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"You don't have a SMARTPHONE, what's up with that?
That question is asked of me countless times by friends, family and neighbors. They act like I am completely insane for not having a SMARTPHONE.
I try to explain to them that while it would be nice once in a while to have access to the Internet while I am traveling or just out in about, it seems too expensive for what I would get. I don't text and while I would use the phone on and office, my old fashioned flip phone with time paid by the minute does just fine.
I tell them that I am philosophically against what SMARTPHONES have done to how people communicate today. I am against:
How kids and young adults will sit together at a social event and everyone is ignoring each other playing with their SMARTPHONE
How I go to a seminar or workshop or adult education class and people are ignoring the Instructor and playing with their SMARTPHONE
Going to a movie in a stadium style theatre, sitting high up and looking over a sea of SMARTPHONES lighting up a dark theatre.
What impact SMARTPHONES have had on young people's ability to talk to each other face to face.
YES, I think that SMARTPHONES have destroyed communication in America and non romantic relationships.
I agree with you on all counts. But you aren't going to change their minds. What I usually do when people comment on my lack of a smartphone is give a big Shrug and say "It seems silly for me to pay $40 a month ($480 per year) for a data plan I don't need." End of conversation.
Yes, it is indeed the equivalent of "My__________ is bigger than yours". Best way to win a stupid game is not to play.
Who gives a .... what other people think about what cell phone you have? They're not the ones paying the bill, and it's not like they're excommunicating you because you don't have a smartphone.
Really?
Admittedly, the comments were confined to a couple of snotty nieces who enjoy using their phones to take duck face pictures at bars, then post them to Facebook .....
I think it is a gap between age and, perhaps, career. It's a weekly chore for me at work, IPLing systems to integrate the latest updates to the mainframe; keeping an eye on servers for network connectivity, CPU usage and drives that become pegged. I've been doing that for 30 years. Home and personal technology - gawd, gimme a freakin' break from all that. I don't have the "oh wow! Apple has a new IOS upgrade!" attitude that youngsters have. I look at what I'm using, say "well, this still does what I need. No need to mess with it; I'll be getting calls from the help desk next week at work from people who are trying to figure out the new upgrade. I'm sure I'll get a damned good look at it then."
I love smartphones.. it means I can browse the internet on the bus or in an elevator so I can pretend I am doing something else, hence nobody will try to talk to me (not that people do that here anyway).
I love smartphones.. it means I can browse the internet on the bus or in an elevator so I can pretend I am doing something else, hence nobody will try to talk to me (not that people do that here anyway).
Well, no, that's 'cause they're doing the same.
Such behavior is a source of amusement for those of us paying attention to our surroundings Driving home from work last night, I found myself in an urban stretch along a road with several stoplights. Stopped at one stretch, I look to my left and spy a young woman waiting to make a left out of a parking lot, cross a lane, and get into my lane. Well, OK, I'll be nicer than the average commuter - I'll make room and let her in. When the car ahead moves up a little, I stay still, roll down my window and make a broad arm waving gesture for her to pull out and move in. The lane she would have had to cross didn't have cars at that moment. She acted like she didn't see me. I honk and wave again. No reaction. I lift my sunglasses to get a clearer view -- the dumb bint has her head down, hands propped on the steering wheel, texting. OK-whatever-fine. I'm sure whatever text she's composing is more important than getting a break in the traffic. She can wait until another nice person comes along - if she gets her head away from the damned device long enough to see them.
WOW. I guess I am really lucky. Most of my family members could give a rats @#$ what kind of phone I have.
I will admit that my nieces and nephews were shocked that I did not have a 'smart phone'. But they are far more proficient with technology than I will ever be. I still have to have my nephew come over twice a year to change the clocks on my cars, microwave, etc.
I do not have a smartphone. Neither do my children, 2 of whom are in high school. (We do have cell phones though.) We live a simple life and enjoy it. No facebook or twitter or any of that. Many people do have smartphones, and enjoy them. That is everyone's choice and I don't think anyone should condemn or ridicule another for their choice.
Unfortunately, this can become a rift in relationships. I know a couple of years ago my sister and nieces were on facebook and were in constant contact with one another- once they had facebook emails were forgotten and so was everyone else who didn't have facebook. My sister has a degree in computers and looks down on those who are not up to date on the lates technology. Not being a tech wiz does not make us less of a person, though. We should be loved and accepted for who we are, not what we have!
But to OP- hey, you have a computer right? So at least we're not living in the stone ages!! lol
"You don't have a SMARTPHONE, what's up with that?
That question is asked of me countless times by friends, family and neighbors. They act like I am completely insane for not having a SMARTPHONE.
<snip>
I tell them that I am philosophically against what SMARTPHONES have done to how people communicate today. I am against:
<snip>
What impact SMARTPHONES have had on young people's ability to talk to each other face to face.
YES, I think that SMARTPHONES have destroyed communication in America and non romantic relationships.
Change SMARTPHONES to TELEPHONES and you could have been my grandfather in the 1930s, when my mom was a teen and wanted the family to get a TELEPHONE. True story.
How kids and young adults will sit together at a social event and everyone is ignoring each other playing with their SMARTPHONE
I have two teenagers and I'll explain a little about what you're seeing there: they are playing together, with their smartphones. Maybe in the olden days kids went to fish and they were looking at the water instead of looking at each other, but they were still socializing. Maybe. I dunno. I've never been fishing. But while the kids are sitting there staring at their screens playing games, they are also doing something that bonds them together with their peer group. They discuss games, play games together, hang out online while playing games. When my kids have sleep overs and all their friends come over, everyone discusses who is bringing what: who brings the controllers, who brings the games, whether or not they are going to have enough monitors, who is bringing the projector, cables, etc. So, the kids are being social, it's just a different kind of social than what even I grew up with and I'm in my 30's, so I can imagine how different it must look to people older than me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by I'm Retired Now
How I go to a seminar or workshop or adult education class and people are ignoring the Instructor and playing with their SMARTPHONE
My hubby often attends conferences and training classes for work. He is also pretty much "on-call" all the time, even if he is in class. So, if his boss or one of his co-workers run into a problem while he is in class, and it pertains to something that is sort of his area of special knowledge... he will respond to their text or step out of the room to take the call. The nature of his job is that if something breaks, they must fix it very quickly. Things such as forest fires, hospitals, 911 service, etc. depend upon him doing his job well.
I have used my smartphone to text with my kids during class on rare occasions. I also have taught my kids to text me as soon as they change locations so if they text me while I am in class I do look at my phone so that I know where my kids are or if they got home safe, etc. As a mother I love being able to keep connected with my kids 24/7 regardless of where we are, and we love texting because it is much quicker than a phone conversation and it is quiet and more discreet.
So, my suggestion to you in this situation is to not worry what other people are doing with their mobile devices. Maybe they have a valid reason like me or my hubby or maybe they don't, but it really shouldn't matter to you unless they are being disruptive. In which case usually the instructor is good about asking that person to leave the classroom while they take their call or whatever, or you can.
Quote:
Originally Posted by I'm Retired Now
Going to a movie in a stadium style theatre, sitting high up and looking over a sea of SMARTPHONES lighting up a dark theatre.
Totally agree with you on this one! I love my mobile device but I really wish people would have some smartphone etiquette, you know?
One more thing: I'm hearing impaired, so for people like me having a smartphone actually improves our ability to communicate with the people we love.
Last edited by haggardhouseelf; 11-20-2013 at 03:29 PM..
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Driving home from work last night, I found myself in an urban stretch along a road with several stoplights. Stopped at one stretch, I look to my left and spy a young woman waiting to make a left out of a parking lot, cross a lane, and get into my lane. Well, OK, I'll be nicer than the average commuter - I'll make room and let her in. When the car ahead moves up a little, I stay still, roll down my window and make a broad arm waving gesture for her to pull out and move in. The lane she would have had to cross didn't have cars at that moment. She acted like she didn't see me. I honk and wave again. No reaction. I lift my sunglasses to get a clearer view -- the dumb bint has her head down, hands propped on the steering wheel, texting. OK-whatever-fine. I'm sure whatever text she's composing is more important than getting a break in the traffic. She can wait until another nice person comes along - if she gets her head away from the damned device long enough to see them.
True story.