This might sound ignorant but I really don't get it. I realised a smart phone was eating up my time so I weened myself off a lot of social media and uninstalled a bunch of apps and haven't looked back. I use Signal and Whatsapp to talk to a few friends, listen to music and read the news. Thats about it.
Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?
31–40 of 141 posts
Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?
#32Why do people hold up the NY Times as such a great newspaper? There's been like 8 stories from them on here today, and it's the same repeated drivel they trot out every two or three weeks, on the same topics, and the same low-energy arguments. My flag button is wearing out.
Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?
#33I have strongly considered this. I'm on a Windows Mobile device right now, and as long as security updates keep coming monthly, I'll stay here, but eventually I am going to need a new solution. Android is an unacceptable security risk, and I am not super fond of Apple or their limits. I was considering switching wholly to an LTE-enabled Windows tablet (I have a Surface, but I've been eyeing a Latitude) and then just…
Can I ask what tablet you'd be looking at? Perhaps one of the windows laptop/tablets hybrids? Besides those I'm not sure what other tablets besides Android/iOS you'd migrate to.
Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?
#34For those who want their phone to respect them, while still maintaining smart functionality, I recommend LineageOS, it's a distribution of android without all the google's proprietary crap.
That doesn't actually change anything about the smartphone being a distraction machine. All the same apps, social networks, constant notifications, etc are still there. The fundamentals have nothing to do with "Google's proprietary crap" and everything to do with being an internet enabled distraction machine, which is true for all modern smartphone OSes.
Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not OP, but can answer. What everyone used to do.
Get lost and have to stop/call for directions? Abandoning modern technology doesn't seem like the better alternative in this case.
> Get lost and have to stop/call for directions?
Why is, it in these type of questions, people always immediately go to the worst case scenario to try and prove their point? What about the average case: people again learn to plan their routes in advance, use their instincts, road signs, and if necessary, how to use a map.
You also assume you can't get lost using a GPS. All data has the potential to be stale. Maybe the route the gps took you is through a mountainous road where there is no signal. What happens when you come across an unfamiliar geographical feature and are unsure how to proceed, and now your gps cannot update your location? What if the location you are attemping to access is "net new" as in new roads? What if the location simply no longer exists and your mapping service has not been updated? In my experience, GPS is great for city driving with clear path to the sky (and >50% battery for any trip that is over an hour). Not so good in mountainous or remote locations. I imagine if we didn't rely on a computer telling us where something is, we would revert back to the default behavior of actually learning our surroundings, which has a host of other benefits that you never know would come in handy until they do.
Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?
#36The article uses the word "phone" about 40 times. Based on my own usage patterns, I don't even have a phone. I have a portable computer. I happen to use it to make phone calls a few times every week. I use my desktop to make video calls a few times a month, but I don't call that a phone. We all know a smartphone is a computer, and I'm not trying to be pedantic about the words we use, but I think our insistence that t…
I think the 'mobile phone' form factor is the import point here. When I use a desktop or laptop computer, it's at least somewhat more intentional. But pulling out your phone is something you can do anywhere. So the ways in which it changes how your attention works are probably different.
Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?
#37I’ve got my last smartphone. I’ll use it until it dies or Apple abandons it.
I’ve come to the conclusion I’d rather spend the money on a hobby instead.
Im also getting really fucking annoyed at how much stuff is broken for the amount of money I spent too.
Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Considering that the darker edges of "app engagement" are trying to replicate gambling addiction, I hesitate to call users dumb when they don't act in their best self interest.
Actually most of the pressure has been social, i.e. peer pressure. "Why aren't you using this app? How can I reach you?" etc. Just have to say no and stick to your own plan.
It's not that simple though. Those people aren't pressuring you into doing drugs, they just want to be in touch – hardly a crime. Just saying "no" without providing some kind of credible alternative can make you a hermit, and not everyone is OK with that.
Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?
#39I've just abandoned using a smartphone in favor of a $20 dumb Alcatel phone that can only do three things: calls, alarms, and an FM radio. It doesn't even vibrate. I offloaded every other functional use into my tablet, in this case an iPad Pro. The phone battery lasts for days on standby; I can drain my tablet battery without concern. I can leave the tablet at home if I want to stay light or if I want to stay focused…
My $125 Alcatel Windows Phone meets or exceeds the specs of all but the highest end apple/android devices, but I can literally feel the ecosystem crumbling around me
Re: Is a Dumber Phone a Better Phone?
#40The article uses the word "phone" about 40 times. Based on my own usage patterns, I don't even have a phone. I have a portable computer. I happen to use it to make phone calls a few times every week. I use my desktop to make video calls a few times a month, but I don't call that a phone. We all know a smartphone is a computer, and I'm not trying to be pedantic about the words we use, but I think our insistence that t…
You object to calling them "phones" because they're not often used as phones, yet you want to call them "computers". What exactly do you compute with them?
We should all be honest and call them "trackers" or "distractors".