I would love to go back to a time before smartphones. I have not used one for about a year and my life, my confidence and my relationships have changed so dramatically. Personally I think they are evil for a large number of reasons, but I also see hypocrisy there in the fact that I am using a laptop and usually I would not use a site like this also even though I don't see this particular site as a bad thing. I am just on crutches for the next 3 weeks so I have a lot of time indoors. If anyone has any thoughts on smartphones then feel free to share. Doesn't have to be a debate or anything and I can see it from other perspectives because I was addicted to my smartphone in the past. I would love to meet or speak to another young person that doesn't have a smartphone but I have not yet.
For me, I see it like anything else -- a smartphone is a tool, and it can be used for good or bad.
If a person is addicted to their phone to the point where they're constantly getting in online fights, use all their spare time to scroll/be nosey about other people's lives, and are avoiding or unable to function in real life because of it, then yes, it's definitely a problem that needs to be dealt with.
But for me, smartphone technology has been a blessing, and now that I've been pushed into it (literally,) I honestly couldn't live without mine (well, I could, but it would be much more dififcult.)
Like most people, I was against this newfangled tech until I sent a friend some money as a thank-you for something he helped me wiath, and he turned around and bought me a phone instead. I of course intended on returning it, but he sent a note saying, "Please, just try. I'll help you. Trust me, it's going to change your life."
And it most certainly did. Even though it literally took thousands of voice messages (all sent on this new phone!) and countless hours of his tutoring before I got the nang of it.
I don't know if I have a learning disability, but my brain does not remember or take in directions. It can be a store I literally drive to every week, and the landmarks are all familiar, but for some reason, I don't remember which turns to take where. And I've always been like this, even as a kid. I grew up just before the internet explosion and luckily lived in a small town, so I did learn how to get where I needed to go in that setting. But as I went away to much bigger places, including college, I would have to print out paper maps from the internet, both to and from where I was going, or I would literally be lost. I guess for me it's almost like having a handicap, and this modern technology is just the aid I need.
When GPS's came out, I was eager to save up to buy one. But soon I found myself carrying a bevy of devices around -- a GPS for directions, a calculator to compare prices, an alarm clock or watch because I was always setting timers to remind myself of things, a calendar to remember important events I was shopping for... And the list goes on.
My smartphone has replaced all of those things and more. When a family member wound up in the emergency room and needed some things, I could have a conversation and send pictures immediatly of what was in the store so they could choose right away. What would I have done without a smartphone? I probably would have had to buy everything on the shelf, taken it to my family, let them choose, and then have to take the rest back. I shop for other people often, so a smartphone saves me numerous trips, a lot of inconvenience, and a ton of gas money.
As a single woman, I also feel much safer with a phone in hand everywhere I go. Unfortunately, in the area I live, even the safest places have people walking around who aren't in their right minds, so I need a way to call for help immediately if necessary. If I had car trouble or am in an accident, I can immediately look up places for help, and can send pictures/take recordings if needed. These days, having the power to record something in an emergency situation is, in my opinion, a must, because one needs their own proof of what happened.
I have two friends who could not run their careers without their phones. One is in landscaping and deals with customers daily that want certain plants but don't know what they are. With a phone, he's able to show them pictures until they find the right ones, then communicate with suppliers to see if they have that specific plant in that specific color.
The other owns an HVAC business and is constantly sending pictures back and forth of parts, supplies, tools, etc. he uses to work on heating and cooling machines. For people like this, a phone is a vital piece of equipment, just like a shovel or wrench. Without it, they would lose a lot of customers and couldn't keep up with competing businesses.
And finally, my phone is the source of almost all my socialization. I know most people will say, "How pathetic! Get a real life with real people!" But I do have a life, and it very much involves real people.
But for some reason, in real life, I always attract people who "need" me for something. They don't want to be my friends. They want me for their own purposes -- whether to help watch their kids, pets, co-sign a loan, be a shelter from a significant other who owns guns and threatens people with them, join a group they're promoting, give money to an rganization they've started, but whatever they're selling...
I've found it's much easier for me to stick with my childhood/lifelong friends I made back home, along with the friends I've made here online (and have visited in real life.) These are people who, if I need help, don't hesitate to offer whatever they can. One even drove me somewhere I needed to be even though it was a total of 12 hours out of their way. I've been making friends through alternative means all my life (paper letters before the internet -- for me, it was still making friends through writing, just with a slight twist.) And now we can even look up info about the people we write to see if it checks out (back in the days of paper letters, I couldn't do that -- but still met 2 pen pals in person, one even being from Japan.)
Unfortunately, my friends are all at least a day's worth of flights to get to, but I talk to some of them almost daily via internet chats. And it keeps me sane -- literally -- because I am prone to depression and would definitely crash emotionally without such technology.
But I'm also an introvert, so while this works for me, I know it wouldn't for many people. If phones don't work for some people -- then they should absolutely do what's healthier for them as far as cutting back or cutting them out.
But as for my own life, even though I'm terrible with technology, God has provided friends to help me learn -- and a literal world of other opportunities has opened because of that.
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