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An interesting experiment is to leave your phone at home when you go out. Try it. I don't mean take your phone anyway but don't use it. That is not the same th

An interesting experiment is to leave your phone at home when you go out. Try it. I don't mean take your phone anyway but don't use it. That is not the same thing. The value in this experiment is not to have your phone to fall back on. Initially you feel anxiety, but it soon becomes quite liberating. Having to look at road signs to navigate, relying on personal interaction or reading notices to find things out etc etc. Sounds old fashioned but it improves my quality of life when I do it.

skohan 6y ago
I did this accidentally a few weeks ago, and it was such a good experience I have done it intentionally a few times since then. I was just walking in my own neighborhood, but it was a similar feeling to what it's like traveling in a new city for the first time.
hnarn 6y ago
This whole idea that being without a phone is somehow liberating — and just not using it is definitely not as pure and wholly amazing as being completely without it — is to me a silly and predictable response to the very real drawbacks of high tech modern life. Phones have value. That’s why people use them. Pretending they don’t and that we’re all brainwashed doesn’t change that reality. Here’s an example: I want to take public transport to a grocery store. I walk out the door. I don’t have my phone. First of all, if I don’t check the opening hours of the store before leaving, I now have no idea. The whole trip may be for nothing. Secondly, when planning my trip, my phone would help me suggest what line and where to switch, if necessary. It would alert me in real time of any issues, again with alternate suggestions. When traveling: no music. No audio books. Just the organic, wonderful and inspiring sounds of the city. Not to mention all the wonderful people on public transport you’re aching to know better. When I get to the store, I may have forgotten my shopping list. And even if I brought it, I have no way of getting in contact with someone that may want to add something to it. If I find a new product I don’t recognize and I’m unsure of whether it’s overpriced, I can’t compare to any other vendor. I also can’t check reviews from other people. I’m sorry if I sound cynical, but sometimes I feel like the spread (but not necessarily the preaching) of this whole luddite idea of smartphones ruining us is mainly fueled by people young enough to have grown up with them being everywhere, because I’m in my mid 30s and I remember what life was like without smartphones, and for the most part, it sucked.
- coldtea 6y ago
  >Phones have value. That’s why people use them Now try the same line but with heroin, or fast food, or whatever people use to their detriment... Besides, anything that has value also has an opportunity cost, which can be much more important than the value inherent in the thing... >Here’s an example: I want to take public transport to a grocery store. I walk out the door. I don’t have my phone. First of all, if I don’t check the opening hours of the store before leaving, I now have no idea. The whole trip may be for nothing. Yeah, it's a wonder how people managed to live and visit the grocery store in the dark ages of the 90s and early 00s... All these people going out of their homes at 02:00am only to find the grocery store closed...
  - UncleMeat 6y ago
    You’ve never got to a store only to realize they are closed on Mondays or something?
    - coldtea 6y ago
      Yes, but I've never considered it important enough to say "I'd better be saddled with a device that can be addictive, that I spend hours on end each day on, that everybody I known can harass me at any time, any where on, that keeps tabs on all kinds of things including my every movement -- lest I repeat this visited-a-closed-store blunder... I'm not saying that a smartphone is not immesely useful -- I use mine for notes, video, photos (including pro work), phonecalls (duh), messaging, and so on. I'm saying that "gives us things like grocery store times or gps routes" (or many combinations of such things) is hardly an argument for smartphones as "indispensable", nor a reason not to consider their, often serious, downsides (behavioral, cognitive, social, privacy, etc)
    - drdeadringer 6y ago
      If such an event has ruined your life, I wager that you have bigger or more systemic problems going on than not being able to buy a stick of butter from Cooper's Grocery on a particular day. The capacity of being flexible is valuable. Yes, having the world in your pocket is valuable when something jumps up and goes "boo". However, most people should not need to Google-search "what do I do after 'boo'?" every single time.
talentedcoin 6y ago
This is like saying leaving home without your wallet is liberating. It’s true in a sense, but it’s also damned inconvenient depending on what you want to do. Then again, if you truly feel anxious without your phone all the time, maybe it’s worth a shot ...
- altitudinous 6y ago
  Well, clearly not having money is not comparable to not having a phone. But you are just proving the OP original article. Why not just try something different rather than pointlessly arguing about the intricacies of it all on the internet
  - nxc18 6y ago
    Is it different? You have posted the same ‘intricacies on the Internet’ article several times on this page already, so perhaps you should consider your own advice? Not having money is comparable to not having a phone - my phone is my money and it is far better at being money than the plastic in my wallet. You should give ‘The Pessimists Archive’ a listen. You might realize why hearing the same argument about why you should liberate yourself from {insert tech here} is tiring. The argument against smartphones is no different from the argument about umbrellas, refrigeration, books, mirrors, Walkmans, radio or frankly anything else that doesn’t come naturally with a cave.
    - bergstromm466 6y ago
      Yikes - that podcast is funded by the Koch Brothers.
  - talentedcoin 6y ago
    It’s nothing personal. I’m just always disappointed how much purchase these knee-jerk, unthoughtful, anti-tech reactions have on sites full of clever folks such as HN.
    - copperx 6y ago
mastre_ 6y ago
I am a runner and when I go for runs I don't take my phone with me. I have a Garmin watch that has music storage (which I also use for podcasts & audiobooks) and some basic navigation/mapping functionality (which I've never used). I run semi-long distances, up to and above a half marathon for training runs, and never really felt like I needed my phone. I guess it would be useful for emergencies, and when I ride my roadbike I do have it with me, but that's primarily because riding is more dangerous. The main thing I miss on my runs w/o a phone is snapping a pic every now and then. I would not use it for anything else as I don't make any stops (I run non-stop), and quite often I don't even wear headphones as I like to enjoy the sounds around me. I suggest you guys try it. And yes, that includes if you don't run/jog, _try_ that as well, phone or not.
swiley 6y ago
You can switch to the PinePhone and do this if you still want a portable computer. Last time I checked there still isn't a turn by turn navigation program (although you can run gnome maps, which will give you a list of directions to memorize.)
renewiltord 6y ago
I've had this accidentally happen because I run out of charge (not very diligent charging) and it's actually not all that much more fun. I'm pretty good with not using my phone, though.

skohan 6y ago

I did this accidentally a few weeks ago, and it was such a good experience I have done it intentionally a few times since then. I was just walking in my own neighborhood, but it was a similar feeling to what it's like traveling in a new city for the first time.

hnarn 6y ago

This whole idea that being without a phone is somehow liberating — and just not using it is definitely not as pure and wholly amazing as being completely without it — is to me a silly and predictable response to the very real drawbacks of high tech modern life. Phones have value. That’s why people use them. Pretending they don’t and that we’re all brainwashed doesn’t change that reality. Here’s an example: I want to take public transport to a grocery store. I walk out the door. I don’t have my phone. First of all, if I don’t check the opening hours of the store before leaving, I now have no idea. The whole trip may be for nothing. Secondly, when planning my trip, my phone would help me suggest what line and where to switch, if necessary. It would alert me in real time of any issues, again with alternate suggestions. When traveling: no music. No audio books. Just the organic, wonderful and inspiring sounds of the city. Not to mention all the wonderful people on public transport you’re aching to know better. When I get to the store, I may have forgotten my shopping list. And even if I brought it, I have no way of getting in contact with someone that may want to add something to it. If I find a new product I don’t recognize and I’m unsure of whether it’s overpriced, I can’t compare to any other vendor. I also can’t check reviews from other people. I’m sorry if I sound cynical, but sometimes I feel like the spread (but not necessarily the preaching) of this whole luddite idea of smartphones ruining us is mainly fueled by people young enough to have grown up with them being everywhere, because I’m in my mid 30s and I remember what life was like without smartphones, and for the most part, it sucked.

coldtea 6y ago
>Phones have value. That’s why people use them Now try the same line but with heroin, or fast food, or whatever people use to their detriment... Besides, anything that has value also has an opportunity cost, which can be much more important than the value inherent in the thing... >Here’s an example: I want to take public transport to a grocery store. I walk out the door. I don’t have my phone. First of all, if I don’t check the opening hours of the store before leaving, I now have no idea. The whole trip may be for nothing. Yeah, it's a wonder how people managed to live and visit the grocery store in the dark ages of the 90s and early 00s... All these people going out of their homes at 02:00am only to find the grocery store closed...
- UncleMeat 6y ago
  You’ve never got to a store only to realize they are closed on Mondays or something?
  - coldtea 6y ago
    Yes, but I've never considered it important enough to say "I'd better be saddled with a device that can be addictive, that I spend hours on end each day on, that everybody I known can harass me at any time, any where on, that keeps tabs on all kinds of things including my every movement -- lest I repeat this visited-a-closed-store blunder... I'm not saying that a smartphone is not immesely useful -- I use mine for notes, video, photos (including pro work), phonecalls (duh), messaging, and so on. I'm saying that "gives us things like grocery store times or gps routes" (or many combinations of such things) is hardly an argument for smartphones as "indispensable", nor a reason not to consider their, often serious, downsides (behavioral, cognitive, social, privacy, etc)
  - drdeadringer 6y ago
    If such an event has ruined your life, I wager that you have bigger or more systemic problems going on than not being able to buy a stick of butter from Cooper's Grocery on a particular day. The capacity of being flexible is valuable. Yes, having the world in your pocket is valuable when something jumps up and goes "boo". However, most people should not need to Google-search "what do I do after 'boo'?" every single time.

talentedcoin 6y ago

This is like saying leaving home without your wallet is liberating. It’s true in a sense, but it’s also damned inconvenient depending on what you want to do. Then again, if you truly feel anxious without your phone all the time, maybe it’s worth a shot ...

altitudinous 6y ago
Well, clearly not having money is not comparable to not having a phone. But you are just proving the OP original article. Why not just try something different rather than pointlessly arguing about the intricacies of it all on the internet
- nxc18 6y ago
  Is it different? You have posted the same ‘intricacies on the Internet’ article several times on this page already, so perhaps you should consider your own advice? Not having money is comparable to not having a phone - my phone is my money and it is far better at being money than the plastic in my wallet. You should give ‘The Pessimists Archive’ a listen. You might realize why hearing the same argument about why you should liberate yourself from {insert tech here} is tiring. The argument against smartphones is no different from the argument about umbrellas, refrigeration, books, mirrors, Walkmans, radio or frankly anything else that doesn’t come naturally with a cave.
  - bergstromm466 6y ago
    Yikes - that podcast is funded by the Koch Brothers.
- talentedcoin 6y ago
  It’s nothing personal. I’m just always disappointed how much purchase these knee-jerk, unthoughtful, anti-tech reactions have on sites full of clever folks such as HN.
  - copperx 6y ago

mastre_ 6y ago

I am a runner and when I go for runs I don't take my phone with me. I have a Garmin watch that has music storage (which I also use for podcasts & audiobooks) and some basic navigation/mapping functionality (which I've never used). I run semi-long distances, up to and above a half marathon for training runs, and never really felt like I needed my phone. I guess it would be useful for emergencies, and when I ride my roadbike I do have it with me, but that's primarily because riding is more dangerous. The main thing I miss on my runs w/o a phone is snapping a pic every now and then. I would not use it for anything else as I don't make any stops (I run non-stop), and quite often I don't even wear headphones as I like to enjoy the sounds around me. I suggest you guys try it. And yes, that includes if you don't run/jog, _try_ that as well, phone or not.

swiley 6y ago

You can switch to the PinePhone and do this if you still want a portable computer. Last time I checked there still isn't a turn by turn navigation program (although you can run gnome maps, which will give you a list of directions to memorize.)

renewiltord 6y ago

I've had this accidentally happen because I run out of charge (not very diligent charging) and it's actually not all that much more fun. I'm pretty good with not using my phone, though.