Where would the world be without smartphones?

I do believe we are using them too much. I am on mine right now, haha.

But if they were taken away, I don't think we'd survive (as in, we would be upset). I think we just need to learn how to balance ourselves, which will be hard, but will have to work out. Taking them away completely would solve some problems but create new ones.

 

I don't even use one, so It would be okay with me

 

Seeing as how I lived in a world before smartphones, before texting, and before internet, however cellphones were still new and not commonly used, I would feel like I was back in 1995. I loved the 90s. There wasnt a care in the world. ah, childhood.

 

I don't have one either.
I have a plain cell phone and the onstar phone in the truck and car.
I just started texting about 4 months ago.
no need to rush these things.

 

Shockingly enough, human civilization existed for thousands of years before smartphones (or even basic cell phones) existed and got along just fine. Some of us now alive actually remember a time before cell phones existed and we all got along just fine. Honest.

I see people 'driving' down the highway while texting - and paying almost no attention to the road (and usually going much slower than everyone else). Personally, I would love to see that type of person suddenly have their phone destroyed and be unable to get another one for at least a year.

If I had a kid and I caught them texting and driving, I'd reprogram their phone...with a sledgehammer.

Todd

 

try living in the world before microwaves, CDs, stereo, color tv, air conditioning in a car was an expensive extra, no need for seat belts either. a helmet for riding a bike? never heard of such a thing. teachers could paddle your ass when you got out of line, and your parents would stand up for the teacher.
of course, drunk driving was ok so we did have that.

 

I'll be 29 in July. I haven't ever owned a smart phone, and I'd say I'm just fine.

The biggest irony to cell/smart phones in general is, folks become "attached" to social media how they should be to their offline surroundings. They exchange personal closeness for a digital one, and that causes problems.

 

I would honestly love to see all the social media apps die! Then you could see girls who wear those white converse and spandex cry and scream at there iPhones that just that makes me wanna :roflmao: :lol:

 

I just got one on Friday for the first time. I feel like an old fuddy duddy because it is all so confusing. LOL.

 

It's weird. Today my dad and I both went to the Apple store to have our iPhone 5's batteries changed because of a defect and we were without phones for an hour. We actually had to be tethered at the mall to make sure we didn't get lost because we couldn't call each other. There were many times that my dad said he felt he had "phantom limb phone syndrome" where he said he would "feel" his phone vibrate and reach for his belt, only to not find it, haha.

I did feel naked without a cell phone and did have to entertain myself reading various other things to pass the time, like the Apple Work Authorization form and saw how different jurisdictions like California and NYC had different regulations that applied only to them (e.g. in California, if your product under warranty is taken in for service and you don't have it for x amount of days, your warranty is extended x amount of days past the original date the warranty expires).

 

I never have had one; seems like a waste of money to me. I guess I don't see the need to be connected to the net at all times. I have a computer at work, at home, a Chromebook for on the go that I got free from a friend...why would I need some $500 phone and a huge bill, on top of all this? I never really got the appeal.

I think the world would be better off without them, personally, as they cause a lot of auto accidents, and people walk around like zombies, increasingly disconnected from the reality and people around them. I tend to see them as just as isolating as they might be connecting, and something I can't see wanting to spend my limited $ on.

I'd rather get a mountain bike, or go on a camping trip.

@Alamo: Question: Could you have just agreed to meet someplace in an hour? That's what me and my folks would do, pre-cell phone days, and it worked pretty well.

 

I could probably live without my phone. Sure I'd be pretty upset for a few days and want my fanfiction to read lol but I'd love and find other things to do. Though my phone is mostly used to stay in contact with friends I don't see often cause of work or different places they live and staying in contact with this wonderful site lol. Honestly without my phone is prob be accessing the Internet very rarely and either sleeping or reading a book or something lol. I'd be so outta contact with everyone it's not even funny! I rarely check my email...which reminds me I should check it now haven't checked it for about 2 months. Not looking forward to that lol

 

I <3 my phone. If I could have sex with it I would.

 

I think it would be problematic if they suddenly all didn't function anymore but as mentioned above a world where they didn't even exist in the first place would get along just fine without them.

 

Arfff!!

i probably will be just fine. I use a black and white no internet whatsoever flip phone for daily basis

 

We wouldn't have great apps like Instagram and Vine but I've lived most of my life without them before so.. not a huge deal. We'd still have the internet, just not in our hands while we're out and about. Plus, pay phones still exist.

 

'Smartphones' were not created to solve any real problem, but as a luxury : You've got a truly computet and a phone, all in one.

I grew up without even a cellphone, and I tell you that life was normal. There is no real need for cellphones : You could buys a simple radio system to connect you with the police or emergency services. In europe we do even have mini-phones at some roads.

You can't imagine the amount of computing power you are carrying with you right now, and what a waste of resources it is.

I'm not trying to preach you all, 'cause I like my phablet (size matters when you are an avid reader), but seriously... Careful with them.
Everyday as I am on my way to work I see most of us texting, emailing, playing games or reading magazines. The fascination is not with smartphones, but what can you do with them. So it's normal people spend the whole day using them. Back in the 80s, when I was a kid, I had an alarm clock, tons of mags and books around and toys to play with. I even had a flashlight to read at nights. The computer was at the living room (and you needed to connect it to a tv to make it work), and all the information I had access to was on my hometown's library, 'cause there was no internet access there, hell I had no idea that such a thing even existed...

Now I only have my 'smartphone' and my night table is almost empty.

Plus I'm reading and talking to you right now, so long live the little buggers...

 

I think mobile phones are quite important in places such as South Africa etc where some people may not have ever had a telephone that was connected to the wall of their house, they are great for people in developing nations and the homeless. Whilst smartphones you say we're not invented to solve a problem they actually do, I've used my phone many a time to find a destination without having to carry a map that easily gets ruined - plus if I cannot find the nearest train station to get a map the phone takes me there. In learning they enhance learning because you can find out more about what the teacher is talking about, they are great as a translator for cross cultural conversations, they are great as a watch for telling the time, they allow people to be connected and talk without having to be near a land line, land lines are expensive to built the infrastructure and can come down with natural disasters in which case the phone can alert others to the need for help in the region. And yes like many others have said there was a time without mobiles and they can be annoying and people are still learning phone etiquette but we have to accept they are here to stay, they are so immersed in Western culture and I'm sure many other cultures as a tool and whilst we functioned without them they do have the many benefits I have already mentioned.