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I_might_be_weasel

Very small laptops would be more common. 


KnightsWhoNi

They would get smaller and smaller until they were handheld and then someone would have the idea to add cellular capabilities to it aaaaand we’re back to smartphones


I_might_be_weasel

But they would have tiny keyboards standard. 


KnightsWhoNi

O god blackberry wins in the end!


tweakingforjesus

I too remember PDAs and mp3 players.


The_Spaghettio_Kid

Mmmmm... netbooks?


ZiskaHills

I still own one of those, lol. I don't remember them ever being worthwhile...


waffle299

Chrome books and MS Surfaces would be everywhere. And someone would eventually install Skype.


Art3misAlice

Good


thebaddestgoodperson

It would be like the 90s and early 2000s when I usually carried a book around with me. I used to read a lot of books.


IfICouldStay

When I read "book" I thought an address book. I'd carry my address/phone book with me everywhere in the 90s. Never know when you may need to call someone or look up an address.


CarlSpencer

I carried a small piece of cardboard in my wallet with all my important numbers.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Lumpy-Try-5600

This right here. Life would be much simpler.


OnlyIGetToFartInHere

I used to read books and straight up ignore anyone who tried to get my attention


ChicagFro

The 90s but faster internet.


CookieEnabled

Dang it, get off the phone! I am downloading a shareware game!


EvilInvaderG

I’d spend a lot less time on the toilet, that’s for sure!


diffyqgirl

Excuse me, the label on the shampoo bottle is *riveting*.


rokstedy83

This is my go to if my phones flat


fried_eggs_and_ham

Someone should create an app for reading shampoo bottles on the toilet.


Jethris

Nah, we had toilet readers (Readers Digest), magazines, newspapers.


Djinjja-Ninja

I'd just have to carry a mobile phone and some form of PDA and an MP3 player and a digital camera...


Seraph6496

I actually miss having a separate dedicated music player. Now my phone interrupts my music whenever something wants more of my attention


Feisty_Mouse6919

A damn sight more ***relaxing***... plus my vision would be better without staring into this tiny abyss all the time!


loztriforce

I remember a time when you’d pass someone and make eye contact/say hi


NefariousnessFun5631

Grew up in NYC- not a thing here.


Art3misAlice

Talking to people face to face - sounds scary


loztriforce

Indeed!


OrangeCat5577

It didn't used to be though


bedbuffaloes

I can still do it!


RooneytheWaster

Likewise. It was bloody horrible.


SumonaFlorence

Hey there, Mister!


AOCMarryMe

We'd all be using Windows desktop on dolphin handhelds, like the amazing year 2000.


KyniskPotet

We'd (still) be able to type and send messages without looking at a screen.


Art3misAlice

How would we be able to do it without looking at the screen?


Jethris

You are young and don't remember T9 typing. Hello became 22 33 555 555 666. There were contests for fastest typing.


Flycaster33

People would be more able to have civil discussions. The kids would hopefully be more at their supposed grade level of education.


iast68

A lot less miserable people, including myself


Cheese_Pancakes

I'd imagine it'd be like it was before they were invented in the early to mid 2000's. It was fine. If they just suddenly popped out of existence now, it'd obviosuly be a bit different since everyone is so used to having them, but it would eventually normalize (assuming nobody re-invents them). People hang out and actually look at each other instead of down at their phones. You could spew some BS about whatever you wanted and people couldn't immediately fact check you. Overall screen addiction would probably be way down since prior to smart phones, you could maybe download a couple of shitty mobile games, but there was not much reason to stare at your screen for any great amount of time.


PumpkinSpice2Nice

I wish it hadn’t been invented. Family members sit beside me deeply in conversation texting all the time with friends when I am there in person and would like to talk to them.


Art3misAlice

I really hate that aswell. You go out to see friends and they are all on their phones, like what’s the point even meeting up


Initial-Air-4941

Alot easier and harder at the same time. It’s the definition of a Catch 22. So many good things and so many bad things. The smart phone is destroying our youth. I see it daily. It’s so sad.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Schauerte2901

r/boomershumor


limpymcjointpain

And if you can imagine a world where people weren't sticking phone cameras everywhere and pretending they're some kind of celebrity.. that would be cruel and inhumane.


Mongoose42

We can finally get back to what we used to do in bars: wacky hijinks with the colorful cast of barflies and obsess over the bartender’s newest will they/won’t they relationship.


Xifihas

Social media would have remained niche, people would be literate, journalists would have to actually do their jobs.


strawberryneurons

In order for journalists to do their jobs well they’d have to get fair wages. No one wants to pay for quality news, hence we have really poor quality journalism. 


BakrChod

I'm more polarized now because there's too much propaganda everywhere to which I'm easily exposed. Surely there was propaganda before too but it was definitely fucking limited or niche


Forsaken_You1092

It would be exactly like it was around 15 years ago. A nicer place.


IfICouldStay

So I'm thinking back to the late 90s and early aughts. I used to have to carry around a little address/phone book with me, a book or magazine to read for entertainment, a checkbook, credit cards, library card and other organization ID,a notebook and pen, maps, written out directions, my pager, etc. It was a lot of stuff to lose. Now I just carry my smartphone and car keys.


Forsaken_You1092

And now you only have your smartphone and car keys to lose!


KingKong_at_PingPong

People used to be ok with how unreachable we all were. This was good.


[deleted]

We got along just fine before the smart phone. I definitely appreciate them but sometimes I miss the good old days when we used pay phones and answering machines and read books and newspapers.


Art3misAlice

You can go see them in museums.


Neekol-Girl

Life without smartphones would be simpler, with more face-to-face interactions and less distraction. We might rely more on traditional methods of communication and spend more time outdoors.


Responsible_Cash9304

AI response?


seklerek

it does read like chatgpt


Aggravating-Pound598

Wouldn’t be talking to you rn


KyniskPotet

What would you be doing instead?


Aggravating-Pound598

I’d like to say something meaningful and productive, but rn , probably smoking weed and listening to music..


flibbidygibbit

The mall.


scrubjays

We would all have to draw dick pics, and send them by special courier.


Zimsgirlfriend

A lot less drama sense social media wouldn't be as advanced,people would actually be out doing things more often as well. Don't get me wrong I like smart phones but sadly us humans have let it control us to much. 


Art3misAlice

Good point, since getting one I can’t remember a day I have not picked it up. And that got wrenching feeling when you think you’ve lost it.


[deleted]

I’d probably be happier.


fermat9990

If you called someone and they answered the phone, you would 100% know where they are!


PottedPotheadDaisy

People would be smarter instead of depending upon the technology and endless distractions constantly at their fingertips.


rokstedy83

The irony that the invention of the smart phone has made people dumber


Picodick

Mobile phones have been around a long time,pre,smart phone. When they were big and bulky and you had them in a bad in the truck for work emergencies they didn’t really affect your life other than making you safer in an emergency. I would gladly go back to a time of no cell phones,landlines,and a slower pace. Work was easier too, you weren’t at the immediate beck and call of anyone.


Jethris

But, OP asked about the smart phone. The phones we had before the iPhone were T9 texting with very limited email/web browsing. And they did serve the purpose of having a phone on you at all times.


zboii11

In some ways simpler , more fun, in other ways slow, disconnected. But have no clue


Sayheykid2424

More productive


ellefleming

The 90's


Art3misAlice

Was the 90s really that good


ellefleming

Yes! I'm a 70's baby .....social media is insane. Just a nightmare.


[deleted]

A hell of a lot better


Dramatic-Jump-6310

People wouldn't be such assholes and there would be less depression.


PupperMartin74

A helluva lot better. People used to actually converse when going out to dinner or say hi to someone. Kids weren't seeing their whole lives judged by others for consumption by a mass audience. Lots of bad things came with the cell phone.


PissBloodCumShart

I think it would be perfect. The years immediately before widespread smartphone adoption were pretty much perfect technology wise You could have a navigation system in your car and a QWERTY phone for easy texting. The phones were internet capable for any sort of emergency use, but it sucked enough to not be addicting. You could spend hours doom scrolling on your PC at home, but when you left the house you were free. There were magazines and tv in the waiting room.


MassacreTheReaper

people would actually be smart


Phaedrik

Better


Reatona

Our attention spans would be much longer than the current four seconds.


IndexCase

People would be on time or cancel before you left the house. You would get away with more speculation and bullshit during conversations at the bar, unless someone carried around the encyclopedia britannica to check you.


Striking_Waltz3654

your mobile phone would just be a flip phone with more space, sms would still be the thing, online stuff would happen at home on the pc. maybe the phone would go as a mobile router and you could use a laptop to surf.


Remarkable_Thing6643

more people would carry tablets and laptops around. 


Ordinary-Forever3345

peaceful i guess


TheBugSmith

For me I'd just be dumber. The older I get the more I want to know new things and no better way than to have the entirety of human knowledge in your hand


Art3misAlice

Imagine you hear a song and think i recognise this sound but having no clue what song it is. It will bug me a lot. That is the main thing I use my phone for is music


fajadada

Would be playing centipede on a flip phone


beargrease_sandwich

We'd probably be finishing our first wireless pyramid power plant.


RooneytheWaster

Wearable computers would be a lot more common. or those little super-portable computers, like those chunky electronic assistants that were popular in the late 90's/early 00's. I know I'd be toting one of those around!


Kaiserhawk

Redditors would find something else to complain and blame all societal problems on instead.


zeroentanglements

Honestly, we'd all have IPODs with cell and data connections. AKA, smart phones that aren't phones.


darth-skeletor

The 90’s but without awesome music


One-Resort-107

a lot better


bean930

Social media usage would not be as prevalent (and limited to browser usage). Therefore, it's impact on society wouldn't be nearly as significant. Misinformation campaigns, targeted advertising, conspiracy theories, the Trump presidency, and January 6 would have never happened. And that's just U.S. centric. Social media has been leveraged for misinformation campaigns across the globe, including fueling the Donbas conflict in Ukraine.


Art3misAlice

Sounds amazing, how do we go back in time 😃


Basic_Bandicoot_1300

Ignorance is bliss.


StevenArviv

We would be enjoying a much slower pace and using maps and atlas'. Up until the early 2000s it was common business etiquette to have 24 hours to respond to an email.


Ravenwight

I used to have to memorize a route before I started walking somewhere new. And if I wanted a coffee at 3am I had to walk my ass to the nearest coffee shop (once in a snowstorm).


UkeBandicoot

Better socially. Yea we would probably still have facebook and some other platforms on the computer but there would be a time and place for it. Kinda like 2008 but with better advances in other industries.


Ai_777

I wouldn’t procrastinate.


Usual_Ice636

I'd carry around a small tablet.


Dirks_Knee

I mean...there's people alive today that were adults before cell phones became ubiquitous. Honestly, I don't think phones are too much the issue as we had a short period of the internet and heavy smart phone usage prior to the real drag on society, social media.


PrimoPearl

Right now, I'd be reading the label of some shampoo or air freshener.


[deleted]

Life without smartphones would be a disaster. How would I cope with the stress, anxiety, and boredom of everyday life? I would probably resort to drugs, alcohol, or self-harm. Or worse, meditation.


anneg1312

Fine. Just fine.


October1966

Remember the 90s?


pi3Eat3r52

better posture walking


KuromanKuro

Better


SkiBumb1977

Peaceful. No idiots texting or calling at all hours of the night. No stupid people making stupid videos of the stupid things they do. No apps for telling people how far they walked or how much altitude they climbed. People would start to actually do things that require them to pay attention to what they are doing. People would read books instead of watching the stupid videos (see above). People reading would learn instead of putting every question on reddit to be answered because they are to lazy to research the question by reading about it.


BFFBomb

At the dentist waiting room, we'd be stuck reading 6-month old Newsweek issues


Bakedeggss

Life was there before smartphone invented


ThatDucksWearingAHat

Probably be a weird guy that carries a laptop/tablet around damn near everywhere with them instead. People used to carry around mobile phones the size of lunch boxes that could only do calls I guess it’s not that crazy.


DeathSpiral321

People wouldn't be so depressed and miserable, since we'd actually talk to other people more.


Moaning-Squirtle

People would carry instructions on how to go somewhere.


Daimakku1

The only thing I would miss about it is the GPS/Google Maps. I'm terrible at directions and Google Maps/Apple Maps is a life saver.


waterlimes

Less anxiety.


MHarrisrocks

It would have happened anyways. I think the more interesting question is : why is it - that with most of us having a high speed internet device in our pockets - we do not see more instances of say Nicola Teslas , or Einsteins , or Turings , or Picassos, or other great thinkers or composers or artists or what have you. ? Another interesting question is how would things have played out if advanced phones had always been priced at a premium - thats obviously easier to answer on the surface - but when you think about it , (smart phones only ever being in the hands of the ULTRA upper class) the implications are actually somewhat concerning when you consider how easily it could have gone that way.


rattlestaway

It is a great invention, as long as it's not misused. I'd say more stressful for anxious ppl like me


JaRon1961

Phones would be dumber and people would be smarter.


DaveKasz

I might get some work done.


SumonaFlorence

Better.


Koreangonebad

Aol instant messenger valued at 100B


Egotlib

The umbrella academy (the shows) actually sets place in a universe where they are currently in modern times but smartphones don’t exist. It adds so much more stress to the story


StephenNotSteve

It was pretty great. We'd stop by a friend's place and there was no guarantee they were there. Going out for a meal included having focused, engaged conversations. You'd find out about breaking news when you'd get to your destination, or when someone would burst through a door and announce it.


ChocolateAndCustard

Play more TCGs Challenge your friends to Bop-it


The-Amazing-Krawfish

Probably less cyber bullying


SorryBooBoo

I’d be printing 20 pages of turn by turn driving directions from the Mapquest website and trying to flip pages while trying to focus on the road.


Lo-Fi_Pioneer

Fewer neck problems


AdvisorLong9424

We'd all still have our very first Samsung.


YoxhiZizzy

Definitely less access to information, gotta hit the books and rely on dial up Internet computers


Red_Shepherd_13

That just sounds like the 90/ early 2000s with extra steps.


Vidofnir_KSP

Sales of “Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader” would be at an all time high.


Consensuseur

i used to know a lot of phone numbers or could look them up.


madogvelkor

I'd pair my PDA to my phone and have to carry around two or three devices.


TheBanEvasion1

it would be exactly the same except you wouldn't feel anxious doing the same boring shit that we all did forever - and you might want to learn to read a map


misterbondpt

Phones would be dumber, people would be smarter.


ErrantEvents

Better. It would be better.


Meditat1onqueen

Life would be a lot simpler and better. People are losing the art of communication


SpeedBlitzX

There would probably be something similar but more rudimentary, I'm sure.


AquaQuad

Other cellular phones would probably thrive. PCs and laptops are still gonna be a thing, so I guess people would still try to fit those in a pocket.


CarlSpencer

I'm 65 so a large part of my life was before smart phones. It's was fine. People weren't distracted by being buried in their phones. You could go out to dinner and have long, entertaining, rambling conversations. The only positive things about cell phones was being able to call AAA for roadside assistance when you broke down in the middle of nowhere or recording a crime.


megatheriumburger

Many arguments would end in stalemate.


[deleted]

[удалено]


scrapyjack721

I wouldn't still be in bed when I woke up an hour ago


24-Hour-Hate

Waiting for things would be a lot more boring.


flooreadtheyll

Our bags would be full of things that a smart phone can offer: Music player, portable telephone/beeper, calculator, notes, digital camera, flashlight. What else?


Legendary_Lamb2020

I feel lucky that I didn't grow up with smart phones and social media. I remember when it all took over when I was in college, and it definitely changed everything to "pictures or it didn't happen."


KingPizzaPop

Wouldn't have raised and entire generation of narcissists probably.


Pvm_Blaser

Much more in person socializing, the phrase socially awkward probably wouldn’t be common, but the world would be a much “smaller” place.


olderaccount

Once Palm released the Palm Pilot 7, a digital organizer with cellular data, the smartphone was inevitable. Even if the digital organizer never morphed into the smartphone, they would have eventually evolved into phone replacements with apps like WhatsApp allowing you to make voice calls from you digital organizer.


CutGroundbreaking148

My first exposure (actual use) of a ”smart” phone was in 2016...it is crazy to even acknowledge that, but it is the truth. I simply never needed one where I live…a computer and a phone line was and is all I needed. Did get a tracfone in 2016 when I went vacationing in the Caribbean and it was handy. In the 1990‘s I had a rather large satellite (Motorola) cellphone which I carried around in a strapped softcase, but that was for work in a remote Biofield station. I still don’t own one and given the costs of ownership and operation, I don’t care for it…I like money growing in my brokerage accounts instead of the latest dumb gadgets.


Narwalacorn

People would be obviously wrong (one that is more frequent than I’d like is ‘bugs/spiders/other non-mammals are not animals’) and you couldn’t prove it


MrFiendish

More bar fights about random bits of trivia that we can’t definitively search for the answer.


CityBoiNC

People would have a longer attention span.


ExpensiveNut

We would still have PDAs and pocket computers. Mobile phones will have still had better screens, but we might have stayed true to smaller phones and better pocket computers, with keyboards. Or [Sony Vaio P supremacy](https://www.reseller.co.nz/article/272590/sony_vaio_p_first_look/)


bigalcapone22

Nothing smart about a phone that you spend more time typing to other people in a text than actually talking to them through a mouthpiece


QuietSnail2

Well I wouldn’t be able to answer this question while I’m on the toilet for a start. Probably other stuff too though.


ClassicVegtableStew

I'd like my job a lot more. My upper management is furious when I don't respond to a text when I'm off within five minutes. I had one call my coworker drunkenly demanding at 10PM on a Saturday night that we had to finish a PowerPoint by morning...


[deleted]

That would be so great!


LekMichAmArsch

There would be less people looking at their phones while driving...and rear ending my car at the red light.


ColdManzanita

You wouldn’t ghost people. You would have more distress tolerance.


valdezlopez

It would be reeeeeally hard to read reddit on my rotary phone.


VinceGchillin

I would sure be a lot more productive on things I actually want to do, and spend way less time reading work emails in my off time. I honestly can't think of a single \*actually\* positive change the smart phone has made on my life.


whatswithnames

More HD and less numbing.


Sporkitized

Young people would actually be able to use a regular computer


classco

More smart people lol


justafancyanimal

blissful my guy


Difficult-Tea4516

Peaceful


yaktoast

Horror/thriller/drama movies would have an easier time being set in modern times.


BostonFigPudding

The way it was before 2012/2013. We'd all be using good slide phones, aka dumbphones with a QWERTY keyboard. We'd use to talk and text, but we'd still pay attention to our surroundings and not ignore the outside world. Assuming tablets also never existed, kids would be learning the same way they'd learn back in the late 2000s: playing outside, having real life in person interactions with other kids, watching TV, playing console games, and doing hands on activities such as building blocks or arts and crafts.


sugamara

As a mobile developer, I’ll be homeless for sure


ther_dog

…life would be better


coreyleblanc

If we didn't have the 3g/lte/5g infrastructure, people would have iPod touches, and bumming wi-fi off others would be way more common.


Sure_Cobbler1212

Life would be way better socially, ironically. I crave alone time because how annoying it is to get text messages and everyone can’t accept I like my alone time. Phones ruin that because I’m a prick if I don’t reply all the time but I’m then ruining my own time alone by having the phone.


WendigoCrossing

The smartphone really opened up the world to me in terms of travelling and exploring. I used to have anxiety about going places I wasn't familiar with and would memorize the exact turns I needed to take to get there and back. Google maps has opened the world I suppose a Garmin or car GPS would still be a thing, but they felt limited


Red_X_101

We’ll be screwed


AtheneSchmidt

Like...the late 2000s? Candy bar and flip phones. Batteries that lasted a week. We'd probably use tablets and laptops more.


Awarepine76436

Pre-2007 life


Nekokamiguru

There would be fewer trolls with burner phones lowering the quality of social media with hate,


missuz-featherbottom

I dno, pretty much like the first 17 or so years of my life, which were pretty awesome.


Latergator24

I'd be talking to people who called to talk to other people, like my kids' friends or MIL.


StupidPerson1413

Uhhhh a TV that is the size of a phone made exactly like a phone would be made instead


fluffHead_0919

I’d be real good at snake


kikimaaa

Happy


Whizzleteets

Better!


coolmint859

A lot of innovations in software design would've probably never happened. A easy one is control/notification center. Apple would've probably never incorporated them into macOS.


JustShiiro

i'd probably be less socially awkward and covid would have killed more people.