Am I The Only One Here That Doesn't Own A Smart Phone?

[MannyGlocks]

Don't want or need one, but I seem to be in the minority.

They appear to be quite the thing for preventing situational awareness and human interaction among some their negatives.

What about you?

Got one?

Got rid of one?

Never had one?

Thanks!

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[Stomper]

Yes, have had one for several years. I do millions of dollars worth of business through it. I also keep up on current events around the world, use it for GPS navigation daily (even when I'm here in Australia on vacation), emails, web surfing (like I'm doing right now) texts, phone calls, file storage, pretty decent camera, has thousands of music songs on it.....

But, I don't walk around in public looking down at it like the myriad of "phone zombies" like you commonly see wandering around... bumping into things. Like any "gadget", you have to be cognizant and in control of its use... people used to be zoned out on desktop computers, before that it was the MP3 player, and before that Sony Walkmans...

 

[Mikej]

I love having one. Though I let Wifey do the smart stuff on the smart phone. I think these days it's important to have a phone with you. I've always been good with directions, but there's times when we're out and about and the phone makes it easy to find that store/place, what ever, you want to get too. Having one when your on the road in case of emergency is a real plus. In Wifey's position she has to contact employees frequently. She found the they would not answer a phone CALL, but would reply to TEXTS. We sometimes have problems getting people to listen when we tell them, "We don't us our cell phone for general calling. If you call the cell don't expect an answer for a day, or seven. Call the land line if you want to reach us". Hell, Wifey is just getting to the point that she hears HER phone ringing. Can't tell you how many times she'd look around and wonder, who the hell's phone is that! It was hers.

We do not consider our cell phone as important as an arm or leg. We don't live for the cell phone, it's simply a tool for us that provides an extra measure of safety and/or convenience.

 

[kenboy]

Held onto my flip phone for as long as I could and swore I would never text or use a smart phone for anything other than phone calls.

Four years ago when I turned 60 made the plunge and Smart phones are amazingly user friendly even for guys like me that are dinosaurs.

Would be lost without one now....

 

[Mikej]

Coming off the Marquam Bridge headed South last Saturday morning and some little car was running on the center line. No signal or anything. I got so I could see her cell phone being held on the steering wheel while she was texting.

Just had to throw that in here.

 

[CountryGent]

Some technology we are early adopters. Others not. I can't stand phones, or more accurately being interrupted by them, so was late to the cell thing. We finally went to smart phones (iphone) last year. I have to admit, while I still can't stand phone-produced interruptions, it is a very handy device. I can use it to do "face time" with my family, read ebooks anywhere, use it as GPS, keep track of investments, receive emergency alerts, talk to potential fun friends, listen to music, handle web stuff, play cards, and a ton of other helpful apps. I don't do social media or any of that time-wasting stuff, so I'm not one of the drones glued to their phone. However, the technology is most certainly a benefit.

 

[No_Regerts]

The smart phone takes the place of several devices for every-day life. Phone, GPS, computer, camera, and even more. I guess it would make the edc pocket dump threads more interesting if we had to carry all that other crap!

 

[Geardo]

I held out as long as I could, much longer than my friends. Wife did too. Wish I had never taken the jump. Definitly an addiction.

I am fairly awkward already, and it makes it so easy to avoid human interaction. I surf the same few forums over and over, looming at the same old crap. Really stupid.

Been trying to read more books, only way to reduce the phone time.

The best phones I had were 6-10 years ago, ruggedized phones with GPS directions and that was it. Apps, but no internet.

 

[BlindedByScience]

My new Samsung S9+ is so fast, it's really a small computer and they become pretty invaluable, pretty fast. Check the traffic, check in with my kids (across the country), get the grocery list, find a location, take some pictures, send them along...pretty helpful little tools.

 

[po18guy]

I refuse to operate any device which is smarter than myself, and which I pay to spy on me. A dumb (flip) phone for me, because i like to use my phone for...

...making phone calls.

 

[2A2Dend]

My wife and kids got into the tech rave first. For me, a flip phone was all I needed for a long time. Then one by one my family upgraded when eligibility kicked in and the bite (expense) wasn't so detrimental. My wife couldn't sway me into them, but my kids managed to get my interest sparked. The next thing I knew, I had a new gadget. Smart-Phones are nice for what they are for the need. Not nice due to all the added bloat that comes in them as standard. Like it or not.

My ideal Smart-Phone would be the brand/model of choice, being Open Source, where I have the options to install the operating system I want installed, and all the apps "I" want to use without the added bloat. By bloat, I mean Google, Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, and the like. IMO, most everything that comes pre-installed is invasive. Some things more-so than others. Some will say to Jail-Break, I say no. I'm not confident in doing so, for fear of having an expensive brick to smash out of the frustration. LOL

I have the Galaxy S5 and plan to stick with it until it self destructs. Simply because "I" can take the back off and pull/change the battery, change the storage capacity, and get within the entire database structure like I can my home PC. Which is the way I like it.

 

[Mikej]

I refuse to operate any device which is smarter than myself, and which I pay to spy on me. A dumb (flip) phone for me, because i like to use my phone for...

...making phone calls.

So what you're saying is, you drive a 1965 Chevy II? '68 Ford Falcon? I would if I could.

 

[Mikej]

By bloat, I mean Google, Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, and the like. IMO, most everything that comes pre-installed is invasive. Some things more-so than others.

This ^^. WE have the problem of not knowing how to get inside the damned thing and eliminate stuff we don't want/use. We believe that "Bloat' makes it hard for Wifey to use it sometimes. We use a small company that costs $15.00/month, so we can't get a store like Verizon to help eliminate what we don't need.

 

[MannyGlocks]

po18guy,

Smart phones spy on the user?

If that's the case, are those who're fans simply not in the know of this factoid or do you suppose yes, they do know, but just don't care?

I too have a flip phone that is probably 10/12 years old that generally stays in the charger and it has a camera feature (don't know how to use it) can be used to text. (don't know why I'd text when calling is simpler)

I see oodles of mega-fans of smart phones and I really can't tell why I don't want one, but for some reason I get a bad vibe about having one on me...maybe it's that being spied on thing, or fear of addiction as it would appear many, many are but are loath to admit, plus my flip-phone works just fine if I need to call or be called.

I've read all the pluses at one's fingertips with the use of a smart phone, but there's got to be more than one down side other than being spied on, oh, and addiction..

Anyway does anyone know of other not so useful things regarding smart phones?

Thanks Again!

 

[DB is Here]

So what you're saying is, you drive a 1965 Chevy II? '68 Ford Falcon? I would if I could.

I have an iPhone, but when I'm feeling nostalgic:

 

[BlindedByScience]

If you're concerned about "spying", posting on an internet forum, even owning an internet connected computer is probably not prudent. Food for thought.... Though I'd agree that you have far more control over your home computer than you do over your cell phone. Problem there is that many of the pre installed applications are paid for by advertisers, and there's no practical way to delete them from your phone. Still like my S9+.....

 

[2A2Dend]

This may sound odd, but I still have all the cell phones that have cycled through the family. Right down to the basic Motorola bag phones. The analogs.
They (assume whoever) want everyone on digital tech. So much so it's spread like a disease.

 

[DB is Here]

A Sad Truth:

Tech/internet is so convenient that we give away our privacy freely.

 

[DB is Here]

This may sound odd, but I still have all the cell phones that have cycled through the family. Right down to the basic Motorola bag phones. The analogs.

It'd only be odd/creepy if you kept your old toe nail clippings.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

Never had one.