olds with iPhones.
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Tell that to my 6 year old who at 3 knew what to do with my iPhone the minute I got it.

I didn't have a cell phone until 7 years ago. Now I have an iPhone, am addicted, and don't know what I'd do without it. I also have an iPad (for work), a Samsung tablet, a laptop, and a desktop (at home). My oldest son has an iPhone (that he uses as an iPod Touch- no phone or text service, Wifi only). *Shrug* life has changed. Doesn't make it worse.

Seriously though, somebody needs to make me an mP3 file of Groo saying "Angel, your coat is singing". I need that as a ringtone. 😉 I already have Topher saying "Don't pick up the phone. Promise me you won't pick up the phone!"
 
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