Smart Phones

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

Is there anyone else who has never owned a smart phone? Just wondering. :?:

 

[ashdigger]

I own one, but the day I retire, into the dumpster it goes.

 

[Chasing Embers]

That's all u use for internet use. I don't own a regular computer.

 

[warren]

Heart disease, wouldn't be without one nor my Apple Watch which is also a stand alone phone.

 

[georged]

Electronic heroin, you mean?
Not no, but hell no. ::

 

[georged]

In case anyone thought I was joking or exaggerating:
http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/

 

[jpmcwjr]

From the above:

Studies are beginning to show links between smartphone usage and increased levels of anxiety and depression, poor sleep quality, and increased risk of car injury or death. Many of us wish we spent less time on our phones but find it incredibly difficult to disconnect. Why are our smartphones so hard to ignore?

So, worse than smoking!!

 

[davet]

I switched back to a flip phone, don't miss the smartphone at all :mrgreen:

 

[brian64]

Not no, but hell no.

Amen to that.

 

[brian64]

And there is of course this aspect of the "smart phone" scourge...the selfie epidemic, and the numerous associated deaths and injuries resulting from a combination of stupidity and narcissism:

Then there are the hundreds of other people you’ve probably never heard about who died trying to get the perfect cliffhanger photo. The student who fell 700 feet at Ireland’s iconic Cliffs of Moher in January. The 68-year-old woman who was fatally scalded in a Chilean geyser. The man in his fifties who was struck by lightning while hiking with a selfie pole in the Welsh mountains. The teenage girl swept away by an unexpected wave on a beach in the Philippines.
For each of these recorded deaths, there are also thousands of near misses (misfies?). These include such high-profile incidents as the woman who, in March of this year, allegedly climbed over the barrier at an Arizona zoo to take a selfie with a jaguar and was mauled by the animal;
Selfies have resulted in peloton crashes at the Tour de France and may have contributed to a helicopter crash over New York City in March 2018. According to a report in the New York Times, the pilot, who was the only survivor, told the National Transportation Safety Board that the crash may have occurred because a passenger was trying to take a photo of his feet dangling out the helicopter door—a so-called “shoe selfie”—and might have accidentally hit the emergency fuel shut-off. All five passengers died.
https://www.outsideonline.com/2393419/selfie-deaths

 

[mortonbriar]

I am STILL ON A FLIP PHONE, have not yet got a smart phone. Holding out as long as I can, but the old flip phone will not be available forever...
It has got to the point where every single person feels the urge to comment when I pull out the phone now, I feel a bit like the last person in town without a smart phone (oh, and smoking a pipe)
Isaac

 

[daniel7]

I have a Huawei, it is necessary for work, those Leica lens make wonderful photos.

 

[autumnfog]

Never had one. Don't want one.

 

[autumnfog]

I see people entering and leaving buses without lifting their heads from the little screen.

People cross streets without looking up even once.

Cycling and texting in the same time.

Wearing headphones on the streets.

Messaging while driving.

Being reachable and traceable 24/7.

Everyone has become press photographers.

Everywhere and at everytime you risk being filmed.

Constantly being involved in and exposed to advertising and quick social media updates

messes with your brain.

People become addicted.
This is not just leading to stress but is also the direct cause of accidents,

which could have been easily avoided by normal wariness.
There is of course many more aspects to consider within this subject.

Used wisely and in moderation they may be practical but in the wider perspective I think these gadgets

create more problems than they solve.
Do we need apps for everything we do in life?

 

[mikethompson]

I don't have a cell phone at all, smart or otherwise, but I do use my tablet quite a bit. 99% of my online activity is through this.
I don't think I've ever sent a text message.

 

[scloyd]

I purchased my first smartphone 5 years ago after our first grandson was born. Mainly for taking pictures...the convenience of not having to lug a camera around. Also, that is when I started texting.

 

[mso489]

I guess I'm a tech parasite. My wife has an iPhone, after she hated her Android phone. Much tech frustrates and infuriates me, completely irrational but heart felt. I've gotten as far as a flip phone, which I use about every two weeks to check on details of groceries and such. I don't do computer or video games of any kind. My idea of fun with digital devices is pipesmagazine Forums and the very codgerly email. No texts, instagrams, and sure as hell no facebook, which to me is like cuddling up to the devil. If I could just check the box and choose, I'd like to be aloof about it but adept with technology, to have use of the good aspects and ignore the rest. I've had a long list of hateful experiences with tech, both relating to it directly and related to interpersonal aspects of use. I've lost friends who've disappeared on facebook, which illustrates the reasons for my resentment. I'm a letter writer, snail mail, isn't that dreadful?

 

[trouttimes]

I'll admit my addiction. I never leave the house without my Apple phone or my pipe. Is there a 12 step program to get off?

 

[warren]

My phone is more for the apps available which help in my photography, tides, light angles, moon rise/set, weather forecasts, topography, etc. than communication with other people. These apps mean I have it all in my pocket, readily available as opposed to a small library of "dead tree" books and booklets. Then, again the heart disease, the ability to send emergency communications and to be located based on phone transmissions make the smart phone a necessary piece of equipment. Even when cell service is not available, I have a small library of important information at hand.
I've even sold a couple of shots based on the tiny images of photos I carry on the phone, my mini-portfolio.
I carry a small solar charger in one of my equipment bags to ensure my money making, possibly life saving, weight saving, information full, phone is always operable.

 

[skydog]

I've had great luck with my android smart phones over the past few years. Cheap and tough and gives me all the functionality I need. I'm actually waiting for my dentist appointment right now browsing this forum. I try to put it down and enjoy life when there is something worth enjoying but I never have to read boring waiting room magazines anymore with the entire internet available for reading at anytime. I hate some technology but having so much information at my fingertips is not something I'd give up easily.