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> they tell me how difficult it is to navigate the modern world without them - doctor offices who want to send a text or MFA or the like. But that just require

> they tell me how difficult it is to navigate the modern world without them - doctor offices who want to send a text or MFA or the like. But that just requires any cellphone that can text, and cell phones have been common for 25 years. Are there some specific examples of where you have to have a smartphone?

whycome 2y ago
They already have a landline phone and don’t need a cell. And then the options for dumb phones are slim.
- scarface_74 2y ago
  It took me one minute to find this https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/tcl-flip-go https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/tcl-flip-go
  - whycome 2y ago
    That's a great example actually. What search terms led you there? Is there a category for nonsmartphone there? What does someone with limited knowledge of available options do there?
simmonmt 2y ago
I think the mismatch here is in your definition of smartphone. Expand the definition to include any feature beyond placing and receiving phone calls. I live right next door to takes perverse pride in his inability to text. It's a thing.
- scarface_74 2y ago
  No one would call an old phone with T9 texting a “smart phone”. Any phone out since at least 2002 could send and receive texts
- hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
  This whole thread is basically "People who refuse to use technology that has been commonplace for 25 years". Not that they can't use that technology, or that it's unavailable (where I live there are a bunch of programs that give free cellphones to homeless people because it's such a valuable tool for them), but that they just refuse to. So? I mean bully for them I guess, but why should anyone else care?
janalsncm 2y ago
Uber and Lyft have displaced taxis in many places.
inetknght 2y ago
> Are there some specific examples of where you have to have a smartphone? Try getting a job without a smartphone. Try getting government services without a computer. Try getting anything without a phone at all. You can't even walk into a physical brick-and-mortar business without them worrying about being defrauded. We built a high trust society and then threw away the trust part.
- scarface_74 2y ago
  > Try getting government services without a computer. That computer only needs a browser. Surely as an HN commenter you know the solution for having a computer that you don’t want to run software by BigTech on it. I know older people who will still walk into the various government offices and utility offices when needed
  - inetknght 2y ago
    > > Try getting government services without a computer. > Surely as an HN commenter you know the solution for having a computer that you don’t want to run software by BigTech on it. Yup. I speak from experience. See my other reply [0] to you. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42879665 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42879665 > I know older people who will still walk into the various government offices and utility offices when needed Yup. I speak from experience. Government services and private utilities in Texas require email addresses. They require phone numbers. If you don't have a computer, you're definitely not going to get the emails in a timely fashion. If you don't have a phone, you're not going to receive phone calls or texts. Good luck to homeless! When you do have a computer, the government services offload your information to a private third party. You are required to do this to enroll in government services, and that private entity has its own license agreement whose jurisdiction is not even in Texas. If you have a disagreement, good luck getting to Idaho to file a dispute when you can't afford groceries. And all of your private information is made available to the lowest bidder.
    - scarface_74 2y ago
      I looked at the various utility companies in Texas. They all have in office support. Are you really telling me that senior citizens are not getting utilities if they don’t have an email address? They require home phone numbers. And you are talking about owning a phone - not a smart phone. Here is a feature phone for you https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/tcl-flip-go https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/tcl-flip-go

whycome 2y ago

They already have a landline phone and don’t need a cell. And then the options for dumb phones are slim.

scarface_74 2y ago
It took me one minute to find this https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/tcl-flip-go https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/tcl-flip-go
- whycome 2y ago
  That's a great example actually. What search terms led you there? Is there a category for nonsmartphone there? What does someone with limited knowledge of available options do there?

simmonmt 2y ago

I think the mismatch here is in your definition of smartphone. Expand the definition to include any feature beyond placing and receiving phone calls. I live right next door to takes perverse pride in his inability to text. It's a thing.

scarface_74 2y ago
No one would call an old phone with T9 texting a “smart phone”. Any phone out since at least 2002 could send and receive texts
hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
This whole thread is basically "People who refuse to use technology that has been commonplace for 25 years". Not that they can't use that technology, or that it's unavailable (where I live there are a bunch of programs that give free cellphones to homeless people because it's such a valuable tool for them), but that they just refuse to. So? I mean bully for them I guess, but why should anyone else care?

janalsncm 2y ago

Uber and Lyft have displaced taxis in many places.

inetknght 2y ago

> Are there some specific examples of where you have to have a smartphone? Try getting a job without a smartphone. Try getting government services without a computer. Try getting anything without a phone at all. You can't even walk into a physical brick-and-mortar business without them worrying about being defrauded. We built a high trust society and then threw away the trust part.

scarface_74 2y ago
> Try getting government services without a computer. That computer only needs a browser. Surely as an HN commenter you know the solution for having a computer that you don’t want to run software by BigTech on it. I know older people who will still walk into the various government offices and utility offices when needed
- inetknght 2y ago
  > > Try getting government services without a computer. > Surely as an HN commenter you know the solution for having a computer that you don’t want to run software by BigTech on it. Yup. I speak from experience. See my other reply [0] to you. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42879665 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42879665 > I know older people who will still walk into the various government offices and utility offices when needed Yup. I speak from experience. Government services and private utilities in Texas require email addresses. They require phone numbers. If you don't have a computer, you're definitely not going to get the emails in a timely fashion. If you don't have a phone, you're not going to receive phone calls or texts. Good luck to homeless! When you do have a computer, the government services offload your information to a private third party. You are required to do this to enroll in government services, and that private entity has its own license agreement whose jurisdiction is not even in Texas. If you have a disagreement, good luck getting to Idaho to file a dispute when you can't afford groceries. And all of your private information is made available to the lowest bidder.
  - scarface_74 2y ago
    I looked at the various utility companies in Texas. They all have in office support. Are you really telling me that senior citizens are not getting utilities if they don’t have an email address? They require home phone numbers. And you are talking about owning a phone - not a smart phone. Here is a feature phone for you https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/tcl-flip-go https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/tcl-flip-go