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Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

pam-moore.com

71–80 of 274 posts

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#71
post #19

Life with a smart phone is so much better than life before a smart phone. It's hard to realise how recently they came around. I've probably only had the internet on my phone for five years (I've had a smart phone for longer, but I couldn't get the data to work and data was expensive enough at the time I didn't care). I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). I ca…

I’m not a Luddite by any stretch and I’ve had smart phones since they were quite dumb, but your reasons don’t ring for me: > I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). It facilitates instant communications. Email across the planet has been around since day one. > I can have a fiancee who's in another country. I can assure you this was possible pre-smart phone. > W…

> Email across the planet has been around since day one.

It has been present around the globe for ages, if you could find an internet cafe on holiday. Reading email on your phone also needs a smartphone.

> Mass transit has had posted schedules for many years. It is nice to see an updated one with up to the minute tracking but it wasn’t that inconvenient either.

You must be one of the blessed multitudes that live in a country with a public transport system that works well. If you have frequent, long-term delays it is fairly essential for your sanity to be able to know which routes are not currently completely fucked.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#72
post #19

Life with a smart phone is so much better than life before a smart phone. It's hard to realise how recently they came around. I've probably only had the internet on my phone for five years (I've had a smart phone for longer, but I couldn't get the data to work and data was expensive enough at the time I didn't care). I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). I ca…

I’m not a Luddite by any stretch and I’ve had smart phones since they were quite dumb, but your reasons don’t ring for me: > I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). It facilitates instant communications. Email across the planet has been around since day one. > I can have a fiancee who's in another country. I can assure you this was possible pre-smart phone. > W…

If my train has a delay or doesn't run at all, I need to know a detour quickly. Sometimes you need to decide within the minute to take another line. Otherwise I have to wait 30 minutes for the next train, if that one even runs.

And I need to inform the person that I'm meeting with that I will arrive later (if I didn't have slack in my transit time).

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you'll work out how to waste your time without your phone and you'll be back to square one. I had a dumb phone for a year or so until maybe half a year ago. The ways I found to waste my time without smartphone were refreshingly different. Most importantly, thinking and wandering in my own mind without the urgent need to check every new thought from the internet. Long story short, there is now nokia 8110 with 4G and…

What about audiobooks, discord/slack for team communication, or sometimes reading on public transport. You can easily block/mute notifications and all that. Don't use apps like Instagram (never used but some of my friends do) or other addictive apps and you'll be fine. To be honest smartphones are you the best way to push some (25 minutes) to practice skills when you have time window (apps like brilliant, Reedy) Phon…

If you use discord or slack for team communication your team communication features nothing important (ie you might as well not have it) or you work at a company that doesn't do communication security well.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#74

Life with a smart phone is so much better than life before a smart phone. It's hard to realise how recently they came around. I've probably only had the internet on my phone for five years (I've had a smart phone for longer, but I couldn't get the data to work and data was expensive enough at the time I didn't care). I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). I ca…

Its about 10PM here. I got back from work 3-4 hours ago and my phone just beeped and I could read the email with simply a flick of a finger and saw that it was a work related email though I was having dinner at that time. Now, though I am at home that's running on a thread at the background in my head since then. This is perhaps just one use case but it's hardly surprising that people now want to go back to way it wa…

Why would you check your email (or even have it beep) during dinner time (or at all when you are off work)? Even if you live alone it should be a big warning flag for an unhealthy work-life balance.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#75

I obliterated one of my smartphones last year after dropping it on concrete while getting off the bus. I freaked out, had no clue what to do since I was low income and couldn't afford anything for quite awhile. For a few days it was like I was an addict, constantly feeling my back pocket vibrating, constantly reaching to check my phone. After a few more days, I felt very liberated. I felt very free. I started enjoyin…

that reminded me of how I decided to play Zelda BoTW. Zelda has a 'Pro' mode where it hides all UI but the health. I was fully decided on using it through the whole game and I think it is the best way to play the game. The absence of minimap is the biggest change. When you have your minimap is like when you drive with gps. You only wait til the map says you to turn, and after some turns staring at the minimap you get…

That is how I accidentally played the first 20-odd hours of Oblivion. I thought the compass at the bottom of the screen was it for nav, and didn't look at the keymappings and notice the 'map' key until well in to the game.

And after the initial wave of feeling dumb passed once I noticed my mistake, I also realized that I was actually having quite a lot of fun playing it that way. Although navigation was confusing at first, I learned my way around the map quite well, and by being forced to just look around instead of relying on, as you put it, GPS nav (a very apt analogy) I had a more immersive, enjoyable experience. There were times walking around where I would just stop and think, 'wow, this is really pretty'. And I am not completely sure I would have had that thought if I hadn't been forced to actually pay attention to where I was going in those early hours of play.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#76
post #68

I'm mystified by the number of people who think that they've solved the fundamental problem by getting rid of their phone: being that unable to control one's immediate impulses, is worthy of attention.

Almost everybody has impulses they can't control; the rational response is to plan ahead of time to limit the damage they do.

As a child, sure. That's part and parcel of growing up. But I would expect healthy adults to be able to control their impulses when it comes to things like wasting time on their phone. If someone genuinely can't, they're in trouble, and tossing the phone aside is treating the symptom at best.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#77
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My first question to anyone who says they can live without a smartphone: what do you use for two factor auth?

Depending on the service you are talking about there are quite a few non-smartphone reliant options like SMS or email.

SMS is like having someone shout your second factor off of a rooftop a few streets away, loud enough that you can hear it. There is 0 security on it and anyone with even a modicum of motivation can intercept it without you noticing (ever). This is bad advice.

Email is bad for similar reasons (although slightly less in terms of exposure if you use a good provider).

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#78
Sounds like the phone‘s not the problem. Just don‘t twitter, instagram, facebook, snapchat or whatever you do 24/7 and simply use it for its most useful features. Ditch every social app, delete your accounts. Maybe turn it off every day at a fixed time (quite a while before you‘re in the bathroom brushing your teeth). Leave it at home when you‘re going for a walk. It’s not like there‘s nothing inbetween a flip-phone user and a hopeless smartphone addict.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#79

I obliterated one of my smartphones last year after dropping it on concrete while getting off the bus. I freaked out, had no clue what to do since I was low income and couldn't afford anything for quite awhile. For a few days it was like I was an addict, constantly feeling my back pocket vibrating, constantly reaching to check my phone. After a few more days, I felt very liberated. I felt very free. I started enjoyin…

that reminded me of how I decided to play Zelda BoTW. Zelda has a 'Pro' mode where it hides all UI but the health. I was fully decided on using it through the whole game and I think it is the best way to play the game. The absence of minimap is the biggest change. When you have your minimap is like when you drive with gps. You only wait til the map says you to turn, and after some turns staring at the minimap you get…

Woah, considering the "exploration" aspect of BoTW, this makes me want to play this game even more.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#80
post #19

Life with a smart phone is so much better than life before a smart phone. It's hard to realise how recently they came around. I've probably only had the internet on my phone for five years (I've had a smart phone for longer, but I couldn't get the data to work and data was expensive enough at the time I didn't care). I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). I ca…

I’m not a Luddite by any stretch and I’ve had smart phones since they were quite dumb, but your reasons don’t ring for me: > I can communicate with my fiancee even when she's in another country (international sms = fail). It facilitates instant communications. Email across the planet has been around since day one. > I can have a fiancee who's in another country. I can assure you this was possible pre-smart phone. > W…

>millions of man years wasted streaming mind numbing video.

..millions of man years wasted waiting.

>zoning out of the real world people around you to doodle on your phone that’s sad.

..humoring pointless gossip so people will like you, that's sad.

My point is that these seem very subjective and judgmental.

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