DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have had an interesting couple of days. Yesterday the SIM card in my Samsung Galaxy died. I had insurance, and Samsung will replace the phone. But until Monday I have no access to the cellular network, and unless I have an interent connection I have--
No phone calls, no texting, no checking email, no checking the weather! Wifi-calling and texting aren't working even when I do have an internet connection. So no phone calls and no texts until Monday, full stop.
A little inconvenient, I thought. But, then, when I was out today doing errands (including the visit to the Verizon store,) I realized how absolutely automatic it was to check my phone every few minutes!
I know some of you live in more rural areas where cell reception might be spotty, but I am in a big metro area where that is never a problem (barring natural disasters!) I am always connected!
Before international travel passes became affordable around 2015, I carried two phones when in the UK, so I was connected even there. Not that I used the UK phone much, as it was expensive, but I could make and receive calls and texts if needed.
How long had it been, I wondered, since I had been completely unfettered? I say "unfettered" deliberately, because after the first few slightly panicked, FOMO minutes, it felt...freeing.
Last night in our Reds & Readers Happy Hour we talked a little about time management, and today's experience was a wake-up call on my constant level of distraction.
Just how distracted are we all? And what would it be like to just...turn it off?
Will I do it? Probably not. But I will, hopefully, at least be more aware of what's frittering away my attention.
Of course, research nerd that I am, I had to look up the history of mobile phones, and try to remember what I had, and when. (I'm also trying to figure out what my characters in the book-in-progress would have carried around 2001, and whether or not they'd have had reception in and around Teddington Lock.)
The first really affordable cell phones arrived in the mid to late nineties. There was Motorla Startac--the flip phone! I never owned one, though--I had Nokias. Remember the Nokia? I carried one in the UK for years after I switched to a smartphone in the US. A funny thing, in the US we say NO-kia, long "o", emphasis on the first syllable. In the UK, they say Nock-ia, short "o", a little emphasis on the "i." I think the UK version is correct.
Blackberries hit the market in the early 2000's. I'm sure I was still using a Nokia in 2001, but I did switch to the Blackberry in the next couple of years. They were the thing! In 2002 Blackberry's 5810 introduced push email and web browsing, and the modern world was born! They have a lot to answer for, one way or another...
As does Apple, with the advent of the iPhone in 2007. Android was a bit late to the game, introducing its operating system in 2010. I must have switched from Blackberry to a Samsung Galaxy sometime after 2011, when Blackberry began to fail, and have stuck with them ever since.
Reds and readers, do you remember when you had to find a phone to make a call?
What do you think about our constant level of connectedness? Would you switch off? Could you switch off???
And have you had a favorite phone? (I love my Galaxy, but the Blackberry was the best ever for typing!)
I love my Galaxy Note phone . . . I like being in touch with the girls but I'd be okay without being constantly connected. In fact, I have an app that tells me when I have a message [so I don't miss anything from the girls] so the phone often just sits in a holder on the coffee table. I do remember those phone-hunting days; now I guess phone booths are a thing of the past . . . as is a rotary phone, but the grandchildren are quite fascinated by it and love making calls on it . . . .
ReplyDeleteWe have an old rotary phone (not connected to anything) and when my granddaughter was a toddler she was fascinated by it. Not, at the great age of eight, she's more cell phone/tablet/remote savvy than me!
DeleteWe gave my son an old rotary phone for his first birthday...he loved it.
DeleteI was one of the last to get a cell phone (seriously, my mom had one before me). I had a landline for the longest time, and I didn't feel like I needed two lines. Until my sisters-in-law pointed out I could get rid of the landline and have a cell phone. Within a few days, I had done just that. My first phone was a flip phone. I feel like smart phones were around then, but I didn't have one. But then I graduated to an iPhone and never looked back.
ReplyDeleteI do rely on it quite a bit. And it, and the internet in general, are very distracting. I think it would be good for me to unplug for a bit, but I haven't plan it out well in advance to do so. So we'll see if that ever happens or not.
Just think how many more books you could read, Mark!
DeleteTrue. But then I have to review them....
DeleteI have been a Samsung Galaxy smartphone user since I gave up my landline in Toronto in 2010. And even though I moved to Ottawa in 2014, I still kept my Toronto cell number with the original 416 area code. IYKYK how rare it is to have one.
ReplyDeleteI kept a pay as you go LG flip phone from Tracfone to use in the US for calls & texts until 2022. My new Samsung Galaxy S23 FE can use eSIMs. I have used 3 of them this year for trips to US & Singapore. A great bargain & lifesaver.
I LOVE not having to to carry a separate phone in the UK. And I love my Samsung phone. All my iPhone using friends and family gripe at me, but we are a PC/Android household and I'm not likely to switch.
DeleteSame here, Deb. Only one daughter also has an Android phone and PCs. The whole rest of the family, including my mother, use Apple products.
DeleteThose OG area codes! I recall a Seinfeld episode about that.
DeleteAfter we moved the SoCal, we went from an original 213 area code to 310 to 562, all without moving, because of the extra lines being added for faxing, then mobiles.
I have an old iPhone (inherited from my daughter) that I use for calls and for texts when I'm traveling... but mostly to listen to audiobooks while I'm working outside. In the winter months, November-April, my phone is hardly used. A text sent to me might not be seen for a week unless I travel or get a call. I'm a hardcore laptop and email user, and I'm very connected that way. Moreover, I'm unlikely to switch. In the last two years I've developed an outlier case of lupus that is making my feet and hands go numb, and I'm on pain meds for it that give me blurry vision. Small screens and fine motor movements are not in my future.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of connectivity in general, when our internet goes down I become very aware how distracted I am by it. I have something like withdrawal. When the wifi is functioning normally, it takes discipline for me to turn off browsers and keep them off when I'm trying to write. I've been interested to see that I often OPEN THEM AGAIN AUTOMATICALLY WITHOUT NOTICING. Apparently for me checking email has become like breathing. This disturbs me but... not enough to do something about it. Still, it's a sad comedown for a nature girl who once upon a time thought I'd live in the woods without electricity! (Selden)
That's too bad about the lupus, Selden. I hope you can find ways to adjust. My mother has macular degeneration that is slowly stealing her vision, but she can still read three or four books a week using a Nook with adjustable lighting and fonts. Thank goodness for technology.
DeleteSelden, when I've had issues with hands/arms, an e-reader was a life saver! Once it was positioned, I just needed one finger to turn the page. Hope you can find solutions that help you do what you need/love.
DeleteYes, what Karen and Flora said, Selden. I'm sorry to hear about the lupus.
DeleteI've tried turning the browser off when I'm writing, but then I always need to look something up! And I always need Google Maps!
Speaking of needing help - does anyone know how to make the microphone feature for messaging actually write something sensible? Scrambles words and no punctuation/end of sentence, even if I pause. It takes me forever to two finger type, so mike would help if I could figure out how to work it.
DeleteMargo, you have to dictate "period" or "question mark" at the end of a sentence to get it to do that. Commas, too.
DeleteThank you I will try this!
DeleteUsing a stylus makes my typing much faster and more accurate.
DeleteI find even when I'm reading a good book in the evenings, I'll put it down and wander into my phone to check one thing and end up watching reels of a little British girl out walking with her parents, narrating what she sees, and falling down a lot (Bug, or Esme). As a result, I'm reading less, which is terrible. As Selden says, when the wifi goes down I feel a case of withdrawal, lost at sea.
ReplyDeleteI had a flip phone in the early 2000s and got my first Android smart phone in 2012 so I could use a Square reader and sell books by credit card. I love having a computer in my pocket!
There is that. They are so convenient, for so many things. It's our flittery human brains that are the problem.
DeleteI can disconnect my phone for a few hours. My first phone was a Nokia.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Dru!
DeleteInteresting. How we have changed because of technology!
ReplyDeleteI was a realtor in the 90's, so I got a cell phone pretty early. It was very helpful and I loved being able to use it for business but also for safety.
Now, I also use a Samsung smartphone. I play one audiobook after another on it as I work around the house or if I go for a walk by myself.
But, like Selden, I was an outdoorsy kind of person and I am alarmed by how much time I spend with a screen before me. I am thinking of making a rule for myself, turn it off after dinner!
However, I sometimes neglect email for days at a time, but then it takes hours to go through it. The worst is scrolling Facebook too much because of all the alerts. I need to let that lie.
Judy, I would go bonkers if I hadn't turned off Facebook notifications! It's so intrusive.
DeleteThank goodness Audible still works, Judy!
DeletePerhaps turn off the Facebook alerts? I have and rarely look at Facebook these days.
DeleteI turned off push email AND Facebook alerts a couple of years ago. Talk about constant distraction!!! I still get Messenger alerts, because that's how my daughter likes to communicate, and texts, which are bad enough with all the text spam and political begging...
DeleteI feel that having a phone is like a drug. I've noticed people in lines (at the store, offices, DMV, even walking around) will immediately pull up their phones. It's like it fills the dead space. Space that we probably used to chat with strangers while waiting. The phone captures our attention and takes our minds off the wait times, calms us down, and allows us to escape briefly.
ReplyDeleteI am in PT at the moment, post back surgery. They have a place to put your belongings when you enter the gym, so of course I put up my purse and phone. Then I find that no one else puts their phones up, so scrolling while they do the stationary bike, etc. When do people ever just think?
DeleteDEBS: That's why you're a great author and they aren't!! LOL Just sayin' !!!
DeleteThanks so much, Anon! I love those ten or fifteen minutes on the stationary bike and horizontal climber (whatever that contraption is called.) I stare out the window and daydream.
DeleteI’m 61. I lived half my life without a cell phone and now I’m uncomfortable leaving the house without it. What if there’s an emergency? How can I drive without listening to audio books? It would be hard to give up — but not as hard for me a young people addicted to social media. Sometimes I dream of having Doctor Who drop me off in 1970 so I can live the rest of my life without technology. Remember when most people actually knew how to talk to each other and weren’t glued to their phones? I miss those days.
ReplyDeleteMe, too, Cathy. I'm liking the little bit of my book-in-progress set around 2001, when people had phones but weren't glued to them. And I really want to write a novel set in the 70s!
DeleteHow did we ever survive without cell phones! They have changed our lives for better and worse. I remember reading Dick Tracy when I was a kid and I was so enamoured with the fact that he had a watch phone. Who knew that'd be a reality someday. Was it Get Smart who had a shoe phone? You'd have to wear the same shoes all the time!
ReplyDeleteThe shoe phone! That's something to dread! And my daughter, of course, has an Apple watch. That would drive me insane.
DeleteI see a lot of Apple watches it seems. Especially among medical professional. Kids also have Apple watches which I think is great because they can stay in touch but it's too small a face to spend too much time on and they can't lose them as easily.
DeleteYes, they are great for doctors and people that have to be reached. Same goes for my daughter, the realtor. There is an emergency every second!
DeleteI just got an Apple Watch this week. We had a large credit at Best Buy that was expiring and my Fitbit wasn’t working very well any more so… All I know how to do with it is read the time! So for now, it’s just an expensive watch (but at least I didn’t pay for it)! — Pat S
DeletePat, Apple Watch apps are very similar to the iPhone. I only wear my watch when running. I do not have an internet plan with the watch. The watch gps works well for running distances. You can check messages on them, and there is a menu list of replies provided. The keyboard is very small. It csn just be used as a regular watch too, 😎
DeletePat, you might remember me talking about a friend who fell at home while alone, knocked herself out, and broke both ankles. It took her probably two hours to get help, between being out cold and then crawling for an hour and a half to get to her phone. She looked into various "I've fallen and can't get up" devices, and the Apple watch was by far the best option for her. Since you're wearing it anyway, you might look into how those features might help you. Also, my husband's watch tracks his sleep, and alerts him if he's going into A-fib. He has all kinds of health monitoring with it.
DeleteIt's amazing how much time we spend on our phones--I'm not a big user, but I do have that itch to check stuff--my steps, the weather, FB. I only got a cell phone in 1996 when my son went to college and I realized I wouldn't have an easy way to communicate with him. We had Nokia dumb phones and eventually moved on to i-phones. For work, I had a pager that I wore on my belt (once I slid it into an upper pocket of my jacket and totally freaked out when it went off as I was driving on the freeway). Originally they were one-way pagers where the person punched in their phone number, and we called back. Later we were given fancy 2-way pagers with little keyboards where we could send messages back and forth. Since we were a group of ten 9-1-1 supervisors the messages were usually, "so and so is sick, can someone come in to work?" moving up to, "Gillian, we are sorry but you are ordered in for tomorrow's shift." Fun times. I only dropped it in the toilet once.
ReplyDeleteGillian, my husband was also a 911 supervision (then communications supervisor for his department) and I remember that pager very well. And the dreaded, "So-and-so can't come in, can you fill the shift?
DeleteAnd I can brag that I've never dropped my phone in the toilet, which is pretty amazing. Now I've probably jinxed myself, lol.
Oh dear. This brings back memories of using the pay phone In public places. There was one pay phone with a Teletypewriter device for the Daf attached to it. That was the ONLY pay phone with the attachment while there were many payphones. I remember seeing a thoughtless hearing person go for the pay phone with the TTD attachment while there were many other payphones that the hearing person could use. I explained to the hearing person that they could use any other phones and no one else was using them. They apologized.. That one TDD needed to be available for someone who would need to use the TDD.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Motorola pager and it was a game changer! It meant I could send texts to my family. Yes, my family needed to have the pagers too.
The new cellphones with texting, as I recall, started around 2001 because I recall a friend showing me the new gadget. I was able to send texts to my family and friends who had cellphones. When I went to Europe, I could send texts. That was a big change from 10 years before when I was at Oxford and had to send a Fax because there was no way to call. Yes, I sent postcards.
Technology has certainly been a blessing for Deaf people, Diana!!
DeleteAmen to that! With my cochlear implants and the deal Cochlear worked with Apple has been life changing!
DeleteIf I ever have to have cochlear implants I may have to switch to an iPhone. I have hearing aids now and have found that the hearing aid app was designed for the iPhone and doesn't work well at all on the Android. Very annoying.
DeleteThe iPhone apps for hearing aids is amazing. My husband uses it with his hearing aid that catches sound from his left side , His left ear suffers from nerve inactivity. He has perfect hearing in his right ear though. Even works with his TEAMS meetings.
DeleteMy 94-year old mom's hearing aids work better with her iPhone than any other way.
DeleteMy 20-year younger husband resists offers to help with hooking his to his phone, though. Cracks me up.
Deborah, I just learned from my audiologist that I can use my iPhone for remote programming, which means that I can increase the volume on my Cochlear Implants. Still a learning progress for me. It was easy for me to get the iPhone because of the Apple Store with the Genius Bar available.
DeleteSusan, that is great that the iPhone technology works with his hearing aid.
Karen, your comment reminded me of a friend who has 65 dB hearing loss in one ear and 85dB hearing loss in the other ear. They told me that the volume is turned up and easier to hear on the cellphone (when we were still using flip phones).
This is a PC/Android house. We both have Samsung phones. I agree with Edith, I like the convenience of having a computer, a navigation system, AND a sensitive camera in my pocket/bag. I also appreciate having a phone in my pocket when I go hiking in the woods or am out in a pasture or a barn.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of, I'm a "pony auntie," and the phone is a crucial tool. Once a week, I go groom a friend's retired pony where she boards him, and then I set up a lawn chair in his paddock to hang out. I see him that day before she does. If he's got a sore somewhere or itched his eye shut or if there's anything "odd" about him--like that time he insisted on licking mud--I take a photo or shoot a video and then text it to her. Even if it's something I know how to render first aid for, I text the photo so she has a reference point and she knows what to look for when she shows up much later in the day.
I know, they really are great--and sometimes lifesaving--for so many things. If we could just learn to not let them take over our lives!
DeleteWe've come a long way, baby! My first experience with a "portable" phone was on a road trip with a girlfriend who had a car phone. It was HUGE, almost as big as those gigantic field phones they carried in the first Gulf War. We made a pit stop and I accidentally slammed the back door (it lived in the middle of the back seat) on the receiver, which was the size of an old-fashioned rotary phone's. I was mortified, but then Lynn said, "Thank you! I've been wanting to get the newer model, anyway!"
ReplyDeleteWe first got a cell phone for Steve's dad, who was in his late 80's at the time, and fishing by himself in country creeks. This was the "family phone", whoever was traveling borrowed it, but with strict instructions to only use it for emergencies because of the limited minutes. More than 25 years later, my middle daughter still has that number, since she inherited it from Grandpa. Now it's attached to a Samsung Galaxy phone with amazing connectivity, unlimited international minutes, precise GPS mapping for her travels, and crystal clear camera capability. Astonishing.
When I was traveling for my publishing and public speaking business I bought a Tracfone for emergencies, also with limited minutes. And nearly no service, especially inside the venue halls.
Two of my kids are traveling--the one in Japan, and the other is in a country cabin in Wales with her husband. They send photos and updates every day or two to share the sights and food and "Mom, can you identify this beautiful flower?" messages. What a change from when my aunts and uncles lived overseas in the 1950's and '60's, and we could only communicate with airmail letters every now and again, written on transparent onionskin paper.
When I moved to Scotland, then England, in the late 70s/early 80s, my mom sent me weekly letters on airmail paper. I loved getting those blue envelopes in the post! Phone calls were seldom--international calls on the landline in those days were painfully expensive and we were on a limited budget.
DeleteOh the dreaded long distance international calls. We used to call my brother who lives in Australia back in the 1970's. The echo was so annoying. Trying to talk while they talk over you while you talk over them and try to make sense of a conversation that seems to be moving all over the place.
DeleteOh I remember the echo and the delay! So frustrating!
DeleteOur daughter in Greece uses something like Google Phone, and it used to have a slight delay a few years ago. Now it's almost undetectable. Big improvement!
DeleteMy first phones were work related, but it was a godsend being in the field and still being able to keep in touch with family--especially when the boys were little. Those nightly moments of getting to hear about their day--help with homework--hear their stories--that's what got me through those weeks of fieldwork. And later, when they were older--for emergencies: "Aunt Flora," one of younger nephew's friends would be on the other end of the phone, "we're at XYZ emergency room. We think he's broken his arm." Again, I might have groaned. And today, those phone calls just to catch up, to share news--I love it! But at the end of the day, sometimes I catch myself scrolling instead of reading! Journaling! Sleeping! And I know it's a habit I need to break.
ReplyDeleteI am not bad about scrolling at night, although I do check emails once before I go to bed. Sometimes I'm tempted to read Heather Cox Richardson if her email has come in, but usually I put it off until the morning. I sleep better that way!
DeleteI had a Nokia in 2001. I think I had 60 minutes a month. When other people had Blackberries I had.a Palm Pilot. I used to print the calendar out and tape it over the month on my wall calendar so everyone else in the family would know where everyone needed to be and when. Since then I have had an iPhone usually a not quite up to date model that was free or $50 at the first. Currently I have the iPhone 12 mini. I only got it for the better camera. I think I had the 4 before this one. We also still have a landline in this house.
ReplyDeleteInternet is getting turned off at any moment as we close on this house Monday. I am feeling a little jittery but should be okay with data until we get reconnected at the new place in Florida. But I had to convert to a new email address which also has me nervous that I am going to miss something important.
You will know the fear of missing something feeling, then, Brenda. Your moving sounds so exciting!
DeleteI feel as if I've left the house half naked if I don't have my cell. It's ridiculous, really. Remember the days when you'd return home and the first thing you'd check was whether your answering machine was blinking. And all the MYSTERY NOVELS that had answering machine messages and missed calls as part of the plot? Sometimes it does feel as if we're living in Zombie-land ... waiting in the doctor's waiting room or riding the subway everyone is glued to their screens. (Brenda, I get it! Being between is scary... hoping it goes well.)
ReplyDeleteI accidentally left my phone at home a couple of weeks ago when I went to the farmer's market on Saturday morning. And I didn't miss a thing.
DeleteI kept snickering, thinking about our discussion the other night on how many times you could get away with no cell service in a book. I actually have an excuse--I'm a mystery waiting to happen!
I remember having a Nokia to use when my sister and I were in the UK. The first one I bought was probably in the late 90s. I recall having to buy a SIM card and then topping up the phone once we arrived. So much easier now with Travel Pass automatically recognizing when I’m abroad. On a recent trip I would get a text welcoming me to whatever country I was in.
ReplyDeleteYep, Travelpass if the best! But we start to take things for granted so quickly. That's why I had to look up when it became available!
DeleteOh, it's really a minefield trying to figure out what phone access a character would have had at a certain time--thank you for this! ANd oh, remember when your phone ringing was a good thing? And you;d dash to the phone? And I used to carry a dime in my lafer in case I needed to use a pay phone. But to your point, if I don't have my phone, I honestly panic. It's completely ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI have a pal who calls that feeling iPanic. Hilarious--but so true.
iPanic! I love it, Hank! And, yes, I got completely caught up in the cell phone history. Fascinating, really, to see how they've evolved. And to remember that the iPhone and then Android tanked Blackberry. So funny--because we are now on season 9 of Grey's Anatomy, we've watched their phones evolve from 2005 to 2014--flip phones to Blackberries to smartphones!
DeleteOh, that's great! Now that you know your phone stuff, it's a whole different show! (And I loved my flip phone. A flip phone is a nice book action prop, too, that moment where you can have someone clap their flip phone closed. Boom. Drama. :-)
DeleteThen:
Delete“The phone’s ringing!”
“Answer the phone!”
“I’ll get it!”
Now:
“Where’s my phone?”
“Someone’s phone is ringing.”
“Silence your phone.”
I'm very late to today's "party" this morning but I can't resist being a part of this interesting thread. Such a GREAT topic Deborah Crombie chose to discuss since all the psychiatrists are now weighing in on how our technology, especially is it continues to lure us even further into its (inter) net, is affecting all age groups on a social level. And many times not in a good way. I watched a Bob Marley (the comedian) short video the other day about how he as a child of the 70's and we of the 50's and 60's could skip out the door and our parents had no idea where we were spending our time. If his mom or dad asked where he was for hours on end he could lie his way through that discussion since there was no trail for them to follow. He ended the routine by telling the next generation they were dead in the water...lol...because they leave a techno trail everywhere just by all the selfies they take and then post on their sites. "I'm over here...now I'm over here...now I'm here." Very funny but also true. Or we're bombarded with endless photos and videos 24/7 of architectural and historical sites in the background which never get front and center attention because the selfies and groupies have made themselves the focus of attention in the pictures. The best ones have to be the selfies taken in front of a bathroom mirror in a public restroom with all the stalls in the background. Just lovely...But I digress. Sometimes I feel as if technology is very suffocating and complicated. I basically use my cell phone as....well... like a phone. For calls coming in and going out and basic texting. I do not have emails on it because enough time is sucked up in deleting emails on my laptop...why would I want to do it twice?! It took me forever before I would give up my Android phone for an Apple and I miss the cellphone I had years ago that had an actual keyboard on it that slid in and out of the bottom of the phone. I loved that it reminded me of what it was like to use a typewriter; I still miss my portable Smith &Corona manual typewriter with the carriage lever. Clicking keys, Ding!, return the carriage. What a wonderful sound! Sigh...Now as I type this comment on my MacAir there is only the sound of silence but thank goodness there is still the "home row" ...a term that only trained typists would understand. Thankfully, technology did not mess with the keyboard setup as to how it is arranged.. Lastly, does anyone remember using a pager? I had one strapped to me in the early 90's when my father was quite ill and I needed a way for his doctors to get in touch with me immediately. Unfortunately it also meant I needed to find a landline phone to return their calls which was a challenge if their calls came in while I was driving my car. Not an ideal setup but it was the best available to me at the time. When Clint Eastwood was dealing with a serial killer in one of his Dirty Harry movies his character had to run from one payphone to payphone to continue the conversation with the bad guy. While I often feel I spend too much time on my laptop there are still so many positive reasons for feeling grateful to be a part of the ever-changing world of technology.
ReplyDeleteOne of my early Charlotte McNally books RELIED on pagers for the plot. When Forge bought the rights from MIRA, and they wanted me to update so they could reissue the series, I had to really finesse!
DeleteHank ~ I never thought of how as each phase of technology fades away and gets upgraded it could affect something else; i.e., the need to update a book series in order to reissue them. It makes sense as another generation of readers would be mystified as what a pager was but I can only imagine the work you had to put into updating the technological part of it without harming the plot! Ever -changing technology reminds me of how the second one drove a new car out of a dealership lot there was already a new model ready in the wings. Plus I've barely had my newer model Apple phone a year and they are already sending me promos to upgrade it.
DeleteMy first phone was provided at work, it was a flip phone with limited minutes but it was a start. I finally gave up my landline about seven years ago. I spend far too much time scrolling through Facebook during my non-working hours. Now I need to decide if I want a new phone or figure out how to upgrade my current phone so my bank's app will function again. I need OS 10. What a pain.
ReplyDeleteShalom Reds – I like being connected. However, most of the calls and messages on my phone could be described as junk mail. Most times, if the phone rings, I pick it up. But more than 9 out of 10 times it is some boiler room selling something. I always block the numbers, but they seem to have unlimited back-up numbers to use.
ReplyDelete----------Before using a mobile phone, I had a pager. It was connected to an 800 number and if I could find a phone to return calls it worked well. I had a close friend who used a car phone, so when cell phones became within reach of the hoi polloi, I got one. I remember my first flip-phone. I could get rudimentary access to the internet on it. And I was able to listen to major league baseball on it.
----------I bought my first Samsung Galaxy in 2013. I saw the one that a friend had and I was enamored of the photographs it could take. My first was the S3 followed in short order by an S5, S7, and an S10. My current phone is an S22 Ultra and I am no where close to needing a new one. I still have plenty of storage space and the battery seems to be holding up well.
---------- I work part-time. So, when I am at work I turn the sound off. And the phone is in my pocket. But the rest of the time, I am using it to listen to music or news or podcasts. When I have time, I use it as a kindle reader or a player to listen to audio books. I take it to bed and fall asleep to sound of someone’s voice.
I admit to the last, David. I set the time and let an audiobook narrator read me to sleep. I absolutely love it. (I'm having to use night time eye stuff that blurs my vision, so I can't read.)
DeleteI have an iphone 6 which apparently is too dumb to live, according to my kids. I usually have no idea where it is, so always look to see if it is on the charger. ‘Oh, look, someone called/messaged last week…” If you want to talk to me, use the land line – I can hear you on that. Also, I wish the caller was talking on a land line, because the cell service is pretty crackly and in and out.
ReplyDeleteI suppose they are good – I see lots of relatives that are my age use them. They also talk to their kids every 10 mins (we talk to ours as needed or when either of us remember, whichever comes first. I spoke to the daughter this week, as I needed to know if the grandchild was selling mint cookies – she is, and I order some.) A lot of them are retired and so I see no reason why being retired and on vacation, you need to have a phone bleeping in your pocket. Oh yes – the emergency meme!
To me the phone is annoying, heavy (it makes my pants fall down), and I usually don’t need it. I had to use it for the hospital visits this year, but hopefully that is over for a while, so back to the charger it goes.
Don’t get me started on ‘sales’ and promos and discounts only available on your cell-phone. No you can’t have it if you don’t have the app…
This week, I had to go to town because the chickens were in a riot state regarding their food supply. While at the Coop, I was having a chit-chat with the outside gardening lady – we were discussing new and liked varieties of tomatoes and cukes. All in all, an important conversation. My pocket beeped twice. I ignored it, as few people knew I was away, and since most of them were absolutely fine when I left home, I ignored the nuisance. When I got back to the van, I looked at the phone. It was a crank call from a political party asking me to support them, and it was someone I would never vote for in a million years.
No, I don’t miss a cell phone.
We got our first cell phones in 2002-3, I think. My husband was very resistant to getting one, but I was going on a driving trip with our four-year old son. I wanted to be able to call for help, just in case. I started with Samsung Galaxy phones but changed to iPhones when my son got his first cellphone in middle school. My husband hates iPhones so has remained solidly in the Samsung “galaxy” (tee hee). Whenever he can’t figure out how to do something on his phone, he’ll ask me to help him. As I am stumbling around, not sure what I am doing, he’ll say, “What’s the problem? You had a Samsung phone.” Yeah, almost fifteen years ago!
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved into our newly renovated house a month ago, we didn’t have Wi-Fi or television for more than a week. Again, Mr. Luddite didn’t see the urgency to connect with the outer world (because he could go to his office for a reliable signal). I enjoyed the reading time at night and did have data on my cell so could stay connected but I eventually bugged him enough. And surprise, he’s back to reading his phone constantly! — Pat S
I remember when our phone numbers were named such as Spring 8-2154 instead of 778-2154. The Spring prefix gave you an idea of where someone lived based on their exchange name. The pay phones were a blessing and then we stepped up to pagers (only important folks carried those - I never needed one!) My first cell was a LG flip phone and I loved it. I still prefer a landline whenever possible but can use the latest iteration of cells if prodded to. I had a friend who years ago carried multiple cell phones and would hang up on you if his other phone rang. That always annoyed me as I felt when I made time to speak with someone, I expected the same courtesy in return.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I wonder if our society is quietly dumbing down by using so many devices. I read recently that a study was done that showed folks who depended on GPS to get them places instead of reading a physical map were actually losing some reasoning abilities. I guess we use more parts of our brains than we realize when we read a map, find a book for research vs. scanning the internet. Definitely something to consider. I carry my phone around, but I leave it muted and often forget to check it. Instead, I've usually been engrossed in a book or doing research the old-fashioned way.
Something that troubles me about folks' attachments to their cell phones is when they are so intent on reading whatever text has been received that they walk out into traffic and get perturbed when oncoming cars honk at them. It is as if a strange sense of entitlement overcomes them, and the rest of the world loses meaning. That's a bit scary. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to set some firm boundaries on when and where we use our devices. Give ourselves a breather to stop and enjoy life without tethers. -- Victoria
Victoria, I think all of these things are true, and very worrying. That would make me an old fuddy-duddy, except that the scientists and psychologists and sociologists agree, and there is an upcoming generation of kids who are "switching off."
DeleteI'm quite okay with being an old fuddy-duddy. At least I am intelligent enough to evaluate what is happening around me and set some boundaries for myself based on what I see. Alas, every generation has that bugaboo that is singular to their time period. Wonder what the next bunch will be like?
DeleteBlogger won't let me sign in! I really never felt the need for a cell phone until my youngest sister was at the Mayo Clinic getting some work done. I kept that flip phone handy so I could update family. Eventually I got a smart phone, a Samsung, but couldn't get it to do all the things it w6as supposed to do. Next came the iphone5 or 6. Happy with that. Currently working on iphone8. It sure is handy to look up things and words while I'm reading! Pat D
ReplyDeleteAn expensive dictionary, Pat!!
DeleteI remember the early aughts, when you were unwillingly treated to fellow train or plane passengers whose loud conversations always started with, "David! Guess where I'm calling you from!"
ReplyDeleteI got my first mobile phone when I went on tour for my 3rd or 4th book - I just couldn't manage without being able to call wherever I was. I can't recall when we upgraded to smart phones, but I know it was comparatively late. I always want to see new tech get a good shakedown before I try it.
I've had Google Pixel phones since 2019 - amazing camera and since I'm already in the Google ecosystem, it integrates effortlessly. Both the models I've had occasionally had to be restarted with that pin-in-the-hole thing, but otherwise behaved well.
That little screen is seductive, though. Last night I turned off A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES at 11pm (thanks to everyone who recommended it!) and thought I'd just check the Washington Post headlines before going up to bed... and next thing I knew, it was almost 1am!
News doom-scrolling gets me every time. Much worse than social media!
DeleteThere's an article in the business section of today's NYT on foldable smartphones. They are going to be the next thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to remember what the first cell phone was that I had. It might have been a Samsung. I know I had several of those before I changed to an iPhone, and it was an iPhone 6+. I now have an iPhone 12+. I feel like the Apple brand connects me to so many different things, but a couple of times I've seen a parent taking pics of their kid at events my granddaughter was in, and they had were using a Samsung, which seemed to have much better clarity than my iPhone. And, I do hate to leave the house and have forgotten my phone. I feel so disconnected. My husband gets a cheap phone from Walmart and is perfectly happy with it. We haven't had a land line for probably ten years.
ReplyDeleteSorry to be so late responding today! It's an interesting thing to think about, being without a cell phone. I've decided that being without my iPhone wouldn't be that hard for me (we still have a landline, too), but I could NOT be without my computer, my Kindle, and--above all--the Internet, which I use constantly to look things up, make reservations, send emails--I could go on and on. I first started writing on a computer using word processing software in 1983, and I've never looked back.
ReplyDeleteKim, I was just thinking about my first word processor. I starting writing in the late 80s, selling my first book in '92, and in those days I was using Word Perfect with the blue screen! I remember wondering how I would ever adjust to Word!!!!
DeleteAnd, yes, my Galaxy 22 Plus takes terrific photos! It's one of the things I love most about it.
DeleteI’ve been in the hospital and rehab for five weeks and my iPhone has been essential to maintaining my mental health. The medical issues have cleared up, but I’m still regaining my strength.
ReplyDeleteI have not read a paper book since I got this phone in 2013. I read ebooks from the library. I also listen to digital audiobooks from the library on my phone. The only negative to this system is that Libby won’t let you keep the virtual items past the due date/time so a little more care needs to be taken with scheduling.
I have things set up so I can access my house DVR on my phone, meaning I can watch what I want when I want. I’m still using cable and have no streaming services. I need to sit down and do some serious price comparisons and decide if/when it’s time to cut the cord.
The WiFi was down at rehab one day last week. After a few hours, I remembered that I have unlimited data, so I turned off WiFi and was back to normal. I think I was the only person here who was able to watch TV since the system here uses WiFi.
Not to mention that text and email make it easier to send health updates. Copy/paste is so convenient.
I still miss the little keyboard that slid out of the back of my LG - so much more efficient than typing on a screen. I've had a cell phone since I got pregnant in 1999. That first one was like carrying a brick
ReplyDeletearound. I didn't go smartphone until 2012. I try not to have my phone with me at all times and i keep it on the other side of the house when I work otherwise I get distracted.
Good plan, Jenn. Too bad I can't do that with the computer!
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