3 ms·

I've put a fair amount of thought into the decision to not carry a phone everywhere I go and this beast always rears its head. Obviously, there was a time when

I've put a fair amount of thought into the decision to not carry a phone everywhere I go and this beast always rears its head. Obviously, there was a time when people didn't have phones but society's more or less moved on; people generally expect others to have one and social services reflect that. Anyway, I think reading this comment kinda gave me my answer: be selective about when I take my phone. Kinda the inverse of the murderer not taking their phone when they go to hide the body (I'm not planning to murder anyone); I just don't take my phone unless I plan on being in a situation where there will not be a good alternative to having my own means of communication, e.g., a road trip or vacation. Traveling within my city of residence will likely be feasible, especially if I try to do so primarily with a vehicle smaller than a car. But yeah, if one has this idea, keep in mind that people started taking their phones everywhere because they're useful in many situations.

brnt 3y ago
I had a Palm PDA and have kept using smartphones for productivity apps, calendring, musical, photos as of the beter part of a decade. The fact that it van place and receiver calls really doesnt matter to me, but PDAs dont exist anymore, and so, why not installatie a basic sim? My 'phone' has been really useful to me so I take it basically always with me, unless I specifically know I don't need it (such as going for a swim). I don't take calls if I don't feel like it, but very few people call me. Do you not use you phone for other things than communication?
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 3y ago
  I do use my phone for other things but I could use a "mobile Linux device" just the same and without the snooping from cell towers, which is my primary concern (for trivial, self-inflicted reasons to be fair). In practical terms, my phone stays in my pocket until I'm home anyway. To disincentivize me from using it outside my home, I turn off mobile data, which has made it obvious to me that I never use it in public and only carry it around for fear of some emergent situation which would otherwise be trivialized by the ability to communicate over a long distance. Also, something weird happened when I regained the ability to avoid looking at a device in my hands: I started to see that everyone is addicted to their phone. Used to be that any time I had to wait for any length of time, my first instinct was to pull out my phone. Now I just look around and see everyone else do that. The decision to leave my phone at home (with exceptions) is an extension of that change in my habits.
  - em-bee 3y ago
    the primary feature of my phone is to be an audio player, and to research stuff online when i need that on the go (look at maps, search for specific shops, etc), also the shopping list, and taking pictures. messaging is there too, but my phone is always on silent, so like you i mainly use it for urgent stuff.
- nomel 3y ago
  I would say my Sony Clie was peak technology symbiosis. Offline, so mindless consumption wasn't possible, but it was filled with books that were carefully selected. Physical writing interface, that tickled that physical part of the brain. I wrote and read more, with quality, than any other time in my life.
bluGill 3y ago
When people didn't carry a phone with them there were pay phones all over that mostly worked. Not nearly as convenient as a phone in your pocket and in rural areas hard to find, but could count on one at every gas station, fast food restaurant, and other such places: so they were common. Today they are hard to find at all (and probably don't work if you see one). Thus if you don't have a phone with you, you will run into a worse time than in the past. (OTOH, most people didn't use a pay phone ever - they were expensive)

brnt 3y ago

I had a Palm PDA and have kept using smartphones for productivity apps, calendring, musical, photos as of the beter part of a decade. The fact that it van place and receiver calls really doesnt matter to me, but PDAs dont exist anymore, and so, why not installatie a basic sim? My 'phone' has been really useful to me so I take it basically always with me, unless I specifically know I don't need it (such as going for a swim). I don't take calls if I don't feel like it, but very few people call me. Do you not use you phone for other things than communication?

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 3y ago
I do use my phone for other things but I could use a "mobile Linux device" just the same and without the snooping from cell towers, which is my primary concern (for trivial, self-inflicted reasons to be fair). In practical terms, my phone stays in my pocket until I'm home anyway. To disincentivize me from using it outside my home, I turn off mobile data, which has made it obvious to me that I never use it in public and only carry it around for fear of some emergent situation which would otherwise be trivialized by the ability to communicate over a long distance. Also, something weird happened when I regained the ability to avoid looking at a device in my hands: I started to see that everyone is addicted to their phone. Used to be that any time I had to wait for any length of time, my first instinct was to pull out my phone. Now I just look around and see everyone else do that. The decision to leave my phone at home (with exceptions) is an extension of that change in my habits.
- em-bee 3y ago
  the primary feature of my phone is to be an audio player, and to research stuff online when i need that on the go (look at maps, search for specific shops, etc), also the shopping list, and taking pictures. messaging is there too, but my phone is always on silent, so like you i mainly use it for urgent stuff.
nomel 3y ago
I would say my Sony Clie was peak technology symbiosis. Offline, so mindless consumption wasn't possible, but it was filled with books that were carefully selected. Physical writing interface, that tickled that physical part of the brain. I wrote and read more, with quality, than any other time in my life.

bluGill 3y ago

When people didn't carry a phone with them there were pay phones all over that mostly worked. Not nearly as convenient as a phone in your pocket and in rural areas hard to find, but could count on one at every gas station, fast food restaurant, and other such places: so they were common. Today they are hard to find at all (and probably don't work if you see one). Thus if you don't have a phone with you, you will run into a worse time than in the past. (OTOH, most people didn't use a pay phone ever - they were expensive)