this post was submitted on 30 Dec 2024
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Showerthoughts

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I cannot tell you a way my life has genuinely gotten better since the advent of "smart" phones. (self.showerthoughts)
submitted 5 days ago by Clinicallydepressedpoochie to c/showerthoughts
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But ask me about legalized weed ;]

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[โ€“] leadore 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

So far I have managed to avoid getting a smartphone and am still using a flip phone. Every time I look into getting one it gives me a yucky feeling, but I'm still considering getting one at some point.

Of course I have a computer, a laptop, and also a small tablet that I have some apps and games on for amusement. But for a phone to carry around, all I care about is having a way to make a call if needed and send/receive texts, so I have no need for a smartphone. I have taken my tablet to a cafe and used their Wifi to access the internet a few times, but I rarely want to do that.

(edit to add): I can also use my flip phone as a wifi hotspot for my tablet if I really need to access the internet but I never do this as I usually don't carry my tablet around.

Things that I can see a smartphone being useful for:

  • GPS/maps, but I don't really need that since I rarely travel that far away and I know my way around my city and nearby cities. However I can always download static maps of other cities to my tablet if I'm going to an unfamiliar place and/or look it up online ahead of time--like when I had to go to a funeral, I printed off a couple maps--one close up on the location area and one zoomed further out to see the route to the area.

  • Weather app with radar.

  • Signal app, which I'm not sure I'd use, but I think it would be nice to have in case I need secure messaging as we move into 2025.

  • ummmm, can't think of anything else ๐Ÿค”

Things I'm glad I don't have to worry about by not having one:

  • Tracking, data harvesting, surveillance. Including via the phone's mic.

  • going around like a zombie everywhere constantly staring a screen, unable to sit or stand quietly for more than 15 seconds without whipping it out (the phone! you knew what I meant). This is really not healthy. Maybe I wouldn't do that, but who knows, maybe I would start doing that, as it seems everyone else does, and (sorry, but) it looks pathetic and I think it's not healthy.

  • the constant beeping, dinging, vibrating, or whatever it's set to do for notifications, from dozens of apps demanding attention. That would drive me nuts. My phone only makes a sound if I get a phone call or text, which is not often. If I ever started getting texts too often I might turn off sound for them.