4 ms·

I am probably one of the few techies in the world that does not own/use a smartphone. Since 2011 I have used a cheap Verizon flip phone for exactly this reason;

I am probably one of the few techies in the world that does not own/use a smartphone. Since 2011 I have used a cheap Verizon flip phone for exactly this reason; I want more control over my life. NOTHING is that important that I need to be plugged in 24/7. My wife has a smart phone which is great for when we travel (maps, Yelp, Fandango, Uber, etc.) Don't get me wrong, I was standing in a long line outside the Apple store the day the first iPhone came out. However, over the years I came to realize that in order to have the amount/type of work/life balance I desired, technology would have to take a back seat to my relationships and interests outside of my career. I haven't looked back.

skrebbel 9y ago
Do you text? EDIT: someone downvoted me, probably interpreting my question as a snark. It was a serious question: I'm considering to do what you are doing and I'm wondering whether you ditched texting too and whether that got you social repercussions. In my country it's a bit more complicated even because everybody WhatsApps and nobody uses SMS, so a true dumb phone won't cut it if you want dumb + text.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 9y ago
  Hmm how about a dumb rom?
- Unbeliever69 9y ago
  Yes, I text (albeit rarely). I'm one of those people who would prefer to hang out with my friend rather than spend time writing walls of text or firing texts back-and-forth ad nauseum. I'm very much a minimalist at heart and this pervades most aspects of my life.
bostand 9y ago
It's not all black and white I'm reading your comment on my smartphone, while in a bathroom, while on a conference trip.
- mattmanser 9y ago
  Instead of thinking about what was said at the conference, who were the best speakers, which people you should talk to more, or one of the million other, possibly much more beneficial, things that would pop into your head if you didn't occupy yourself with this thread. I'm as guilty as everyone else here, admittedly. What's making me think seriously about something like this is that while I was on holiday recently and kept leaving my phone in my room, I had more random thoughts than I've had in a very, very long time.
  - Unbeliever69 9y ago
    A number of years ago I did a year without the Internet (except at work, but only for work purposes). You would be amazed how much I got done without the distraction. To be more specific, I designed over 12 table top games, wrote numerous stories, and learned a ton by reading good old fashioned books.
    - arkano 9y ago
      I find that hard to believe.
      - jventura 9y ago
        And why, would i ask? For instance, I was supposed to be reading an ebook on my iPad, but instead I've been reading this thread for the past half hour...
        arkano 9y ago
        I apologize, not to be overly skeptical, but we don't know how many tabletop games the OP would have created if the internet was kept on. If it was something like 7-9, then the effect of not having internet as a distraction would be minimal. But that may be just me; I'm always skeptical of statements of the sort of "I turned off internet/facebook/friends/etc. for a year, and look how much different life is". They may be true, but they are not generally true. I use the internet a lot and I also read a lot of paperbacks.
lolsal 9y ago
This seems a bit disingenuous - you definitely still use a smartphone, you just claim to not directly own one. You essentially said this: > My wife has a smart phone which is great for when [I want to use a smartphone]. If you don't want to carry a smartphone around that's totally fine, but you definitely still use one. I carry a smartphone myself and only use internet-aware 'smartphone' features like maps, yelp and uber when I need to. I don't use social networks.
- khedoros1 9y ago
  > This seems a bit disingenuous - you definitely still use a smartphone, you just claim to not directly own one. I think you're misreading the comment (or at least not acknowledging the degrees of use that the author seemed to intend to convey). There's "using a smartphone", in the sense of using one to respond to messages quickly, having an entertainment device on hand for idle moments, and generally "[being] plugged in 24/7". Then there's "using a smartphone", in the sense of being able to borrow one for a specific use, then giving it back to the owner. The difference in usage patterns us the distinction that was being made.
  - lolsal 9y ago
    To say "I don't use a smartphone" in order to qualify how disconnected you choose to be is dishonest if what you really mean is, "I don't use a smartphone for [some really specific context]." or perhaps "I don't use a smartphone because I lack discipline regarding notifications/social apps/etc." Using maps/yelp/fandango/uber covers a majority of the functionality that a smartphone provides.
    - khedoros1 9y ago
      > Using maps/yelp/fandango/uber covers a majority of the functionality that a smartphone provides. What? That's a minority of my use. Saying that the comment is dishonest or disingenuous implies that you think there was an intent to deceive, and I don't think there was any such intention. I'd say that you're taking an unusually and unnecessarily rigid interpretation of what was said and possibly ascribing deception where none exists. Humans are imprecise. Natural language is imprecise. What ever happened to allowing some leeway for imprecision and even inaccuracy in a casually-written piece of text?

skrebbel 9y ago

Do you text? EDIT: someone downvoted me, probably interpreting my question as a snark. It was a serious question: I'm considering to do what you are doing and I'm wondering whether you ditched texting too and whether that got you social repercussions. In my country it's a bit more complicated even because everybody WhatsApps and nobody uses SMS, so a true dumb phone won't cut it if you want dumb + text.

0xdeadbeefbabe 9y ago
Hmm how about a dumb rom?
Unbeliever69 9y ago
Yes, I text (albeit rarely). I'm one of those people who would prefer to hang out with my friend rather than spend time writing walls of text or firing texts back-and-forth ad nauseum. I'm very much a minimalist at heart and this pervades most aspects of my life.

bostand 9y ago

It's not all black and white I'm reading your comment on my smartphone, while in a bathroom, while on a conference trip.

mattmanser 9y ago
Instead of thinking about what was said at the conference, who were the best speakers, which people you should talk to more, or one of the million other, possibly much more beneficial, things that would pop into your head if you didn't occupy yourself with this thread. I'm as guilty as everyone else here, admittedly. What's making me think seriously about something like this is that while I was on holiday recently and kept leaving my phone in my room, I had more random thoughts than I've had in a very, very long time.
- Unbeliever69 9y ago
  A number of years ago I did a year without the Internet (except at work, but only for work purposes). You would be amazed how much I got done without the distraction. To be more specific, I designed over 12 table top games, wrote numerous stories, and learned a ton by reading good old fashioned books.
  - arkano 9y ago
    I find that hard to believe.
    - jventura 9y ago
      And why, would i ask? For instance, I was supposed to be reading an ebook on my iPad, but instead I've been reading this thread for the past half hour...
      - arkano 9y ago
        I apologize, not to be overly skeptical, but we don't know how many tabletop games the OP would have created if the internet was kept on. If it was something like 7-9, then the effect of not having internet as a distraction would be minimal. But that may be just me; I'm always skeptical of statements of the sort of "I turned off internet/facebook/friends/etc. for a year, and look how much different life is". They may be true, but they are not generally true. I use the internet a lot and I also read a lot of paperbacks.

lolsal 9y ago

This seems a bit disingenuous - you definitely still use a smartphone, you just claim to not directly own one. You essentially said this: > My wife has a smart phone which is great for when [I want to use a smartphone]. If you don't want to carry a smartphone around that's totally fine, but you definitely still use one. I carry a smartphone myself and only use internet-aware 'smartphone' features like maps, yelp and uber when I need to. I don't use social networks.

khedoros1 9y ago
> This seems a bit disingenuous - you definitely still use a smartphone, you just claim to not directly own one. I think you're misreading the comment (or at least not acknowledging the degrees of use that the author seemed to intend to convey). There's "using a smartphone", in the sense of using one to respond to messages quickly, having an entertainment device on hand for idle moments, and generally "[being] plugged in 24/7". Then there's "using a smartphone", in the sense of being able to borrow one for a specific use, then giving it back to the owner. The difference in usage patterns us the distinction that was being made.
- lolsal 9y ago
  To say "I don't use a smartphone" in order to qualify how disconnected you choose to be is dishonest if what you really mean is, "I don't use a smartphone for [some really specific context]." or perhaps "I don't use a smartphone because I lack discipline regarding notifications/social apps/etc." Using maps/yelp/fandango/uber covers a majority of the functionality that a smartphone provides.
  - khedoros1 9y ago
    > Using maps/yelp/fandango/uber covers a majority of the functionality that a smartphone provides. What? That's a minority of my use. Saying that the comment is dishonest or disingenuous implies that you think there was an intent to deceive, and I don't think there was any such intention. I'd say that you're taking an unusually and unnecessarily rigid interpretation of what was said and possibly ascribing deception where none exists. Humans are imprecise. Natural language is imprecise. What ever happened to allowing some leeway for imprecision and even inaccuracy in a casually-written piece of text?