this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
690 points (94.7% liked)
Showerthoughts
29325 readers
1 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- Posts must be original/unique
- Be good to others - no bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Yeah. If calling/sms was all I used my phone for, I would probably still use my old Lumia Windows phone even as the app builders stopped supporting it.
But because its for public transport tickets, accessing the local library, accessing the gym center, ordering at restaurants or food delivery, sending money to family, car navigation, syncing my exercise watch, being invited to social events, streaming my cloud saved music library, rent a city-bike, check my medicine prescriptions..
I need a phone that is up to date. How is people living without a smart phone today?
It would be fine if you had a computer, like a lot of us did before smartphones were popular.
On your list of activities, most of those are not things I use a smartphone for. I do use it to play music sometimes, and I use an open source maps app for long drives where I'm traveling to somewhere new. Otherwise I do all of that with a normal phone call or a website on the computer.
I don't install anybody's app. Fuck everybody's store apps, I won't do it. An app is not necessary for most of life's activities, and I prove it on a daily basis by not using them.
Last time I went to a nice restaurant, they wanted me to check in at the front on a tablet. I went through the motions until it wanted my cell phone number to alert me when a table was ready. I canceled the process and refused to give them my cell phone number. The host / receptionist was not happy but was able to accommodate our simple request of getting a table anyway.
All you have to do is just not participate in the data collection by saying "no" to that stuff. It's easy when you get used to that as a default stance. I'm still able to do everything I want to without all that invasive bullshit.
But honestly, I love to use my phone for everything. Love not having to talk to people to get stuff done. Not deal with queues. Not wait for the server to be ready for me to pay before I leave. Not carry around paper tickets, or printed maps. Not having to find a seven-eleven to buy bus tickets.
I am worried for those who for some reason can't use a smart phone. A lot of this doesnt have a website alternative. Most of it has paper/plastic/in-person-alternatives still, true, rarely advertised though. I am worried the analog ways disappearing eventually since very few uses it.
Yeah this little thing is basically what defines every person today. It holds our bank account, government info and other more critical information.
Mine has none of that, and I get by just fine. Never have I ever installed a banking app on my phone, nor any restaurant or store app, or government app.
computers can do most of the checking/ordering/sending via websites, and if you live outside of a city those phone-connected infrastructure things don't exist.
This is Norway. You'll have to be inside a mountain to not get a signal here. Phone-connected infrastructure is everywhere. I've climbed the highest mountain in Telemark and paid with my phone at the kiosk at the top.