I wound up reading a magazine and taking a brief walk outside. There was a TV in the waiting room showing the local news and stuff, but no one seemed interested in that, much less talking about it.
I hate modern cell phones!
- Thread starter Jayson1
- Start date
Oh, entirely agreed. But of course the same is also true about taking advantages of the opportunities in real life, too!
And you're probably right about a lot of the web. We have at our disposal the greatest communication tool and knowledge repository in the history of our species, but some of the things we use it for just boggle the mind!
I'd completely disagree that newspapers encourage compulsive or addictive behavior, like interconnected pocket computers do. Consumption of writings has gone on for 5,000 years. Newspapers were just like books, rarely kept on you, unless transporting it, or perusing it in transit. Once read, you were done with it, until the evening edition.
Twice a day, you consumed some or most, but rarely all of it. Your amount of connectivity, relation & interaction with it was finite. Not so with smart phones. YOU are the only thing standing between looking at that thing indefinitely or not. It's use & availability has no boundaries. The perfect object of addiction.
The purpose for newspapers was a more currently informed public, which improved daily social relation, with common ground upon which live discussion was undertaken. The internet is a substitute for social interaction, & while it gives an opportunity for more social circle access, those interactions are surely diminished. Some people use as little language as possible, & more often than not, not vocal. Ironically, the phone was invented to speak to one another, & now... that's maybe the least used function of it.
Plus, there is no objective filter. You get sectioned off, & the media you want to see is the media you only see. This phenomena has ironically made us a less informed public. Its use & availability has no boundaries... except YOU, & surely you have limitations... weaknesses to be exploited.
Newspapers were not interactive social devices, intermingling your personal relations with the world at large. They were a window to the world. Smart phones are increasingly whole aspects of it, including your own world. If anything, a smart phone is more of a window into YOU than the world. Any number of undesirable effects can come of that
While internet/smart phones do bring people together, which can be incredibly powerful. It does so in the most superficial & unchecked way. Bringing people together is one of the most dangerous things in all of human history. In turn, the only benefits smart phones offer are the availability of questionably edited/presented information, & more convenience... & the social & developmental cost of that convenience, we have not even begun to recognize.
I have a history of addiction, in my family, & my life. I don't get a pocket computer, because I know the comforting glow of addiction when I see it, & it is not invited. For modernity, I keep a desktop, 6' from my tv, & a tablet, mostly used in lieu of a work radio. My flip phone is just an alternative to a landline. I barely even text. It's kept only for emergency aid. In an age of instant & overwhelmingly abundant technological convenience, it is only ourselves upon which we rely to govern its influence, & most folks are utter shit at self-governance.
The other side of it which I find funny is people watching TV shows or movies on cellphones. I tried to do that myself with a couple of Bond films I purchased from windows as I could access them on my phone too and I didn't find the experience enjoyable. Why would you watch movies on a 5 inch screen?
Not so bad in an emergency. I was on my way out to watch the Wimbledon final last year with some friends and got stuck on a defective train. Being able to watch it on the phone for a half hour before the train got itself sorted was a godsend, didn't miss any of the action! Better than nothing!
I used to watch films on a portable dvd player (7 inch screen) and yeah, it's not much fun but it came in handy. Nowadays, it's more a 10inch tablet and it's usually only for when I'm on a long journey.
As for Smartphones, mine does come in handy, but I'd say about 95 percent of my usage, a normal mobile would suffice. The smart portion comes in handy for a quick fact check or when one of my mates (with no internet service or smart phone) needs to do some form filling with the HMRC.
Oh for sure.... In a pinch a phone is good for passing the time, watching things like the tennis if you are stuck on a train or something, but I wouldn't want to do that all the time.
Good news! I am leading the anti- modern phone resistance by getting a old flip phone. Everyone should join in.
Jason
I never got rid of mine! Sure people may frown at me for using it, but I'm also not paying a $150+ a month cell phone bill, either!
I actually like that movie
I thought it was okay from what I remember. Little did they know but books ended up lasting longer than AOL even though it was sort of saying it would be the end of them.
Jason
Five years ago, I had an old flip phone. I used to tell people my phone is dumb and I like it that way. I had zero desire to upgrade. That phone did exactly what I needed it to do, make calls. I had my laptop for internetting. Then, my wife decided we needed smart phones and got this deal from AT&T where you sign up for the plan and get the phones for 1 cent each. That was how I was dragged "kicking and screaming" into the smart phone age, except with no kicking and screaming because it's hard to argue with getting an iphone for so little.
I still don't really do much internet stuff on my (now newer) iphone. I hate surfing the net on a phone or device.
Unlike a lot of younger people who are growing up with this stuff, I could drop it. More and more, I desire to disconnect. I think the only issues I would have with giving it all up would be with google, youtube, email, and perhaps a couple message boards. And or course, it is real handy to have my entire CD collection on my phone
I still don't really do much internet stuff on my (now newer) iphone. I hate surfing the net on a phone or device.
Unlike a lot of younger people who are growing up with this stuff, I could drop it. More and more, I desire to disconnect. I think the only issues I would have with giving it all up would be with google, youtube, email, and perhaps a couple message boards. And or course, it is real handy to have my entire CD collection on my phone
How could I screw around on this site at work without a cell phone?
Did the most part I don't touch the thing on my days off.
Did the most part I don't touch the thing on my days off.
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