Can You Live Without Your Smart Phone? Would You Want To?

 

This stems from a PIT thought.  How much do you really need your smart phone?  How much has it supplanted other devices, activities, or things in your life?  Would you be willing to give it up, either mostly or entirely?  Do you want to give it up?  What is it that you use it for?

With China and its vicious police state, endless and inescapable facial recognition, and concentration camps, maybe it is time we re-examine our own willing feeding of “the cloud.” How much do we do that’s really even necessary on our phones, or is their convenience so very much of an improvement that they’re a necessity?  Do we have too much connected online already?

Several things have happened of late that have had me thinking perhaps it’s time to unwind the gadgetry, and put the phone away.  Two years ago I bought an Apple Watch.  Yet during those two years I cannot say I got much use out of the thing except as a watch.  Its motion tracking never seemed to track, something I noticed the other night after a four-mile walk.  The apps available for it were universally uninteresting to me, and otherwise the thing was a perpetual nag.  Only useful thing it did was Apple Pay, but few places I go take that even now.  So I dug out my old Seiko and that was that.  At least I never paid full price for it, which was why I gave it a try.

Last week our TV died.  It was a circa 2009 Mitsubishi 60″ HDTV, and it was dumb.  We shopped for a replacement and found that all screens now are “smart”, with operating systems made mostly by Google or Roku, and they all spy on you to some degree.  Nearly every set out there, assuming you connect it to the internet, will take pixel captures (often as 1 per second, of enough pixels to fingerprint exactly what you have on) of everything on the screen (not just what you’re streaming, but even DVDs or video games), and the set makers then trade and sell that data even to streaming services you’ve not subscribed to (Netflix and Amazon are massive purchasers of your watching habits).   See here and here.   Plus they have always-on microphones, and sometimes even cameras, doubtless capturing even more.  Oh, and you can program your set (which is already spying on you) to control your smart-home stuff too.  We opted not to replace the screen at all.

Lastly, we started tracking our own phone usage.  It was horrifying, the number of times of day we picked up the things, and the hours we spent in front of them were astounding.  That led us to strip games and social media off the things, along with other stuff we just fiddled with out of boredom.  There are some things like email and banking that work or other things make necessary, but aside from podcasts and occasional texting, and some navigation when traveling, there just is not a lot I need the thing for.  I’m debating refurbing my old iPod 5 (needs a new battery) and using that for podcasts.

Before I got my first iPhone, my prior cell phones were all just phones.  And they stayed mostly in the car.  Could I go entirely back to that?  Maybe not entirely, given business obligations.  But partially?  Mostly?  Maybe, just maybe.

So what do you use your smartphone to do?  Do you want it to do even more?  Or would you rather be shot of the thing entirely?

Published in Science & Technology
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  1. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    Probably the only thing I would like to have is the GPS and directions when I’m driving somewhere new.

    I agree, but I think you can get that without the smartphone.

    • #31
  2. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    They have made it so I’m more likely to duck out of a gathering early.  I can sit in a room with eight people staring at the screens, or I can go home and stare at my own screens.

    • #32
  3. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    I didn’t even have a cell phone til my boss made me get one.  He’s paying (for the flip-phone), so I don’t mind carrying it around.

    • #33
  4. DrewInWisconsin, Thought Leader Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Thought Leader
    @DrewInWisconsin

    James Gawron (View Comment):
    It can link you to anything on the web, if you need to pay a bill, check a balance, renew a license,..etc.

    See, you highlight my concern. What happens when the day comes that the “can” becomes a “must” and “if” becomes a required “when”?

    • #34
  5. EB Thatcher
    EB
    @EB

    MarciN (View Comment):
    I saw an ad this past week for a new insurance company “app” that rewards its users for safe driving.

    I looked into this when this idea first came out.  It wasn’t worth it for several reasons.

    1. The number of “infractions” that would raise your rates back up to normal (or even higher) was very low.
    2. The app couldn’t tell the difference between (for example) when you braked hard because you were trying to beat the light and failed and when you braked hard because someone changed lanes in front of you without looking to see if anyone were there.
    3. Their definitions of infraction-type behavior were very strict and heavily favored raising your rates.
    4. If you were involved in an accident, the app might be a “witness” against you.
    • #35
  6. lowtech redneck Coolidge
    lowtech redneck
    @lowtech redneck

    DrewInWisconsin, Thought Leader (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Phone calls, texts, Fox News and the BBC are the only alerts enabled. I’ll get to the emails when I get to them.

    You people are going to be the death of me. Check your e-mail, dammit!

    I don’t think I’ve checked that thing in months…..

    • #36
  7. EB Thatcher
    EB
    @EB

    I wouldn’t give up my phone because:

    1. Useful for emergencies
    2. We kept our Texas cell phone numbers and ported our Vonage account to a Florida area code.  We have had Vonage for years for our “land line” and we have about decided we really don’t need a land line any more. We get faxes through e-mail.
    3. I can check e-mail, deposit a check to my bank (no more driving to the bank), text a quick message, get driving directions, etc.
    4. It’s a better camera than the small digital one we used to use.  
    5. I use an audio translate app to help me help my cleaning lady who is still improving her English.  (Yes, she is a legal resident.)
    6. I listen to Ricochet podcasts (and Bon Appetit and Milk Street Kitchen) when I’m driving.  It’s better than local radio.
    7. I read Kindle and iBooks on it when I am waiting at the doctor’s office, etc.
    8. We can check our home alarm remotely with our phones.
    9. I have a Mac at home and an iPhone.  When I enter an appointment or reminder on either one, it automatically updates the other.
    10. I set alarms and timers with it.
    • #37
  8. Addiction Is A Choice Member
    Addiction Is A Choice
    @AddictionIsAChoice

    I’ve seen about a dozen of those “Hey, Wiretap…” memes and the punch-line is always something about pancakes. You’d think somebody, somewhere would want to change it up a bit. I’ll go first: “Hey, Wiretap! What can you do with kumquats?”

    • #38
  9. DrewInWisconsin, Thought Leader Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Thought Leader
    @DrewInWisconsin

    lowtech redneck (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Thought Leader (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Phone calls, texts, Fox News and the BBC are the only alerts enabled. I’ll get to the emails when I get to them.

    You people are going to be the death of me. Check your e-mail, dammit!

    I don’t think I’ve checked that thing in months…..

    I know. It’s crazy. I try e-mailing cow-orkers for information and they never get back to me.

    You know what works? Pounding on their office doors and demanding they let me in.

    We’re at the point where e-mail is now a dying form of communication.

    Who can keep up?

    • #39
  10. E. Kent Golding Moderator
    E. Kent Golding
    @EKentGolding

    I love my smartphone.  Camera, Text, Phone Calls,   browse the Internet. Play Pandora in my car.    Work pays for it.   If they didn’t,  I would get one of those industrial contractor grade flip phones from Verizon.   And be just as happy.

    • #40
  11. E. Kent Golding Moderator
    E. Kent Golding
    @EKentGolding

    0

    Addiction Is A Choice (View Comment):

    I’ve seen about a dozen of those “Hey, Wiretap…” memes and the punch-line is always something about pancakes. You’d think somebody, somewhere would want to change it up a bit. I’ll go first: “Hey, Wiretap! What can you do with kumquats?”

    Sounds porny.

    • #41
  12. JustmeinAZ Member
    JustmeinAZ
    @JustmeinAZ

    I have to admit I own a smart phone but I don’t carry it around and it’s never charged when I need to use it – it’s only for communicating with family during medical emergencies.

    However we do need out smart TV’s. We are TV watchers and we now watch virtually nothing on network TV. Really need Netflix, Prime, Acorn and Britbox.

    • #42
  13. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    EJHill (View Comment):
    I’ve mentioned it on other threads but wait until the next generation of television hits, ATSC 3.0. You ain’t seen nothing yet for TVs that watch back.

    I don’t watch TV. There is a set in our living room, though. I sometimes help Mrs R watch a Big Ten football or basketball game on it, or at least a few minutes of one. It’s not hooked up  to the internet. Can it still watch back?  

    • #43
  14. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    SkipSul: Netflix and Amazon are massive purchasers of your watching habits

    We dropped our Netflix subscription, as we hadn’t used it since we used to get DVDs in the mail.  I have Prime, but haven’t found anything interesting to watch there.  (Once a year or so I take a look.)  I hope they are finding their money to be well spent. 

    • #44
  15. Max Ledoux Coolidge
    Max Ledoux
    @Max

    I receive emails sent to support@ricochet.com on my iPhone. You don’t want to know some of the places I’ve replied to emails from. 

    • #45
  16. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):

    I receive emails sent to support@ricochet.com on my iPhone. You don’t want to know some of the places I’ve replied to emails from.

    The jungles of Southeast Asia?

    • #46
  17. Max Ledoux Coolidge
    Max Ledoux
    @Max

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):

    I receive emails sent to support@ricochet.com on my iPhone. You don’t want to know some of the places I’ve replied to emails from.

    The jungles of Southeast Asia?

    If that’s what you want to call it. 

    • #47
  18. EB Thatcher
    EB
    @EB

    This makes me think about that old joke.  “With your smart phone, you hold in your hands more computing power than they used to send a man to the moon.  And most people use it to send pictures of kittens and get in fights with strangers.”

    • #48
  19. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):

    I receive emails sent to support@ricochet.com on my iPhone. You don’t want to know some of the places I’ve replied to emails from.

    The jungles of Southeast Asia?

    If that’s what you want to call it.

    Bogs were certainly involved.

    • #49
  20. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    I got this picture one night at a beautiful summer sunset on Cape Cod. I thought, the Good Lord must be amused to see how much people appreciate his sunsets.

    • #50
  21. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    SkipSul (View Comment):
    Can you explain the radio / satellite issue?

    I use my phone to listen to local radio and satellite radio, and use the watch controls for sound / FF. Haven’t noticed any lag in the latest model. 

    • #51
  22. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Friends recently had a three-week tour of Scotland and Ireland. They told me to install whatsapp on my iPhone. I got pictures and such at the end of each day. Aside from that, e-mail, texts, and phone calls. So, yes, I use the thing, but not for any “social media”. I don’t want to give it up. And of course, I once commented on ricochet using the Safari browser. 

    • #52
  23. Hank Rhody, on the blockchain Contributor
    Hank Rhody, on the blockchain
    @HankRhody

    I use my smartphone to play music, but it’s pretty bad at that. Doesn’t let you make playlists, just plays all the songs on there in a random order. One time, in a rush before leaving on a long trip, I grabbed three P.G. Wodehouse books off of Librivox and jammed them on my phone. My phone recognized .mp3 files and reads them as audio. So I’ll occasionally go from Iron Maiden to Chapter 7 of Uneasy Money to Punk Rock Girl.

    That, at least, works out fairly well. Even getting one chapter at a time in unknowable order.

    • #53
  24. Hartmann von Aue Member
    Hartmann von Aue
    @HartmannvonAue

    I keep mine nearby but not on my person most of the time. It´s a phone. I don´t need to carry it. We use the Kindle function a lot to read. First Things and Commentary are on deck right now. And it saves me having to load a separate Bible app. 

    • #54
  25. Tex929rr Coolidge
    Tex929rr
    @Tex929rr

    Oh, I almost forgot.  I do almost all book reading on my Kindle app, and I listen to podcasts when walking and use the step counter.  My newest car has the ability to mirror my phone on the nav screen.  It will even read incoming text messages out loud.

    • #55
  26. Duane Oyen Member
    Duane Oyen
    @DuaneOyen

    I was an early adopter of every technology until the smartphone came out.  I had cell phones, laptops, MP3 players, etc.

    No more.  I turn on my Android (Galaxy) roughly once a week, and never access the internet on it.  My cell plan now gives me lots of calls and texts for $11 a month.  I use my laptop to go on line, and refuse to access twitter or Facebook using either Fire because they default into the “mobile” version.

    I am determined to survive as a last century troglodyte, but at least I’m the only driver on the road who is, well, looking at the road instead of a smartphone.

    • #56
  27. Jimmy Carter Member
    Jimmy Carter
    @JimmyCarter

    EB (View Comment):

    This makes me think about that old joke. “With your smart phone, you hold in your hands more computing power than they used to send a man to the moon. And most people use it to send pictures of kittens and get in fights with strangers.”

    • #57
  28. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Duane Oyen (View Comment):

    I was an early adopter of every technology until the smartphone came out. I had cell phones, laptops, MP3 players, etc.

    No more. I turn on my Android (Galaxy) roughly once a week, and never access the internet on it. My cell plan now gives me lots of calls and texts for $11 a month. I use my laptop to go on line, and refuse to access twitter or Facebook using either Fire because they default into the “mobile” version.

    I am determined to survive as a last century troglodyte, but at least I’m the only driver on the road who is, well, looking at the road instead of a smartphone.

    You have some company.

    • #58
  29. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    2 years ago I bought an Apple Watch. Yet during those 2 years I cannot say I got much use out of the thing except as a watch. Its motion tracking never seemed to track, something I noticed the other night after a 4 mile walk. The apps available for it were universally uninteresting to me, and otherwise the thing was a perpetual nag. Only useful thing it did was Apple Pay, but few places I go take that even now.

    The pay-by-watch trick is near ubiquitous here. I use the watch for texts, notifications, work email; as a volume-control / FF / RR button for music and satellite radio; as a timer; occasionally as a camera timer.

    If I gave up my phone, I’d have to start carrying a camera and a radio capable of pulling in a satellite sign, and I’d never get work emails (I’m out of the office a lot, so this is crucial.) I’d also miss the daily spontaneous texts from faraway Daughter.

    Of course, that’s how I lived before they came along, but I don’t recall I felt any happier or more free.

    I think this sort of sums things up for me. I don’t have  a watch, but I uses the utility of my phone. I lived without it and did OK. I could again. I have also camped and lived without indoor plumbing for 10 days at a time. And no cars then either. Just backpack. Portable stove. 

    Smart Phones are a great piece of technology. I like my smart TV. Eventually, we will figure out privacy in the brave new world. Until then, I’ll use my technology.

    • #59
  30. OmegaPaladin Moderator
    OmegaPaladin
    @OmegaPaladin

    I use my smart phone at work and at home.  If I did not have a smart phone, I would have a PDA.  I still use a Palm Zire 72 at work.  I use Uber & Lyft often, various safety apps, check my email, etc.

    Only social media I use are Ricochet and web fora, no facebook.  I use MeWe for picture sharing

    • #60
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