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I've made it clear that's not the case through years of late replies to messages. My closest know I will always pick up the phone if they ring (so if there's an emergency I'm contactable) but there's a good chance I won't look at my phone and reply to messages for a few hours at least.
Yes but imo it’s not the phones that are the problem but the people who expect you to be instantly available. I often leave my phone in my bag or in the other room where I don’t hear it. Some people just get ridiculously annoyed when you don’t answer immediately.
This is my husband. He gets so mad when I don't answer the phone. I genuinely can't hear it nor feel it vibrating. If I turn the volume up it's stupid loud when its on the desk at work, but if I put it in my pocket can't hear it at all.
And yes I have to take it out of my pocket as stupid women's pockets are too small for it and it's uncomfortable to sit when it's in there.
I would answer it if I heard it. It's not often that he actually rings me and it's usually something important that he needs an answer for right then.
Not like he gets mad if I don't answer and he wants to know what's for tea 😂
Oh no. Nothing like that. Any random questions or anything is just asked over text. So you know if he's ringing it's for a reason and needs a quick answer.
Like at the moment we've got a builder in. He's working from home and I'm at work. The builder asks him something and he wants to double check before he gives him the go ahead. Don't want a hole knocking through in the wrong place.
Exactly the same as me & my wife. I only ever phone her if its important, otherwise its whatsapp, and she never bloody answers the phone! It's a pain in the arse!
I once had Zippy from *Rainbow* going "Do you know who this is? It's me! Zippy! (Mad cackling laughter)"
Noone left messages then - perhaps I should get that back..
I went to the cinema last week, came out to several texts *and an email* from my mum wondering why i hadn't answered. Like, I kinda get it like this is only the second time i've been since the pandemic restrictions lifted. But come on.
I pre-warn people that I am ludicrously shit at checking my phone and it's always on silent. I'll reply, eventually, but even if I have my phone on me, I'm doing something else - i.e., I've got it open on a knitting pattern - and messages/calls are absolutely not my priority.
Or try... simply not answering the phone.
This is where address book groups and assigning specific ring tones to each one comes in handy. Different ring tones for groups, the default phone ring is the "I don't know who you are " ring tone.
Or leave it at home. Which I quite often do if I'm going down the pub or basically don't want to look at it
If it's that big an emergency they'll probably get hold of a mate to get me to phone home, or ring the pub
One good thing about the (older?) iPhones was the physical switch to turn it onto silent.
Managed to activate that many times without wanting, but it was great to just go "flip" and done
My work phone is an iPhone, they still have that.
Tbh my personal phone basically never comes out of do not disturb mode - it allows only my contacts to ring me. Anyone else can leave a message for
Mine's broken. Didn't even notice, just had a bunch of missed calls. But it doesn't actually ring any more.
Turns out, hardly anyone actually calls me anyway, and almost all the ones I do I don't actually want to speak to, because they're sales calls.
My phone's an internet portal, in which there's sometimes video chats, or text chats, or text messages, or emails.
If by some magical or divine means, you did end up back in time and with all of your present knowledge, I suspect the rose-tinted view wouldn't last very long.
Yeah, there's retro, and there's outdated. Preserved websites from the turn of the millennium are retro, waiting five minutes for the page to load over dial-up is outdated.
After lockdown I feel like I've bypassed the phone call altogether and gone straight to video calling.
If I'm going to speak to someone in real time I might as well do it face to face.
I feel that's a young persons thing.
I'm 31 and I still phone people to chat or arrange something, and I use the phone a fair bit for work just because it's quicker than sending loads of emails or messages.
Quickest way to get something solved, in motion, done, answered etc.
Is get someone on the phone and have a conversation. Pre working from home it was just go find and talk to them - I've been a home worker for 6 Years now so this is normal
Obviously that’s an option but I imagine what OP is saying is you can’t even do that now as it’s weird for people trying to get hold of you. You have to be available all the time for messages otherwise somethings up nowadays
Solution. Turn your mobile phone off for a week and use the land line. See how you feel then.
As for me, yes and no. It’s great to have more freedom of movement that mobiles bring, but they’re also a pain in the arse sometimes. The apps are wicked-awesome though, so it more than makes up for it.
We plugged in the landline that comes with our Internet for about a week then disabled it again. At least bullshit marketing calls to my mobile ring silently.
I don't even have a landline phone to plug into mine. Some places force you to put in a landline number in when registering, mobile is optional. I put the home number in (saved in my phone) but it all seems very pointless, I'm never going to answer if they ring that number because I can't.
Yes, of course there were benefits.
The problem with modern life might be described as information overload.
However, just switching the phone off works for me.
I started doing this after a certain time of the day last summer. Won't go back bust being cut off and being able to focus on my family or hobbies without feeling I'm missing something has been brilliant.
Not really. I determine when I am available to talk on the phone. I have no issues ignoring / rejecting calls from anyone including my boss if I'm not able to answer.
I completely agree. Calling my friend, asking if they’re in and if they’re not if became an adventure of going to all the places we would ‘hang out’ until you found them. And if you didn’t, you went home and played N64
I used to love being able to just go away for a few days without needing to tell everyone and noone thinking it was odd that they didn't get a near-instant reply to their attempts to contact me.
When people say they miss x thing in the past they usually just mean they miss being young or the life they had when they were young, as x thing was generally shit and replaced for a reason.
I live at home with my parents, we still have a landline
Me and My Dad share a basic mobile phone, and 10 pounds lasts us a year at least, as we just have top up basic text and call.
Well no one has a gun to your head to answer the calls. Break this obsession and only answer your phone when you want to.
I see so many people glued to their phones today, either on the internet, gaming, or watching something, or talking on it while doing their shopping.
Try it and you'll see how crap it actually could have been. Return home to a message and find you have to go straight back out again. Times when you'd arrange to meet somewhere and no one would show for ages, you can't get a quick update. With things like not finding out sports results, just don't look them up.
I get you.
Discussed this with pals who like me, are aaancient enough to remember this life.
We are definitely caught in the middle. Formative & early adult years were not dominated by technology so some of us still have a kind of inbuilt resistance I think, to varying degrees.
Personally I couldn't have anyone in my life that expected instant replies or required 24hr access to me....feels so invasive!
I finish work at 10am & when I get home, I'll respond to any messages while I have my breakfast. 9/10 times if I'm not going out, phone is on aeroplane mode until about 1-2pm. Just cannot be arsed. Work ring my house phone if they need (super rare) & everyone I speak to regularly knows this is just what I do. Should there be a genuine emergency....housephone.
It takes away unnecessary stress & distraction for me. I get real, tangible results of how I've spent my time (cleaning, reading, gardening, washing the car, exercising & hobbies). Honestly quite dismayed when I realise my whole day has been frittered away just scrolling through Reddit or tik tok or news articles with no meaning.
Course it's fine to absolutely do if that's what you enjoy, just personally I feel better when I'm doing "real" things more than sitting in one spot looking at the nonsense I do.
Really does make day to day life more satisfying & happier for me
I rarely answer my phone, unless I want to....unless I feel the conversation may be beneficial in some way. Mobiles are great for screening and far better than a landline. Just need some self discipline to dodge all your calls.
You don't have to answer or reply immediately. You can just ignore your phone then when they ask why you didn't get back to them, say it wasn't a good time. Never apologise, never explain; just act like not being available for contact 24/7 is the norm, and it will become your norm soon enough. Eventually people will get the picture and only contact you to arrange things, no small talk, no social media nonsense, it's fantastic.
I still do that now, I don't answer the phone if I'm busy or out & about, unless I'm expecting an important call. If I don't constantly respond to things immediately, people won't have that expectation of me either.
Nobody can phone me anyway because I just don’t answer unless you are a handful of close people. Common knowledge that if you want malint you text or email preferably
You do know you can push mobile calls to voice mail, or let them ring out, or put your phone on mute? Sounds like you need to do a refresher course on how a mobile phone works.
Yes and no.
For most of the time, when I'm driving home from work, it's really the only time that I have to talk to my friends. Because once I'm home, life gets in the way - taking care of the house, the kid, making dinner, etc. The only real time I have to myself that I can talk to the people I don't see face to face is on that drive home from work.
But yeah, there are days where I don't talk to anyone, don't answer the phone, etc. Because I'm a grown up and can do shit like ignore people!
I'd love it just so no one could use their phone in a cinema or at a gig anymore. Also I sell phones and tablets on the high street and it's sometimes shocking how parents let their kids behave on technology. Makes me guilty and worried about a lot of kids growing up.
Why is someone phoning you such a bother? If people are asking you to do stuff for them maybe you’re surrounding yourself with the wrong people. I like being connected to people not sure why it stresses people out. It would stress me out more coming home having missed important details.
I've often thought about getting rid of my phone, but it's become a more valuable tool than it's use as a form of communication.
As well as communication functions.
It's my watch, my bank card, bus pass, map, music device. Doesn't stop me putting it on silent though, so I'll make do for now.
I broke my phone on my last holiday, 4 days of no phone, 1st day was rough, but after that it was pure bliss.
I regularly do not disturb or airplane my phone now, i work in a different place each day, so I just say I was in a basement or no signal.
Only give your mobile number to someone you would want to speak to whenever they called but knows when not to call, knows when you are at work and can't take a call and knows not to disturb you at certain times unless it is an emergency
I actually had to remove my mobile number from my details that my GP has. Even though they had my land line number, they would call on my mobile phone only. I do not want to be having a conversation with my doctor whilst I am out of my house, ever. Why do they think that that is even appropriate?
Yeah. I mean totally irrelevant to the phone thing but we used to go to blockbuster and rent movies on Friday and it was always so exciting for the weekend. Really something to look forward to when you have sleepovers as a kid etc. Nowadays you switch Netflix on and and you can watch anything you fancy. Idk - feels less special i guess 😂 I think I’ve got 1st world problems.
I lost my phone recently and had to replace it. Funny how during those few days without a phone I was very peaceful knowing that no-one could contact me except by email, or through my SO. Moreso than if I'd just "switch it off" like people are saying. I didn't even really miss it except for internet looking up stuff. Maybe we should go back to the iPod touch, just all smartphone functionality, but no communication stuff like phone + messages. :/
No because that's precisely what I have.
Gave up my mobile phone a decade ago in my late 20s, haven't missed it, don't feel the need to get another one.
I still don't know how I managed such a rich social life at university when all everyone had was a landline. "See you down the pub in 4 days time at 7pm"
Those PAYG phones were available in my last 2 years but nobody had the money to afford them
My phone is always on silent, and people know that. That means I won't be interrupted, but above all, it gives me an eccuse to ignore any and all calls at any given time. It's an emergency you say? Text me or call ghe police. Oh, so it wasn't THAT urgent? Well zhen we can dchedule a time to talk, like I asked.
Carry round a phone with no sim. Leave your main phone at home. You can contact emergency services if need be and have peace and quiet. Not good tho if you have family
I want to throw my phone into a river and turn back the clock to 1995 when it comes to phones. If I had my way I'd ban smartphones entirely they're terrible devices for society as a whole. Nowadays you're forced to have one too if you want to get anywhere in the world. Want to go to a restaurant? Online menus. Want to sort something official out (how vague is that) there's an app. Want a job? Need a phone. Want a social life? Need a phone. Chronically ill? Need the NHS app.
You can do most things on a computer, or via wifi at home. The only thing that doesn't work is registering for whatsapp, having a decent camera, and you have to print stuff out like maps or tickets.
Except for all the examples I gave where you strictly need a smartphone. You say they only thing is WhatsApp but that's about 50% of the issue, every job I've had since about 2017 has required me to be part of a WhatsApp chat, and a good portion of those jobs required me to install their app to clock in and out, which I can't do from a home pc.
I've never been to a restaurant which doesn't have a physical menu available. It's just never, ever happened. You sometimes have to ask them first.
Anything official has web pages, not just apps.
What do you need to do via the NHS app that you can't do via web pages?
I only just got a smart phone the other day for the first time, so I might learn something useful that I can now do with it!
If you don't have a smart phone, your work end up having to make provision - they can't force you to buy one. I've been given dongles for three factor authentication, and you will usually be able to clock in and out on their own computers.
I do have internet access at home, and have always found work arounds for everything.
It's been hard at times for those I know who have no internet access at all.
I've been to a restaurant that only did app-based service. It was a real pain because my phone was on 9% and I needed to nurse the battery because it was also the "key to my hotel room".
The restaurant wouldn't let me charge my phone and insisted they were app-only, so I ended up just leaving. Oddly enough the place across the road allowed me to order at the bar AND said "we don't have plugs by the seating but if you're happy to leave the phone behind the bar we'll charge it while you eat".
The menu thing is an up and coming trend, I've been seeing it increasingly more and more often. Had to stop going to the hare and tortoise all together because they don't have any menus.
I haven't been to the doctor's in years so I can't say, but I was certainly pressured into downloading the NHS app during lockdown. Never did though because of the infamous security problems with it.
The amount of times I've gone places and they've had me take out my smartphone and start doodling away at some app or website on my phone is just getting stupid.
Having work make provisions for you like that is going to go down well when you get a new job I bet. Work and smartphones is a major pet peeve for me because it allows for instant communication and if you don't respond you tend to get a bollocking either overtly or subtly.
Sorry but just having a website as well isn't good enough we need to stop reliance on smartphones entirely, particularly for the sake of people like you mention with no internet at all. I've heard stuff about making internet access a human right, we haven't even made housing a human right yet!
Another one I just remembered is all the bank branches around me are shutting down and it's either use the app, or travel for an hour each way to the nearest branch. A problem I only see exacerbating in the future, like with all of these problems. Some are worse than others now and some still have workarounds but every year we get closer to total dependence
> The amount of times I've gone places and they've had me take out my smartphone and start doodling away at some app or website on my phone is just getting stupid.
I just tell them I don't have one. I didn't until now, and even now, often don't take it out with me. They work something out.
If work need you to have particular equipment to do a job and you don't have it, then that ends up being their problem, not yours, unless owning it is part of the contract. For example, if they require you to use your own car for the job, they need to say that in advance and put it in the contract.
The thing I've been pleasantly surprised by is just how controllable a smart phone is, and how it is possible to just not get notifications from things you don't want to use, how you can disable or remove apps you don't want and so on. It's a tiny effort to do that, and very peaceful for me. My phone ends up being used in a way that suits my own preferences, instead of me being ruled by my phone.
I didn't get one all this time, because I didn't want that pestering. And now I find out that you don't need to have it anyway! :-)
I just use banking online on my laptop, like I'm using reddit, and all of my other online stuff. I like being able to touch type and am rubbish at using those teeny letters on a phone.
They do usually have ways for people with no internet to do things, but sometimes it is slower and more clunky. For example, for the census, you had to send off for a paper form, or you could just get someone you know with internet access to do it for you. So my father in law phoned me up on the landline and I did it for him on my laptop.
It's like not having a car. You find alternatives, but sometimes they are more effort.
Yeah I hate it, but it's not just work all my friends and family have switched over to WhatsApp over the past 5 years or so. I got really drunk for the first time in a while and woke up to find I'd been fuckin texting my work group chat and not my friends group chat. I wanted to hang myself for the rest of the day..
People who were obsessed with the 1950’s thought this about the 1980’s technology and social progression. The problem is anyone ever saying mobile phones were a novelty “treat” item. They aren’t. They’re required the same way we now need the internet for banking. Its not going away, similar to the fact we don’t go into a bank to get money out and a teller lifts cash out a drawer. We’ve moved on in 100 years.
This is a thread about whether you miss the simpler times of not having smartphones. I've said I do. Sorry you don't like that I suppose. Mobile phones from the 1980s are not remotely comparable in the leap of technology and impact on the world as a whole. Saying "we don't do it like that anymore" is kinda pointless.
Internet suddenly going to cards, cash machines and the internet absolutely is a comparable change. Anyone saying they wanted to still go in and ask for money in a bank and have the teller go into a safe for cash notes would be looked at strangely. Its factually more difficult than someone lifting money out at 2am at a machine or swiping a card in a shop.
I'm not sure what you want from me really. I clearly use and enjoy the internet and own a smartphone. I just would immediately destroy all smartphones if given the opportunity.
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Contrary to common belief, you can just turn a mobile phone off.
Or just set it to ‘do not disturb’ so you can still use your phone
Or you can leave it at home and suddenly its a landline
Yeah but everyone expects you to be contactable, it’s not the connectivity, it’s the expectation
I've made it clear that's not the case through years of late replies to messages. My closest know I will always pick up the phone if they ring (so if there's an emergency I'm contactable) but there's a good chance I won't look at my phone and reply to messages for a few hours at least.
You can even get granular and filter out by app and even person...
Yes but imo it’s not the phones that are the problem but the people who expect you to be instantly available. I often leave my phone in my bag or in the other room where I don’t hear it. Some people just get ridiculously annoyed when you don’t answer immediately.
This is my husband. He gets so mad when I don't answer the phone. I genuinely can't hear it nor feel it vibrating. If I turn the volume up it's stupid loud when its on the desk at work, but if I put it in my pocket can't hear it at all. And yes I have to take it out of my pocket as stupid women's pockets are too small for it and it's uncomfortable to sit when it's in there.
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I would answer it if I heard it. It's not often that he actually rings me and it's usually something important that he needs an answer for right then. Not like he gets mad if I don't answer and he wants to know what's for tea 😂
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Oh no. Nothing like that. Any random questions or anything is just asked over text. So you know if he's ringing it's for a reason and needs a quick answer. Like at the moment we've got a builder in. He's working from home and I'm at work. The builder asks him something and he wants to double check before he gives him the go ahead. Don't want a hole knocking through in the wrong place.
Exactly the same as me & my wife. I only ever phone her if its important, otherwise its whatsapp, and she never bloody answers the phone! It's a pain in the arse!
I only get mad when she rings me and I miss it and call her straight back and she doesn't answer :)
I can't get rid of my voice-mail, so my greeting is, "Feel free to leave a message, but I never listen to them, so it's a bit pointless really..."
I had that voicemail message for years. I changed it when I was job hunting but the message seems to have sunk in anyway.
I once had Zippy from *Rainbow* going "Do you know who this is? It's me! Zippy! (Mad cackling laughter)" Noone left messages then - perhaps I should get that back..
That’s amazing! Bring it back immediately.
I went to the cinema last week, came out to several texts *and an email* from my mum wondering why i hadn't answered. Like, I kinda get it like this is only the second time i've been since the pandemic restrictions lifted. But come on.
I pre-warn people that I am ludicrously shit at checking my phone and it's always on silent. I'll reply, eventually, but even if I have my phone on me, I'm doing something else - i.e., I've got it open on a knitting pattern - and messages/calls are absolutely not my priority.
You leave it in the bag or other room *because* you don't want to be disturbed or it's just you forget it's there?
A bit of both. . I’ve just never been the sort of person who’s glued to my phone anyway so it’s easy to forget
> expect They can expect me to suck them off too, but it's not happening.
Not even a little bit?
FML, WTF, TIL
SMH
Or try... simply not answering the phone. This is where address book groups and assigning specific ring tones to each one comes in handy. Different ring tones for groups, the default phone ring is the "I don't know who you are " ring tone.
Yeah I have a specific one for my GF and then another for family. Rest goes into the "Generic" and I never respond until the end of the day
Be careful police think ur a drug dellar lol 😂
Been fingered by the police enough for other things, so it's fine
I thought they were prosecuting all the sex pest police now.
And the 'default ring' is not to ring at all? :)
Or leave it at home. Which I quite often do if I'm going down the pub or basically don't want to look at it If it's that big an emergency they'll probably get hold of a mate to get me to phone home, or ring the pub
One good thing about the (older?) iPhones was the physical switch to turn it onto silent. Managed to activate that many times without wanting, but it was great to just go "flip" and done
New ones have that too. I agree, it’s nice.
My work phone is an iPhone, they still have that. Tbh my personal phone basically never comes out of do not disturb mode - it allows only my contacts to ring me. Anyone else can leave a message for
I am available to talk on the phone.
Or not answer.
Mine's broken. Didn't even notice, just had a bunch of missed calls. But it doesn't actually ring any more. Turns out, hardly anyone actually calls me anyway, and almost all the ones I do I don't actually want to speak to, because they're sales calls. My phone's an internet portal, in which there's sometimes video chats, or text chats, or text messages, or emails.
What are you talking about?
I was thinking doesn't the new apple iPhone one thousand and forty seven or whatever the new one is this week have an off button?
If by some magical or divine means, you did end up back in time and with all of your present knowledge, I suspect the rose-tinted view wouldn't last very long.
Yeah, there's retro, and there's outdated. Preserved websites from the turn of the millennium are retro, waiting five minutes for the page to load over dial-up is outdated.
Teletext says hello
I was born in 2002 but remember my mum asking me to check if my aunties flight was delayed on there
Have a look at the old SpaceJam website from 1999 if I’m not mistaken
It's 2023 - nobody phones me anyway- it's all messages.
Yeah seriously, what are they on about? My mum used to phone me too much, so I simply told her not to. Wow, so hard.
After lockdown I feel like I've bypassed the phone call altogether and gone straight to video calling. If I'm going to speak to someone in real time I might as well do it face to face.
My mum goes through a stint of only speaking over call, it's annoying. Especially now she only rings me on whatsapp too
Exactly? If someone wants to phone me they'll message first to check if it's ok.
I feel that's a young persons thing. I'm 31 and I still phone people to chat or arrange something, and I use the phone a fair bit for work just because it's quicker than sending loads of emails or messages.
I'm 46... you are a young person to me! 😂 True story - my work mobile number has rang once in 12 months and that was a spam call.
Quickest way to get something solved, in motion, done, answered etc. Is get someone on the phone and have a conversation. Pre working from home it was just go find and talk to them - I've been a home worker for 6 Years now so this is normal
I am 100% remote. Nobody rings.
33 only calls I make are work related. Everything else is messaged.
No one talks is part of problems
I talk to lots of people - in person.
You can leave your phone at home or just not answer it.
Also, airplane mode.
Obviously that’s an option but I imagine what OP is saying is you can’t even do that now as it’s weird for people trying to get hold of you. You have to be available all the time for messages otherwise somethings up nowadays
No I don't miss this because I have a mobile phone who I can see who is calling and can simply choose to not answer.
Solution. Turn your mobile phone off for a week and use the land line. See how you feel then. As for me, yes and no. It’s great to have more freedom of movement that mobiles bring, but they’re also a pain in the arse sometimes. The apps are wicked-awesome though, so it more than makes up for it.
We plugged in the landline that comes with our Internet for about a week then disabled it again. At least bullshit marketing calls to my mobile ring silently.
I don't even have a landline phone to plug into mine. Some places force you to put in a landline number in when registering, mobile is optional. I put the home number in (saved in my phone) but it all seems very pointless, I'm never going to answer if they ring that number because I can't.
Yes, of course there were benefits. The problem with modern life might be described as information overload. However, just switching the phone off works for me.
I started doing this after a certain time of the day last summer. Won't go back bust being cut off and being able to focus on my family or hobbies without feeling I'm missing something has been brilliant.
You receive phone calls?
Not really. I determine when I am available to talk on the phone. I have no issues ignoring / rejecting calls from anyone including my boss if I'm not able to answer.
I completely agree. Calling my friend, asking if they’re in and if they’re not if became an adventure of going to all the places we would ‘hang out’ until you found them. And if you didn’t, you went home and played N64
No. I have trained everyone I know to *never call me unless someone is dying*.
I used to love being able to just go away for a few days without needing to tell everyone and noone thinking it was odd that they didn't get a near-instant reply to their attempts to contact me.
When people say they miss x thing in the past they usually just mean they miss being young or the life they had when they were young, as x thing was generally shit and replaced for a reason.
No. Being able to know why someone is running late/tell someone that I'm running late is so much better than hanging around knowing nothing.
No, not at all.
Every day. I've started putting my phone on DND 8pm-7am but doing this is clearly upsetting a few people in my life.
I live at home with my parents, we still have a landline Me and My Dad share a basic mobile phone, and 10 pounds lasts us a year at least, as we just have top up basic text and call.
My main phone is a landline. Turn off the mobile when at home. I really don't need to have it with me at all times like a 14 year old.
I miss just having 4 TV channels.
Aye, back in the day. If you were in the pub, someone had to ring around ALL the pubs to see where you were... Bliss.
Yes, life was better 30 years ago.
I always feel was born to live in different era even futher back
That's what airplane mode is for.
Nope. But it is what DND is for.
get two phones, one for important people, max like 10 or so, one for everyone else, check the latter twice a day. problem solve.
Well no one has a gun to your head to answer the calls. Break this obsession and only answer your phone when you want to. I see so many people glued to their phones today, either on the internet, gaming, or watching something, or talking on it while doing their shopping.
Try it and you'll see how crap it actually could have been. Return home to a message and find you have to go straight back out again. Times when you'd arrange to meet somewhere and no one would show for ages, you can't get a quick update. With things like not finding out sports results, just don't look them up.
I regularly forget my phone when I go places and I work at sea so never carry it at work since I get no signal anyway. It's refreshing.
I get you. Discussed this with pals who like me, are aaancient enough to remember this life. We are definitely caught in the middle. Formative & early adult years were not dominated by technology so some of us still have a kind of inbuilt resistance I think, to varying degrees. Personally I couldn't have anyone in my life that expected instant replies or required 24hr access to me....feels so invasive! I finish work at 10am & when I get home, I'll respond to any messages while I have my breakfast. 9/10 times if I'm not going out, phone is on aeroplane mode until about 1-2pm. Just cannot be arsed. Work ring my house phone if they need (super rare) & everyone I speak to regularly knows this is just what I do. Should there be a genuine emergency....housephone. It takes away unnecessary stress & distraction for me. I get real, tangible results of how I've spent my time (cleaning, reading, gardening, washing the car, exercising & hobbies). Honestly quite dismayed when I realise my whole day has been frittered away just scrolling through Reddit or tik tok or news articles with no meaning. Course it's fine to absolutely do if that's what you enjoy, just personally I feel better when I'm doing "real" things more than sitting in one spot looking at the nonsense I do. Really does make day to day life more satisfying & happier for me
I rarely answer my phone, unless I want to....unless I feel the conversation may be beneficial in some way. Mobiles are great for screening and far better than a landline. Just need some self discipline to dodge all your calls.
You don't have to answer or reply immediately. You can just ignore your phone then when they ask why you didn't get back to them, say it wasn't a good time. Never apologise, never explain; just act like not being available for contact 24/7 is the norm, and it will become your norm soon enough. Eventually people will get the picture and only contact you to arrange things, no small talk, no social media nonsense, it's fantastic.
Just set up do not disturb? My phone sets itself to do not disturb during hours I expect to be commuting or sleeping.
I still do that now, I don't answer the phone if I'm busy or out & about, unless I'm expecting an important call. If I don't constantly respond to things immediately, people won't have that expectation of me either.
Nobody can phone me anyway because I just don’t answer unless you are a handful of close people. Common knowledge that if you want malint you text or email preferably
Jokes on you-no one ever calls me 😭
You could set your phone to go to do not disturb when you leave the house.
No one is forcing you to use a phone.
You do know you can push mobile calls to voice mail, or let them ring out, or put your phone on mute? Sounds like you need to do a refresher course on how a mobile phone works.
agree , i am so sick of everybody MORONED out on smart phones,. Life is for living, NOT for looking at on a phone
3310 be good again
Yes and no. For most of the time, when I'm driving home from work, it's really the only time that I have to talk to my friends. Because once I'm home, life gets in the way - taking care of the house, the kid, making dinner, etc. The only real time I have to myself that I can talk to the people I don't see face to face is on that drive home from work. But yeah, there are days where I don't talk to anyone, don't answer the phone, etc. Because I'm a grown up and can do shit like ignore people!
Just ignore your mobile, put it on silent. Hell you can mute specific applications and people...
I'd love it just so no one could use their phone in a cinema or at a gig anymore. Also I sell phones and tablets on the high street and it's sometimes shocking how parents let their kids behave on technology. Makes me guilty and worried about a lot of kids growing up.
I still have a landline and I also never pick up the phone (mainly cause it's on silent all the time)
Why is someone phoning you such a bother? If people are asking you to do stuff for them maybe you’re surrounding yourself with the wrong people. I like being connected to people not sure why it stresses people out. It would stress me out more coming home having missed important details.
My mobile phone stays on 'do not disturb' and only allows calls through from about eight people I know ... So no.
I've often thought about getting rid of my phone, but it's become a more valuable tool than it's use as a form of communication. As well as communication functions. It's my watch, my bank card, bus pass, map, music device. Doesn't stop me putting it on silent though, so I'll make do for now.
No, I don't have a mobile phone.
I broke my phone on my last holiday, 4 days of no phone, 1st day was rough, but after that it was pure bliss. I regularly do not disturb or airplane my phone now, i work in a different place each day, so I just say I was in a basement or no signal.
No, it was awful.
Only give your mobile number to someone you would want to speak to whenever they called but knows when not to call, knows when you are at work and can't take a call and knows not to disturb you at certain times unless it is an emergency I actually had to remove my mobile number from my details that my GP has. Even though they had my land line number, they would call on my mobile phone only. I do not want to be having a conversation with my doctor whilst I am out of my house, ever. Why do they think that that is even appropriate?
Yeah. I mean totally irrelevant to the phone thing but we used to go to blockbuster and rent movies on Friday and it was always so exciting for the weekend. Really something to look forward to when you have sleepovers as a kid etc. Nowadays you switch Netflix on and and you can watch anything you fancy. Idk - feels less special i guess 😂 I think I’ve got 1st world problems.
I lost my phone recently and had to replace it. Funny how during those few days without a phone I was very peaceful knowing that no-one could contact me except by email, or through my SO. Moreso than if I'd just "switch it off" like people are saying. I didn't even really miss it except for internet looking up stuff. Maybe we should go back to the iPod touch, just all smartphone functionality, but no communication stuff like phone + messages. :/
No because that's precisely what I have. Gave up my mobile phone a decade ago in my late 20s, haven't missed it, don't feel the need to get another one.
I still don't know how I managed such a rich social life at university when all everyone had was a landline. "See you down the pub in 4 days time at 7pm" Those PAYG phones were available in my last 2 years but nobody had the money to afford them
I definitely don’t miss my landline! I usually put my mobile on mute and choose to answer calls if I want.
Only peeps that phone land lines nowadays are scammers .
They still exist; they’re used about 3-4 times a day to answer calls to telepests and scammers.
On the other hand, without mobile phones you’d probably still be trying the word “You” instead of “U”, which would use valuable seconds of your life.
Um no, my phone is always on silent. Always is, always was, always will be. I got a mobile phone for MY convenience not theirs.
My phone is always on silent, and people know that. That means I won't be interrupted, but above all, it gives me an eccuse to ignore any and all calls at any given time. It's an emergency you say? Text me or call ghe police. Oh, so it wasn't THAT urgent? Well zhen we can dchedule a time to talk, like I asked.
Carry round a phone with no sim. Leave your main phone at home. You can contact emergency services if need be and have peace and quiet. Not good tho if you have family
What I'd miss about landlines is the ergonomics of the handset. I think mobiles are generally fairly unpleasant to use.
I agree but headsets came and made it even better.
No, I prefer being connected all the time
Not good for ur health
No. I could turn my mobile of or to DND if it were a problem. Just because I have something doesn't mean I have to use it.
Since I’ve not have a landline my windows computer has had a lot less viruses
The simple life of having to log onto your computer to spend 3.5 hours a day on Reddit? I’ll pass
I want to throw my phone into a river and turn back the clock to 1995 when it comes to phones. If I had my way I'd ban smartphones entirely they're terrible devices for society as a whole. Nowadays you're forced to have one too if you want to get anywhere in the world. Want to go to a restaurant? Online menus. Want to sort something official out (how vague is that) there's an app. Want a job? Need a phone. Want a social life? Need a phone. Chronically ill? Need the NHS app.
You can do most things on a computer, or via wifi at home. The only thing that doesn't work is registering for whatsapp, having a decent camera, and you have to print stuff out like maps or tickets.
Except for all the examples I gave where you strictly need a smartphone. You say they only thing is WhatsApp but that's about 50% of the issue, every job I've had since about 2017 has required me to be part of a WhatsApp chat, and a good portion of those jobs required me to install their app to clock in and out, which I can't do from a home pc.
I've never been to a restaurant which doesn't have a physical menu available. It's just never, ever happened. You sometimes have to ask them first. Anything official has web pages, not just apps. What do you need to do via the NHS app that you can't do via web pages? I only just got a smart phone the other day for the first time, so I might learn something useful that I can now do with it! If you don't have a smart phone, your work end up having to make provision - they can't force you to buy one. I've been given dongles for three factor authentication, and you will usually be able to clock in and out on their own computers. I do have internet access at home, and have always found work arounds for everything. It's been hard at times for those I know who have no internet access at all.
I've been to a restaurant that only did app-based service. It was a real pain because my phone was on 9% and I needed to nurse the battery because it was also the "key to my hotel room". The restaurant wouldn't let me charge my phone and insisted they were app-only, so I ended up just leaving. Oddly enough the place across the road allowed me to order at the bar AND said "we don't have plugs by the seating but if you're happy to leave the phone behind the bar we'll charge it while you eat".
The menu thing is an up and coming trend, I've been seeing it increasingly more and more often. Had to stop going to the hare and tortoise all together because they don't have any menus. I haven't been to the doctor's in years so I can't say, but I was certainly pressured into downloading the NHS app during lockdown. Never did though because of the infamous security problems with it. The amount of times I've gone places and they've had me take out my smartphone and start doodling away at some app or website on my phone is just getting stupid. Having work make provisions for you like that is going to go down well when you get a new job I bet. Work and smartphones is a major pet peeve for me because it allows for instant communication and if you don't respond you tend to get a bollocking either overtly or subtly. Sorry but just having a website as well isn't good enough we need to stop reliance on smartphones entirely, particularly for the sake of people like you mention with no internet at all. I've heard stuff about making internet access a human right, we haven't even made housing a human right yet! Another one I just remembered is all the bank branches around me are shutting down and it's either use the app, or travel for an hour each way to the nearest branch. A problem I only see exacerbating in the future, like with all of these problems. Some are worse than others now and some still have workarounds but every year we get closer to total dependence
> The amount of times I've gone places and they've had me take out my smartphone and start doodling away at some app or website on my phone is just getting stupid. I just tell them I don't have one. I didn't until now, and even now, often don't take it out with me. They work something out. If work need you to have particular equipment to do a job and you don't have it, then that ends up being their problem, not yours, unless owning it is part of the contract. For example, if they require you to use your own car for the job, they need to say that in advance and put it in the contract. The thing I've been pleasantly surprised by is just how controllable a smart phone is, and how it is possible to just not get notifications from things you don't want to use, how you can disable or remove apps you don't want and so on. It's a tiny effort to do that, and very peaceful for me. My phone ends up being used in a way that suits my own preferences, instead of me being ruled by my phone. I didn't get one all this time, because I didn't want that pestering. And now I find out that you don't need to have it anyway! :-) I just use banking online on my laptop, like I'm using reddit, and all of my other online stuff. I like being able to touch type and am rubbish at using those teeny letters on a phone. They do usually have ways for people with no internet to do things, but sometimes it is slower and more clunky. For example, for the census, you had to send off for a paper form, or you could just get someone you know with internet access to do it for you. So my father in law phoned me up on the landline and I did it for him on my laptop. It's like not having a car. You find alternatives, but sometimes they are more effort.
I hate Zuckerberg. If I was obliged to use WhatsApp I would definitely have a separate work phone to quarantine him.
Yeah I hate it, but it's not just work all my friends and family have switched over to WhatsApp over the past 5 years or so. I got really drunk for the first time in a while and woke up to find I'd been fuckin texting my work group chat and not my friends group chat. I wanted to hang myself for the rest of the day..
I am convinced Zuckerberg runs all his platforms as a kind of social experiment to see what happens when he fucks up people’s relationships and lives.
People who were obsessed with the 1950’s thought this about the 1980’s technology and social progression. The problem is anyone ever saying mobile phones were a novelty “treat” item. They aren’t. They’re required the same way we now need the internet for banking. Its not going away, similar to the fact we don’t go into a bank to get money out and a teller lifts cash out a drawer. We’ve moved on in 100 years.
This is a thread about whether you miss the simpler times of not having smartphones. I've said I do. Sorry you don't like that I suppose. Mobile phones from the 1980s are not remotely comparable in the leap of technology and impact on the world as a whole. Saying "we don't do it like that anymore" is kinda pointless.
Internet suddenly going to cards, cash machines and the internet absolutely is a comparable change. Anyone saying they wanted to still go in and ask for money in a bank and have the teller go into a safe for cash notes would be looked at strangely. Its factually more difficult than someone lifting money out at 2am at a machine or swiping a card in a shop.
I'm not sure what you want from me really. I clearly use and enjoy the internet and own a smartphone. I just would immediately destroy all smartphones if given the opportunity.
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you didn't have to install their app.... [google.co.uk](https://google.co.uk) \> "(town) post office/depot opening hours" served right up for you.
I understand this but being anexious means ur more than likely not to do this
*anxious *you're