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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Oct 27, 2016 - 09:36pm PT
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I find it a fantastic tool. Invaluable when traveling.
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Flip Flop
climber
Earth Planet, Universe
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Oct 27, 2016 - 09:41pm PT
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Largely indiscernible from magic.
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Psilocyborg
climber
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Oct 27, 2016 - 10:30pm PT
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My world was just fine before smart phones.
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Oct 27, 2016 - 11:29pm PT
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If I didn't have a smart phone, what would I do during coffee break when all of my coworkers are staring at their phones?
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Delhi Dog
climber
Good Question...
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Oct 27, 2016 - 11:48pm PT
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It ain't the phone that's the problem, its how you use it that matters.
Actually they really aren't "phones". They are little computers which include a phone application.
Title could just as easily be; 'Would your life improve if you didn't have a little computer?'
My answer, no.
Life improvement isn't about "things" it's about what's going on in the space between your ears.
In my life, some things are just easier to deal with on a little computer sometimes.
Can I live happily without it? Sure can. Do most days.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Oct 27, 2016 - 11:55pm PT
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Agree with Dehli Dog.
You have to ask yourself, "Do I run my life or does my phone run my life?" You have to learn when to respond to your phone and when no to. People who respond immediately to whatever comes up on their phone without filtering it need to take back control of their lives.
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nah000
climber
no/w/here
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Oct 28, 2016 - 01:25am PT
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using Delhi Dog's "smartphone = little computer" equation, my answer is [like healyje's] simple...
fUck no.
and i was a longtime hold out. i used a flip phone primarily for business in the early aughts, but then when back in school got rid of a cell phone altogether.
so it was a surprise, when i finally bought a smartphone, that i quickly came to wonder how i'd ever lived without it.
still holding out on facebook though...
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Oct 28, 2016 - 03:37am PT
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I got a Cricket phone.^^^ But the building's all electric, no gas.
My cricket doesn't chirp, but it's cheap and it's all I need or want from a PHONE.
I never call any crickets because I don't know any.
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Beatrix Kiddo
Mountain climber
ColoRADo
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Oct 28, 2016 - 09:57am PT
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I think my vision would improve. Laying in bed at night, surfing the net is starting to take a toll on my baby blues.
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Oct 28, 2016 - 02:39pm PT
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I had a couple of smartphones, a Palm and an iPhone1. I found that I was constantly distracted by checking my phone, so I switched back to a dumb phone. My current phone is dying and I'm being pressured to get a 'real' phone. To me, phone means telephone, not computer that makes calls. I've a great sense of direction, so if I check directions on my tablet before I leave, I can usually remember them. A notepad makes a great companion to a dumb phone, and I use it often.
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the albatross
Gym climber
Flagstaff
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Oct 28, 2016 - 03:07pm PT
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I love having a "smart" phone. In my line of work I'm often required to board a flight to a forest fire 1-2,000 miles away from home, leaving within a couple hours. Sitting in the local airport I can make car rental reservations, gather intel on the mission, get directions to the ICP, etc. Of course this used to be done all the time without the phone, but it sure is nice to walk into a very complex environment with an enhanced situational awareness.
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Adventurer
Mountain climber
Virginia
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Oct 28, 2016 - 03:29pm PT
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I'm an older guy (67) and I enjoy having my iPhone. Makes it easy, via text or call, to keep in touch and gives me beta on weather, investments, driving directions, etc when I need it.
Of course, I don't walk around all day with my face stuck in the screen like an idiot. It's a tool not a puppy!!!!
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rbord
Boulder climber
atlanta
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Oct 28, 2016 - 03:37pm PT
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I'd probably get stuck in traffic more.
And I do like to just find out the answer to a question, when I think of the question. Luckily most of the questions I think about (using my insanely extraordinary strength of mind!) are simple enough for my smart phone to answer.
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Jeremy B.
climber
Northern California
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Oct 28, 2016 - 04:07pm PT
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Would your life improve if you didn't have a smart phone?
This reminds me of the Amish? They take a very conservative approach to new technology, allowing only what they feel is essential and being very cautious of how it will impact their lives. Or, from an alternate view, they've arbitrarily decided to freeze their culture at a particular technological level.
Not liking a smartphone feels like that same mindset, only instead of stalling out at a 19th century level of technology, it's stalling out at a 20th century level. To me it's no different from if the Romans decided that dirt roads and wells in the town square were perfectly practical, and things like concrete, plumbing, and aqueducts were mere frivolities that would only encourage idleness once built.
The smartphone is, as Delhi Dog mentioned, not really a phone. Phones are essentially dead technology; they just don't know it yet. Humanity is building out infrastructure in the virtual space, and the plain old telephone is about as relevant to that future as the 19th century telegraph is to current communications.
The future? Smartphones are the now, no longer the future. The future is a marvelous, glorious place. Some of us will be lucky enough to get longer glimpses of it, but those will still pale compared to what the generations after us will see.
(edited the first few lines, to play nice.)
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado & Nepal
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Oct 28, 2016 - 04:59pm PT
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It's interesting though, that the Amish score as happier and better adjusted than the average American every time they've been tested.
As for technology, I work from home and have three computers at my house and a VOIP phone right next to me. When I go out, I want to be free of all that.
When I was a kid my father made us look at a topo map before we went out in the mountains and we weren't allowed to look at it again until we got back. I do the same thing with Google maps now when I drive to a new place. I have a great sense of direction thanks to my father (and the compass in my jeep) and the only times I've gotten lost were when Google sent me the wrong way and I had to figure my way out. Smart phone, no need.
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Oct 28, 2016 - 06:46pm PT
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*
I don't have a smart phone, don't have a flip phone, i have a landline... Don't call me, i will not answer .. not a fan of phones..
Would my life improve with a smart phone?...Other people think so....not me.
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yanqui
climber
Balcarce, Argentina
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Oct 28, 2016 - 07:11pm PT
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Right on Nita
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Lorenzo
Trad climber
Portland Oregon
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Oct 28, 2016 - 10:20pm PT
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I use a flip phone with no camera and internet, texting, and email turned off. I don't answer numbers I don't know.
For 15 years I was a slave to those things.
Now?
Don't bother calling.
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hellroaring
Trad climber
San Francisco
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Oct 29, 2016 - 08:48am PT
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Hey Tad as a teacher u should watch the documentary "screenagers". Won't tell u anything u don't know, but still interesting. What gets me are the people in phone-bliss, oblivious, and crossing a.busy city street surrounded by harried hurried drivers in their own phone-bliss! Most probably have never personally seen the aftermath/results of hard cold steel meeting soft flesh & bone. For some it probably still wouldn't matter. Some technology may be evolution in reverse disguised as forward movement...
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Oct 29, 2016 - 02:55pm PT
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People that complain that they have a smartphone are like people that complain about other posters on SuperTopo.
Their problem is a lack of willpower.
Put down the phone. Ignore those posters. If they bother you.
I love my smartphone. My brother got the first iPhone, I got one a couple years later. He said one of the best things about it is you will never be bored again. If you are waiting in line pull it out and read the news, play a game, text someone, etc.
I love having a computer with the internet, a camera, GPS, 10,000 songs, video conferencing, a phone, etc. everywhere I go in one tiny package. The biggest game changer in my lifetime. It's hard to believe it's only been about 7 years.
However you do have to be aware of how addictive they are. We have very strict rules for our kids. They can't walk around with a screen on. They don't have screens until 6PM. And the best rule is they have to earn their screen time. e.g. 15 minutes for taking out the trash. So they are constantly asking "what can I do to earn screen time" instead of us nagging them to get them to help out. It's awesome.
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