Hey everyone, I was entertaining the thought of going away from owning a smart phone.
I already have a modded ipod classic that I use as my main music player.
I also know how to use a paper map.
I also have the Microsoft authentication app for work (I could just use my phone on wifi mode for this)
The last issue I have is WhatsApp where I communicate with friends and family around the world.
Is there a way to use WhatsApp on a non-smart phone? Or should I just buy a pixel and install a secure rom?
I think with 2fa, qr codes, talking with family, and emergency services it’s not reasonable to not have a phone. Instead of purchasing a device why not just turn it off and put it away when you’re not using it?
Your maps and ipod have already showed you these are just tools. Continue down that route.
BTW, this post is so close to my own recent questions I thought I had posted it, lol. Share your modded ipod over at c/ipod , trying to start a little community
Addiction is a tough thing… Hard just to out it down.
And price.
When I go just walk my dog, I almost never take the smartphone with me. I always did that. Later I just bought a cheap dumb phone for 10 bucks, just in case. I always have that on me now.
So yeah, trying to not break something more expensive. Plus it’s far more reliable than any smartphone. It just works, no stuttering, no crashes, buttons rather than touchscreen, the alarm app doesn’t get
killedoptimized… Though it has the same problem as every single modern phone I get: the minimum headphone jack volume is way too loud. I wanted to use it for music, but that’s a no-go. There’s no equalizer to tune it down.A cheap solution that might solve your volume problem is to add on an adapter that features a volume rocker dial. You can plug that into your phone and then plug your headphones into that adapter.
Something like the below screenshot. Hopefully it won’t muddy audio quality, so check this out and see if it’s something you can give a go.
Almost all of these things can be done from a computer, siting in comfort at home. And some of them, i.e. communication, are even more pleasant that way. The supposed convenience of the mobile form factor is mainly a function of habit. I speak from experience, having mostly kicked that habit.
The “emergency” argument is particularly tiring BS IMO. Somehow we managed for all of history until basically yesterday without this functionality and got by just fine.
The fact that technology exists is not in itself a reason to adopt it. If only we would learn this lesson at last. Rant over.
I don’t know man, I’m often out and about when I need to communicate to people.
I find it rather convenient to not have to find a library or an Internet-cafe, especially seeing my city doesn’t have any anymore probably.
And I remember living without a mobile before they came along. There’s a certain romantic novelty in agreeing to meet under x sign in y place at x hour. But it wears off fast, and if you’re running a bit late or want to reschedule something on the fly? Good luck without a mobile of any sort, smart or not.
Yeah it certainly got easier to be late and generally not keep commitments, that’s for sure.
I do agree that communication when out and about is a genuine killer feature. It’s was the original use case after all. But doomscrolling social media, or banking, or shopping, or playing dumb games, or most of the other things I watch people doing in public - personally I am never going to buy the argument that this is about “convenience”. To me it’s pretty obvious that it’s just addiction and irrational social contagion.
“Not keep commitments”.
In what sort of a life do you live that nothing surprising ever happens or you interact with no-one because you’d know people are unpredictable.
I’m use to drive a taxi for several years. When I started, GPS was still rather shit. (I usually preferred the street dictionary.) And when I was a kid, my dad had NMT phones in his cars.
You might not have any engagements that require any sort of fluidity, but other people sure do. For instance I’m driving someone from place a to place b. During the ride, they suddenly realise they need something from a shop. That’s an extra 10 min now that I could not predict, making me possibly late for the next ride, depending on where and when it’s from. Even with mobiles, it was hard to actually tell people times with accuracy more than a ±30 min after I had a fare or two in queue.
So yeah. Modern gps the ability for people to see how long it’ll be before you’re at their place has really made it more convenient. Not to mention that this convenience includes card payments. Because before you’d have to have a credit card and manually run it through the receipt labeler thingy. ka-chunk
To me it’s pretty obvious you’re just being reductive because it’s not purely positives, like with anything in the real world.
If you don’t focus on high-schoolers and instead look at 30+ people going about their day, I’m sure it’s not “just doomscrolling and addiction”.
Hell, imagine if covid had hit 25 years earlier. The fuck would’ve we been doing? Working from home like everyone did would not have been possible. But it’s not like chilling at home while working is convenient, right?
By downvoting my comment you’re saying you don’t care what I have to say. So that’s the end of this debate. Good night.
You tried implying that I can’t keep a schedule, instead of addressing the earlier argument. Someone clearly downvoted that. It wasn’t me.
“I have no responses to your arguments so I’m gonna use some ridiculous bullshit excuse to leave while pretending my rhetoric wasn’t completely proved wrong”
Were you even conscious before mobile phones became a thing?
Well if it wasn’t you then I apologize.
Yes I was about 20 when mobiles took off. But my “rhetoric” wasn’t proved wrong or right. It was just my perspective. You can have yours too and that’s fine.
Easier said than done. We’re emotionally connected to these devices and the freedoms they seem to provide