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Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

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Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#251

Post by iforgotpassword »

lolsal wrote: post #243
iforgotpassword wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

May I add: >> 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. Do you even need instant communication in that case? It's not like you're going to have a quick unexpected meetup or some "hey I'm quite busy can you go get the kids?" Not to mention time zone issues. >> When I'm…

> Do you even need instant communication in that case? It's not like you're going to have a quick unexpected meetup or some "hey I'm quite busy can you go get the kids?" Not to mention time zone issues. "help, I'm being detained in Paris!" "I was mugged and need a passport!" "My plane was late so I missed my connecting flight, so I am spending another night in Berlin." etc. >People didn't die of boredom before. Read…

> "help, I'm being detained in Paris!" "I was mugged and need a passport!"

And they conveniently let you keep your 1000$ iPhone ;). But these are all situations where I could just make a regular call with my dumb phone as well. Sure roaming costs will kick in, but that's even worse for data. My current provider charges 2€/min for calls outside the EU and 1€ per 50kb (yes that's not a typo). In all seriousness though, sure, there's always situations where having a smartphone is beneficial, I won't deny that. Especially working in tech it might even be that suddenly shit hits the fan at your company and you'd desperately take a wonky ssh connection on a bus ride since every seconds counts.

And if you really have that level of self control, as the OP of this discussion suggests, that you won't distract yourself more than you actually benefit than that's fine. I found myself barely managing to do that and switched to a dumb phone again in 2015ish. On trains and buses I'd mindlessly skim through HN or reddit or random tech sites, I eventually configured my work mail on my phone since sometimes it's more convenient, but then found myself reading mails in the evening during family time etc. Most colleagues confirm that they have similar patterns, but they're almost all single or childless so they probably don't care that much.

I still use it occasionally on the go and frequently at home as a laptop replacement when I'm just about to catch up on the news or post on HN. But I pretty much wiped all apps except the browser. I could not manage to do that when I used it as my main phone for almost 2 years.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#252

Post by exodust »

ken wrote: post #236
exodust wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're in a gloomy waiting room. You arrived early, so could be waiting awhile. Nothing to read except a few old Vogue magazines. You're by yourself, you didn't bring a book. Your inventory is a wallet, keys, and flip phone. What is your next move?

It sounds like your solution to "Didn't remember to bring X {the book you're reading}" is "Remember to always bring Y {your smartphone}". This isn't an argument for X or Y. This is why you shouldn't go somewhere you know you'll need to sit in a waiting room, without anything to do. From as early as I can remember, my mom would tell me "Bring a book!" It worked. I'm more likely to remember to bring a book than my phon…

The point is obviously that you already carry a phone everywhere. If you're arguing that we should always carry a book too because our phone is only a phone, then you've lost me. Simply take control of your smartphone and configure it so it doesn't do all those nasty things you don't want it to do.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#253

Post by exodust »

wilsonnb2 wrote: post #198
exodust wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're in a gloomy waiting room. You arrived early, so could be waiting awhile. Nothing to read except a few old Vogue magazines. You're by yourself, you didn't bring a book. Your inventory is a wallet, keys, and flip phone. What is your next move?

Just sit and think. Watch other people. Read the old Vogue magazines. Listen to the conversations between employees. A lot of the time there will be a TV on or some music playing. It's really not that bad if you're not used to the constant stimulation that smartphones (and to a lesser extent, all internet connected computers) provide.

> Watch other people. Read the old Vogue magazines

I said "you're by yourself". Forget the magazines, they are the crappiest magazines ever. The pages are sticky, they are awful.

"Sit and think". No, I feel like reading some poetry or philosophy or an interesting article, or listening to music, or playing a puzzle game. I don't want to sit there thinking about the upcoming doctor's appointment.

I'll have my still time later, when I choose, not when a doctor's waiting room circumstance dictates it.

Your problem is you never took control of your smartphone. They can be set to be just an innocent little screen with interesting words or whatever on it. My own smartphone doesn't annoy me, it does exactly what I want it to do. Zero notifications, internet data is off until I need it etc.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#254

Post by exodust »

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #225
exodust wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're in a gloomy waiting room. You arrived early, so could be waiting awhile. Nothing to read except a few old Vogue magazines. You're by yourself, you didn't bring a book. Your inventory is a wallet, keys, and flip phone. What is your next move?

I would say that your example scenario isn’t necessarily an argument for having a smartphone, it is a reason to always have a Kindle with you that contains a few hundred books. (You can leave the Kindle in airplane mode at all times and get everything you want to read from pirated ebook websites, no need to deal with Amazon's ecosystem and DRM).

"Never leave home without my flip-phone and kindle" said nobody ever. Your smartphone might have the kindle app or e-reader app or something. You can put it on flight mode, and enjoy.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#255

Post by pauljaworski »

archie35c wrote: post #106
squiggleblaz wrote: post #10

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…

> If you're not valuing your priorities with a phone, you won't value them without it. Exactly right. I hear more and more people complaining about the internet, their smartphones or tech in general. If you listen to those people long enough you realize what they are actually talking about is social media and to a lesser degree gaming. I just don't get it. If you don't like those services, don't use them. Have some s…

>Have some self restraint

Might be a good idea to read a bit on psychology. Your experience != everyone else's experience.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#256

Post by Mediterraneo10 »

exodust wrote: post #254
Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would say that your example scenario isn’t necessarily an argument for having a smartphone, it is a reason to always have a Kindle with you that contains a few hundred books. (You can leave the Kindle in airplane mode at all times and get everything you want to read from pirated ebook websites, no need to deal with Amazon's ecosystem and DRM).

"Never leave home without my flip-phone and kindle" said nobody ever. Your smartphone might have the kindle app or e-reader app or something. You can put it on flight mode, and enjoy.

> "Never leave home without my flip-phone and kindle" said nobody ever.

You ought to get out more. Carrying around a Kindle and leaving the phone behind (or, perhaps, getting a dumbphone), so that you are forced to consume more “serious” content during waiting times and to avoid social media, is recommended fairly often on these kind of threads.

> Your smartphone might have the kindle app or e-reader app or something.

The reason for the Kindle’s popularity in its niche is the e-ink screen. Some people may find reading ebooks on their phone to be acceptable, while others find the more limited dimensions and LCD glare and brightness of a smartphone to be annoying.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#257

Post by kingofhdds »

iforgotpassword wrote: post #251
lolsal wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do you even need instant communication in that case? It's not like you're going to have a quick unexpected meetup or some "hey I'm quite busy can you go get the kids?" Not to mention time zone issues. "help, I'm being detained in Paris!" "I was mugged and need a passport!" "My plane was late so I missed my connecting flight, so I am spending another night in Berlin." etc. >People didn't die of boredom before. Read…

> "help, I'm being detained in Paris!" "I was mugged and need a passport!" And they conveniently let you keep your 1000$ iPhone ;). But these are all situations where I could just make a regular call with my dumb phone as well. Sure roaming costs will kick in, but that's even worse for data. My current provider charges 2€/min for calls outside the EU and 1€ per 50kb (yes that's not a typo). In all seriousness though,…

You can buy a cheap prepaid sim, and save yourself from data roaming tariffs. And it is the moment when smartphones shine - you'll have the same IDs/handles/usernames in messengers. With a feature phone your identity (your number) will change.

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#258

Post by zahrc »

Why does it have to be an actual discussion? Why do have people argue about their reasoning of their usage of phones in any way? Like it's your life, do whatever you want! Fact is smartphones make life easier Fact is people are addicted to, if they are, not your problem. Well if they don't cause accident's while texting and driving...

Re: Why I’m Using a Flip Phone

#259

Post by wilsonnb2 »

exodust wrote: post #253
wilsonnb2 wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just sit and think. Watch other people. Read the old Vogue magazines. Listen to the conversations between employees. A lot of the time there will be a TV on or some music playing. It's really not that bad if you're not used to the constant stimulation that smartphones (and to a lesser extent, all internet connected computers) provide.

> Watch other people. Read the old Vogue magazines I said "you're by yourself". Forget the magazines, they are the crappiest magazines ever. The pages are sticky, they are awful. "Sit and think". No, I feel like reading some poetry or philosophy or an interesting article, or listening to music, or playing a puzzle game. I don't want to sit there thinking about the upcoming doctor's appointment. I'll have my still tim…

> I said "you're by yourself". Forget the magazines, they are the crappiest magazines ever. The pages are sticky, they are awful.

I assumed you meant "by myself" as in "not with anyone you know". I've actually never sat in a waiting room that was entirely devoid of human life before, but I'm sure it happens in less populated areas.

> Your problem is you never took control of your smartphone.

I don't know where you got this impression. I'm not the person your original comment was responding to - I have a smartphone that I use and like.

> "Sit and think". No, I feel like reading some poetry or philosophy or an interesting article, or listening to music, or playing a puzzle game. I don't want to sit there thinking about the upcoming doctor's appointment.

Those are all valid ways to pass time - so is just sitting and thinking and everything else I said. Being able to do any of those things you listed with the swipe of a finger, even though they are not the usual suspects of Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter, is still a form of instant gratification and still has an effect on you. A negative effect, some (myself included) think.

Also, there are plenty of other things to think about aside from the upcoming doctor's appointment.

> They can be set to be just an innocent little screen with interesting words or whatever on it. My own smartphone doesn't annoy me, it does exactly what I want it to do. Zero notifications, internet data is off until I need it etc.

Yes, they can be used like this. I use my own smartphone in a similar manner.

I read something recently (I can't remember what) but it had a quote that I liked.

"You can choose not to use a TV, but you can't choose to live in a world where the TV doesn't exist"

In a similar sense, a person can choose to use a smartphone in a responsible manner or not to use one at all, but they can't choose to live in a culture that wasn't affected by smartphones. They can't choose to live in a world where endless distractions aren't always a few swipes away.

The closest they can get is ditching the smartphone, so that's what they do. It's not just a matter of configuring away the parts of a smartphone you don't like.

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