Don’t need them, no. No one does. They aren’t food, clothing or shelter, after all.

But they are useful, fun and relatively cheap. “Distraction” for children may well be giving them useful skills (fine motor skills for example). I don’t think they are harbingers of the end of society.

i’m not sure i could live without cheese, sometimes i even dream about it. With a little chutney, and some of those peppery water biscuits.

so yes, i’d say that i really need cheese.

we are talking about cheese, right?

I don’t think they are harbingers of the end of society.

Nope, that role was taken by Thatcher 😉

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.

I disagree, the rules are already there – I’m sure as a kid you weren’t allowed to bring a book/magazine/toy to the table at meal times, you’re there to be with other people not be engrossed in whatever else – it’s just no-one gives a shit anymore and breaking off to check your social media has seemingly somehow become widely accepted. That’s not really a smart phone issue, more of an arsehole/self obsessed issue, but the phone is the enabler.

When they have meetings at my mrs’ work everyone is supposed to do “jazz hands” at the start to show they aren’t fannying about with their phones (which my mrs finds incredibly insulting and refuses to do) but presumably it was enough of a problem that someone came up with the idea.

I’ve ditched my work smartphone altogether. If people need to get hold of me they can do so through Lync Audio or they can email – if I’m not in work it’s never going to be mission-critical if I don’t respond for a day or two.

I do have my work email on my personal phone – but set up on the default mail app which is set to “fetch” email only when I check it… so no constant buzzes to tell me a new mail has arrived.

My personal email is on an outlook app and again set up to “fetch” only so it’s not constantly annoying me with email alerts. I’ve got my work calendar on my personal phone but when I’m on leave it gets deleted and work email is turned off altogether so I don’t see any calendar appointments coming in – Exchange just accepts them for me whilst I’m offline and when I’m back from Hols my diary is pretty much up to date.

The biggest change in the way I use my smartphone is that I pretty much have the “mobile” bit turned off all the time. Wifi / Wifi Calling is turned on which means when I’m in a building phone calls come through as normal but the moment I leave work the phone bit doesn’t work – so no interruptions cycling home, whilst driving or when out with mates unless I’ve logged into wifi first.

I’ve had this set up for 6 months now and not being “always on” provides many more opportunities for some basic mindfulness stuff when out walking / out on the bike etc.

i dont have a work smartphone…not getting paid enough and frankly my role doesnt require one. if they did give me one it would be a shitty iphone…(cant stand them) and would end up in the bin.
i have to admit that i’d struggle without the use of one.
it get used mainly for social media stiff and organising bike rides, navigation, finding stuff on google when out and about, pictures and videos, accessing emails etc.
should i need to do any work related stuff, it also has MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint installed as well

Need no.

Want – yes.

They’re bloody useful things as mentioned – camera, music, internet, Google, banking, sat nav all available when on the move and in a single place. They’re great for killing time waiting for trains etc.

They can be distracting though – I have a separate work phone and I do find myself checking emails if I walk past it. I tend to leave it in my work bag now though. I generally try not to use it though because its a Windows phone.

At home, we have a no technology rule at the dinner table and if we have a night in now, we leave the phones and tablets elsewhere to stop looking at them. That’s the biggest drawback – fiddling and being distracted when we should be paying attention to each other.

They’re great for killing time waiting for trains etc.

Okay, I understand this, but what happened to carrying a book with us, or people watching, or just sitting and thinking?

I am genuinely inclined to think that these things have been sorely affected by the ubiquitousness of the smartphone.

Okay, I understand this, but what happened to carrying a book with us, or people watching, or just sitting and thinking?

I can still carry a book if I like, but the one I’m reading is on my phone at the moment. My phone is smaller than a book. I can similarly just sit and think/stare out the window if I want.

Okay, I understand this, but what happened to carrying a book with us, or people watching, or just sitting and thinking?

Since I got my first Palm I’ve always had a handful of books worth in my pocket. Unless you constantly carry a bag or have some amusing garment with stupidly big pockets then books aren’t usually to hand when you have a few minutes/hours to kill.

Okay, I understand this, but what happened to carrying a book with us, or people watching, or just sitting and thinking?

you can people watch, have a moment to think and then share it with everyone on the interweb via facebook/twitter etc.
the added bonus is you can take a picture to prove it did just happen! 😀

They’re great for killing time waiting for trains etc.

Luckily, more and more stations seem to be getting good bars in them or close by.

Useful. A general purpose computer with added music playing, photography and information access device.
Just got the Premier STW Android app!

Oh, and…

Do[s]es[/s] any one of us really NEED a smartphone?

Okay, I understand this, but what happened to carrying a book with us, or people watching, or just sitting and thinking?

Those people who enjoy such things can still do them. Those who never did would rather do something else – now they can.

Also, sitting and thinking is aided by smartphones becaues you can look stuff up which helps you think and learn more. I’ve learned a huge amount from the internet, and I can now continue to do that when I’m not at my desk.

I try hard not to fall into the ‘everything was better in my day’ trap that people seem to fall into as they get older.. in other words, look for the positive 🙂

I’ve got an ordinary mobile somewhere, but I never use it.

Since retiring from work earlier this year, I don’t have any type of phone, now arch either.

Would drive me mad if I had to return to being on call again with time deadlines, but then I’m a bit fortunate.
As an aside,it seems most people rejoined at the hip to their phones though.

jimjam – Member
Do any of us really need this forum?

Interesting question and for some if us, yes. For me now that I WFH STW has become the proverbial “chat around the coffee machine” that’d take place in the office, with a much wider range of interest. And some Bikes.

They all seem to think I want to use it to communicate with people when I thought it’s purpose was the exact opposite

You are my mum.
She once turned hers on to phone me and let me know her car had broken down and could I drive out and get her. The directions were shite and when I couldn’t find her I tried calling back…. She’d switched the phone off.

Can’t be arsed to read all of that but:

1) Set a do not disturb time for your phone from say 8pm to 7am.
2) Turn off notifications for apps etc. I have to open my email to see if I have a new one. So I only do that when I want to, not when it tells me.
3) Switch of notifications on the home screen. That way, when you go to phone a takeaway you don’t notice 50 missed emails etc.
4) Just delete FB and twitter from it, you don’t need al of the distractions on your phone. or, like me, just set them not to auto-refresh or give notifications.
5) Delete FB chat. WTF, as if FB wasn’t bad enough!
6) Pretty much all of the above, in whatever form you like.

The message is simple, don’t let it rule your life. It’s there when you need it, and silent when you don’t.

If all that fails, leave it in your locker at work!

As an aside about work phones my ex employer was the first major global company to ditch blackberry for iPhones (2009) until then I’d never had an iPhone. Now I wouldn’t have anything else.

5) Delete FB chat. WTF, as if FB wasn’t bad enough!

It’s a free Web based chat system, fairly similar to what we used to call texting. Should I delete the text app too?
It only owns you if you let it, not sure I have to enter an isolation chamber to do that.

my ex employer was the first major global company to ditch blackberry for iPhones

Same happening here at the moment. Which is nice. Blackberries are hateful things.

SaxonRider – Member

Okay, I understand this, but what happened to carrying a book with us

That’s exactly how I kill time with my phone tbh, it means I’m never out without a book. I prefer my actual kindle, mind, but the phone’s good enough.

I use the GPS things- both in the car and for straaaava. And that’s pretty much it. But it’s totally worth it for that, less standalone devices (in which I include books). If the camera wasn’t so crap on mine I’d include that too but it’s rotten.

It does seem to be mostly a thing for curmudgeons to curmudge about.

Have an iphone, and TBH it’s a bit shit anyway…If I’m in the hills round here, it won’t get a signal for phone, let alone anything web based. I don’t have work emails going to it, and most of the emails that do go to it are spam-ish. not really a game player, and as it’s a 4 with an old ios there’s not many that will upload to it now. I use it mostly for texts if I’m honest.

so I have one, but I’m not a heavy user of it.

This piece in the DM today:

05/11/15
Is your mobile making YOU unhappy? Checking phones eats up 15 per cent of our leisure time and affects our mood

Checking your mobile phone while having a drink with friends or taking a call over dinner, isn’t just annoying for those around you – it could be making you unhappy.
A study found that we spend more than a quarter of our leisure time distracted, with everything from barking dogs to road works disturbing concentration.
And mobile phones were the worst offenders.

The gadgets not only proved the biggest attention-grabber – they also seemed to affect people’s happiness.
The University College London researchers are not sure why this is but say it is possible that we feel upset that are unable to control the urge to fiddle with our phone.

For me, it is the last sentence that is most disturbing, and presents the strongest argument against the idea that we can easily control our own actions when it comes to smartphones.

What’s more worrying is your bringing the daily mail onto your side

In my defence, the headline appeared in the tech section of google news. I didn’t go pursuing it or anything.

In any case, the study cited is University of London (didn’t read closely enough to see which College). So as long as the quotes aren’t completely fabricated, the data still stands.

5) Delete FB chat. WTF, as if FB wasn’t bad enough!

It’s a free Web based chat system, fairly similar to what we used to call texting. Should I delete the text app too?
It only owns you if you let it, not sure I have to enter an isolation chamber to do that.[/quote]

Which, if you read past point 5, was what I said (in relation to the OP’s original post, not your personal love affair with “chatting” via FB.

The message is simple, don’t let it rule your life. It’s there when you need it, and silent when you don’t.

If all that fails, leave it in your locker at work!

Right, I’m off to the pub to chat with real people 😈

Wait… are the people I chat to on Facebook not real then?

Now I’m confused because I think I’m meeting some of them in the pub later tonight.

Irony being, if everyone agreed with you OP and had turned their phones off, you’d have had no replies…you’d then have been left wondering if not only was your phone sucking your soul away but also no body out there was listening to you either… 😀

In any case, the study cited is University of London (didn’t read closely enough to see which College). So as long as the quotes aren’t completely fabricated, the data still stands.

The implication is that the usage below makes you unhappy, bold claim and probably not the actual conclusion but the headline bit the lazy journo picked out to make a feature about how life was better in the olden days/modern life is rubbish

Is your mobile making YOU unhappy? Checking phones eats up 15 per cent of our leisure time and affects our mood

What is leisure time? Why can’t it be time to interact with various people, share some experiences and catch up with what your friends have been up to? I’d love to pop out for a pint with most of my friends but that would take a couple of round the world tickets and a bit of holiday.

Irony being, if everyone agreed with you OP and had turned their phones off, you’d have had no replies

What’s wrong with all of our desktops or laptops?