Smart vs The Dumb
I came across a little snippet of news yesterday.
Two-thirds of adults wish they spent less time on devices – survey
I had to read that a few times as frankly I found this hard to take in. Two thirds of adults wish they spent less time on devices? Are they super-glued to their phones? Can they not find that little known device – the on/off switch? Are they really so addicted to their phones that they are incapable of putting them down?
I like my smart-phone. It’s a very handy torch that I use almost on a daily [nightly] basis. It has a little alarm that reminds me that it’s time to dole out the pills and capsules. It has a little [but somewhat fiddly] calendar which is handy for reminding me of birthdays and appointments. It is also a handy SatNav should the need arise. There is also quite a neat camera but I rarely use it – I know what the inside of my house looks like. There are however two features that I very rarely use – the browser and [paradoxically] the phone.
Reading through the article the figures are rather startling.
Three-quarters of those surveyed said they check their smartphones as soon as they wake up, compared with 59% a year ago.
Why? Are they afraid someone has tried to contact them overnight? Most times it’s evening before I even think of looking for my phone as I have usually lost it.
A total of 98% of 18 to 75-year-olds use their smartphone every day, with more than a third doing so during mealtimes.
Yes, I count myself amongst the 98%. I do use it every day to remind me it’s pill time or, once a week, to put out the bins. And I occasionally use the torch. But I have never looked it it at mealtimes. Why would I?
The survey shows the percentage of people who check their phone at least 50 times a day remains at 36%, while the percentage who check theirs at least 100 times is also unchanged at 16%.
50 times a day is more than excessive. 100 times a day and they should really talk to a nice professional with a comfy couch.
Mobile phones are now the preferred device for browsing shopping websites, making online purchases, online searches, banking and playing games.
I do all the above [with the exception of playing games], but never on my phone. I use my laptop as it’s much easier to read and type on it. I do not like the fiddly little “keyboard” on my phone as my fingers are normal size and not little needles. I admit that my laptop is crap as a torch but it is far more versatile than a phone. Have you ever tried writing a computer programme on a mobile phone? Hah!
It’s a really scary article.
The Zombies walk amongst us.
But if you “Have usually lost it” how can you rely on it for reminders, etc?
I generally have found it by evening [by phoning it] as that’s when I need the pill reminders. Any other reminders I set a day in advance so I’ll pick them up when the pill one pops up.
Are you suggesting I set a reminder not to mislay it? That would have to beep every minute of the day. Bloody irritating…..
I look at my phone several times a day. Most of what I get are text messages and emails, not a lot of conversation. I make use of the reminders as well.
I should add that the true challenge is remembering to put the reminder on the phone.
Use mobile to read books and check sports scores, but never at meals.
Never, ever use social media after I worked for a dot com startup and saw how toxic it could be.
BTW you can write code on them, using a bluetooth keyboard and apps such as PyDev on Android. However, only really works for one-offs – wouldn’t want to spend the whole day coding on one!