Hey everyone, I was entertaining the thought of going away from owning a smart phone.

I already have a modded ipod classic that I use as my main music player.

I also know how to use a paper map.

I also have the Microsoft authentication app for work (I could just use my phone on wifi mode for this)

The last issue I have is WhatsApp where I communicate with friends and family around the world.

Is there a way to use WhatsApp on a non-smart phone? Or should I just buy a pixel and install a secure rom?

You are viewing a single thread.
View all comments View context
1 point
*

I don’t know man, I’m often out and about when I need to communicate to people.

I find it rather convenient to not have to find a library or an Internet-cafe, especially seeing my city doesn’t have any anymore probably.

And I remember living without a mobile before they came along. There’s a certain romantic novelty in agreeing to meet under x sign in y place at x hour. But it wears off fast, and if you’re running a bit late or want to reschedule something on the fly? Good luck without a mobile of any sort, smart or not.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

want to reschedule something on the fly

Yeah it certainly got easier to be late and generally not keep commitments, that’s for sure.

I do agree that communication when out and about is a genuine killer feature. It’s was the original use case after all. But doomscrolling social media, or banking, or shopping, or playing dumb games, or most of the other things I watch people doing in public - personally I am never going to buy the argument that this is about “convenience”. To me it’s pretty obvious that it’s just addiction and irrational social contagion.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-1 points

“Not keep commitments”.

In what sort of a life do you live that nothing surprising ever happens or you interact with no-one because you’d know people are unpredictable.

I watch people doing in public - personally I am never going to buy the argument that this is about "convenience

I’m use to drive a taxi for several years. When I started, GPS was still rather shit. (I usually preferred the street dictionary.) And when I was a kid, my dad had NMT phones in his cars.

You might not have any engagements that require any sort of fluidity, but other people sure do. For instance I’m driving someone from place a to place b. During the ride, they suddenly realise they need something from a shop. That’s an extra 10 min now that I could not predict, making me possibly late for the next ride, depending on where and when it’s from. Even with mobiles, it was hard to actually tell people times with accuracy more than a ±30 min after I had a fare or two in queue.

So yeah. Modern gps the ability for people to see how long it’ll be before you’re at their place has really made it more convenient. Not to mention that this convenience includes card payments. Because before you’d have to have a credit card and manually run it through the receipt labeler thingy. ka-chunk

To me it’s pretty obvious that it’s just addiction and irrational social contagion.

To me it’s pretty obvious you’re just being reductive because it’s not purely positives, like with anything in the real world.

If you don’t focus on high-schoolers and instead look at 30+ people going about their day, I’m sure it’s not “just doomscrolling and addiction”.

Hell, imagine if covid had hit 25 years earlier. The fuck would’ve we been doing? Working from home like everyone did would not have been possible. But it’s not like chilling at home while working is convenient, right?

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

By downvoting my comment you’re saying you don’t care what I have to say. So that’s the end of this debate. Good night.

permalink
report
parent
reply
0 points

Hell, imagine if covid had hit 25 years earlier. The fuck would’ve we been doing?

playing computer games. organizing the CD collection. watching TV shows. mastering a skill like programming or image editing on the computer system at hand. masturbating to VHS porn. having long, undisturbed landline conversations. reading books.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Ask Lemmy

!asklemmy@lemmy.world

Create post

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don’t post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for ‘how do I?’, type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


Community stats

  • 11K

    Monthly active users

  • 4.4K

    Posts

  • 232K

    Comments