[Closed] Ditching a smartphone.

Yep although not familiar with what you've mentioned but do have my own reasons for this.

Does the Social dilema offer a good reason to, I've not seen it.

It helps me with work, organisation, banking, communicating with people I don't run into often. More recently it has allowed me to enter places that serve food and drink as most have required a login, or registration to confirm I had visited, it also allowed me to place orders in these places. It saves me from getting lost, a lot.

I'm aware it also tracks my movements, really not that exciting and it's always listening to me, again, not all that exciting. So what else is it doing to slowly kill me?

After watching Social Dilema I wasn't inclined to ditch my smartphone as it's too useful for work and other things but I did delete my social media accounts (FB & Twitter).

Smartphones are like anything, they're good and make life easier but you can't let them control you.

it has nothing to do with technology but everything to do with psychology IMO.

I would never contemplate it personally as I find it an incredibly useful tool, it enhances my life rather than controls it... I can understand why some people would though.

it enhances my life rather than controls it

This is the key for me. As a self employed person it is pretty transformative. If the weathers nice I can go for a ride. Check my emails, nothing urgent, have another hour or two riding. Go on holiday without losing business. Be on site but still have access to everything in the office. And that's before we get to all the fun stuff like mapping, games, etc. I can see why some would ditch social media but you don't need to ditch the smartphone to do that.

I constantly toy with the idea - I don't do facebook/twitter/insta/whatever, but I struggle with the willpower to not be constantly distracted by it, so my thinking is more about managing myself than too many concerns about privacy etc....

Wouldn’t give mine up. Too many useful things on it eg Cameras, mapping, email, news, this place, home heating control, car control, the list goes on!

Would appear daft to me to get rid of a very useful tool just because you can’t control your social media use. I have never used Twitter, I have Facebook for knowing about sports clubs, buying selling etc, but I never post on my timeline or respond to others

What's Chris Evans been saying?

This is the key for me. As a self employed person it is pretty transformative. If the weathers nice I can go for a ride. Check my emails, nothing urgent, have another hour or two riding. Go on holiday without losing business. Be on site but still have access to everything in the office. And that’s before we get to all the fun stuff like mapping, games, etc. I can see why some would ditch social media but you don’t need to ditch the smartphone to do that.

Basically this, it's the size of a pocket diary, but has the instruction manuals for every piece of equipment I'll ever need to use on it.

A camera that can ping a photo of a fault to anyone in my contacts in seconds.

I can find someone with a problem from the location of their phone.

Remember a time before google maps when you had to search the internet for the company, write the postcode on a post-it and take it to the car for the sat nav, and if the satnav got it wrong you were stuffed, on an industrial estate 3 streets away from your destination with no idea where to go?

And that's before spotify, netflix and grumble to fill boredom.

I was looking at a CAT phone the other day that had built in IR camera! I'd be able to not only find the knackered bit of kit, but then diagnose what component had failed!

Would appear daft to me to get rid of a very useful tool just because you can’t control your social media use.

Pretty much my thoughts. If you don't want the functionality of something you could just not use that functionality, it's not mandatory. The problem there isn't the hardware, it's the wetware. If on the other hand we're discussing 'what does a feature phone do better than a smart phone?' then that makes far more sense to me.

I was looking at a CAT phone the other day that had built in IR camera! I’d be able to not only find the knackered bit of kit, but then diagnose what component had failed!

Pretty much all mobile phone cameras can see IR. Fire yours up and then point a TV remote at it, betcha you see flashy-flashy when you press buttons. It's a neat way of testing the batteries.

Pretty much all mobile phone cameras can see IR. Fire yours up and then point a TV remote at it, betcha you see flashy-flashy when you press buttons. It’s a neat way of testing the batteries.

Mind. Blown.

I never bothered to get a smartphone in the first place, they've always seemed a bit yuppie to me, though I do increasingly get treated like a leper when I go to collect from Screwfix or ask for directions. Also I think there's some inate fear that if I get one I'd become one of those parents who sits and looks at my phone at every playground/cafe ignoring my children, leading to them inevitably becoming disconnected from me.

I've recently been given a smartphone for work but I don't really have the need for it so it just stays on my desk and operates as a (presumably expensive) landline.

i deleted my ten year old facebook account 3 weeks ago after watching the social network documentary on netflix, id been considering it for a while and that was just the nudge i needed. was strange initially but i defo won't be going back. i find my phone too useful to do away with but sometimes it crosses my mind.

People being obsessed with their mobile phones was already a thing before the smartphone era.

So these phones with thermal imaging cameras. Will I be able to pan down to a womans' crotch to see if she has the hots for me? Surely it won't be long for this technology to be integrated into smart glasses so I can be even more discreet.

Will I be able to pan down to a womans’ crotch to see if she has the hots for me?

You won't.

Will I be able to pan down to a womans’ crotch to see if she has the hots for me?

You She won’t.

Ive never had a smart phone, internet stuff i get by sitting at a PC all bloody day at work. After work Im riding or with my mates anyway, or in the van driving somewhere.

So Maps for riding are on my Garmin (or good old fashioned paper OS Maps), I phone my mates and actually talk to them (works better than anything else for realtime communication), satnav in the van.

So far I havent felt Ive missed out. In fact I often get people commenting my life must be slightly better as Im not bombarded with all the attention grabbing rubbish they get constantly.

Its like life 10-15 years ago, pretty fine and no pressure/crap from social media 🙂

As a device that keeps me connected and entertained when thousands of miles away from friends and family it's great. However, it does take concious effort to not mindlessly scroll through shite that's of no value or of genuine interest.

As the ship's internet connection is really slow, it stops me from getting hooked into one dumb video after another, waiting for crap to load that isn't worth the time.

Makes me stick to the facts, or stuff I downloaded before leaving home.

People being obsessed with their mobile phones was already a thing before the smartphone era.

People being obsessed with their phones was already a thing before the mobile phone era.

My grandparents got their first landline back in like the late 70s / early 80s. Whenever it rang they both lost their shit trying to get to it before it rang off, they'd claw each other out of the way like it was the last toilet roll in Tesco.

So far I havent felt Ive missed out.

You wouldn't though, would you. I'm sure people don't feel like they've missed out if they've never had chocolate, a television, a Greggs steak bake or heroin.

I find mine to be invaluable and I'd be genuinely lost without it. Not just the obvious frippery like Facebook but it's a camera; a note-taking device; a messaging system; a calculator; a satnav; a train / bus timetable; an mp3 player; a book; a mobile gaming system; and of course, a telephone. And sure, I could ditch the phone and carry discrete versions of all of those things, but I'd be walking like ED-209.

I've taken a hybrid approach - by turning my smartphone into a slightly stupid phone.

I've got airplane mode turned on and wifi turned on. This means it can only connect to Wifi calling at home and other places where I've added the network details. In those locations Wifi calling / texts / voicemail all work automatically - but everywhere else the phone just goes to voicemail. Notifications for pretty everything are turned off so I don't get distracted.

So basically my "phone" doesn't work whilst driving, when I'm out having a meal (in most places) but when I'm at work / home it does work. If I get really stuck I can also turn the "phone" bit on.

To date (touch wood) I've not missed anything urgent and the lack of attention stealing notifications etc is quite noticeable.

As said above, it's just how you want to use it, it's basically a little PC in your pocket.

I Use social media less and less, but to look something up on the net, email on the go (personal not business) post some crap on a forum in a quiet moment, a music player, a camera, and to make calls and texts, it's superb.

I have however realised I don't need an expensive one either, a solid mid range phone is fine for my needs.

and listening to Chris Evans

Well, that’s a good reason right there to keep on using mine! He’s nowhere near as smart as he likes to think he is. But then, I don’t use social meeja other than Messenger for keeping in touch with some close friends.
Otherwise it’s my weather forecast, portable music player, library, research, alarm clock, camera...
Plus, and at this time it’s vitally important, it’s there for scanning the NHS Track & Trace QR Codes wherever I go, including at work, something that those who don’t have a smartphone are unable to do, so there’s an element now of social responsibility in having a smartphone of some sort, dumbphones don’t do QR Codes.

Is there some weird irony where you want to ditch your smartphone for distracting you and because of the evils of social media, then asking a bunch of strangers on the internet for validation.

I don’t understand the notion that smart phones are a distraction etc. That’s only the case if you let it be so.

I have Facebook for remote friends and family and groups. Also a few social messaging apps, however all notifications are off and emails are fetched rather than pushed.

As for tracking and ‘big brother’ type worries, I have nothing to hide and if somebody wishes to track what I do, meh.

Recording personal conversations is a different matter, but I see no evidence of that.

If somebody needs me urgently they ring or text. Basically it’s a phone that happens to do a lot more when I need it to.

Remember a time before google maps when you had to search the internet for the company, write the postcode on a post-it and take it to the car for the sat nav, and if the satnav got it wrong you were stuffed, on an industrial estate 3 streets away from your destination with no idea where to go?

#millenium

Remember a time when you'd ring up a location and they'd fax you a map, and then the map would be wrong because there was a new road/roundabout etc?

As I said to one of my kids (22 y/o) the other day - you've a device in your hand that has access to more information than pretty much anyone in history had (before 2005ish).

Ignoring all their other abilities, why would anyone want to lose this?

I’ve gone a bit hybrid with mine too. I’ve wrapped it in tinfoil.

In fact I often get people commenting my life must be slightly better as Im not bombarded with all the attention grabbing rubbish they get constantly.

You must love being the attention. 😉

What I love about the smartphone in my pocket (well, desk at the mo) is that it's not just a calendar/note taking/internettything/map/audio player, but that it's CONNECTED to all my other calendars/note takers/internettythings/maps/audio players...

I can take a photo, and it's in my google cloud/desktop..
I can make a diary entry on ANY device...and it's on ANY DEVICE....

Yeah, I'm probably a bit addicted, but TBH I don't really use facebook much ..instagram is for photos of my kids and biking, and I've 1 twitter follower (my dad...)

One of my staff members says she can't use a smart phone because it given her headaches, so she has a dumb phone. Microwave ovens do the same.
Hmmm.... I just keep quiet about that and let her be.... Surely 3/4/5g radio signals are EVERYWHERE, and from EVERY phone...

DrP

In and of themselves they are remarkable things, unfortunately the twits they're interfacing with aren't.

Parents on their phones out walking with their kids but ignoring them, friends round the table in restaurants all on their phones, the stupid selfie 'look at me' culture, a generation of young women who think slugs for eyebrows and a ducks face are the epitome of attractiveness - I dispair. I have a couple of friends I ride with who regularly whip theirs out (ahem) during dinner or even mid conversation to stare at something vital. I know I may not be the most fascinating companion but that's just rude 😒

If only we could control ourselves rather than morph into mindless zombies...

I'm toying with ditching mine. I absolutely love it for music, internet, games etc. But being disturbed by notifications is driving me crackers.

This morning I got a message at 6:55 on whatsapp from my boss "send me notes for the meeting at 10". No reason it couldn't have been an email to my work address (i start at 9), but no it apparently has to go to my personal phone, before my work hours start.

I've been muting all the notifications i don't care about first. If that doesn't stop the interruptions I'm leaving it on DND all the time with just a few people set to allowed.

Some apps are ****ing terrible as well. Facebook has already gone because sometimes it notified me about something, I'd swipe it away and 3 minutes later I'd get the same notification again. I'm using Swipe now instead, mostly the same functionality, but a lot more control and less tracking (plus ad blocker).

Is it just me or do FB periodically take the brakes off advertising controls and you then get inundated for a couple of weeks for no particular reason?

What I don't like is that companies like FB are building up information about us which their AI can use to keep us hooked to their app, just so they can show us more advertising.

The longer they keep us scrolling, the more cash they make. They know from your previous behaviour, what to show, to keep you hooked. They know when you are losing interest and show some bike porn to keep you scrolling.

You think it's hard to stop looking at your phone? That's because it is. You are trying to beat teams of psychologists and cutting edge AI.

Oh yeah and they are doing the same to our kids.

I also dislike the fact that people (me included), just do things to get lots of likes. I go paddle-boarding at dawn and think that a cool pic will get be lots of likes. While I am doing the activity, I am thinking what comment I should put on the pic when I should be looking for otters, or being wowed by flocks of lapwings.

I want to do things because, I want to do them, not because I think I will get lots of admiring clicks. When I engage in an activity, I want to be present in it.

I don't think I could do without mine, I need it for navigation and communication. I don't even think I can do without FB because I need it for some group communications.

I have deleted my Instagram, unfollowed everyone on Twitter except one important contact, left all the FB groups and culled some FB 'friends'. I'm attempting to never post again, just use it for communication. I also made my Strava private, I don't want kudos for a 2 mile lunchtime walk.

I phone my mates and actually talk to them (works better than anything else for realtime communication),

all your mates a similar age?

Text based communication lets them reply when they are able to; not when they are driving, halfway through cooking dinner, kids bathtime, work meetings.

And by text based, most everything these days is via whatsapp, FB messenger, Teams, email etc. Multiple contacts, threaded conversations, read notifications, pictures.

Only SMS I get are from Royal mail and DPD telling me when to expect a delivery.

The fact that mobile providers basically give you minutes and texts for free when you buy a data contract shows you how the world is going.

Mine was bloody handy when my Mum was dying in hospital - emails & texts/calls with her OH, satnav to & from the hospital redirecting me round smashups, paid for the parking and my lunch and any little things she needed, took photos and videos of her, set reminders for everything and anything so my life didn't go completely off the rails. The day she died I played her music on it.

That said I totally see how "teh socials" can be a toxic timesuck and I'm as susceptible as anyone. I took the FB icon off my phone's "front pages"!

This morning I got a message at 6:55 on whatsapp from my boss “send me notes for the meeting at 10”. No reason it couldn’t have been an email to my work address (i start at 9), but no it apparently has to go to my personal phone, before my work hours start.

I'd be nipping that in the bud sharpish.

I don't have a smartphone or a computer or tablet, in fact I never use technology witchcraft stuff.
A couple of weeks ago I found an old abacus in the loft couldn't wait to get it outside and take a hammer to it

"This morning I got a message at 6:55 on whatsapp from my boss"

Agreed, this isn't on.

I've noticed a few people recently using personal WhatsApp accounts for work communication. Surely this isn't the right thing to do? Surely the company communication routes should be used?

I would ignore the message and educate your boss. Work starts at 9.

17 years ago I got given a dumb phone when I started with the company, within 4 years a couple of change of jobs they gave me a blackberry. Thats when the BBM and texts started day and night from work colleagues and it became a right royal pain, you never felt like you had finished work. I think part of that was deliberate.

I made a policy of having it 'on' 8-6 and no more, this caused some issues as my clients were all GP and dentists and that was often when they could contact you but I figured I need a life and I'm having one!

I would ignore the message and educate your boss. Work starts at 9.

I wouldn't have given my boss my personal number in the first place unless I trusted them not to do such things.

this caused some issues as my clients were all GP and dentists and that was often when they could contact you but I figured I need a life and I’m having one!

Quite right. Were they paying you to be on call? Switch it off, then.

Excessive social media usage is fairly easy to identify as a problem and reduce accordingly; however, it's easy to justify phone addiction in other ways such as excessive browsing of forums relating to our interests, reading about subjects we're interested in, or simply just checking emails, the weather, stock markets, etc. as normal behaviour. This can add up quickly and become compulsive too. Ever felt that every gap in external stimuli has to be filled with looking at your phone - waiting for the kettle to boil? check the phone. Kids currently occupied? check the phone. On the loo? check the phone. I admit I have.

Spending this much time looking at a screen has obvious consequences such as being disconnected from your immediate surroundings, but I have a theory that there are less obvious and potentially more serious consequences too, such as being disconnected from yourself, and if you're stimulated all the time, this becomes your new baseline and therefore everything genuinely stimulating becomes a bit less so.

I've had success by turning off notifications and setting screen time limits. Removing fingerprint unlock and setting a 16 digit pin is another good tip to reduce the compulsion to unlock it.

I refused to give my boss my mobile number, it really riled him up. He did eventually get it through nefarious means so I changed it.🤣😂🤣
I no longer work for him and he now has my number.😁