But ask me about legalized weed ;]
If you don’t find value in smartphones I can respect that
You’d have to pry my own from my cold, dead hands. I have a map of the entire world (mostly) in my pocket! That in itself I find invaluable. I use Google Maps all the time. To find places and to navigate to them. On foot, public transit, and car. Here and in other countries.
Sure, I used to manage before Maps was a thing but do I ever want to go back? Nope.
That is one killer feature for me
And yeah I definitely see how life changed for the worse because of them. I actively moderate my own behavior.
Sure, I used to manage before Maps was a thing
Remember keeping a stack of bus route maps in your bag? Ha ha ha, dumb times.
Printing out the MapQuest directions. Keeping the Thomas Guide in your car.
Suddenly, printing stuff has declined in popularity when you could just have all the data with you in your phone. Don’t even have to be stored locally when you can access the cloud instead.
I’m not going back that’s for sure. I do feel kinda of dragged along though, I didn’t have a cell phone until my early 20s and only became a full adopter when smart phones were ubiquitous. I just can imagine a life that would be just as fulfilling without the existence of the “smart” phone, or more so.
I hear ya. I too was a late cell and smart- phone adopter.
If I couldn’t use them anymore I would be annoyed at first. But I would adjust and yes, would certainly lead a fulfilling life regardless.
I myself am in between both extremes. Here are some ways I remain old school even though I’ve bought into the smartphone era:
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I remain in a real sense anti-app and keep them to a minimum on my phone. I keep their permissions as locked down as I can and I review every update pretty extensively. It’s ridiculous how everyone and their brother wants me to install their app. No thank you. I’m quite content getting up to adjust the thermostat and don’t need a fully automated smart home.
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If I’m socializing with someone they get my full attention. If I need to look something up, respond to a text, etc I excuse myself.
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When I’m out and about I’m present in my environment. “Smartphone zombie” behavior is foreign to me.
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I take full advantage of the digital well being and bedtime features of my phone. I set timers for my addicting apps.
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Oh, when I do drive I am hands off with my phone. If I really do need to use it then I pull over.
Etc
Sometimes u just wonder if we, as a people, will set down the phone and say, “that was interesting.” And kinda move on. Not like throwing them away but maybe just realizing, this isn’t everything.
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You mean portable GPS devices that have been around for a decade before smart phones?
Do portable GPS also have a list of every single business near my location?
I was content and managed just fine with paper maps and directions before smartphones. When I got my first one it rendered those devices obsolete for me.
I had those. They were much worse.
Seriously. Much much worse.
First you had to pay a fortune for a device, with which you may or may not get very limited map updates. Then after that you had to pay quite a bit to update. Even then it could take a year for permanent road changes to make it to the map updates, and temporary changes were never shown. Road construction, wrecks, and temporary closures were your problem. And God forbid your route took you through a closed area because there was no way to route around it. You had to find a place to park so you could look over the tiny little map to figure out your own way around the blockage, or else you could pick a direction and then yolo your route until you were far enough away from the problem area that the gps would finally choose a route that didn’t go through the problem area.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For instance, all the above assumes that it accepted the address you were going to as a valid address. There was nothing like the joy of typing in an address and having the device tell you that it doesn’t exist.I rented a car at some point where you had to input the address letter by letter using a little scrollwheel kinda thing.
Smartphones have issues, but the map thing is a killer feature in itself.
Holy sweet baby Jesus! You need to put a trigger warning on your post. The traumatic memories that you brought to the surface are enough to send me back to therapy all over again.
Yeah you’re full of shit dude. You’re telling me you’ve never used the GPS on your phone at the VERY least? Even for walking in the city or something?
yeah, shit post.
To be totally fair, with my older phone the GPS never worked properly (it was very cheap), so I’d usually look up the directions to a place beforehand and text them to myself for use later. Did get lost a lot but you can usually just ask somebody where to go
Well, it’s a whole lot easier to get from point A to point B than it used to be.
And I can instantly find out what that actor’s name is or what song I’m currently hearing.
But yeah, they’re also pretty goddamn annoying at times.
All I want to say is, knowing an actors name or a song name isn’t really meaningful change. I guess if I really liked a song and listened non stop.
I like podcasts and I like apple music. The thing is, these both predate smart phones. Hence "pod"cast. Who knows though if they would have gotten as popular if everyone didn’t have easy access as they do today.
For me, it was notes, calculations, and having access to the necessary information for making the two.
I might be sitting on the train, looking out the window, zoning out, and suddenly I start thinking about the melting point of tungsten. I begin to wonder how much power an arc furnace would draw while melting tungsten, and could you keep one running with just solar power. How many panels would you need at this location? I have so many questions, and most of them involve calculations.
You can imagine how glad I am that I don’t need to carry a calculator and a bunch of books with me.
Smartphones have saved my ass.
I’m really bad at remembering things, and when something pops in my head, it needs to be dealt with immediately, or it’ll be lost forever. Credit cards due tomorrow? Open app, and done. Oh shit. My credit card IS due tomorrow. Gotta go!
I probably could do better time management. Remember those daily organizers, lol?
Gps without having to buy an expensive in-car GPS unit.
Gps that automatically updates maps.
GPS that updates routes based on traffic\Route planning including public transit
Especially when you’re not sure what your departure time will be
That accounts for temporary route changes
That automatically updates permanent route changesYou’ve obviously never had to read a shampoo bottle to keep you entertained while taking a dump before.
Look, are there downsides? Absolutely.
But, just thinking about the few days for Christmas:
Buddy and I were out and making plans to swim. Using our phones we found out what time the pool was open, then found out whether there was bbq nearby. We then added this to our calendars. All at thr same time without having to go home, look it up, coordinate then write it down.
The next day, I got groceries. I used my grocery app which also contains a couple hundred recipes I’ve collected. The grocery store had a great deal on something I hadn’t expected so I pivoted, used my phone to look through my recipes, found an appropriate one and adjusted.
Later, running errands on my bike and finished a bit early. On a whim, I checked to see if a movie I wanted to catch was anywhere near. It was but not in an area I bike often. Booked my tickets on the phone, navigated there and streamed music to listen to as I rode.
Heck, when I visited for Christmas, a friend sent a message warning the ferries to come home were getting cancelled. I checked while we were out at dinner, found the last ferry was still running and had space so was able to make it home instead of getting stranded.
Outside of this week, I’ve dated a bunch of girls whom I’d have never met were it not for “the apps.” Say what you will, it expands the network of dateable folks well outside your own social networks.
In summary: streaming music everywhere, all sorts of apps making things easier (in this case, recipes etc) navigation, making plans on the fly, dating all sorts of folks, booking things without having to find a computer and way more.
The ‘smart’ is the only part of my phone I like.
the good:
- wife can see when I’m running late because I chose to share GPS location
- I have maps
- I have zello
- I have messaging and asynchronous comms is so great
- I have email
- I have web so I can see my monitoring green-light
The bad:
- it would ring, if it wasn’t set up as a tablet
- if i installed IG or FB or Twitter, I’d have those, which are apparently toxic
So, yeah.
Twitter isn’t toxic. Twitter doesn’t exist. Twitter was very left leaning.
X is toxic.
I’ve not heard IG is toxic. I’ve only heard it’s the place to see braindead bimbos in bikinis.
FB is more 1984 than toxic. It steals all your personal info. Even if you’ve never signed up at all.
Got a mom who uses FB? Well she put your phone number in.
Sucks to be you, bro, but that’s not a universal experience.
I grew up when cell phones weren’t common, then flip phones were the thing. I didn’t get my first smartphone until I was already out of high school. My life was improved immensely. Not just the connection that allows me multiple vectors of communication to the people who matter to me, and the ability to plausibly ignore communications from those who don’t, but the absolute plethora of utilities now at my fingertips.
Do you even know how to balance a checkbook? Have you ever had to do it? In less than a minute I can see not only my bank balance, but all transactions going back months.
My teachers all told me I wouldn’t have a calculator with me all the time. Turns out that was not to be.
If I need to know something, anything, ever, I have a device on my person that allows me immediate access to the sum total of human knowledge. Whether it’s a question of what time the hardware store opens, how to fix a cracked pipe, or what rocket fuel the Saturn V used, the information is right at my fingertips.
I don’t ever have to be lost again. First time in a city? I can get directions to anywhere, from anywhere, any time I want.
I even have a freakin flashlight at all times.
Yeah, it sucks that some people get stuck in a narcissistic spiral on facebook or obsessively doomscroll to the detriment of their own health, but that’s not the smartphone’s fault any more than it is just the invention of electricity’s fault.
Does it suck? To not be reliant on something like a “smart” phone?
I don’t think it sucks for you to not be reliant on it, but it also seems like you don’t know how to use it for your advantage.
Never install social media on it and go figure out what it can do for you.
Please, let me know what else I can do to get more value from my smart phone. I’m open to it.
Fair enough. My life would be quite a bit worse without it personally. Nobody is forcing you to have one though, if it’s genuinely not doing it for you you can always get a dumb phone.
Hey, to each their own.
Do you never leave your house?
I wish
There are a lot of good things that a smartphone provides that has made my life better.
Weather they apply to you I don’t know.
Here are some great features of my smartphone that had improved my life.
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GPS navigation - being able to quickly and easily find your way is amazing. Though I will never have my GPS running with sound, I use it to have a map up when driving where I can glance to see the general idea of the way to my destination, this sometimes mean I miss a turn, but it’s fine the system quickly calculates the route again and I don’t get yelled at to follow directions when it might be impossible, reducing stress.
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Smart lighting, my phone can turn on my lights at home before I get home making me able to open my front door into a cozy lit up home rather than a black void.
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Translation on the go, being able to get translations of just about anything you need at any point is amazing, sure the translations are not perfect, but they are good enough.
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Entertainment is probably to biggest win for me, being able watch a movie, listen to music, read a book where ever you are on a small device you have with you is truly amazing.
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At first they were really cool and seemingly had unlimited potential with a wild and unknown future as numerous brands competed intensely with their own take on the formula.
These days, they are ultra expensive glass rectangles that exist to serve you endless ads and harvest every piece of info about every facet of your life. You also have to pay enormous subscription fees to get half the functionality they used to have. I just got an iPhone on a deep discount from my carrier and I stopped giving a shit about phone tech. Processor speed, camera specs, “AI”, whatever. It’s all trash to me now and the technology doesn’t excite me in the slightest. Carriers and manufacturers have choked all the life and enjoyment out of smart phones.
I love how they are very robust and can handle just about any video game I’ve played in the last 30 years except the smart phone gaming industry is completely cooked and when titles do get released for mobile you have to wade through an ocean of shit to find them.
These days, they are ultra expensive glass rectangles that exist to serve you endless ads and harvest every piece of info about every facet of your life.
It sounds like you need to delete some apps.
I barely use any these days.
You’d have paid more for basic services like insurance as you couldn’t compare the market. You’d have to trust that clever guy in the pub since you couldn’t Google anything. You’d get lost driving to a new place and have to ask for directions, of course getting the village idiot.
I desperately hate how my I’m addicted to my phone and I’m praying that when the next generation of Garmin watches come out it will be able to talk to ChatGPT and make phone calls from it, so I could ditch my iPhone forever!
You’d have paid more for basic services like insurance as you couldn’t compare the market.
Computers are a thing. My wife does all that stuff anyway.
You’d have to trust that clever guy in the pub since you couldn’t Google anything.
Striking up a conversation with a stranger a bar sounds like fun, even if they were trying to take the piss out of me. Most people are just hovering over their phones when they go out, theses days.
You’d get lost driving to a new place and have to ask for directions, of course getting the village idiot.
Maps always existed and mapquest was fine.
Oh man where to start.
No tertiary devices. No GPS or iPod in my car. Just my phone. For so many useless gadgets. Cameras, video cameras…CALCULATORS, All in one place. That’s number 1.
2 would be that these devices are all a part of an ecosystem that grew so fast… Not only did our phones suddenly all have GPS, but it’d tell us about traffic. That used to be someone’s news beat. Gone, overnight
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Mobile browser. What?! You mean every time that annoying know it all friend starts confidently talking about something they know nothing about You can just Google it right in front of them instead if having it be some annoying thing.
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For better or worse, I am never bored.
That’s just the first few that come to mind…
What if i liked my ipod?
What if knowing about traffic didn’t stop me from driving straight into it 99% of the time?
What if me and my friends were never far from a browser and any disagreement could have waited the 10 minutes it took to get to a computer?
I always feel fucking bored.
What if i liked my ipod?
There’s music RIGHT ON YOUR PHONE, man. Load it up, play. If you picked the right phone, you have regular headphones, too.
What if knowing about traffic didn’t stop me from driving straight into 99% of the time?
That’s a horse/water problem I can’t solve.
What if me and my friends were never far from a browser and any disagreement could have waited the 10 minutes it took to get to a computer?
It’s hard to do that AND touch grass ever.
I always feel fucking bored.
That’s another thing we can’t help with. Find something to engage with, even if it means leaving your computer behind.
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