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I came to the smartphone game rather late. I didn't have one until 2012 or so. Unfortunately, the smart phone thing is not working for me. Despite constant attempts to stop this, my phone sends news feeds that are political in nature and designed to stoke my fear, anger, and resentment. The Internet in general also provokes me by sending me unsolicited salacious and suggestive images which I don't want in my life. I also look around and see what the smartphone has done to humanity and realize I don't want to be a part of this anymore.
The thought of going to a flip phone is depressing, because then I won't have access to the weather app and all of the good audio mp3 files I've downloaded to the smartphone to listen to for encouragement. Really the only way I would keep the smartphone is if I could severely restrict it, but I feel even this isn't practical because I'm so obsessed with my smartphone that I find myself on my couch staring at the home screen for hours when I should be doing other things, like practicing Hebrew, doing pushups or really anything useful. I probably check my Gmail by swiping down my finger about 300 times a day. I have something screaming in my gut, saying this is not how people were meant to live. Technology has become our master.
A final reason for me would be the fact that I am often more rude and aggressive through the keyboard than I am in person. I want to handle more of my communication with friends and family through actual phone conversations rather than texts, because texts are so easily misconstrued and because it's easier to be uncouth through text and email than it is looking a person in the face.
Do I have any options that don't involve a worthless flip phone? I don't mind the social stigma that might come with being seen with a flip phone. After all, it's my life being destroyed, not theirs.
Stop looking at the news feed. Stop doing the type of communication that can be easily misconstrued through email or text. The news feed doesn't bother me. The text/email does, I don't do that type of thing through text or email. I do it either in person, if possible, or over the phone. That made some people angry, really one person in particular, but you know what? It improved my life a great deal. They won't talk over the phone or in person and I won't respond to text or email. Works great for me.
For email I've actually found a smart watch to be very helpful. Most of the time my phone is on silent so I get a fairly unobtrusive vibrate on my wrist whenever I get a call/text/email. I can make a quick glance down at the sender/subject and decide whether it's something I want to deal with or ignore which takes about half a second to do. The vast majority of emails I can just ignore so it's easier than pulling out my phone and looking every time I get a notification.
Didn't mean to say that people would actually shun you for not having a smart phone. But you would be seen as a bit of an oddity. Definitely wasn't implying persecution.
I understand the smart phone is not the problem, however, it sends me things that I don't want in my life. I enjoy the benefits of the phone too much to give it up, so I'll have to learn ways to make it work more effectively for me, by shutting out content that it sends me without my consent while maximizing opportunities for learning things that make me a better person and learning how to manage my time more effectively.
[QUO[b][b]TE=thedreadedskyhook;54717870]Didn't mean to say that people would actually shun you for not having a smart phone. But you would be seen as a bit of an oddity. Definitely wasn't implying persecution.[/quote]
Most of us have "oddities" of one kind or another (my barber can't understand my resistance to trimming my eyebrows) but retain them as an expression of individuality; it's the pursuit of needless conformity that some of us see as a weakening of the rebellious, authority-questioning American spirit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peregrine
Sorry, but that IS odd. Why do you want bushy eyebrows?
I don't "want" them; I just don't view them as offensive to anyone else. No other barber called attention to this until about ten years ago. (and FWIW, I keep my hair cut short and have never sported a beard or mustache -- this is simply a private matter).
I've had smartphones since smartphones were a thing and I've never had one send me anything I don't want. Your phone sends you ... news feeds? Uh... get a different news app. I'm sure there's 50 of them that align with your political views.
And why the hell are you checking your email that often? Who are you getting all this email from?
As to being rude through texts... yea, this is a "you problem"... not a technology problem.
I am just as nice and sweet in texts as I am IRL.
I may be a little ruder on this message board then I am IRL, but not to my friends or loved ones via any method of communication. If anything I am kindER in email because I can proofread what I said before I send it.
Most of us have "oddities" of one kind or another (my barber can't understand my reluctance to triming my eyebrows) but retain them as an expression of individuality; it's the pursuit of needless conformity that some of us see as a weakening of the rebellious, authority-questioning American spirit.
Sorry, but that IS odd. Why do you want bushy eyebrows?
I've had smartphones since smartphones were a thing and I've never had one send me anything I don't want. Your phone sends you ... news feeds? Uh... get a different news app. I'm sure there's 50 of them that align with your political views.
And why the hell are you checking your email that often? Who are you getting all this email from?
As to being rude through texts... yea, this is a "you problem"... not a technology problem.
I am just as nice and sweet in texts as I am IRL.
I may be a little ruder on this message board then I am IRL, but not to my friends or loved ones via any method of communication. If anything I am kindER in email because I can proofread what I said before I send it.
Your response indicates that you're not as nice through text as you think you are.
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) but retain them as an expression of individuality; it's the pursuit of needless conformity that some of us see as a weakening of the rebellious, authority-questioning American spirit.
