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You can still live like what's described in this article. Get yourself a dumbphone and a paper atlas, only pay with cash, avoid loyalty cards, read paper books,

You can still live like what's described in this article. Get yourself a dumbphone and a paper atlas, only pay with cash, avoid loyalty cards, read paper books, newspapers, etc Now and then I do that, just to switch off from our hyper-connected world. Switching off is the new peace of mind.

don-code 5y ago
Much like living outside the Matrix, would you really want to go back, knowing what you know? Yes, you can use a paper atlas. I have an 8-year-old car with GPS, and a 34-year-old car without. I bought a map book for the 34-year-old car, thinking it'd be a "period accurate" way of driving it; it's anachronistic at best, and frustrating at worst - can you read the street signs, and did you drop your compass under the seat? In the 8-year-old car, I can hit a button, say "Navigate to (an address)" _while driving_, and it figures it out. Some of these I do on principle (only pay with cash, avoid loyalty cards, etc.), and I accept a compromised UX as a result. Your mileage may vary, depending on how much you get out of these things, but the immediate impact of them seem generally negative.
- com2kid 5y ago
  > and did you drop your compass under the seat? You can get battery powered compasses that you stick on your dash. :) My car's review mirror has a compass in it and I use it for navigation quite often. Places I had to drive to before GPS are places I have a better understanding of how to get to. I have a friend who refuses to use GPS and his knowledge of the city is far far ahead of mine. Of course I am lucky to live in a place built on a true x-y coordinate grid system where given any address you can navigate to it w/o issue using, well, just a compass. :) I wouldn't try that trick in London! :) (There is a cool documentary about London cab drivers and what they have/had to go through to memorize the entire city)
  - cwyptocuwency 5y ago
    Is it not "rear view" mirror, not "review" mirror? Or is that some regional term?
    - com2kid 5y ago
      Wikipedia says.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear-view_mirror https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear-view_mirror Also google corrects car review mirror to rear view. :)
adam12 5y ago
Your friend won't wait an hour for you, though.
- jjgreen 5y ago
  I wouldn't expect them to, I arrive on time.
dwaltrip 5y ago
What are the mechanics of switching between these modes? Do you just swap SIM cards from the smartphone to the dumb phone?
xwdv 5y ago
You can't really. People think it's simply a matter of getting rid of all the new tech. It isn't. You'll just be an anachronism. If the entire world isn't living the same way then you are only getting a superficial experience. Instead of living a genuine life, you are merely pretending for a while.
- xook 5y ago
  Each individual experiences life in a different way. Who is to say that leaving modern technology at the door isn't genuine.
- bee_rider 5y ago
  And the world knows that everybody has a smartphone. The last restaurant I went to had QR codes on the tables rather than paper menus. Of course, I could have asked for a paper menu but they didn't provide one by default and it would have added a new extra step. It isn't a big deal of course, just slightly slower restaurant service, but a million little deals like that add up to a hassle.
  - sneak 5y ago
    Chat up a pretty girl and she's likely to ask for your Instagram username. That's usually the point where I go into my "facebook is spyware" spiel, with predictable results.
    - bee_rider 5y ago
      I'm very happy to have gotten into a committed relationship right before online dating apparently became mandatory, although also vaguely curious what the experience is like. It seems like such a personal thing was suddenly connected to the internet, which is fascinating. Although also terrifying. I'm glad I don't have to actually deal with it.
    - derwiki 5y ago
      If you say “I don’t use Instagram” without the spyware spiel, does it go any better? Or is not having Instagram alone enough to have things go south?
Gunax 5y ago
The thing about technology is that even if you don't change everyone else will. Sure, it might still be technically legal to ride a horse down the street. But soon enough, people started putting in multi-lane highways. Also, stores took out their hitching posts. Then we started designing cities around the car, so what used to be a mile away is now 10. And half of that distance is consumed by parking lots.
- tomjen3 5y ago
  Honestly, if you hitched your horse to the side of where they have the shopping carts, or even a lamp post, not only would most not mind, most would think it was cool, and if they really hated it, wouldn't know who was responsible for/had had the right to remove the horse. I haven't ridden a horse since I was 3 or so, but I rode a steam train through town last Sunday, which would be period accurate with your horse, and people smiled. They waved and took photos and thought it was really cool. Which it was. It isn't practical, as you say, but it is pretty awesome. And because of that people will accommodate you.
- derwiki 5y ago
  I grew up near Amish country and it wasn’t unusual to see a horse and buggy hitched to a light post at Walmart.
gilbetron 5y ago
You can sell your car, get a horse, and travel around like it is the 19th century. Of course, nothing around you will be like the 19th century. Not that it isn't worth doing for other reasons, but moving your tech backwards doesn't move the world around you backwards.
- tboyd47 5y ago
  Cars are better than horses for a lot of reasons. But smartphones are delivering no benefit to mankind. At all. The only compelling reason to use them is social pressure.
  - ChrisClark 5y ago
    > But smartphones are delivering no benefit to mankind. At all. You know better than that. You don't have to lie to try and make a point.
    - tboyd47 5y ago
      Likewise; you don't have to accuse me of lying to make a point. Almost all of the arguments in favor of smartphones in this thread are based on caving to social pressure. Cell phones and texting are sufficient. And by the way, it's called hyperbole.
    - tharne 5y ago
      > But smartphones are delivering no benefit to mankind. At all. This statement may be hyperbolic, but at its core is not wrong. Smartphones are very easily a net negative in terms of cost/benefit to society. They're ubiquitous because they're addictive, not because they're so wonderful. Everyone used to smoke too, then we came to see the massive damage cigarettes were doing. Smartphones are just cigarettes for the brain.
      - Retric 5y ago
        Smartphones are simply tools. I use mine as a flashlight, notebook, calculator, camera, phone, book, and compass even without access to the internet. People would have lined up to buy an affordable device that did all of that in 1990. The internet is also more than just mindless entertainment and social media. GPS isn’t necessary, but they do more than just find stuff they also route you around traffic accidents and locate the closest drug store on a trip. Downloading an instructional YouTube video really helps with home repair, etc. In app purchases are toxic, but you can also just download a free chess app no gamification required.
tharne 5y ago
> You can still live like what's described in this article. Get yourself a dumbphone and a paper atlas, only pay with cash, avoid loyalty cards, read paper books, newspapers, etc I've been doing this a fair amount lately, particularly when I go on vacation. It's glorious. There are some inconveniences, for sure, but the good outweighs the bad. Most of what drives my tech use these days is 1) My job, and 2) The social expectations of others. On balance smartphones and ubiquitous internet have benefits, but the bad far outweighs the good. Unfortunately, once a technology is embraced by enough people, you're more or less forced to use it if you want to live in mainstream society.
beamatronic 5y ago
Instead of a paper atlas, get a Garmin device with a built-in map
- sneak 5y ago
  No, get the $60 Chinese alternative with built-in maps that doesn't have any wi-fi.
theyellowkid 5y ago
That's pretty much me, except for reading a couple of websites (like this) , online banking, and pirating e-books for my Kindle. I'll fire up a machine for video or photo editing once in a while or sheet music work, but otherwise they're not much use. One problem is being too old to care about video games. When Space Invaders came out I couldn't imagine that people would choose that over pinball or foosball. My loss I guess.
sneak 5y ago
You can't complete required procedures for international travel right now without a portable web browser and mobile internet. Ditto for most restaurant menus in a lot of places: they are QR codes now, that point to URLs. Airlines will only let you book with cards, no cash.

don-code 5y ago

Much like living outside the Matrix, would you really want to go back, knowing what you know? Yes, you can use a paper atlas. I have an 8-year-old car with GPS, and a 34-year-old car without. I bought a map book for the 34-year-old car, thinking it'd be a "period accurate" way of driving it; it's anachronistic at best, and frustrating at worst - can you read the street signs, and did you drop your compass under the seat? In the 8-year-old car, I can hit a button, say "Navigate to (an address)" _while driving_, and it figures it out. Some of these I do on principle (only pay with cash, avoid loyalty cards, etc.), and I accept a compromised UX as a result. Your mileage may vary, depending on how much you get out of these things, but the immediate impact of them seem generally negative.

com2kid 5y ago
> and did you drop your compass under the seat? You can get battery powered compasses that you stick on your dash. :) My car's review mirror has a compass in it and I use it for navigation quite often. Places I had to drive to before GPS are places I have a better understanding of how to get to. I have a friend who refuses to use GPS and his knowledge of the city is far far ahead of mine. Of course I am lucky to live in a place built on a true x-y coordinate grid system where given any address you can navigate to it w/o issue using, well, just a compass. :) I wouldn't try that trick in London! :) (There is a cool documentary about London cab drivers and what they have/had to go through to memorize the entire city)
- cwyptocuwency 5y ago
  Is it not "rear view" mirror, not "review" mirror? Or is that some regional term?
  - com2kid 5y ago
    Wikipedia says.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear-view_mirror https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear-view_mirror Also google corrects car review mirror to rear view. :)

adam12 5y ago

Your friend won't wait an hour for you, though.

jjgreen 5y ago
I wouldn't expect them to, I arrive on time.

dwaltrip 5y ago

What are the mechanics of switching between these modes? Do you just swap SIM cards from the smartphone to the dumb phone?

xwdv 5y ago

You can't really. People think it's simply a matter of getting rid of all the new tech. It isn't. You'll just be an anachronism. If the entire world isn't living the same way then you are only getting a superficial experience. Instead of living a genuine life, you are merely pretending for a while.

xook 5y ago
Each individual experiences life in a different way. Who is to say that leaving modern technology at the door isn't genuine.
bee_rider 5y ago
And the world knows that everybody has a smartphone. The last restaurant I went to had QR codes on the tables rather than paper menus. Of course, I could have asked for a paper menu but they didn't provide one by default and it would have added a new extra step. It isn't a big deal of course, just slightly slower restaurant service, but a million little deals like that add up to a hassle.
- sneak 5y ago
  Chat up a pretty girl and she's likely to ask for your Instagram username. That's usually the point where I go into my "facebook is spyware" spiel, with predictable results.
  - bee_rider 5y ago
    I'm very happy to have gotten into a committed relationship right before online dating apparently became mandatory, although also vaguely curious what the experience is like. It seems like such a personal thing was suddenly connected to the internet, which is fascinating. Although also terrifying. I'm glad I don't have to actually deal with it.
  - derwiki 5y ago
    If you say “I don’t use Instagram” without the spyware spiel, does it go any better? Or is not having Instagram alone enough to have things go south?

Gunax 5y ago

The thing about technology is that even if you don't change everyone else will. Sure, it might still be technically legal to ride a horse down the street. But soon enough, people started putting in multi-lane highways. Also, stores took out their hitching posts. Then we started designing cities around the car, so what used to be a mile away is now 10. And half of that distance is consumed by parking lots.

tomjen3 5y ago
Honestly, if you hitched your horse to the side of where they have the shopping carts, or even a lamp post, not only would most not mind, most would think it was cool, and if they really hated it, wouldn't know who was responsible for/had had the right to remove the horse. I haven't ridden a horse since I was 3 or so, but I rode a steam train through town last Sunday, which would be period accurate with your horse, and people smiled. They waved and took photos and thought it was really cool. Which it was. It isn't practical, as you say, but it is pretty awesome. And because of that people will accommodate you.
derwiki 5y ago
I grew up near Amish country and it wasn’t unusual to see a horse and buggy hitched to a light post at Walmart.

gilbetron 5y ago

You can sell your car, get a horse, and travel around like it is the 19th century. Of course, nothing around you will be like the 19th century. Not that it isn't worth doing for other reasons, but moving your tech backwards doesn't move the world around you backwards.

tboyd47 5y ago
Cars are better than horses for a lot of reasons. But smartphones are delivering no benefit to mankind. At all. The only compelling reason to use them is social pressure.
- ChrisClark 5y ago
  > But smartphones are delivering no benefit to mankind. At all. You know better than that. You don't have to lie to try and make a point.
  - tboyd47 5y ago
    Likewise; you don't have to accuse me of lying to make a point. Almost all of the arguments in favor of smartphones in this thread are based on caving to social pressure. Cell phones and texting are sufficient. And by the way, it's called hyperbole.
  - tharne 5y ago
    > But smartphones are delivering no benefit to mankind. At all. This statement may be hyperbolic, but at its core is not wrong. Smartphones are very easily a net negative in terms of cost/benefit to society. They're ubiquitous because they're addictive, not because they're so wonderful. Everyone used to smoke too, then we came to see the massive damage cigarettes were doing. Smartphones are just cigarettes for the brain.
    - Retric 5y ago
      Smartphones are simply tools. I use mine as a flashlight, notebook, calculator, camera, phone, book, and compass even without access to the internet. People would have lined up to buy an affordable device that did all of that in 1990. The internet is also more than just mindless entertainment and social media. GPS isn’t necessary, but they do more than just find stuff they also route you around traffic accidents and locate the closest drug store on a trip. Downloading an instructional YouTube video really helps with home repair, etc. In app purchases are toxic, but you can also just download a free chess app no gamification required.

tharne 5y ago

> You can still live like what's described in this article. Get yourself a dumbphone and a paper atlas, only pay with cash, avoid loyalty cards, read paper books, newspapers, etc I've been doing this a fair amount lately, particularly when I go on vacation. It's glorious. There are some inconveniences, for sure, but the good outweighs the bad. Most of what drives my tech use these days is 1) My job, and 2) The social expectations of others. On balance smartphones and ubiquitous internet have benefits, but the bad far outweighs the good. Unfortunately, once a technology is embraced by enough people, you're more or less forced to use it if you want to live in mainstream society.

beamatronic 5y ago

Instead of a paper atlas, get a Garmin device with a built-in map

sneak 5y ago
No, get the $60 Chinese alternative with built-in maps that doesn't have any wi-fi.

theyellowkid 5y ago

That's pretty much me, except for reading a couple of websites (like this) , online banking, and pirating e-books for my Kindle. I'll fire up a machine for video or photo editing once in a while or sheet music work, but otherwise they're not much use. One problem is being too old to care about video games. When Space Invaders came out I couldn't imagine that people would choose that over pinball or foosball. My loss I guess.

sneak 5y ago

You can't complete required procedures for international travel right now without a portable web browser and mobile internet. Ditto for most restaurant menus in a lot of places: they are QR codes now, that point to URLs. Airlines will only let you book with cards, no cash.