Author Topic: Dumb phone users unite!  (Read 29732 times)

Spork

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #50 on: September 12, 2014, 09:06:15 AM »

Obligatory bitch story about phones that sort of represents my view:

Almost a year ago my wife and I went to Florida to visit a relative.  As part of the trip we spent 2 days at Universal Studios.  (Punch me if you want for that blasphemous consumerism... but we go on about 1 vacation every 5 years.) 

We were at some Frufru fancy sushi place that was inside a Universal hotel and full of other tourists.  The meal was delicious ... but the thing that really flummoxed me was that in an almost hour and a half meal, EVERY SINGLE PERSON at EVERY SINGLE TABLE did nothing but sit there and fidget with their phone.  These were people spending quite a chunk of money to create fond family memories... and they spent it not even looking at each other.

Now... I am really prone to exaggeration and hyperbole.  Call it a weakness, but that's just a style I find amusing.  But this time: I am not exaggerating one iota.  No one talked.  No one looked at each other.  They all just sat there with this glowing light on their faces.

[ As a geeky aside:  Wifey has a smart phone.  She used it exactly once inside the Universal Studios hotel.  Once because... the hotel was clearly doing a man-in-the-middle attack using their own microcell -- presumably to gather data on their guests.  Every single https site you'd try to browse got a certificate error pointing back to a middle man proxy server. ]

Argyle

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #51 on: September 12, 2014, 09:25:09 AM »
This is supposed to be a thread about people who have and like dumb phones, not about defending smart phones.

But I resist the idea that technology doesn't have any effect on behavior.  And even if the days before smart phones, I've never been at a lunch where every person at the table hauled out a book and began flipping through it. 

justajane

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #52 on: September 12, 2014, 09:33:05 AM »
I understand that, I really do, but what I've noticed are that those people that are glued to their smartphones are the ones that used to be glued to something else. I think the smartphone is just the current medium. Personally, I disappear with a good book.

You definitely have a point here. Recently I was in a doctor's waiting room being judgmental about the fact that every person had their head buried in a smartphone. But then I thought about it and realized I was being silly. What makes that inherently different than being engrossed in a book or a newspaper? From the advent of doctor's waiting rooms, people have tried to distract themselves from a long wait. That's okay.

What's not okay is when you are at the dinner table, out to lunch with friends, at a party, in a car, etc. etc.  This is what I take issue with. Do you think it was okay 20 years ago to whip out your morning paper while meeting a friend for breakfast? I guess it depends on the friend, but I'm guessing not. Because it's smaller and has become so insidious, for some reason people think it's acceptable now with a smartphone. And others have mentioned that it makes people feel important (a call or e-mail comes in, "I'm sorry, I have to take/answer this....."), as if they are awaiting news on the brain surgery they need to perform today or a meeting on how to stop the next world conflict.

Quote
And even if the days before smart phones, I've never been at a lunch where every person at the table hauled out a book and began flipping through it.

Great minds think alike! I was typing my similar example at the same time you were.
« Last Edit: September 12, 2014, 09:34:42 AM by justajane »

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #53 on: September 12, 2014, 09:37:12 AM »
All this new technology is making us very antisocial!


Bakari

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #54 on: September 12, 2014, 09:38:18 AM »
I never considered myself a "better" person because I don't have a smart phone.
I avoid getting one because I know I'm not.
I would do the same as they do.

Sure, there are other things people can get addicted to, but I think its possible to avoid them all.  I wouldn't start taking narcotics on the grounds that if I'm not addicted to one substance I would inevitably get addicted to something else instead.

Bakari

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #55 on: September 12, 2014, 09:40:12 AM »
Nobody ever checked the newspaper every 10 minutes throughout the day, or let their books wake them in the middle of the night or interrupt sex.

Daley

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #56 on: September 12, 2014, 10:00:55 AM »
I never considered myself a "better" person because I don't have a smart phone.
I avoid getting one because I know I'm not.
I would do the same as they do.

Sure, there are other things people can get addicted to, but I think its possible to avoid them all.  I wouldn't start taking narcotics on the grounds that if I'm not addicted to one substance I would inevitably get addicted to something else instead.

Amen, brother.

As a general observation, I do find it interesting that most feature phone users here are rather humble pragmatists about their usage and impact on themselves and society as a whole, and don't so sharply identify or define their life by the device or defend its presence within it. However, smartphone users posting in this very thread take issue with this attitude as some sort of personal attack against themselves directly and become arrogant about how they're not like the others in their usage, then take on an "us versus them" superiority complex. All this condescension and backbiting over variations of the same damned, infernal technology.

I'm sorry, I don't buy the idea that owning these devices aren't capable of altering attitudes even if they're not used as expected. We're seeing it right here. These devices do not actually draw people closer, they fragment society and feed egos.

mudgestache

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #57 on: September 12, 2014, 11:44:11 AM »
My apologies if you took my post to be arrogant and I certainly didn't mean to provoke an us vs them feeling. I have the same feelings you do in regard to the behavior of some/most smartphone users and it is depressing that it is that way. I don't know how to fix that. I don't think everyone going to "dumb" phones would change much in the end. I'll go back to one of my original statements, if your phone works for then that's great because that's what they should be doing, at least IMHO, and nobody should be giving you flax about what works for you. Rock on dumb phone users!!

LibrarIan

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #58 on: September 12, 2014, 12:44:37 PM »
Can I join the dumb phone club? I do have a smartphone, but only because someone gave it to me. Otherwise I'd just be using the phone I used to have.

BlueMR2

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #59 on: September 12, 2014, 03:10:41 PM »
I had a smartphone way back in the Pocket PC days.  Went tracfone ($99 year, and $30 phone) back in 2006.  I still have that same phone...  Battery still lasts a couple weeks per charge too.  Smartphones just don't offer me anything.  There simply aren't any apps on them that justify the expense.

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #60 on: September 12, 2014, 04:19:53 PM »
We do not have cable, internet, or home phone but my wife has a cheap smartphone, a Moto G, on a $35/month plan with "unlimited" internet. We use my wife's phone as a hot spot when needed for my unconnected iPhone 3Gs, iPad, and laptop, and because we never watch video, play computer games, or listen to music on line, the smartphone covers the communications and entertainment needs for an entire family for $35/month. With this kind of cheap arrangement, we find do not find any compelling reason to revert to a dumb phone.

Daley

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #61 on: September 12, 2014, 04:54:30 PM »
We do not have cable, internet, or home phone but my wife has a cheap smartphone, a Moto G, on a $35/month plan with "unlimited" internet. We use my wife's phone as a hot spot when needed for my unconnected iPhone 3Gs, iPad, and laptop, and because we never watch video, play computer games, or listen to music on line, the smartphone covers the communications and entertainment needs for an entire family for $35/month. With this kind of cheap arrangement, we find do not find any compelling reason to revert to a dumb phone.

Phil, I don't necessarily want to be that guy... but this isn't a thread about frugal phone/communications bills in general, this is a non-smartphone merits and appreciation thread. There's no question that people can operate smartphones frugally, but this isn't that kind of topic.

sheepstache

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #62 on: September 12, 2014, 05:17:02 PM »
I think some of the confrontational feel of this thread may merely be because of the term 'dumb phone.'  Like that letter about 'This dam construction has gone on too long.'  "Hey, enjoy your dumb phone :) "  Could very easily feel snarky even if that's not the intention.

Anyway, a part-timer was quasi-making fun when they caught sight of my dumb phone but you could tell it was in this awed, on-the-fence way like it's sooo close to being retro cool and everyone's jelly of how hard they are to break.  My co-worker tipped him over the edge by pointing out the recent (apocryphal) Nagasaki arch meme.  You can't kill the Nokia! (Apologies for the not very sensitive humor.)

« Last Edit: September 12, 2014, 05:22:17 PM by sheepstache »

justajane

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #63 on: September 12, 2014, 06:22:29 PM »
OP here. I was using the term "dumb phone" in jest. I figured that would come across combined with the oblique reference to communism, but perhaps it didn't. I certainly don't intend to start a proletariat of cell phone users, although based on the great responses I've received here, it might be a pretty cool group!

I hadn't even heard of the term until I started reading other peoples' discussions of smartphones. And I stand corrected - it is not "dumb phone" but rather "dumbphone", at least according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which added the word in 2013.


Left

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #64 on: September 12, 2014, 06:25:50 PM »
what about the "dumbuser"; phones smart enough to outsmart the user? if all you need is X features, but phone provides XYZ features, what's the point of having YZ that you don't know how to use or will never use?

Spork

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #65 on: September 12, 2014, 06:34:44 PM »
what about the "dumbuser"; phones smart enough to outsmart the user? if all you need is X features, but phone provides XYZ features, what's the point of having YZ that you don't know how to use or will never use?

They make these... and... I gotta say, whomever invented it is a bit of a genius.  They're marketed as "phones for old people".   There are a bunch of old people features:
* it will actually slow down the speech of whomever is talking and make them louder
* it isn't a "camera" ... it is a "magnifying glass"
* it isn't a "calculator" ... it is a "tip calculator" (and that's all it can do)
* big ass fonts
* loud ass ring

You can go in and do some "advanced mode" ... and it turns into a regular feature phone... but as the old people phone, it costs $50

sheepstache

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #66 on: September 12, 2014, 07:04:57 PM »
OP here. I was using the term "dumb phone" in jest.

...

I hadn't even heard of the term until I started reading other peoples' discussions of smartphones. And I stand corrected - it is not "dumb phone" but rather "dumbphone", at least according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which added the word in 2013.

Oh I know you're correct that it's a real term, I just meant people scanning quickly might unconsciously absorb a different vibe :)

Paul der Krake

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #67 on: September 12, 2014, 07:44:46 PM »
sheepstache's image is amazing... those bar phones really are indestructible. My grandmother still has the same 3310 she was passed down over 12 years ago.

What is it with sysadmins and gadgets? Either minimalists are attracted to the job, or the job turns them into minimalists, or a combination of both.

valk001

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #68 on: September 12, 2014, 08:21:19 PM »
I work in the IT field and I am the only one in my shop of 40 that has a dumb phone.  My reasons are purely financial as I can't justify 80$ a month for a smartphone plus the price of the phone.  I spent 15$ a month and I have full calling and texting ability and that is pretty much it.  All my coworkers are glued to their phones all day.  Yet there is a few advantages as we are in another country and we get lost a bit so the maps help a lot.  But besides that I would rather pay more attention to my present situation than my digital life.


surfhb

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #69 on: September 12, 2014, 08:48:40 PM »

Obligatory bitch story about phones that sort of represents my view:

Almost a year ago my wife and I went to Florida to visit a relative.  As part of the trip we spent 2 days at Universal Studios.  (Punch me if you want for that blasphemous consumerism... but we go on about 1 vacation every 5 years.) 

We were at some Frufru fancy sushi place that was inside a Universal hotel and full of other tourists.  The meal was delicious ... but the thing that really flummoxed me was that in an almost hour and a half meal, EVERY SINGLE PERSON at EVERY SINGLE TABLE did nothing but sit there and fidget with their phone.  These were people spending quite a chunk of money to create fond family memories... and they spent it not even looking at each other.

Now... I am really prone to exaggeration and hyperbole.  Call it a weakness, but that's just a style I find amusing.  But this time: I am not exaggerating one iota.  No one talked.  No one looked at each other.  They all just sat there with this glowing light on their faces.

[ As a geeky aside:  Wifey has a smart phone.  She used it exactly once inside the Universal Studios hotel.  Once because... the hotel was clearly doing a man-in-the-middle attack using their own microcell -- presumably to gather data on their guests.  Every single https site you'd try to browse got a certificate error pointing back to a middle man proxy server. ]

I hear ya!    Ive made a point of looking for this now.     I sat and watched a young couple not say a word to each other for a good 20 mins.    Another older couple (60+) do the same thing at a coffee shop.   

Maybe its me and my lack of self control but I constantly have the urge to look at the candy bowl of apps.    Its becoming a time waster for me and Ive decided to get rid of the smart phone for good next week.      Wow!   Im such an idealist....maybe I'll read more books? :)       What a great book and research model to start - Smartphones and their Sociological Impact
« Last Edit: September 12, 2014, 08:53:37 PM by surfhb »

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #70 on: September 12, 2014, 09:29:59 PM »
what about the "dumbuser"; phones smart enough to outsmart the user? if all you need is X features, but phone provides XYZ features, what's the point of having YZ that you don't know how to use or will never use?

They make these... and... I gotta say, whomever invented it is a bit of a genius.  They're marketed as "phones for old people".   There are a bunch of old people features:
* it will actually slow down the speech of whomever is talking and make them louder
* it isn't a "camera" ... it is a "magnifying glass"
* it isn't a "calculator" ... it is a "tip calculator" (and that's all it can do)
* big ass fonts
* loud ass ring

You can go in and do some "advanced mode" ... and it turns into a regular feature phone... but as the old people phone, it costs $50


Hey, now, I have one of those, and it not only has a tip calculator, it has a pill reminder!


...I have it because when AT&T quit supporting my Nokia bar phone this summer, they offered me the old people phone for free, no contract. It really does have a pill reminder, plus really big buttons.

Spork

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #71 on: September 13, 2014, 06:57:44 AM »

Hey, now, I have one of those, and it not only has a tip calculator, it has a pill reminder!


...I have it because when AT&T quit supporting my Nokia bar phone this summer, they offered me the old people phone for free, no contract. It really does have a pill reminder, plus really big buttons.

I totally forgot the pill reminder.   My dad has one of these.  He got it when the glue holding the antenna on his Nokia let go for the 5th time and he could no longer glue it back and still get reception.

monarda

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #72 on: September 13, 2014, 09:42:48 AM »
I think I want one of those old people phones.  I saw them once in an in-flight magazine, and just found this  https://www.gazelle.com/thehorn/2013/12/11/5-best-cell-phones-seniors/  - any recommendations?
« Last Edit: September 13, 2014, 09:44:38 AM by monarda »

hybrid

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #73 on: September 13, 2014, 02:41:49 PM »
My apologies if you took my post to be arrogant and I certainly didn't mean to provoke an us vs them feeling. I have the same feelings you do in regard to the behavior of some/most smartphone users and it is depressing that it is that way. I don't know how to fix that. I don't think everyone going to "dumb" phones would change much in the end. I'll go back to one of my original statements, if your phone works for then that's great because that's what they should be doing, at least IMHO, and nobody should be giving you flax about what works for you. Rock on dumb phone users!!

You don't need to apologize, IP has strong opinions and expresses them with gusto. It doesn't make him right or wrong, but definitely pointed. You can point right back. As previously noted, owner of said blog rather enjoys a relatively frugal phone and seems to function well, so rather obviously there can be multiple paths to the same destination. Feel free to parry.

Daley

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #74 on: September 13, 2014, 08:58:21 PM »
What is it with sysadmins and gadgets? Either minimalists are attracted to the job, or the job turns them into minimalists, or a combination of both.

I'll readily admit, my time served in IS rapidly burned out the technolust in me like a refiners fire. After a while, you realize exactly how much of the garbage truly is useless, and it just leaves you wanting to strip it all down to the brass tacks just to get the job done and go home.

JamesAt15

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #75 on: September 15, 2014, 09:19:48 PM »
Anyway, a part-timer was quasi-making fun when they caught sight of my dumb phone but you could tell it was in this awed, on-the-fence way like it's sooo close to being retro cool and everyone's jelly of how hard they are to break.  My co-worker tipped him over the edge by pointing out the recent (apocryphal) Nagasaki arch meme.  You can't kill the Nokia! (Apologies for the not very sensitive humor.)

http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/nagasaki.asp

Edit: instead of apologizing for "not very sensitive" humor, I would appreciate it if you would not spread this image anymore. Personally, I find it upsetting and will leave it at that.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2014, 10:28:21 PM by JamesAt15 »

MrsPete

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #76 on: September 16, 2014, 05:44:16 AM »
I've just never had a strong enough desire for a smart phone that I was able to overcome the reasoning for not getting one.
Yeah, I'm the same.  I just kind of think, "What's the big deal?" 
As an example, I am in another city this week where there is a truly excellent outlet mall. My son rather badly needs some new shirts. I was able to photograph and text him what the options were and we figured out what he liked best that way. I scored 7 shirts from Aeropostale for $46 and did not have to guess whether he would actually use them or if they would just sit in the closet. So my smartphone turned out to be a rather handy tool in this case, a tool that my old phone could not have pulled off.
With one teen and one college girl, I do this all the time -- with a dumb phone.  I can take pictures (admittedly, not great ones) and send them to the kids.  I've found this to be a very useful idea, but it doesn't require a smart phone.  In fact, because of the places he goes for his work, my husband requires a phone that DOES NOT have a camera (if he had a camera, security would require him to surrender it, and he'd be without it all day); do you know how hard it is to find a no-camera phone?
I sit in front of a very high end, very powerful Mac computer all day long. That machine makes me money so I am fully vested in it and will be getting another soon. I am rarely away from the computer. I also have an iPad for at night . . .
And when I go out with people and they pull out their phones and start playing with them while in the company of a LIVE person, I hate smart phones even more.
Yes, I share these reasons.  I have a computer and an ipad -- I don't need to be connected all the time.  And, yes, I see people constantly who are ignoring the "here and now" and playing on their phones constantly.

The average user checks FaceBook 14 times per day

75% of smart phone users sleep with it on and in the same room

25% have phone on and in reach 24hours a day

80% all but an hours or two

a quarter check while driving

almost a third check during meals with others

almost 2/3 check at least once an hour, even if it doesn't ring or vibrate

20% check their phone every 10 minutes

84% said that they could not go a single day without their cellphones

one in three would rather give up sex than go a week without their phones

A third admitted that being without their mobile for even short periods leaves them feeling anxious

Basically, the smart phone is the opium of the 21st century.  Although I suppose a good drug addiction can cost a lot more than $160 per month, so I guess its a pretty good deal...
Wow, those are some sad numbers.  What's your source?  I might turn this into an exercise for my classroom -- most of my students are among the addicted. 
I understand that, I really do, but what I've noticed are that those people that are glued to their smartphones are the ones that used to be glued to something else.
Okay, fair enough, but in the case of my high school students, the thing they used to be glued to way . . . other people.  Kids used to consider their friends #1, but now they put these electronic gadgets ahead of friends.  Yes, it's ironic because they're supposedly using the phones to connect to friends, but somehow the servant has become the master. 

Dibbels81

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #77 on: September 16, 2014, 08:44:07 AM »
My current combo of dumb phone + iPod Touch is working out quite well.  My pre-paid plan costs $12 a month, and I can connect wirelessly to the internet for free, and have all the apps and such that smartphone people have.

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #78 on: September 16, 2014, 09:18:36 AM »
I have a flip phone with no data.  I'm pretty much the only person I know that hasn't given in to the smart phone "revolution".  Originally my reasons were questions about whether the cost was worth it and concerns about battery life.  I generally love technology, but I just feel like a laptop has a much better user experience (because of large screen, full keyboard, mouse, etc) for activities that people are now doing on their phone.  DW claims that I only survive without a smart phone because she has one, and I will admit that hers has been convenient a few times when we could get last minute information on a restaurant's hours or look up someone's email to confirm details of an event.  I certainly haven't found myself missing the phone when I do things without her though, and I laugh every time she has to find a place to plug in on every weekend trip while my phone chugs along on its weeklong charge.     

sheepstache

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #79 on: September 16, 2014, 09:25:35 AM »
Anyway, a part-timer was quasi-making fun when they caught sight of my dumb phone but you could tell it was in this awed, on-the-fence way like it's sooo close to being retro cool and everyone's jelly of how hard they are to break.  My co-worker tipped him over the edge by pointing out the recent (apocryphal) Nagasaki arch meme.  You can't kill the Nokia! (Apologies for the not very sensitive humor.)

http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/nagasaki.asp

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Apocryphal


Daley

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #81 on: September 16, 2014, 10:12:40 AM »
Wow, those are some sad numbers.  What's your source?  I might turn this into an exercise for my classroom -- most of my students are among the addicted. 


http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/smartphones_b39001

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/16/smartphone-addiction-time-survey_n_1791790.html

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865596120/58-percent-of-smartphone-users-dont-go-1-hour-without-checking-it-2-are-you-one-of-them.html?pg=all

http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2014/05/20/how-your-smartphone-messes-with-your-brain-and-your-sleep/

https://fb-public.app.box.com/s/3iq5x6uwnqtq7ki4q8wk

A great addition to this to drive the point home (at least with the Android users) to see exactly how bad their dependence truly is would be to have them install RescueTime on their phone just to see how much time they actually spend using it every day.

I've started a throw down the gauntlet challenge regarding cellphone use in general, including no usage outside the home, a cold turkey data diet even at home, and RescueTime usage analysis for those interested. I'd love to see a few more people, no matter what kind of mobile phone they use, join me in picking up at least the core challenge of simply leaving the phone at home.

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #82 on: September 16, 2014, 10:26:13 AM »
I love the term- 'Dumb phone'. We have one that is pre-paid because we had it for 8 ish years and it still worked. When the battery finally started to die as soon as it was disconnected from a charger (rendering it useless), we inquired about batteries and they didn't sell them anymore. I asked around to all of my friends who had a 'Smart Phone' and we were given for free our pick of 3 phones that worked perfect but people had just sitting around the house.

I do commute for classes so having a phone gives me a piece of mind but I'm just unwilling to pay for one. If this phone ever goes, I'll once again and ask around to see who has an old one. I am willing to barter or even pay something for the phone but I don't expect to need one more than every 5-8 years.

I always chuckle when people ask for a mobile #. I usually tell people I don't have one because we only carry it when I am on the road at night going to class or my husband to Army work. Other than that, it sits on the counter and is generally ignored. Lots of folks can't fathom that all it can do is make calls and text. In fact, I normally refer to it as a texting machine because that's most of what we do with it.


Rika Non

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #83 on: September 16, 2014, 10:33:38 AM »
I currently live in both worlds.  My personal phone is a dumb phone.  It does what it should, which is allow me to call people I care about.  The battery last about 2 weeks per charge (since I don't use it much).  My dumb phone is nearly 4 years old and is dying (flip phone - losing connection at the hinge).  I will be replacing it with the equivalent small dumb phone.  Mine is just an added line on a family plan, phone was always free, the added line is $5 per month.  My better half keeps wanting to replace it with a smart phone but I think I'll get my way.

For work I am assigned a smart phone.  I hate it for the intrusion on my time away from work.  Yes it is nice to be able to pull up a map or look for the nearest (insert whatever) when traveling, etc.  But I am one of those that hates how it creeps into your time.  I mostly use my work phone while working (my job requires travel and lots of time at meetings around town).  I do my best to leave it in my purse and forget about it in the evenings till going back to work the next day.

I think the term "smart phone" should be scrapped, "work terminal" is more apt.  For me the smart phones mostly act as a mobile computer terminal, the intrusiveness is due to having a computer with you 24/7 not the phone part.  I'm one of those people that jump like I have been goosed when my smart phone rings since that almost never happens, it really is mainly a work portal ... or to phrase it differently a work tether.

Doaner19

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #84 on: September 16, 2014, 03:50:33 PM »
I run my personal through google voice and connect it to my work phone.  thus I'm running 2 numbers into the same phone.  google voice is free, and work pays for the work phone, thus I get free phone service and don't have to lose my number when I leave my job. 

just a hint if you have the option.

Spork

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #85 on: September 17, 2014, 08:19:51 AM »

sheepstache

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #86 on: September 17, 2014, 09:40:30 PM »


This is pure genius!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nophone-usa/nophone-0

Hahaha, "FAQs: Is it carrier-locked?"

I think the only mistake is that at the $5,000 level, rather than hand-delivering it to you, they should give you an address of a building you can sit outside of for 2 weeks before the release date.

Constance Noring

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #87 on: September 18, 2014, 08:38:54 AM »


This is pure genius!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nophone-usa/nophone-0

Hahaha, "FAQs: Is it carrier-locked?"

I think the only mistake is that at the $5,000 level, rather than hand-delivering it to you, they should give you an address of a building you can sit outside of for 2 weeks before the release date.

Kinda wish I had one of these so I could go stand in line at the local Apple store and mess with people's heads.

FunkyStickman

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #88 on: September 19, 2014, 06:03:44 AM »
I've started a throw down the gauntlet challenge regarding cellphone use in general, including no usage outside the home, a cold turkey data diet even at home, and RescueTime usage analysis for those interested. I'd love to see a few more people, no matter what kind of mobile phone they use, join me in picking up at least the core challenge of simply leaving the phone at home.

This looks really interesting! I have a dumb phone and a wifi tablet, but I have RescueTime installed on the tablet, and work and home computers. I already pretty much ignore my phone (sometimes the battery will die after a week and I don't even notice it) but I may start a RescueTime challenge for internet in general.

FreeWheel

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #89 on: September 21, 2014, 04:39:33 PM »
I've never had a cell phone of any type, smart or dumb. Just never seen a need.

Upon learning this, most people of course are shocked, some even wonder how I survive! "Even homeless people have a cell phone!" I've been told. I remind them that unless they are youngsters, they survived quite fine for many years without one, and could again. (Although I realize going back would require a relearning phase.)

Upon learning of my cellessness, an amazing amount of people show envy or admiration."I wish I didn't need my phone" or some variation is not uncommon. Recently, a biking buddy (who's phone is always attached to him) gave me a high five while the others in the group were busy picking their jaws up from the ground! Good times.

 

Spartana

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #90 on: September 22, 2014, 02:48:41 PM »
I've never had a cell phone of any type, smart or dumb. Just never seen a need.

Upon learning this, most people of course are shocked, some even wonder how I survive! "Even homeless people have a cell phone!" I've been told. I remind them that unless they are youngsters, they survived quite fine for many years without one, and could again. (Although I realize going back would require a relearning phase.)

Upon learning of my cellessness, an amazing amount of people show envy or admiration."I wish I didn't need my phone" or some variation is not uncommon. Recently, a biking buddy (who's phone is always attached to him) gave me a high five while the others in the group were busy picking their jaws up from the ground! Good times.
While I don't use my dumb phone for talking (I've been nearly deaf since I was 30 so talking...er...listening...isn't something I do anyways :-)!) but I like having it for emergencies - car break down out in a remote place, at night, in a stretchy city 'hood, etc... So even if I never talk on it  - or very little - I would get one just for potential emergencies. My $100/year Tracfone does that job nicely.

GuitarStv

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #91 on: September 23, 2014, 06:27:10 AM »
I have literally *never* needed a cellphone for an emergency.  People are generally pretty friendly and want to help when something goes wrong in my experience.  Couple that with the fact that anyone you pass will already have a cellphone, and there's no real need to own one for emergencies.

Spartana

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #92 on: September 23, 2014, 11:30:59 AM »
I have literally *never* needed a cellphone for an emergency.  People are generally pretty friendly and want to help when something goes wrong in my experience.  Couple that with the fact that anyone you pass will already have a cellphone, and there's no real need to own one for emergencies.
I've used mine several times to call AAA when I 1) needed a jump but was in a remote area with no one around. 2) needed to have them unlock my car when I (DOH!) left the keys inside in a remote area with no one around 3) needed them to come tow me out a remote area when no one was around. And that was just this past year. So I guess it's just a YMMV kind of thing as I'm not always somewhere were there are other people with phones I can use, or in safe areas, or it might be late at night in a bad 'hood or deserted industrial area where I might not want to fiddle around with my car if it breaks down or ask the people (if any are around) for help. I can call someone for help - or at least alert a friend/family that I broke down in inner city LA late at night - or some back road with nothing but desert wilderness for miles. I can use it when not in my car if I'm hiking or mountain biking alone and fall down and break my leg. Etc... the list goes on and on. I realize in most settings you probably never have an emergency, and even if you do there may be others around to help out, but you can't always count on that - especially in some of the areas I go. So for me it's a safer way to be able to contact someone for help then standing by the side of a lone road late at night hoping the next driver that passes by and maybe stops to help isn't Ted Bundy or Jeffry Dalmer.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2014, 11:33:10 AM by Spartana »

GuitarStv

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #93 on: September 23, 2014, 01:20:58 PM »
Please also remember that I'm a large white guy, which probably colours my responses.  I suspect that my petite asian wife would be much less comfortable asking strangers for help when stranded out in the boondocks.

Spartana

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #94 on: September 23, 2014, 06:24:03 PM »
Please also remember that I'm a large white guy, which probably colours my responses.  I suspect that my petite asian wife would be much less comfortable asking strangers for help when stranded out in the boondocks.
Yeah I think guys sometimes don't feel the same level of potential threat females do in those kinds of situations and you'd probably have no qualms about flagging down that oncoming car with the 2 severed heads dangling from the rear view mirror like giant fuzzy dice :-)! Of course I'm one of those crazy armed Americans so feel a bit more secure if I break down out on a dark desert highway :-)! But even with out that feeling I think I'd like a cell phone "just in case" 'cause you never know where you'll be when you break down or get hurt.  You'd probably like to know that your wife would have a cell phone on her if she was driving, hiking, biking or whatever alone somewhere.

sheepstache

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #95 on: September 23, 2014, 06:41:05 PM »
LA 'hood late at night, desert wilderness, unreliable car, solo mountain biking... Maybe the average person doesn't need a cell phone but what's becoming apparent is that Spartana just has a more interesting life than the average person.

libertarian4321

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #96 on: September 23, 2014, 06:49:08 PM »
Last year, I UPGRADED to a flip phone from an ancient Nokia.  I'd still have the Nokia, but the battery would no longer hold a charge.

Funny thing is, it makes phone calls just as well as an iPhone 6.  Who woulda thunk it?

Spartana

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #97 on: September 23, 2014, 06:56:03 PM »
LA 'hood late at night, desert wilderness, unreliable car, solo mountain biking... Maybe the average person doesn't need a cell phone but what's becoming apparent is that Spartana just has a more interesting life than the average person.
Ha Ha - you forgot to throw in "dating the guy with the 2 severed heads"! Hey, single guys are hard to find :-)!

zip2zap

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #98 on: September 24, 2014, 09:39:46 AM »
I held off on getting a smartphone until about a year ago primarily because of the cost.
There are a couple of things I miss about my dumb phone though. It made better quality phone calls and for whatever reason it seemed like my family didn't expect me to be constantly available. You know it's nice to be able to go to the store or whatever for a couple of hours just to escape!

I have been on Tracfone for years and somehow after a service call a couple of years ago ended up with a end service date in 2019, so I only need to buy minutes/data as I use them up without having to worry about my service end date so I'm getting by on a couple of dollars a month. Tracfone started a bring your own phone program this last year and I did the research and bought a used Iphone 4s which has worked pretty well for me. Their bring your own phone is on the Verizon network which is the only carrier that works well in our area.
A disadvantage from my Tracfone dumb phone is that the old phone would roam to other carriers.

Bakari

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Re: Dumb phone users unite!
« Reply #99 on: September 24, 2014, 11:26:09 AM »
Please also remember that I'm a large white guy, which probably colours my responses.  I suspect that my petite asian wife would be much less comfortable asking strangers for help when stranded out in the boondocks.


Which is funny, cause people tend to be way more willing to help a petite woman than a large man.
When I'm in a situation with a partner, I always have her be the one to go ask for help, cause they're way more likely to say yes.
Even in terms of the risk of random attack by strangers, people attack men significantly more often than women... and yet the relative comfort ou describe seems to be the norm