--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you got a cell phone you stopped…" description: "\"When you got a cell phone you stopped making plans. 'I'll call you when I get there.'\" — Clay Shirky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/clay-shirky-3364_cell-phone_when-you-got-a-cell-phone-you-stopped-ma_2676092.png" --- # When you got a cell phone you stopped making plans. 'I'll… ![“When you got a cell phone you stopped making plans. 'I'll call you when I get there.'” quote by Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/clay-shirky-3364_cell-phone_when-you-got-a-cell-phone-you-stopped-ma_2676092.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/clay-shirky-3364_cell-phone_when-you-got-a-cell-phone-you-stopped-ma_2676092.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/clay-shirky-3364_cell-phone_when-you-got-a-cell-phone-you-stopped-ma_2676092.png) > “When you got a cell phone you stopped making plans. 'I'll call you when I get there.'” [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Technology reduces the need for pre‑arranged coordination, making spontaneous contact the norm. **In simple terms:** Phones make spontaneous contact common. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility, but plan when needed. Themes technology communication spontaneity Mood reflective critical Type observational social commentary When to use this quote - travel - social gatherings - remote work - event planning Key Concepts network effects social coordination Questions to Reflect On - How does instant contact affect trust? - When should you still make firm plans? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on instant contact can erode commitment and reliability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cell phone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/) [Cells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cells/) [Got Cell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got-cell-2542193/) [Making Plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-plans/) [Phone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phone/) [Phone Stopped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phone-stopped-2542192/) [Phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phones/) [Plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plans/) [Text](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/text/) ## Related quotes > [I lived in New York for a long time. Right after college I went there. So I got my first cell phone in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-beatriz/i-lived-in-new-york-for-a-long-time-right-after-college-i-went-there/) [Stephanie Beatriz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-beatriz/) > [And believe it or not, she has a phone and everything. She stopped using smoking signals last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/and-believe-it-or-not-she-has-a-phone-and-everything-she-stopped/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [I don't believe in e-mail. I rarely use a cell phone and I don't have a fax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-green/i-don-t-believe-in-e-mail-i-rarely-use-a-cell-phone-and-i-don-t-have/) [Seth Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-green/) > [People have no memory of phone numbers now because of the cell phone - their address book is in a cell phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-bell/people-have-no-memory-of-phone-numbers-now-because-of-the-cell-phone/) [Gordon Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-bell/) > [I don't have a cell phone (though for years I've kept saying, "soon").](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-don-t-have-a-cell-phone-though-for-years-i-ve-kept-saying-soon/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I ain't never been in no cell that had a phone in it. Can I stay for a while? I ordered some pizza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-murphy/i-ain-t-never-been-in-no-cell-that-had-a-phone-in-it-can-i-stay-for-a/) [Eddie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-murphy/) > [I don't text, I don't have a Blackberry. Literally, I just have a cell phone that I haven't programmed and the whole Bluetooth. No.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/i-don-t-text-i-don-t-have-a-blackberry-literally-i-just-have-a-cell/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [My cell phone is my best friend. It's my lifeline to the outside world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/my-cell-phone-is-my-best-friend-it-s-my-lifeline-to-the-outside-world/) [Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/) > [Old is unwanted. You don't find Thais going to the thrift store. They want new clothes. They want the newest cell phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bishop/old-is-unwanted-you-don-t-find-thais-going-to-the-thrift-store-they/) [Alan Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bishop/) > [Cell phones, alas, have pretty much ruined train travel, which I used to love. I could read or even sketch notes for what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mallon/cell-phones-alas-have-pretty-much-ruined-train-travel-which-i-used-to/) [Thomas Mallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mallon/) > [I sort of gave up on this whole human adventure a long time ago, divorced myself from it emotionally. It gives me an artistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-sort-of-gave-up-on-this-whole-human-adventure-a-long-time-ago/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [The increase in chemicals and the increase in technology, like wi-fi and cell phone use that's going through our bodies all of the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-jennings/the-increase-in-chemicals-and-the-increase-in-technology-like-wi-fi/) [Mason Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-jennings/) > [Cell phones are so convenient that they're an inconvenience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/cell-phones-are-so-convenient-that-they-re-an-inconvenience/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I remember one point seeing I had like 60-some different cell phones. I know I only use one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-kosar/i-remember-one-point-seeing-i-had-like-60-some-different-cell-phones/) [Bernie Kosar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-kosar/) > [I like everything with a heaping dose of feminitity, including my cell phone. I created this phone for the classic woman, who like me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimora-lee-simmons/i-like-everything-with-a-heaping-dose-of-feminitity-including-my-cell/) [Kimora Lee Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimora-lee-simmons/) ## More by Clay Shirky > [ “\[N\]ew technology enables new kinds of group-forming.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/n-ew-technology-enables-new-kinds-of-group-forming/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [To have a discussion about the plusses and minuses of various forms of group action, though, is going to require discussing the current tools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/to-have-a-discussion-about-the-plusses-and-minuses-of-various-forms/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Mass amateurization of publishing makes mass amateurization of filtering a forced move.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/mass-amateurization-of-publishing-makes-mass-amateurization-of/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Information sharing produces shared awareness among the participants, and collaborative production relies on shared creation, but collective action creates shared responsibility, by tying the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/information-sharing-produces-shared-awareness-among-the-participants/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [More interesting than thinking about what's possible in 10 years is thinking what's possible now but that no one has built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/more-interesting-than-thinking-about-what-s-possible-in-10-years-is/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Digital networks are increasing the fluidity of all media. The old choice between one-way public media (like books and movies) and two-way private media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/digital-networks-are-increasing-the-fluidity-of-all-media-the-old/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Even with the sacred printing press, we got erotic novels 150 years before we got scientific journals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/even-with-the-sacred-printing-press-we-got-erotic-novels-150-years/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Tools get socially interesting after they're no longer technologically interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/tools-get-socially-interesting-after-they-re-no-longer/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Carpooling is important for urban density, air pollution and other reasons, but carpooling is not the kind of thing that actually changes the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/carpooling-is-important-for-urban-density-air-pollution-and-other/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [If what you're doing is valuable for people, they will find a way to pay you to keep doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/if-what-you-re-doing-is-valuable-for-people-they-will-find-a-way-to/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Multi-taskers often think they are like gym rats, bulking up their ability to juggle tasks, when in fact they are like alcoholics, degrading their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/multi-taskers-often-think-they-are-like-gym-rats-bulking-up-their/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Civic participants don't aim to make life better merely for members of the group. They want to improve even the lives of people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/civic-participants-don-t-aim-to-make-life-better-merely-for-members/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [I would not hesitate to say I was addicted to the Internet in the first two years. It can be addictive, and things not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/i-would-not-hesitate-to-say-i-was-addicted-to-the-internet-in-the/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Bureaucracies temporarily suspend the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In a bureaucracy, it's easier to make a process more complex than to make it simpler,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/bureaucracies-temporarily-suspend-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics-in/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [The more ideas there are in circulation, the more ideas there are for any individual to disagree with. More media always means more arguing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/the-more-ideas-there-are-in-circulation-the-more-ideas-there-are-for/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) [Explore all 132 Clay Shirky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) ## More Cell phone quotes > [“What you’re holding in your hands is a BookShots Flames story. It’s part of a revolution in reading. Hand-picked by James Patterson, BookShots Flames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ciotta/what-you-re-holding-in-your-hands-is-a-bookshots-flames-story-it-s/) [Beth Ciotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ciotta/) > [“Kindle Paperwhite 3G models use the same technology as cell phones, so they are dependent on cellular coverage areas. By default, a 3G device…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amazon/kindle-paperwhite-3g-models-use-the-same-technology-as-cell-phones-so/) [amazon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amazon/) > [“I’m not sure how the ponies happened, though I have an inkling: “Can I get you anything?” I’ll say, getting up from a dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-m-not-sure-how-the-ponies-happened-though-i-have-an-inkling-can-i/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [I like everything with a heaping dose of feminitity, including my cell phone. I created this phone for the classic woman, who like me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimora-lee-simmons/i-like-everything-with-a-heaping-dose-of-feminitity-including-my-cell/) [Kimora Lee Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimora-lee-simmons/) > [“People were sitting together, talking and telling stories face-to-face again, instead of staring at a cell phone screens while texting or chatting with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-foster/people-were-sitting-together-talking-and-telling-stories-face-to-face/) [Mike Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-foster/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Another night then,' Mom said. 'Maybe on the weekend we can have a barbecue and invite your sister.' 'Or,' I said turning to Rafe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/another-night-then-mom-said-maybe-on-the-weekend-we-can-have-a/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [Girls are like cell phones they love to be held and talked to but whewn you press the wrong buttons you will be disconnected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/superman/girls-are-like-cell-phones-they-love-to-be-held-and-talked-to-but/) [Superman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/superman/) > [Sometimes life really sucks. Then I see your name pop up on my cell phone and I cant help but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-life-really-sucks-then-i-see-your-name-pop-up-on-my-cell/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember one point seeing I had like 60-some different cell phones. I know I only use one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-kosar/i-remember-one-point-seeing-i-had-like-60-some-different-cell-phones/) [Bernie Kosar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-kosar/) > [Cell phones are so convenient that they're an inconvenience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/cell-phones-are-so-convenient-that-they-re-an-inconvenience/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The history of the sexual vanguard in America was a long list of people who had been ridiculed, imprisoned, or subjected to violence. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-witt/the-history-of-the-sexual-vanguard-in-america-was-a-long-list-of/) [Emily Witt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-witt/) > [The increase in chemicals and the increase in technology, like wi-fi and cell phone use that's going through our bodies all of the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-jennings/the-increase-in-chemicals-and-the-increase-in-technology-like-wi-fi/) [Mason Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-jennings/) > [But I'm acutely aware that the possibility of fraud is even more prevalent in today's world because of the Internet and cell phones and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armistead-maupin/but-i-m-acutely-aware-that-the-possibility-of-fraud-is-even-more/) [Armistead Maupin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armistead-maupin/) > [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) [Browse all 982 Cell phone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you got a cell phone you stopped making plans. 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