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

i thought you just bought a smartphone, snapped away and posted on instagram and that made you a photographer? 🙄

finding the g-spot

You’ve got an app for that?
Gmale

Need, no, there is only a short list of needs.
However, my phone lives in my pocket as it gives me access to those I love, it is my camera, I keep notes and shopping lists on it, quite often it is my clock as I forget my watch. My family live abroad so being able to log into skype wherever I am and catch up with them for free is nice.

I do hate zombies walking along the street staring at them, it is now more than 50% of the commuters I pass in the morning, sad. I generally only use my phone when alone, catch up on life then, if I have company the phones go in another room, if I am walking the phone goes in my pocket. If I use it to check the time or take a photo it goes back in my pocket. So not a need, but it does come in useful and I don’t let it rule my life. I deleted Strava and other tracking apps as they were too all-consuming.

EDIT – I also use it as a sat nav, both in the van and on foot, thats’s kinda handy at times when I get lost on my bike!

These kind of complaints have been happening for centuries.

Conversation is said to be a lost art … good talk presupposes leisure, both for preparation and enjoyment. The age of leisure is dead, and the art of conversation is dying.

Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly, Volume 29
1890

Our modern family fathering, silent around the fire, each individual with his head buried in his favorite magazine, is the somewhat natural outcome of the banishment of colloquy from the school …

The Journal of Education, Volume 29
1907

Fantastic technology. Wouldn’t be without it.

Camera, Contacts, Facebook, Met Office forcasts, Bank, Rail TTable, Texting, Email, Clock timer alarm, not to mention all the entertainment options. Chromecast!

What’s not to like?

perchypanther – Member
finding the g-spot
You’ve got an app for that?

Apparently so.

Ooooh.

Woppit + 1
Yep smartphone is great to have a handheld pc in my pocket… fortunately I’m grumpy enough that no-one calls on it.
Sadly I can’t find a decent contract with minimum tel calls & txt with max download. They all seem to think I want to use it to communicate ❓ with people when I thought it’s purpose was the exact opposite 😀

I had a call out of the blue to do a gig last week, they wanted sax and trumpet – I got the names of some trumpet players from a mate (from a phonecall on said smartphone), then found the name of a guy and facebook messaged him to agree availability, then got someone from the band to put the set list on drop box check the key of the songs and to listen to the tunes on youtube of the ones I didn’t know, then found the venue via google maps

pretty useful things really

For which a conventional non-smart phone works fine.

I’m a late adopter here – have only had a smart phone for ~18 months, and agree with the OP to some extent – I could quite happily go back to where I was before. Yes it might be down to the people using the things, but then to do another analogy with things discussed on here, we don’t generally suggest it’s because Americans are somehow different that they have lots of gun massacres. The trouble with them is that they enable the sort of behaviour we dislike.

Personally the only reason mine comes out most of the time is to play CoC, and I don’t play that very much. Useful to have the internet, a satnav, email with me all the time, but TBH I rarely use most of those and still browse STW from a normal computer (I get the impression most here now browse on their phones).

I never get anywhere near using my phone calls and use 0% of my text allowance* every month, but then I don’t get close to my 500MB data allowance either! Currently with Virgin on their cheapest contract and looking to switch to Post Office PAYG as they have cheaper monthly bundles – they do a good selection of high data low call bundles if you need a lot more data than that.

* infinite texts

Substance over style?

Unfortunately people are generally sheeple. Yes phones are inanimate objects and people should be able to control themselves but they don’t (in the main). Whether it’s four round a table in a restaurant staring at phones, people wandering down the street staring at phones or texting during dinner at home, they’re habit forming and people are easily led. The absolute worst for me is someone breaking off mid conversation to look, snigger, reply and then re-engage. They can ferk right off.

I used an old Nokia 3110 for a few weeks a bit ago and it didn’t really stop my world turning.

For which a conventional non-smart phone works fine.

Er yeah.. got my debates mixed up there 🙂

My smartphone comes out generally to look stuff up on the internet. I have a lot of thoughts and ideas, most of which I’ll forget quickly, so I’ll use my phone to check something out there and then and make a note (on One Note). Also, I look stuff up on Wikipedia a lot.

Wikipedia + smartphone = Hitchhiker’s Guide

Which is very sad. I realised that I get most of my social interaction on here, and it’s not the same as interacting with somebody face to face which I wish I had more of – it seems daft to me that people are deliberately giving up such face to face interaction to spend time with their phones, it’s not a choice I’d make given the option.

Which raises the fundamental problem, which is that because this stuff is still so new we don’t have the correct social “rules” in place – rules which were handed down to us from our parents for other things. If we’re having a face to face meeting with somebody, why is it acceptable to ignore them whilst we answer the phone – personally I normally turn off the ringer and let it go to answerphone? (and yes I know that’s a non-smartphone thing)

Stop saying “hive”.

That screen shot is not of the BBC website design that pre-dated the recent ‘responsive’ design, that screen shot is over 10 years old!! Mind at the time I seem to remember BBC used to regularly win website design awards.

I don’t need it but a smartphone is about the closest I’m ever going to get to doing magic and I like being a wizard.

They’re constantly seeking external validation from their peers for everything rather than making an internal decision and risking being seen as different.

Well, that’s never happened before has it 😉

I don’t have a smart phone, life goes on!
I don’t want to be one of those people the OP mentions, plus my current mobile is only 8yrs old so is still going strong!

Smartphones are a useful tool that are misused, or used pointlessly most of the time.

I don’t want to be one of those people the OP mentions,

You must realise that having a smartphone in your pocket doesn’t MAKE you into one of ‘those people’, surely?

If we’re having a face to face meeting with somebody, why is it acceptable to ignore them whilst we answer the phone

It’s not, nor is it acceptable to chew with your mouth open or talk to other people whilst serving someone in a shop. Still happens though, just like bad manners have always happened since forever. All you moaners about things going to hell in a handcart these days must realise that people have always wanted to do the same things, it’s just the means that’s changed.

You must realise that having a smartphone in your pocket doesn’t MAKE you into one of ‘those people’, surely?

Unfortunately I believe they are habit forming and addictive, so I think they do.
I don’t own a TV, don’t like watching lots of TV, yet put me in a pub with a TV on and I find myself constantly distracted by it.

I know plenty of mobile phone users that are not constantly glued to their phones.
I do not know plenty of smartphone users that I can say the same for.

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

[quote]They’re constantly seeking external validation from their peers for everything rather than making an internal decision and risking being seen as different.[/quote]Not like this place eh?

What tyres/ campervan / car / bike etc etc etc

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/skoda-yeti-any-good
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/which-100mm-29er-frame
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-new-enduro-bike
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/lardarses-what-saddle-are-you-using
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/running-shoes-for-pavement-plodding-please
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-road-shoes-cleats
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/positive-pressure-ventilation-loft-units-which

There used to be a joke that some folk couldn’t dress themselves in the mornings without seeking advice on here.

Then someone really couldn’t 🙄

i thought you just bought a smartphone, snapped away and posted on instagram and that made you a photographer?

Photographers are as relevent as typists, lamp lighters, town criers…

I’ve only had a smartphone for about 3 months. Whatsapp to organise rides and Instagram/Snapseed are the only things I really use on it. I’ve tried to fiddle with it in the pub when everyone else is fiddling with theirs instead of speaking but I’ve not worked out what I’m supposed to be doing on it yet.

I do not know plenty of smartphone users that I can say the same for.

How do you know if someone has a smartphone in their pocket when they are talking to you?

Maybe you’re just not interesting enough?

I do not know plenty of smartphone users that I can say the same for

I do. Most of the people I know actually.

Hardly ever see anyone on their phone within my group of friends, everyone has smartphones. They get used for the odd picture when we are out, but other than that they are hardly seen.

Maybe you aren’t holding people’s attention very well 😉

molgrips – Member

How do you know if someone has a smartphone in their pocket when they are talking to you?

I spend most of my time in pubs.
Most people will enter a pub and put their phone on the table and check it regularly.
People walk down the streets, constantly checking their phones.

I don’t have to be in a conversation with someone to observe this behavior.

Maybe you’re just not interesting enough?

See above.
There really is no need to be such a prick all of a sudden molgrips.

There really is no need to be such a prick all of a sudden molgrips.

That was absolutely 100% meant to be a joke. I apologise if it offended.

People checking their phones in the street isn’t antisocial, unless they are with someone else.

When me and my group of friends are all out together, we designate a smart phone user for the evening.

This is one person who’s been nominated to update their social media with live photos and excerpts from our night out:

“Boy, does Tim know how to banter! The girls weren’t impressed though….”

If we catch anyone else using their smartphone other than the nominee, they’ll have to do a crazy forfeit like downing a shot of alcohol.

of taking selfies in front of monuments instead of actually looking at the monument.

Previously what would you do? Hand your camera to a random stranger and hope something useful came back, like (a) your camera and (b) a photo not entirely of your shoes, legs, and a lot of ground.

Smartphones are awesome.

The problem here is w*nkers (with a smartphone).

And they’re everywhere.

As a gazillion(*) threads on STW will attest.

* possibly fewer than a gazillion.

molgrips – Member

That was absolutely 100% meant to be a joke. I apologise if it offended.

No worries.

People checking their phones in the street isn’t antisocial, unless they are with someone else.

No, but it is an example of how dependant people are on their phones.

No, but it is an example of how dependant people are on their phones.

I’m not sure it’s dependence; distraction would be a better word.

I wouldn’t say I “need” one, but they are becoming such a cultural norm, it would be difficult not to have one now.
I didn’t even have a basic mobile phone til I was 30, but not sure I’d manage without. So many services assume you have Internet and immediate access to the Internet. I use it to book train tickets, concert tickets, store addresses and other info that I used to scribble on scraps of paper, I use it to access FB and STW, and as an encyopedia.
My son has just started university and he was amazed when I told him that when I was at university, no one had mobiles or laptops, the Internet hadn’t been invented. We had one pay phone between 32 people in our hall of residence flat. Yet we still managed to have friends and a social life!

Unfortunately I believe they are habit forming and addictive, so I think they do.
I don’t own a TV, don’t like watching lots of TV, yet put me in a pub with a TV on and I find myself constantly distracted by it.
I know plenty of mobile phone users that are not constantly glued to their phones.
I do not know plenty of smartphone users that I can say the same for.

My local used to have a big TV on the wall, which was quite often left on, and the continual moving image was very distracting, your eye would be constantly drawn to it, even with the sound off.
There is no TV on the wall now.
Most of the regulars I see there have smart phones, and it’s only occasionally that anyone has a phone out, and that’s usually just to show someone a photo, or to check info on a website during a conversation.
Which is what happens with mine, most of the time I’m in the pub I’m with a mate talking about all sorts of random stuff; music, films, books, science stuff, tanks, aircraft, cars…
When I’m out for a drink with another friend, when she’s back home, my phone gets dragged out to refer to places on the OS maps I have in Viewranger, as she works in YHA hostels, currently in Conwy, and does lots of hill walking, so we spend ages talking about places she walks, and she can show me on a 1:50 or 1:25k map for anywhere in the UK.
We never struggle for conversation.
Many people, on the other hand, can barely think of anything other than bloody footy.
Yesterday, it was 9.00pm before I realised I had a voicemail message from my account manager at my bank, I hadn’t looked at my phone until then; however, while at work, I’m banned from having a phone or any other electronic device in my work area, so I’m used to not having it during the day, and even when I’m out on my own, maybe having a coffee or a beer, it’s used for reading a book, and seldom anything else; it’s a useful tool, I’m not a slave to it.
🙂

No, but it is an example of how dependant people are on their phones.

I would agree more with footflaps. People are hungrier for distraction, which might be music, social media, news, sport, and so on.

Being addicted to distraction is a bad thing, but using it possibly isn’t. A lot of good things can happen in your brain when you’re bored and forced to daydream, but similarly good thing can happen when you’ve got time to kill and a smartphone.

I have a colleague, same age as me, every time I go round his house (to socialise, we don’t get our phones out) he always ends up asking some historical question that ends up with me giving him a history or science lesson. He asked me how come I know about such a broad range of subjects; it’s because when I’m bored I read Wikipedia pages on history or science. I’ll randomly wonder say how come Russia is so big, and start reading about it on my phone.

But not when I’m with anyone 🙂

There are so many convincing articles on the web regarding giving up the smart phone for good. I did promise myself that I would give it a go especially when my kids told me that I spend too much time on it.

I decided to root out my old Samsung qwerty phone which was the last non-smart phone I had and give it a go. It died on day 2 so I went back to the smartphone temporarily…

This was a week ago now! You can pick up a basic Nokia for less than a tenner so I’m going to give it another go!

Need, probably not but it makes my life much easier

I work from a remote office and after that I’m travelling a lot, rather than carrying a public transport map and steet atlas for every city I go to I just use my phone, live public transport updates. I can update e-mail when I’m in a taxi or train rearrange meetings quickly and easily.

I work with people from 7 different time zones so I can check or update somebody on something important with a few quick taps of the screen rather than lugging the laptop out.

Throw in the useful look ups, live mapchecking on things like trailforks when at a confusing junction on the trail or looking up where that interesting looking trail goes (complete with pics, condition report and an idea what the technicality is)

I can video chat with friends and family across the world from wherever I am so no it’s not needed but it’s probably one of the best tools I have these days.

I have a landline at home and a front door. If I don’t feel like it I don’t answer either.

I find my iPhone useful when I’m out and about though I use very few apps – email, weather, a bit of facebook and browsing, radio and music from iTunes. It’s also always on silent so it doesn’t beg for my attention every 2 minutes.

Mine is very often on Do Not Disturb – any time I feel like I owe someone who is with me my undivided attention, or I don’t owe anyone else mine. And I very rarely mess with it while I’m trying to do something else.

But the advantages of having a powerful, internet connected computer in my pocket are huge.

🙂

So, in summary, what we are saying is this:

” There’s you and there’s your smart phone. One of those is a complete tool. Try and make sure it’s not you ” 😀

No a smart phone or even any sort of mobile isn’t a need. We need food,master and shelter. Would I downgrade my smart phone for a normal mobile, absolutely not.