I, for one, am utterly sick of the things, but I feel slightly trapped as it is a work-supplied phone, and I think that if I deliberately down-graded, my superior would notice and buy me a new one.

In any case, the fact that all of my kids of high school age just assume they should have one, when in fact all they and their friends seem to use them for is the purpose of distraction, makes me wonder if we haven’t all just succumbed thoughtlessly to some Dawkins-esque cultural meme. I mean, if I stop and think, do I need a computer in my pocket that gives me more computing power than my laptop did a few years back, and makes me always ‘on’ and permanently ‘available’? No, I don’t think I do. But do any of us? Really?

A few weeks ago, I had a bit of a rant about cars, but I think that the mobile phone culture is getting almost as bad, insofar as even otherwise responsible people seem to have given themselves over to this new culture of walking down the pavement mindlessly talking or texting or browsing facebook; of checking their phone at the pub in the middle of a conversation when out with friends; of taking selfies in front of monuments instead of actually looking at the monument. The list could go on.

In any case, I’m just wondering if I am alone in feeling like we really need to re-evaluate our use of the smartphone, and therefore just a curmudgeon, or if there are others out there thinking the same thing.

If so, shall we start a revolution?

Nope, I need mine (home and work emails, maps, Strava, googling for anything, most rides out are organised thru FB etc).

Be interested in what phone you have, I’m still on an iPhone 4 and previous to that non-smart Nokia’s going back +20 years.

I, for one, am utterly sick of the things, but I feel slightly trapped as it is a work-supplied phone, and I think that if I deliberately down-graded, my superior would notice and buy me a new one.

….or you could just switch it off when you’re not at work.

I have a work smart phone and it gets switched off as soon as I get in the car to go home at night and then switched on in the morning.

Don’t blame the technology…
It’s not the phone that’s at fault it’s usually the eejit holding it.

I don’t own one, have resisted even though every man and his dog have one. Just seems like another massive time and money drain when I don’t have enough of either already.

It’s not the phone that’s at fault it’s usually the eejit holding it.

🙂

Not really need, I can get by with just a mobile and laptop. The other half was a sales rep for a huge multinational and even this time last year they still had old school Nokias and laptops.

iphone 4 here 2. Music in the gym on the ride 🙂 I like they way it keeps me in touch with people and integrates all my information, data banking etc. As with everything its how you use it.

Its a tool to be used. Im an adult I can make up my own mind what I use and how I use it. Its you that feel under pressure. I dont. So no need re-evaluate anything. Maybe you need to work out why you feel under peer pressure with modern technology, is there something a miss?

Just ahd a new battery and home switch fix. I cant see I need to upgrade.

We don’t need 90% of the crap we choose to buy!

Does any one of us really NEED a smartphone?

Well no, of course not. We got on just fine for millennia before they existed.

The things we “really NEED” are surprisingly few.

Doesn’t mean they aren’t nice to have.

But yeas, I’m as guilty as anyone of disappearing into it when I should really be interacting with the world, playing with my kids, talking to my wife, driving, finding the g-spot etc etc

I wouldn’t be surprised if not having a smartphone becomes fashionable amongst those types who choose not to have a telly but insist on reminding you of this fact at every available opportunity (if it isn’t already).

It’s not the phone that’s at fault it’s usually the eejit holding it.

+1

I certainly don’t need a smartphone. I have one as it’s handy having the internet on tap whenever you like.

I’m not a Fb or Twitter user though either but it’s still dead handy having a smartphone.

finding the g-spot

You’ve got an app for that? 😯

What do we actually really need though?

Whilst I can see that it could become a significant distraction and also allows work (if it’s a work phone) to creep into your out of work life unless you monitor yourself, I see them largely as a release. In my pocket I now have 90% of the computing and online access I need as well as access to music, audiobooks and radio as well as a notebook and memo pad and a camera. Handy and convenient- provided you can regulate your use.

I spend a fair amount of time on a train / tube in the week.

For me it’s a convergence device to do stuff (or consume media) on the move that frees up my other time and also means I don’t have to bring with me:
An A-Z
A diary
An address book
A phone
An iPod
A newspaper
etc etc

Back in the dark ages, I used to read a paper. But seeing as they are mostly opinions on yesterday’s news now I’m quite glad of the change.

When I’m commuting by bike, it’s also able to ping back to my wife to let her know I’m just late – not dying in a ditch somewhere…

Arghhh apps the worst thing about smart phones. S*t dumbed down versions of the internet just **** off. Also due to smart phones we now have those dreadful websites from the likes of BBC and Guardian that work gash on ‘proper’ computers.

I know where your coming from but mine amongst other things allows me to work from home and the lifestyle improvemnt that comes from that is significant.

You’re not alone no, clearly they’ll be other people interested in similar views. It’s only too clear now that this will become the the only way to communicate in the near distant future. It’s happening now, I see folks actually text each other in restaurants, giggle, then carry on eating. But then if you have little to say to each other texting is the best way to communicate No?

As far as walking in the public space whilst one eyes on the phone and you are charging along at a rate of knots into other pedestrians, you deserve all the lack of politeness and consideration normally handed about at will. It is all to common to find blame one gadget or it’s intrusive nature in our new world, but for a lot of people it’s the only way to communicate or be communicated too.

I don’t think there is a balance in this for the future, we’ll be absorbed by it and our ability to communicate/talk will cease and yet we’ll all know what they other person is thinking/feeling.

Whilst I hate selfies, for some it’s only a simple snap of a time and place. If one day that person was to take a look and recover the image to memory then I’d be happy with selfies, I do feel they are lost in a fragment of time, shared once, forgotten long.

Smartphones in general are a good thing IMO, I wouldn’t want to be without mine now. I use 40% of it’s capability, it uses 70% of my application towards it.

😀

Just use mine for strava and instagram.

Agree they are the devil but there are worse things out there really.

Just try avoiding using it during social situations, it is possible, I know, I’ve tried it.

I’m quite a phone geek, but I’m also aware of the problems with overusing them.

Simply having the ability to easily check my bank balance and credit card statement at anytime and from anywhere are worth it alone in my view. It’s such a move on from phone banking or worse still – having to go to a branch for a statement printout!

I don’t need one as such but I also don’t need electricity, running water or central heating. They are just things that make my life easier.

I am not about to rip out the central heating because it makes my house too hot if I have it on all the time, just the same as I am not about to bin a smartphone because I use it too much.

Just get into a good habit about using it.

Weeell, for ages I just wanted a fone that you know, made calls, received texts and had a decent battery life. Got PCs/tablets/PDAs that can do “smart” stuff much better.

Got a moto G and since that I’ve hardly used my ipad. A properly clever smart phone, does pretty much all the stuff I want it to do and not too terrible battery life.

But the everyone sitting in a room looking at phones ignoring each other thing really bugs me. Anyone doing that at my house will get grief for it.

I can make up my own mind what I use and how I use it

This is theoretically true but, as with cars, if anything is made culturally normative in terms of use, then no matter how self-controlled you fancy you are, you are still going to be susceptible to the pressures of your environment.

With the advent of the affordable car, did people consider the long term implications and effects? Possibly. But did that stop them from becoming so overused as to have changed the very fabric of Western culture itself? No.

I know that I ‘could just turn it off’, but I also know that if I did, the fallout would be difficult to manage for a long-enough time that it still makes me feel bound to it.

I think GrahamS, in his comments above, sort of nails it.

Do any of us really need this forum?

Anyone doing that at my house will get grief for it.

At dinner time, make everybody put their phone in a pile on the side before they eat. First person getting their phone has to do the washing up. 🙂

I constantly remind myself ( and others) of how life was in the 70’s.

If someone phoned and you weren’t there, if it was important, then they’d phone back.
If you had something important to say in a business capacity, you’d write a letter and post it.

The world still turned. Things still got done.

People were more organised and independent as a result.

When I wanted to arrange to meet my mates I’d speak to them and arrange to meet at a certain place at a certain time. Everyone generally showed up, wearing an outfit of their own choosing and if they didn’t then they were left behind.

Compare this with my 12 year old daughter who was unable to get ready for school this morning without sending and receiving 50 odd whatsapps and selfies with her friends so they could agree what clothes to wear, how to comb their hair and to update each other on the progress of their journeys. They’re developing a hive mind mentality where nobody is confident enough to make their own decisions or organise their own lives.

but I feel slightly trapped as it is a work-supplied phone

work phone + own phone works for me, especially as my phone was bought on the basis of being the smallest available & isn’t particularly smart either :-), work dedicated landline & mobile get diverted to head office when I’m on holiday so I don’t have to go through that “oh sorry I’m on holiday” conversation – don’t know how people manage if they don’t have separate phones to be honest

I am not about to rip out the central heating because it makes my house too hot if I have it on all the time

Good analogy, except that the manufacturers and sellers of central heating never meant to insinuate their product on your whole life. They merely sought to provide you with a single piece of equipment with a specific task.

If your boiler manufacturer had it in mind that all your thermic needs should, winter or summer, personal or external, be at all times taken care of by their equipment, then I would be wary.

I do. Not the phone bit of it obviously, but the rest of it means I don’t have to lug a laptop around.

It’s not the phone’s fault 🙂

We are in the first flush of this kind of ubuquitous social technology. Before long, we will be able to do so many things that we are going to have to make conscientous and proactive decisions about what we WANT to do, and such choices will become part of our upbringing and society.

Our parents and peers gave us advice and wisdom growing up about how to live our lives, but they told us nothing about social media, of course. We as a society have had to deal with this all on our own; our kids are entering this world as we are still exploring it with the excitement of kids ourselves.

Take control of the situation – decide what you want and make technology do it. Or not, whatever you decide 🙂

They’re developing a hive mind mentality where nobody is confident enough to make their own decisions or organise their own lives.

Or, they are bonding closer than ever and sharing more joy in more situations than we were able to. Depends how you look at it.. and how THEY look at it..!

I dont NEED one, much like I dont need a TV, or a remote control, personal music player, watch, alarm, calculator, calendar etc etc.

Oh hang on, if i do need any of them i’d have to replace my smart phone, plus it’s a work one, without it i’d have to stay at home when i’m on call, and that would suck.

I have dumbed down my smart phone GPS? Blu tooth,Data etc all off battery now last days and i have switched to a 2 euro a month contract, I have put on my Xmas list “filofax”.

I hate the way our family soirees have become phone staring competitions with little convesation.

NEED – no. But does it make life a lot easier and interesting, are they incredibly useful? YES?
Do other people assume I have one, YES. Does that mean at times it’s close to essential to have one, YES IMO – for e.g. I can’t imagine how I’d manage my finances now without online banking and my mobile app.

Does that mean that the way some/a lot of people use them thoughtlessly/irresponsibly is good, NO. But that’s user error, not the phone itself. e.g. if you walk into the road in front of a car without looking up from your phone, you’re the stupid one, not the phone.

There’s a few case studies how low cost smartphones are transforming lives in third world countries, supporting healthcare, education and banking/commerce which nicely undermines corrupt/autocratic regimes and increases standards of living without waiting for government investment in infrastructure.

Also remember the trouble Erdogan had in Turkey when he tried to shut down revolt against his control-freakery…

I’ve just read a case study how RAC are working with telemetrics supplied by EE in their patrol vans to improve driving standards and fuel use… Not quite smartphones, more internet of things, but a win for everyone.

Some interesting comments ^^ about how we’re having to make up how we use them as we go along. Inevitably we’ll make some mistakes which will have consequences for some people, until we learn from experience what limitations there are to them.

I guess all new tech has this happen – nuclear fission for e.g. CO2-emission-free power when used and controlled sensibly. Meltdown or bombs when not. In the early days there were some major screwups – Enola Gay and Chernoblyl. Most of the time now it’s limitations are managed ok. I’ll admit Fukushima is an exception…

Or, they are bonding closer than ever and sharing more joy in more situations than we were able to. Depends how you look at it.. and how THEY look at it..!

I’d love this to be the case, but my recent experience suggests that it’s not really “look at my outfit, it’s awesome!” as much as it’s ” what are you wearing so I can wear the same?”

They’re constantly seeking external validation from their peers for everything rather than making an internal decision and risking being seen as different.
It worries me that the supremely self confident, high achieving, 11 year old with no phone is rapidly becoming a 12 year old drone who is dumbing her considerable talents down so as not to stand out from the hive.

or maybe … je suis un dinosaur 😳

They’re constantly seeking external validation from their peers for everything

That’s always been the case. It’s just that now they can do something about it proactively rather than stress about it and feel horribly embarassed all evening, which is what we used to do.

As for arranging meet ups – I remember many hours spent waiting for people at pre-arranged meet-up points, with no idea of what was going on, then going home again.

I hate the way our family soirees have become phone staring competitions with little convesation.

Again – that’s your family’s fault, not the phone’s.

We seem happy on STW to blame people for being fat, lazy and unfit, rather than blaming cars or TV or McDonalds. In fact, it’s frowned upon to blame external influences for things which are within our control. So let’s be consistent 🙂

I remember many hours spent waiting for people at pre-arranged meet-up points, with no idea of what was going on, then going home again.

….thats coz they all showed up on time, wearing an outfit of their own choosing and when you couldn’t be arsed being on time, they all pissed off without you and you were left behind.

As it should be. 😀

That may have happened on occasion 🙂 One particular bugger though just didn’t come because it was cold, and even though I knew I was a mile or two from his house I didn’t know specifically where it was so I couldn’t cycle there myself.

He was a bastard though.

yes I do need one, if we’re watching TV and there’s an actor who we’ve seen on something else then I need to find out who he is and what else we’ve seen him in, this is essential. Remember the time before smartphones where that conundrum would haunt us for like 3 or 4 minutes, thankfully that’s no longer the case.

Need.
i use it a lot for transport updates on twitter or with apps can check buses at any stop and know if i will make a tube/train connection, diary integration and email plus a bit of mapping use.
also odd things like a VAT calculator and being to remotely fire my camera while on shoots.

i just missed the pre mobile days when photographers while out on shoots would ring back to their answerphone and use a key code generator to access their messages to see if anyone was trying to book them for work, thankfully things have moved on a bit since then.

Arghhh apps the worst thing about smart phones. S*t dumbed down versions of the internet just **** off.

You are using the wrong apps.

(Or possibly you have a Windows phone)

Good apps offer a LOT more than just a mini-internet.

Also due to smart phones we now have those dreadful websites from the likes of BBC and Guardian that work gash on ‘proper’ computers.

Now you really are being silly. Do you remember what the BBC News site looked like before smart phones??

to see if anyone was trying to book them for work, thankfully things have moved on a bit since then.

yep, now people just nick stuff off the web for free and cut out the photographer 😉