Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for May 09, 2021

That’s why they have block and mute options.

I didn’t know that Rat was a member of the Rotary Club.

Whoever was at the bottom of the cliff is lucky to see a falling cell phone.

Rat. Don’t you miss that contact with humanity?

I haven’t seen that type of phone since my younger years.

But cells phones are different. Instead of having that angry guy, you now have hundreds of angry guys.

good luck texting and using Siri on that old friend of yours, Rat

That old bakelite phone is just up Rat’s alley: You can clobber someone with the handset and knock them right DOWN!

Spam calls are impossible to block on that landline phone but you can ignore obnoxious social media sites and posts.

Rat, well played…as I heard an old timer once say…”your opinion is like your backside, everyone has one but not everyone needs to show it” (now I am the old timer and it is still true…now stay off my lawn!)

Social media is a social disease.

What is that strange thing Rat has on his head in the last frame?

He kinda has a point!

Rat is both a blessing and a curse to this world

lol, nice strip!

If Rat really wants to use that rotary phone, he’ll need a phone cord and a phone jack to plug into.

Finally, something I can get behind the rodent with!

As I keep telling people, you can customize social media to not lot in that toxicity. If you are afraid of being in a bubble, don’t be. Before the internet, people have always hung around people they liked and stayed away from people they don’t. Exposing yourself to their negativity doesn’t help you and you trying to enlighten them doesn’t help them because they are set in the old saying “ignorance is bliss.” Customize, block, and enjoy your circle of friends.

Three cheers for Rat!

My new neighbour who moved in across the street just retired. He left behind the email that he had with his job, never had his own personal computer, never bought a cell phone and I don’t think he even has a TV. If you want to reach him, you have to call his land line or knock on his door.

I am so jealous.

If only we could all do that…

Rat will need a telephone book, as most people may not remember the phone number of who the want to call.

Rat could’ve gotten a flip phone instead

Rat, your other choice is to not dwell on the “unpleasant” social media posts and just scroll past, or possibly not subscribe to social media circles where you might experience such unpleasantries. Same can be said for ignoring mainstream news media no matter which media platform is used. Plus, there is the option of not using social media or internet services at all where “unpleasantries” would be experienced on smartphones, tablets or computers.As to the symbolic gesture of tossing your smartphone off the cliff, you could just not use any social media or internet browsing services, and just relegate the smartphone to telephone duties and maybe even just a few “apps” you actually require on a day-to-day basis. Maybe even “Turn it off” when not needed.

Rat takes a step towards freedom by removing the electronic leash from his pocket .

No reason to toss the phone. Just remove your social media apps. It’s still a great device for solitaire games.

When the power goes off, I don’t have to worry about recharging my land line.

Rat just play games on your phone, or watch YouTube vids of gaming walkthroughs

OH MY GOD!!! Rat MADE SENSE this time around!!!

And since my local cell provider upgraded to 4G, my old 3G Flip Phone doesn’t work any longer. Rather then have to buy a new phone, and then pay a minimum of $40 a month for basic service, guess what? I don’t have a cell phone any longer! And I don’t miss it in the least, since where I live, I don’t even HAVE cell coverage at my house.

Would an old dial phone work if you plugged it into the phone socket?

It all started downhill when rotary was replaced by push buttons.

I would say this is Rat s finest moment

I keep my landline so I don’t have to give out my cell number. I sometimes get 10-20 robocalls a day on my landline (the system blocks them, the phone doesn’t even ring), but rarely do I get one on my cell.

Ha! I really like “the old friend” ! I still have two phones and hate the cell!

How’s he gonna carry that thing or keep it plugged in?

You can use a smartphone as a smartPHONE and not as a toy. That’s a better option than a rotary phone.

My flip phone makes calls and texts, and if you really need it, can tell you where you are located. It folds up so the non-touch screen is protected and fits in any pocket.

Rotary phones were all we had “back in the day.” I admit to dreaming of having some kind of device that would allow me to contact anybody in the world no matter where they were. In my imagination it looked like a pencil.

So… does that thing run on batteries or a 10-mile long extension cord?

I’m surprised Rat hasn’t downgraded to two tin cans & a string! Or maybe Steph is saving that until NEXT Sunday?!?

Rat has never made more sense than he does today.

Perfect, absolutely perfect!

it’s my birthday :)

Sorry Rat. But this is not the solution, it’s just an illusion

Yeah, good luck with that old rotary.

I have a cell phone. It has many capabilities but it is cheap, sluggish and barely utilitarian. Why, you may ask. All I use it for is to make and receive phone calls and the odd text. It has a pay as you go card on it and that keeps it inexpensive. The Bluetooth in the car makes it hands free. It is a phone that keeps me away from social media! I listen to music, not drivel. I listen to Mozart, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Nina Simone…it calms me in a world of Covidiots, right wing loonies and flat earthers.

Do dial phones even work anymore?

In the past no one ever lost their phone.

There is such a thing as spiritual pollution.

Adding to doubts whether we have made progress as a society.

I know this is kind of random, isn’t Timmy Failure a lot like Calvin’s Tracer Bullet?

I have an old landline phone, where you can leave a voice message. No cell phone. I have no need to be available to everyone on a 24/7 basis. I do have the internet, but I limit my time on Facbook. I am very happy that I do not have a cell phone. – And I like to read books made of paper – not reading from some specified “device” with a screen, where you can’t stick a finger in to hold your place and look back to a few pages before to check on something. – I keep being told I’m a dinosaur. I very happy to be a dinosaur of this type!

I find it somewhat ironic that all these people who are so proud of their lack of need to stay socially connected just love to make comments on GoComics.

Every so often, ’Toon Boy hits it dead on.

The guy that used to work on my truck lived behind the Anchor Bar and to contact him I’d call the bar, leave a message and he’d eventually call me back. That’s the kind of phone I want.

Rat could get a cheap flip phone, instead of a “smart” phone (aka pocket computer)

Hello rotary my old friend, I’ve come to talk on you again…

Rat threw away a handheld computer; not simply a “phone”. The term “phone” is a misnomer for these devices, and it deceives those who are so proud of doing without them. Try using your flip phone to research any topic; or log on to servers to play chess or bridge or solitaire; or use GPS to plan a route; or calculate something; etc. etc. You may not like the idea, and I share the feeling, but these devices are (or soon will be ) your doorway to the world. Age does not excuse you (BTW I am in my 80’s) . Ignorance may be bliss, but only for a short time.

That’s why I’ve never understood social media and cell phones that make you a slave to anyone who calls or texts.

Does anybody else wonder when Rat rode the subway? I thought they all lived in suburbia, far from cities with subways.

At college, there was often a guy who was yelling stuff on the diag where most people had to pass by to get to class. I think most of us learned how to tune him out. You may have to hear somebody, but you don’t have to listen to them.

The magic world of no totally discharged batteries, sorry no bars at the worst moment, no humongously egregious first costs, and that cute Princess phone.

Step One: Admit you have a problem.

I was a late adopter; I resisted as getting a mobile phone for as long as I could, an internet-enabled phone longer yet, and I use it as little as possible. I go whole days without looking at my phone, and sometimes weeks without looking at any social media. I do kind of have to sometimes (obligations). But I’d pretty much rather it hadn’t been invented.

I have the local Rotary on speed dial.

That guy isn’t on Rat’s phone. He IS Rat.

i have a landline & i never answer it. leave a message, i’ll call you back.

Social media is what you make it. If it bothers you, you are likely the problem. Cell phones are much more convenient than landlines. Again, they are what you make them. The convenience of internet access where ever you are. Need directions? There. Want to find a store or restaurant? There. It’s okay if you don’t want a cell phone or smart phone, but don’t think you are some how better than those that like them. That is how a lot of the comments here come across.

The old friend the telemarketer

Added this one to my favorites. Rat speaks for me here.

I’ll agree with your sentiment and even with tossing the smartphone, Rat; but you do know that a landline phone has to be connected physically and is not mobile?

My folks still have a land line – and it seems to go off every hour with a robo call, scam or threat about the IRS. I’m considering going back to letters, stamps and mail.