Ditching smartphones

[Blaze]

Rant coming up ..........
A woman after my own heart :
An interesting article on the BBC website "The people deciding to ditch their smartphones", much of which struck a chord with me.

In a world where many of us are glued to our smartphones, Dulcie Cowling is something of an anomaly - she has ditched hers.
The 36-year-old decided at the end of last year that getting rid of her handset would improve her mental health. So, over Christmas she told her family and friends that she was switching to an old Nokia phone that could only make and receive calls and text messages.
She recalls that one of the pivotal moments that led to her decision was a day at the park with her two boys, aged six and three: "I was on my mobile at a playground with the kids and I looked up and every single parent - there was up to 20 - were looking at their phones, just scrolling away," she says.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60067032

I am appalled at the rudeness in people that is becoming more and more apparent as checking/answering their smartphone takes priority over everything else. So many parents seem to prefer to be scrolling on their phones rather than having a conversation with their children. Friends sitting at a table in a restaurant, each involved in his own communication with someone else ...... is that friendship ? As for people who go through a supermarket checkout glued to their phone, treating the cashier as if he/she were invisible ....
Where has this Fear of Missing Out come from ?

The invention of the mobile phone was a wonderful thing, but the misuse of it today shows what an inward-looking society we have become. It only emphasises how shallow "friendships" must be if scrolling on a mobile phone is more important/interesting than real-life conversation .....

Rant over

[Sparkle]

@Blaze totally agree with you. The one thing that does irritate me is when my friend comes over from the UK to her holiday home she pops into me daily for a chat & coffee. The blessed phone comes with her and sits on my kitchen table pinging away and our conversations never get completed cos she must answer the phone or read the text. I dread to think where that phone has been - looking at it it's not cleaned often and there on my kitchen table sits that offender I have politely said 'take a break you're on holiday' but it makes no difference. Whilst I'm ranting I should add that the car keys, the house keys and the handbag when she brings it all get plonked on the kitchen table as well. So when she leaves all is disinfected..........ready for the next day! Maybe I'm being a bit over the top cos it's not something I would do when visiting anyone. There my rant over too!

[niemeyjt]

I understand - but if she receives an SMS will she ignore it - or take it like she would any other message?

Sadly, too much of my life needs a smartphone - but it does tend to stay in my pocket rather than get looked at every few minutes - otherwise how would I get my 10,000 steps?

[Blaze]

Sadly, too much of my life needs a smartphone - but it does tend to stay in my pocket rather than get looked at every few minutes - otherwise how would I get my 10,000 steps?

That is good use of a smartphone - it's not the phone that's the problem, it's the users ! At work, a couple of the nurses worked out that they walk between 4 and 5 kms on a morning between collecting the next victim and the box where they do the injecting.

@Sparkle That's exactly my point : You become insignificant to your friend when her phone goes because her callers must have something far more interesting to say ..... It's a sobering thought and one which avid smartphone users would deny hotly .....

[Hotrodder]

I have been fighting tooth and nail against being forced into owning a smartphone but more and more institutions (like banks) are insisting you receive a security code before you can log in or complete an online purchase. None of these entities are prepared to pay the the damned thing though.

[Blaze]

@Hotrodder I have an old un-smartphone which works fine for sending codes : Banks, even the lab for getting the results of a blood or PCR test, online purchases (though I've never needed a code for this).

[ajm]

It's not a new thing. Years ago I worked in a large open plan office. If you could see that the person you wanted to talk to already had somebody at their desk you would ring them as the phone took preference.

[exile]

@Hotrodder I have an old un-smartphone which works fine for sending codes : Banks, even the lab for getting the results of a blood or PCR test, online purchases (though I've never needed a code for this).

If it hasn't happened yet, I can assure you it is coming.

Our CA account has used it (rarely) for a number of years but will send the code by email. They seem to do it when you start trading with a new company but thereafter do not seem to bother.

EU banking rules are coming into force requiring banks to tighten up on internet fraud and double authentication is their answer. Paypal are already requesting a mobile number. TSB Bank likewise.

Maiia require it to make a C19 vaccine booking on the internet - and worse it has to be a Francophone number so will not accept OH's UK number.

[Blaze]

If it hasn't happened yet, I can assure you it is coming.

I'm not sure I was very clear ! I already receive codes from the bank etc on my un-smartphone and appreciate it's an extra security check. It works perfectly well. Doctolib and Keldoc have been sending codes for some time now.

[DominicBest]

I love my smartphone, I use it constantly but only rarely use it as a telephone, it’s a miniature computer and super organiser. I really would not want to be without it. It is a tool that I control, it’s not some dangerous thing that has taken over my life.