Getting rid of Smartphones.

Quitelife

I see the creator of Mobile phones on BBC News saying Smartphones are becoming a huge distraction in too many peoples lives and are a serious addiction, people spending 5 to 6 hours a day on their phone is insane and they are missing out on so many normal parts of their lives interacting with their family, friends , relaxing etc etc. Peoples lives are passing them by as they scroll and scroll and scroll.People are never switched off.

He is one of a growing number of people in the UK reverting to a basic mobile phone that just takes or makes a call with text the only service on them.

He has a point but would anyone here revert to basic mobile phone.

squigglestrebor

I think people who spend 5 or 6 hours on their phones are the same type that would have been doing the same with a tv or laptop to be honest.

o1s1n

I'd love to get rid of mine just to lose that 'always connected, all the time' feeling, but seriously would be lost now without online banking apps and the likes.

They've just become way too integrated with modern living with things like two step authentication to completely remove without a lot of headache.

getoutahere

I agree, I found myself losing so much time mindlessly scrolling, I deleted almost all apps and set up a super simple Home Screen and turned all all notifications. This video was very helpful, I gained back a lot of free time and even started sleeping better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUo2lvfQbW0

irelandrover

You don't need to revert back to a basic phone. Lots of phones now have a Digital wellness option. I found i was searching chrome for far too long a day and have now set myself a 15 minute a day limit.

I find the phone is too useful to get rid of but have set time limits for all the apps that i found i was mindlessly using. Also has the added benefit of greatly increasing the battery life.

The Mighty Quinn

I'd disagree squiggle. I think there's definitely people spending hours a day on their phone who don't own, and/or can't use a computer particularly well.

I have been watching Seinfeld a good bit recently. The lack of mobile phones is striking. Communication was quite different than today, plans had to be made better, I'll meet you at x place at 2pm, and that's that.

While obviously there is so much value and power in the incredible smartphones, most of their use is vacuous, or contributing to burnout through being always "on", checking emails, reading reports etc.

I spend too much time on my phone and I don't do social media. Boards, and news sites and other crap.

squigglestrebor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261671#Comment_119261671

Yeah to be fair communication wise there is a lot to be said for actually meeting people haha.

Quitelife

I sat in a luas lately , everybody was scrolling on their phone or had earphones plugged in bar myself and one american tourist beside me .

As he said to me " where are the friendly Irish ?"...everyone has their head stuck in a phone ignoring all around them.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261671#Comment_119261671

The regression in computer use has been really startling.

I grew up with a computer from the late 90s and witnessed them slowly become more and more common in homes. Saw people who didn't know how to use computers at all slowly pick them up, to the point where everyone was using them. (including my grandparents!)

Then smart phones came along and computer use began to regress. I didn't actually realise to what extend until I was working in a university and students were writing and submitting assignments entirely on their phones - couldn't believe it!

ohnonotgmail

Not a hope of me going back to carrying a separate phone, media player and GPS.

magic_murph

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261766#Comment_119261766

You used to carry a GPS device???

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261812#Comment_119261812

I suppose a lot of folks did have a separate GPS device in their car like a Garmin before smart phones took over.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261812#Comment_119261812

not always but I did have one in my car. I have a terrible sense of direction. Modern smartphones are even more useful than the GPSs of old as they have live traffic data.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261717#Comment_119261717

Maybe they all knew he was an American?

thomil

I doubt that getting rid of them altogether is the answer. There are far too many useful applications for smartphones to banish them, and anyone who is suggesting that is quite frankly delusional. Just the ability to top up my Leap Card right then and there, without having to find a shop, is a massive benefit, not to mention other public transit related uses alone.

What is needed is a massive increase in media competency training in schools AND at the workplace/personal sphere. A lot of people never learned how to properly deal with social media or smartphones, which is one of the reasons why I believe mental health issues are on the rise. I'm including myself in that category, as I'm in no way above criticism in that regard.

Homelander

I don't overly use my phone anymore. Mostly use it on public transport to browse BBC or Reddit or similar, or when walking for music, kills the time perfectly. I wouldn't use it that much at work or in bed apart from functional stuff like making a call or replying to a message, or whatever.

What drives me crazy is the amount of people who can't stay off them. Some of the guys, we'd arrange a movie night with snacks, 5 minutes later and half of them are scrolling on their phones and it continues for most of the movie.

One friend is constantly on his phone at the cinema.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261717#Comment_119261717

I hope upon hearing that, a group of commuters fulfilled their Irish duty and immediately put their phones down, took out fiddles and Bodhrans and began a trad session in the middle of the luas, inviting everyone around to join in with dance.

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261717#Comment_119261717

I sat in a luas lately , everybody was scrolling on their phone or had earphones plugged in bar myself and one american tourist beside me .

I would say that one of the best things about smartphones is that you can use them in exactly those kinds of situations, whether it's communication on a train, or waiting in a GP surgery to be seen, or in a long Q in a supermarket etc etc.

rob316

Getting rid of social media would be a better idea.

Ubbquittious

They have hoiked us all into the grid with these bloody yokes. I can't pay for anything online without their stupid android app

Seve OB

i went back to a Nokia 8810 or something (matrix phone) a few years ago.

it was great and i got best part of 2 years out of it I'd say but in the end i just had to give in

its next to impossible in this day and age to be without a smartphone, everyone expects you to have an app for this that and the other. i could handle it because the phone i had gave me a limited version of Whats app. but i had to have a smartphone for a banking app for work. i could manage personal banking with older tech, but the BOI business banking, demands a smartphone. i used to have an old smartphone in work just for that, but then i ended up having to carry it round with me because i would work from home on days or evenings.

i for one would think peoples lives would be much better off without smartphones and can see the problems they create, but they also have huge merits. its a difficult one, but they are never going away

AMKC

Yes I seen this. Its not that long ago I hated tgem and was saying Nokias were the best things ever which they were and that there was no way I would use a touchscreen phone but hey I have been converted. Not a hope of me ever going back to a simpler phone now if anything I will be using my phone more as soon as I cancelled my Internet that I never use and my Sky Subscription that is use just too expensive now.

I do not use Twitter do its rubbish have tried 3 times and have given up. Fb and What's App I use yes. Other than that just Boards.ie and Videos on You-Tube. What else would you need?

I only recently got a friend into them too. She is in her 60s.

FortuneChip

The power people have forfeited to smart phones is incredible.I'm guilty of it myself.

The abundance of convenience, communication, information at our disposal had created a dependency on it.

Social Media is the biggest player in it, but there's other things that have provided so much convenience it's hard (not impossible) to imagine operating with it.

It would take a drastic pull of the rug to ever move backwards. All evidence suggests they're going to become more essential in coming years, as the digital/physical worlds become more connected.

I've notifications turned off all apps, with the exception of WhatsApp, and even there, I mute groups that are never likely to have anything urgent.

But I still suffer from doomscrolling, or emptying down-time into reels/stories. Despite this "content" adding nothing to benefit my life.

I'd gladly give it up, if I knew I wouldn't miss anything on account of it (which is to admit I wouldn't want to give it up)

Markus Antonius

Phone addicts are rude as hell too. They react as though you are waking them up in the middle of the night if you try and pass any kind of small talk.

A guy at work used to derail every interesting conversation just to show everyone something idiotic he saw on his phone.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261717#Comment_119261717

Is there any country where commuters are sociable? Before smart phones everyone was reading papers/magazines/books when commuting and ignoring everyone around as they do now. Before smart phones wasn't better for communicating with strangers in public places, people don't change that much.

ancapailldorcha

I think they're amazing, particularly in "social" situations where I find myself wishing I was somewhere else. That said, I'm much happier with it off to one side while I watch a film or read. I don't actually use it all that much, certainly not for hours a day. I don't have most social media except for Facebook and Twitter along with Reddit and here. Moderation is the key.

I do see the appeal of ditching it for a 3310 that will do weeks on a single charge but the issue is when I go abroad, the smartphone is a godsend. I can google anything on the go and get spoonfed directions. I went to Bulgaria recently and, because everything is in Cyrilic, I couldn't read it or talk to anyone. Google Translate and Maps were my guide.

Plus, instant cat pics and vids.

BrianD3

I only got a smartphone in 2017, I needed it to use an app that was required for my work. Since 2017 things have gotten a lot worse in terms of being basically forced to own a smartphone e.g needing one for two factor authentication if you buy something online.

Although admittedly I do like having 4g Internet access wherever I go and wouldn't want to go back to a dumbphone now. As with a lot of things a smartphone is a tool that probably makes a smart person smarter and a dumb person dumber.

It is pretty bad when in almost any situation people are staring into their smartphones. No eye contact with anyone around them, looking at absolute tripe on social media, clickbait "everyone is saying the same thing about x" type stuff.

I was in the NCT centre a while back and in the waiting room everyone was on their smartphones. A good looking ould doll came in and seemed to make a beeline for me as the only one not buried in my phone. A nice bit of flirty chat ensued.

squigglestrebor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119262806#Comment_119262806

Yeah no i do agree with you to be fair. This absolute horseshit about not being on your phone on public transport I find a hilarious view. Id never be on my phone in cinema , pub etc.

fryup

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261635#Comment_119261635

sad bastards with empty lives?

HBC08

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261717#Comment_119261717

Where are the friendly Irish?

Not on the feicing Luas anyway!

FortuneChip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261635#Comment_119261635

I'm not sure I agree with that (at least not entirely).

A smartphone fits in your pocket; you can be on it in a pub, at work, on the bus, in the bathroom and other situations where it would be just impractical for a TV/Laptop to exist. It's also the habit of being idle and subconsciously taking it out to check the time, it only takes one hand to unlock, and then get sucked in. There's more of an involved decision to use a laptop, sitting upright, or at least in some way to make it operable.

A smartphone user likely canibalised time spent doing other things where using a laptop, or a TV wouldn't be practical (although they'd be two examples where someone may be actively involved with while on a smartphone).

It's also the fidget's solution, I've seen people that might have a somewhat nervous disposition take out their phone, unlock it, tap a few icons, and close it up again, just like a subconscious habit. If you removed their phone, I don't think they're immediately back to TV or a laptop.

Pwindedd

I'd much rather be sat next to someone on the train using their phone, than folding and unfolding one of those horrendous broadsheet newspapers of old !

I love my phone.

See something cool you want to share with a friend or family member. Snap a picture and send. Helps me stay connected to family abroad.

Don't know where you are or where you're going. Navigation apps.

Instant access to your money via features like tap and online banking.

Music, films and books at your fingertips. Spotify is amazing. Pretty much any song in the world you fancy, instantly !

Settle an argument or simply answer a question. An encyclopaedia in your pocket.

So many health and sport apps. Pedometers, heart rate monitors, sleep monitors.

I'd say the golden rule though is enhance your life WITH it, don't live your life ON it.

squigglestrebor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119263047#Comment_119263047

Oh aye

Rikand

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119262697#Comment_119262697

I know that guy.

Strumms

Phones arnt the problem, their users are.

NIMAN

The only time I really care about people using smart phones, is when I'm approaching a car on the road, and I can see the oncoming drivers eyes are looking down while their head is facing me.

I see it so often nowadays. I don't fancy one of them taking me out. Drivers can't even put them down whilst driving.

sprucemoose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119264193#Comment_119264193

guns dont kill people, rappers do

olestoepoke

Social media plays a big part. Delete all your social media accounts, I bet after a few months people won't even notice and may even be happier.

I am old so never really got into the whole social media craze, had a go at Twitter for the sports but quickly tired of it. I've a smartphone and as others have said i'td be hard to give it up now with WhatsApp, google maps, online banking to name three important aspects for me anyway. I've family scattered around the world and I get to speak to them every week, see pics of my nieces and nephews. I cringe when I see teenagers walking down the street glued to their phones. Phone Zombies myself and my son call them.

Quitelife

Seeing people eating meals with their familys and partners and all on phones is pathetic .

Why do they bother going for a meal or why do they bother having a partner or children, marry their iphone instead and stay in their bedroom for the rest of their lives.

olestoepoke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119265745#Comment_119265745

It's all down to the adults, we have a simple rule, no electronic devices allowed at meal times, ever. We have two boys 11 and 12 they are getting to the age where we are thinking about getting them smart phones. Mostly for safety reasons, calling them when they are out with friends etc. Myself and my wife had our eyes opened after watching that documentary "The Social Dilemma" and we have decided to ban all social media until they are at least 16 years old. I know we will get some pushback on this in the coming years but we won't budge, we pay the phone bills so we make the rules.

Bobblehats

Nooo I am havin a ball with craiyon.com 😭

promise to be smarter. Might even use it as a phone

Riddle101

The thing about smartphones is that while they can come across as a distraction at times, they are also pretty useful when you need them and I think that is the deciding factor for me to keep using a smartphone. In fact, yesterday I had to use my Maps app to navigate my way to Marlay Park because I was unsure of the directions I was taking. I'm quite thankful that I had it on my smartphone because I might have made a wrong turn or gotten lost. It's moments like those when you can really appreciate smartphones I think.

That being said, I wouldn't be using a smartphone 6 hours a day. That would be overkill.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119266323#Comment_119266323

I would like the idea of a 16yr old age limit for my kids, but apparently I have been told the kids need a phone when going to secondary school.

Yet to know why exactly, but will be asking. Anyone know why they would need one?

eggy81

Live and let live I say.

completedit

Smartphones exist to enrich Apple, Samsung, Huaweii, not to benefit people. People use them because they have benefits but they have many many drawbacks but we love progress and we favour benefits over negatives so this is what we've got. They have and will really ruin a lot of what makes us human but they're just one of the factors.

Spotify is the one App I can't do without. The only other Apps I'd use on a daily basis would be Twitter and Revolut.

I find once I put my phone out of site when at home I tend to forget about it, I'll then read a book or watch TV. But when its in your eye site you feel you have to reach for it to check something random every few minutes.

I'm glad I got to experience life without having a smartphone. Travelled for a whole year with just a basic phone for keeping in touch with my family and friends. I feel sorry for the generations growing up knowing nothing more than Tik Tok and Instagram.

angel eyes 2012

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119262137#Comment_119262137

This literally happened to me while I was on the ferry to Inisbofin a couple of years ago. A group of Irish musicians took out their fiddles, bodhrans etc., started set dancing and invited everyone to join in! It was actually brilliant to watch.

I think there is a happy balance to be achieved with the use of smartphones. What I am seeing more of is a push for the digitalisation of services by both public and private sector, and yes, sometimes these improvements result in a better service for citizens, e.g. Leap Card, motor tax but in other ways, corresponding customer service levels decrease, in circumstances where you might want to converse with an actual human being.

Try calling the Passport Office, or flying from Dublin Airport without delay, try attending a bank to speak to a human or try calling Eir with a query. All the examples above have introduced increased technologies throughout their processes - often pushing the use of apps but you are left frustrated with the poor service and instead pushed to use the bot functionality resulting in long delays and poor services.

20 years ago there would've been uproar if phones weren't answered in most organisations. Now you are charged premium rates for the privilege and no-one bothers to answer. The staff are probably all on their smartphones anyway....

NiceFella

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119262203#Comment_119262203

Was Just about to say that and I'd include You Tube in that as well. The suggested videos if randomly followed end up with some very strange "content"

Their have been many studies on the use of negative engagement to hook viewers which is having a very messed up effect on young people.

People give Facebook a hard time but GoogIe are probably worse for this. These two company's are too dependent on free data from customers. They literally use models that augment people's behavior to keep them engaged. It's crazy that they're even legal.

The One Doctor

I agree with everything said, but I still spend hours on my phone, mainly for reading and my online shop. It's very handy to get a notification telling you that someone has just sent you money for being creative! Twenty years ago I'd be laughed at making and selling bog oak pendants. Now it's cool and earthy and green.

Mod: No advertising, unless you speak with the Boards office first.

Eduard Khil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119262137#Comment_119262137

Ah the auld flash fleadh to bejaysus ti's a sight to behold

frosty123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261717#Comment_119261717

'friendly Irish' ??

Did you not tell him it's a myth😶