Life without mobiles

[ttaskmaster]

Would you like to go back to life without mobiles?

I could get used to it.

How can you think life would be better without something you never had back then?

Remember life before AIDS became a problem and the worst you ever had was rugburn?
That's how.

Need information? It was a pain in the arse.

Library.
Local services.
Ask a policeman.

Need to contact someone? It was a pain in the arse.

Need... or just want, in order to discuss Katy Perry's latest lipstick colour?

Car broken down at night in the country? You had to go for a long dark walk to the nearest village. Where's your car? No idea...

People also knew a bit about maintaining their cars and were able to do so without having to plug a computer into it, weren't so lazy they couldn't walk a few miles and had the sense to keep a torch in the car along with some tools, as well as being able to read a map...

They were miserable and had bad taste.

They were happy party people who at least tried new things, rather than being dull and wearing tracksuits despite never having gone for a run...

The only thing about mobiles the really irritates me is when there is a decent discussion about the merits of x down the pub, then someone whips out their phone & googles the answer. BAM conversation over

So discuss something else, or limit it to personal preferences. Be imaginitive.

 

[AndyCr15]

For me, each of your answers makes no sense, is not true or even backs up our point of it being easier now.

Should we assume you don't have a smatphone Ttaskmaster?

 

[SC0TTRS]

Remember life before AIDS became a problem and the worst you ever had was rugburn?
That's how.

With today's medical science they can work wonders!, keep up the good fight

 

[nox_uk]

So discuss something else, or limit it to personal preferences. Be imaginitive.

It's an irritation/observation no more. <anyone> can look up the answer to a question - once this evidence is presented that topic has to move on as it's over. imagine trying to hold a conversation with someone who ends each one after 30 seconds of looking at their phone. you end up effectively having a conversation with google or wiki...

where as without the phone available you may not find the correct answer but you will probably have a good chat whilst discussing for example, the answer to 3 across. (Then when you work it out yourself you get a nice sense of satisfaction if it was particularly tough.)

 

[ttaskmaster]

For me, each of your answers makes no sense, is not true or even backs up our point of it being easier now.

I don't see what the difficulty you're having, is - The OP states that life was easier.
That's quite a subjective thing, though. For you, that's how you see it. Others see it differently. Google on your Smartphone whether it was easier or not and tell me what the highly subjective (yet somehow definitive) answer is, if you like...

Should we assume you don't have a smatphone Ttaskmaster?

Those who knew me would be safe to generally assume so, yes...
However, those who do know me are teh ones who got tired of not being able to contact me and so bought most of the mobile phones I've ever had. This current one, a Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo is the first new phone I've ever had and only the third one I've ever bought. The other two were off eBay and more PDAs with portable telephony facilities designed into them...

But yes, at others' insistence I join the 21st Century, I now own what is considered to be a Smartphone.

With today's medical science they can work wonders!, keep up the good fight

Really?
What is the cure for AIDS, then?

It's an irritation/observation no more. <anyone> can look up the answer to a question - once this evidence is presented that topic has to move on as it's over.

Blimey... I'm never engaging you in conversation, then!!

imagine trying to hold a conversation with someone who ends each one after 30 seconds of looking at their phone.

OK, lemme try and imagine just such a conversation starter, for a sec...
"Nox, mate... Who do you think is sexier, Felicity Jones or Denise Richards?"

What does Googlepedia say should be your correct response?

where as without the phone available you may not find the correct answer but you will probably have a good chat whilst discussing

Even with the entire internet at my disposal, I get that. Had one about religion just last night, in fact...
In fact, I'd say it's both better and worse with Google... Better, because you can have more informed opinions to converse around and even add more things into the mix with the enhanced information, perhaps new angles or something.... and worse, because people on the internet seem incapable of believing something exists if it doesn't appear in the top three results on Google.

It comes down to people and their inability to use tech properly, more than the tech itself.
Case in point being the number of fully grown adults who forget their Green Cross Code the instant George Takei posts something on Farcebook.

 

[SC0TTRS]

Really?
What is the cure for AIDS, then?

Didn't want to get your hopes up, maybe one day

 

[ttaskmaster]

Didn't want to get your hopes up, maybe one day

You initially did, as that rugburn still itches...

 

[AndyCr15]

I don't see what the difficulty you're having, is - The OP states that life was easier.

I'm having no difficultly thanks. OP actually states that he thinks life was easier. I disagreed. You posted things that in my opinion made no sense or argued in my favour and I posted I thought this. What's the difficulty I'm having?

 

[ttaskmaster]

I'm having no difficultly thanks. OP actually states that he thinks life was easier. I disagreed. You posted things that in my opinion made no sense or argued in my favour and I posted I thought this. What's the difficulty I'm having?

How is my opinion, generally concurrent with the OP, supposed to "backs up our point of it being easier now"?
The point is that my opinion is specifically against it being easier now, and thus in no way backing up your (collective) own point(s)....

 

[AndyCr15]

For that one...

Library.
Local services.
Ask a policeman.

This bit. This was a PITA and is now A LOT easier.

 

[ttaskmaster]

This bit. This was a PITA and is now A LOT easier.

Again, subjective. Also dependent on your Google-fu and general computer literacy.
There's a few things I'd have challenged anybody to find, yet you could get it all at the right library, especially if the Librarian has a minute to go get it for you. Sometimes, and in many ways, dealing with a human being is far easier than a computer...

 

[AndyCr15]

Whilst I can't claim it's fact, I would imagine if someone made a request here for some info, 999 times out of 1,000 I would get it quicker and easier with Google than you would heading to the library. In fact, please tell me the last time someone asked you to look something up and you went to the library? I think for me it would be over 30 years ago at least.

dealing with a human being is far easier than a computer...

I would disagree. I think we'll have to agree to disagree on most of what you've said and move on.

 

[Glaucus]

subjective, lol. a smartphone makes several dozen aspects of life categorically easier.

the issues is not smart phones.
the issue in most cases are people being unhappy with life and using it excessively as a time killer etc. remove teh phone does not solve the issue and you are almost certainly going to replace it with watching tv excessively or something else.

 

[Telecaster]

From a work POV, very much yes, people think to seem it's perfectly ok to call/text/email whenever they feel like it and expect an instant response. Much prefer how it was before phones where out of hours was exactly that.

Personal POV, I only have one for calls, texts and the odd email, in fact it goes about 3 days between charges and I regularly forget it and leave it in the glovebox of the van over a weekend without the world ending.

 

[mrk]

Without a smartphone I couldn't:

1) Walk into Tesco, grab what I need, head to the self service checkout, scan my clubcard using Beep&Go, then scan the back of my phone to pay via NFC.
2) Rock up at the petrol station, load up the Shell app and input the pump number. Fill up then drive away.
3) Send Clown and NickX a BEEP BEEP on Waze.
4) Take a great quality photo of a chance moment.
5) Slide into yo momma's DMs
6) Carry my entire music library around with me in glorious lossless clarity.
7) Do banking on the go without having to step a foot into a branch.
8) Check up on smart connected home security, turn on and off smart lights/switches around the house.

 

[Scort]

I think smart phones are great - plenty to do when having a poop.

Aside from that, I think it's a bit of rose tinted syndrome to think that times were better before mobiles - some aspects were sure, but not everything (child of the 80s here).

 

[ttaskmaster]

Whilst I can't claim it's fact, I would imagine if someone made a request here for some info, 999 times out of 1,000 I would get it quicker and easier with Google than you would heading to the library.

Some things just aren't on Google...

In fact, please tell me the last time someone asked you to look something up and you went to the library?

The afternoon of February 20th 2017... Went there, got my stuff, then took the rest of the day off to go shopping as it was payday.

I think for me it would be over 30 years ago at least.

They had the internet in 1987?

I think we'll have to agree

Indeed!
Selective quoting not good - I said Sometimes it's better and the existence of call centres, walk-in tech help desks and helper humans in general seems to support that.
But if you feel more comfortable and less socially anxious emailing someone in the department next to you to ask a question, you go for it... I hope they do what I do and shout the answer back.

subjective, lol. a smartphone makes several dozen aspects of life categorically easier.

Not when it comes to typing on one, trying to get signal, doing a spreadsheet, or several dozen other things. It's a different way of doing them and sometimes very useful, but as much a pain in the backside at the same time.

remove teh phone does not solve the issue and you are almost certainly going to replace it with watching tv excessively or something else.

Or going out, engaging with life, forming relationships, having conversations, etc....

1) Walk into Tesco, grab what I need, head to the self service checkout, scan my clubcard using Beep&Go, then scan the back of my phone to pay via NFC.

No, you'd have to take a few seconds extra to get your bank card out and use that.... Oh no, several seconds of your life wasted...
You'd have had a better argument if you did the whole shop from your phone while sat at home.

2) Rock up at the petrol station, load up the Shell app and input the pump number. Fill up then drive away.

By the time you've done all that, I've probably paid with my card using the Pay At Pump facility and driven off already.

3) Send Clown and NickX a BEEP BEEP on Waze.

Do you not have a computer? I'm sure Waze is on that... not that I actually know what Waze is!

4) Take a great quality photo of a chance moment.

It's quicker for me to get a digital camera out and taking pics than it is on a smartphone. Heck, it was quicker on my old PDAs.

5) Slide into yo momma's DMs

She doesn't wear boots.

6) Carry my entire music library around with me in glorious lossless clarity.

If the world is so bad that you have to walk around wearing headphones, perhaps you'd better stay home?

7) Do banking on the go without having to step a foot into a branch.

That's not a new thing...

8) Check up on smart connected home security

Do you live in Fort Knox?
Does knowing you're being broken into really help when you're 30 miles from home?

 

[DONOHUE07]

I feel lost without my phone, not a chance in hell I would purposely go without it

 

[AndyCr15]

Yes, once again ttaskmaster. A lot of what you have said, to me, backs up the argument life is a lot easier with mobile phones. **EDITED TO AVOID INFRACTION** I'll just add you to my ignore list as I don't believe you will have anything I will ever want to read. (Easier done with tech than in real life. Great! )

 

[Glaucus]

Or going out, engaging with life, forming relationships, having conversations, etc....

Thats my point though, the chance of that happening is pretty much zero. You aren't doing that so you are wasting time on a phone, getting rid of phone would not suddenly make you more sociable or change your life. you would just replace one time waster with another. Changing from a time waster to that requires a change of attitude and effort, which blaming a phone is not going to achieve. Instead you would move onto the next time waster and then blame that.