Could you go one year without using a smartphone at all?

[Lady Florida.]

12 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

  It would stink for some things like navigation but I could certainly manage with printing maps again and taking calls on the home phone.  

We don't have a landline. Of course a dumb phone would make phone calls possible but I still wouldn't want to do it.

[lavender's green]

I could do it. I've only had a smart phone for two years. Sure, it's convenient for taking pictures and checking email, or as a TV remote when the real remote goes missing (which happens a lot - my kids shove it in the cracks of our sectional couch to hide it from one another. Today I decided they were no longer allowed to use my phone. If they want to watch TV they can gosh-darn hunt out that remote for themselves!). I've used the GPS maybe two or three times in the past year. I greatly prefer sitting down with a good map and getting totally comfortable with the route and how it fits in with the rest of the city. I never use the internet on it because I'd probably wind up distracted while I'm supposed to be watching the kids. 

That's not a lot to give up. But I'm not about to go through whatever song and dance publicity stunts they have in mind for a chance at winning the money. Not worth it.

[73349]

LOL, I went over 35 years without touching one, so... pretty sure I could.

I'm typing this on a laptop. We have a GPS. The smartphone is convenient at times, but for $100k I'd go back to writing my grocery list on a piece of paper.

Actually, I'd do it for $2k if it was guaranteed.

Edited December 14, 2018 by whitehawk

[sheryl]

Yes, by all means!  We bought my first, and only, smartphone  Nov. 2013.  Prior to my smartphone, I had flip/slide phones.  It's used more as a security measure (stuck with a flat tire, call AAA).  

Edited December 14, 2018 by sheryl

[Arcadia]

30 minutes ago, whitehawk said:

 The smartphone is convenient at times, but for $100k I'd go back to writing my grocery list on a piece of paper.

Actually, I'd do it for $2k if it was guaranteed.

 

I can delegate grocery shopping to my kids. Besides they have their own smart phone so they can scan the coupons for discounts to load into our supermarket discount card. I like using a Filofax so going back to paper isn’t an issue.

I assumed the $100k would be taxed so $2k before tax for a year would be all spent buying me my preferred personal GPS as well as a good lightweight point and shoot camera. $100k before tax would still have enough money left after tax (federal and state) to pay for just the tuition for four years at my local cheaper commuter state university.

[Guest]

I have a feeling the contest selectors would not select an old person like me because they bloody well know we know how to get along without smartphones. Chances are good the person whom they select for this will need to be under thirty and probably under twenty-five, because those young folks really don’t know how to do some things without an app. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

My kids know how to do all sorts of things without an app.  But they see apps for what they are - tools that allow them to get things done easily and on the fly.  I use up a lot of "time confetti" with my Smartphone.  There is a huge difference between someone being addicted to a technology and just knowing how to use it efficiently and in a way that enriches their life.  I see no downside to even playing a game on my phone in a waiting room vs. reading out-of-date magazines.  Yes, I could bring a book with me, but I often don't know that I am going to end up waiting and it is nice to just have my phone that slips in my small purse.  I find these conversations a bit weird.  I could do without a blender too but I find it faster to mix a smoothie in a blender vs. trying to whisk it forever by hand. 

[Frances]

I

Edited March 11, 2019 by Frances

[MaBelle]

No problem.

[Alicia64]

Apparently I'm the last dinosaur without a smart phone!! 😂

Friends think I'm weird -- and it is inconvenient especially when dealing with the medical world, but the money outlay every year isn't something I want to do.

That said, I'm home enough w/ a laptop -- so that helps.

Alley

[edelweiss]

I could easily do it.  I have considered giving mine up anyway, but I don't have a good reason for doing so, so I just use very minimal features on it.  I use it as a phone and to text.  I don't listen to music on it or watch anything on it.  I don't have any apps. I don't play games on it.  I don't use it as a GPS (I have one in my car).  I don't do Facebook or any other social media.  I do occasionally take pictures with it, but I don't need to.  I only recently started doing that, so I could easily stop doing it.

[JustEm]

Easily, however, I doubt they would ever pick someone like me. I'm not attached to my phone enough.

I should show my niece in college this though. She's likely the demographic they're going for and she's got the personality to stick to a challenge like that if the payout is good enough.

[Tanaqui]

I neither have a smartphone nor want one. I spend enough time online as it is!

[Scarlett]

Yes. Easily.  For far less money than 100k. 

[gardenmom5]

do they have the electronic data planners that can sync with your computer?

No.   My phone is a tool.  it is my calendar, my messages, phone, maps, etc.   (i even use as a kindle.  sometimes. . . . )

I don't use it for games, or watching tv, or listening to music.   (but after seeing the thing to sync your phone to your car's speakers on another thread - I'm considering it.)

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I could do it easily for my personal life but a smart phone is required for my professional life. Although, for $100,000, I could take a year long sabbatical.  

[Pickle Dust]

Well, I can't enter because I don't have a Twitter or Instagram account. But I'd do it in a heartbeat for $100K. It would mean no texting and that I'd get lost a lot, but I can live with that.

[EmseB]

5 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

My kids know how to do all sorts of things without an app.  But they see apps for what they are - tools that allow them to get things done easily and on the fly.  I use up a lot of "time confetti" with my Smartphone.  There is a huge difference between someone being addicted to a technology and just knowing how to use it efficiently and in a way that enriches their life.  I see no downside to even playing a game on my phone in a waiting room vs. reading out-of-date magazines.  Yes, I could bring a book with me, but I often don't know that I am going to end up waiting and it is nice to just have my phone that slips in my small purse.  I find these conversations a bit weird.  I could do without a blender too but I find it faster to mix a smoothie in a blender vs. trying to whisk it forever by hand. 

 

I'm guessing because you don't have a problem with technology overuse. A small kitchen appliance that simplifies a task isn't comparable because the goal of said appliance isn't to sell ad revenue by getting you to look at it as much as possible during your day. Blenders aren't altering our minds in how we read or how we socialize (or don't socialize) or how we relate to others on a daily basis. Kitchen appliances don't have the potential for addictive behavior. Games and other social media apps are designed to make sure we look at them as much as possible and get little dopamine hits from doing so, so that we'll come back for more and make sure we use our "time confetti" looking at the ads they want us to see and the content they've curated for us. Is there value in being bored or sitting with our own thoughts when we have a moment to wait for something? Is it problematic that some of us might feel the need to fill every moment of downtime with something, even if it is "relaxing" like Candy Crush? Does it become more problematic when we feel the pull to use those "relaxing" things when we shouldn't be having downtime? When we should be interacting with others, reading to our kids, talking to our spouses? And the big thing for me is the fact that blenders (or subsitute any technological improvement in the last age) aren't something we carry around with us and have an entire inconspicuous library of unsavory images and videos at our fingertips, carried in our pockets everywhere we go (I think about this in particular as my boys are getting towards adolescence).

I am really, genuinely glad you can use your device in a productive way or have it not make you feel depressed or addicted or whatever other issues it might cause for other people. I wish the idea of a phone/screen as an addiction was "a bit weird" to me too! Most days I want to chuck my phone out the window, to be honest. But it is really not surprising that other people have these issues because that is literally how apps are being developed these days: to keep people scrolling as mindlessly and as much as possible. It has been that way since the inventions of screens, except now people have them wherever they go, personalized to their own little worlds, and even if it doesn't affect you in the same way as most people, it is not all just a happy advancement of technology for a lot of us.

[frogger]

Well, it's a sweepstakes so my guess is I wouldn't get the money anyway. Also, I've never had an instagram or twitter account.

Typically, I'd say easy peasy but currently it is acting as my main computer. I've filled out paperwork, sent emails, looked up contractors, and need to send in grades. Typically, I prefer a desktop but when an earthquake renders your home uninhabitable temporarily then the smartphone is extraordinarily useful.  If I were planning on entering though, I would try to get my laptop updated so I could use it instead.

[Jean in Newcastle]

16 minutes ago, EmseB said:

I'm guessing because you don't have a problem with technology overuse. A small kitchen appliance that simplifies a task isn't comparable because the goal of said appliance isn't to sell ad revenue by getting you to look at it as much as possible during your day. Blenders aren't altering our minds in how we read or how we socialize (or don't socialize) or how we relate to others on a daily basis. Kitchen appliances don't have the potential for addictive behavior. Games and other social media apps are designed to make sure we look at them as much as possible and get little dopamine hits from doing so, so that we'll come back for more and make sure we use our "time confetti" looking at the ads they want us to see and the content they've curated for us. Is there value in being bored or sitting with our own thoughts when we have a moment to wait for something? Is it problematic that some of us might feel the need to fill every moment of downtime with something, even if it is "relaxing" like Candy Crush? Does it become more problematic when we feel the pull to use those "relaxing" things when we shouldn't be having downtime? When we should be interacting with others, reading to our kids, talking to our spouses? And the big thing for me is the fact that blenders (or subsitute any technological improvement in the last age) aren't something we carry around with us and have an entire inconspicuous library of unsavory images and videos at our fingertips, carried in our pockets everywhere we go (I think about this in particular as my boys are getting towards adolescence).

I am really, genuinely glad you can use your device in a productive way or have it not make you feel depressed or addicted or whatever other issues it might cause for other people. I wish the idea of a phone/screen as an addiction was "a bit weird" to me too! Most days I want to chuck my phone out the window, to be honest. But it is really not surprising that other people have these issues because that is literally how apps are being developed these days: to keep people scrolling as mindlessly and as much as possible. It has been that way since the inventions of screens, except now people have them wherever they go, personalized to their own little worlds, and even if it doesn't affect you in the same way as most people, it is not all just a happy advancement of technology for a lot of us.

??

 I made the point that technology doesn’t always equal an addiction. I recognize that it can be addictive. In fact, we dealt with a computer addiction for a number of years with my ds.   I understand the brain science very well. And in my Ds’s case he made it through addiction to having a healthy interaction with computers and smartphones.  

But there are a bunch of logical fallacies in play when people generalize to “all technology is bad” or “all smartphones are bad”. Or “all people are susceptible to addiction to technology “  

I don’t care if people don’t find it necessary to have a Smartphone. It only made sense for me to get one a couple of years ago. And as I said up thread, I don’t see it as necessary but I find it helpful. If someone else doesn’t find it helpful or find something else helpful or find it harmful or whatever then they should do what is right for them. What I find weird is the moralistic tone that people take on what is an individual choice that has no moral value in and of itself. 

[EmseB]

1 minute ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

??

 I made the point that technology doesn’t always equal an addiction. I recognize that it can be addictive. In fact, we dealt with a computer addiction for a number of years with my ds.   I understand the brain science very well. And in my Ds’s case he made it through addiction to having a healthy interaction with computers and smartphones.  

But there are a bunch of logical fallacies in play when people generalize to “all technology is bad” or “all smartphones are bad”. Or “all people are susceptible to addiction to technology “  

I don’t care if people don’t find it necessary to have a Smartphone. It only made sense for me to get one a couple of years ago. And as I said up thread, I don’t see it as necessary but I find it helpful. If someone else doesn’t find it helpful or find something else helpful or find it harmful or whatever then they should do what is right for them. What I find weird is the moralistic tone that people take on what is an individual choice that has no moral value in and of itself. 

I guess I read the thread, and subsequently your post, much differently. I haven't seen anyone saying that all tech is bad or all smartphones are bad or all people are susceptible to tech addiction (although I would venture that the percentage of people who are is very high). I didn't see a moralistic tone about getting rid of one, so it didn't occur to me that's what you were speaking of in your post. In fact, I saw most people saying they prefered having one for day-to-day living.

But also, I wasn't trying to pick on you because I do think it is great that people can use tech as just a tool. I was more going on a tangent about why smartphones, and most apps, are not the same as most simple technological tools and advancements. I'm sorry for not knowing what you knew about the science. I didn't get that from your post either because of the blender comparison. The brain science is so much different between something like a tool (I would say GPS) and a social media or game app on a phone.

Anyway, my post was riffing off of your comment about finding it weird that people would be beholden to their phones, which it turns out was not your intention, so just take it as a stand-alone rant about why I think smartphones aren't as innocuous as small kitchen appliances. 😄

[EmseB]

Also, to amend my last post, yeah, I admit to feeling a bit defensive if someone says something like, "Just use it as a tool, that's all it is," because I personally have a lot of trouble doing that. I feel like that is a bit moralistic from another angle and minimizes the trouble people have with them (which I understand now you weren't intending to do). Smartphones, for me, have not put me on a moralistic high horse about getting rid of them. Rather, I feel somewhat humbled and sheepish by the fact that I feel like I can't even if I wanted to. I want to have access to the games and the social media and the fun stuff on there because I prefer spending my time doing those things even when I can't afford to. But I can't get rid of my phone entirely because of the tools it affords me. How many people communicate using GroupMe and WhatsApp? SO MANY!! Because it's awesome to organize things with those tools. But that means I have to work really, really hard to keep from getting swallowed up in the other things on my phone that make my brain and my life really lazy and depressing.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Just now, EmseB said:

Also, to amend my last post, yeah, I admit to feeling a bit defensive if someone says something like, "Just use it as a tool, that's all it is," because I personally have a lot of trouble doing that. I feel like that is a bit moralistic from another angle and minimizes the trouble people have with them (which I understand now you weren't intending to do). Smartphones, for me, have not put me on a moralistic high horse about getting rid of them. Rather, I feel somewhat humbled and sheepish by the fact that I feel like I can't even if I wanted to. I want to have access to the games and the social media and the fun stuff on there because I prefer spending my time doing those things even when I can't afford to. But I can't get rid of my phone entirely because of the tools it affords me. How many people communicate using GroupMe and WhatsApp? SO MANY!! Because it's awesome to organize things with those tools. But that means I have to work really, really hard to keep from getting swallowed up in the other things on my phone that make my brain and my life really lazy and depressing.

Esme, the thread is a "could you go one year without using a smartphone" thread.  So my answer was answering specifically if I could do so.  And the answer FOR ME was "yes, I could  but I wouldn't want to."  And I said why I wouldn't want to (it is specifically helpful to me, it passes the time in a useful and sometimes just fun way).  Another person might say (and have said) "I don't have one to begin with" and many have given various reasons why (finances, addiction, no interest. . . ).  And someone else might have another answer entirely (I'm too lazy to compile what other answers people have given in the thread).  So no, there was no "just use it as a tool" as a directive to other people.  It was a "I use it as a tool".  If someone else doesn't want to use it as a tool, or doesn't need the tool or doesn't find it easy to use as a tool or doesn't find it possible to use it as a tool or any other the other possible permutations, then they should simply answer the thread as it makes sense to them. 

[mom@shiloh]

Absolutely. 

[marbel]

I guess anyone could give up their phone for a year.  I mean, I wouldn't want to, but if my phone died and we couldn't afford to replace it, or the bill became too high to afford, I could do without it.  My life would be so much harder though.  My phone is a mix of tool and life-enhancer. I use it for calls and texts but also for the GPS, reminders, grocery list, blah blah blah. Although I don't get many checks, mobile deposit is so nice to have when I do get one!  It enhances my life in that I can get a meal inspiration at the grocery store (or find a great price on about-to-expire meat) and look up a recipe right there in the store to see if there are other ingredients I should buy.  I can listen to audiobooks or podcasts while I drive or walk.  

$100,000 sure is a lot of money though!  

[moonflower]

I have never touched a smartphone in my life.

[PrincessMommy]

20 hours ago, happysmileylady said:

What's funny is you have to enter with a tweet or instagram....I don't use either of those lol!

 

You know, it would be an interesting blog to start if a person won.  A 365 days without a smartphone blog to document each day lol.  

I know, me either.

 

my biggest hardship (besides the blogging) is that I do use my tablet & phone for listening to audible books.   It would be hard to go back to CD's - there's limited choices.

The killer for me is that you have blog (humorously) about your experience.  I'm not very humorous, darn.   I could definitely find many uses for that 100K though.

I sent it off to my adult kids.  

Edited December 15, 2018 by PrincessMommy

[KungFuPanda]

I’ll bet they choose some prolific you-tuber as their contestant and recover the prize money through sponsorship on that vlog. 

[BlsdMama]

21 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Could you go one year without touching a smart phone?  I just saw a contest for doing this.  Don't touch one at all for a year for 100k.  Could you do it? 

I went like 37 years without one.  For 100,000 dollars? Easy.

Now, would I miss Waze?  Yes.  Being forced to call instead of text? Yes.  But could I do it? Absolutely.

[BlsdMama]

8 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

 

But there are a bunch of logical fallacies in play when people generalize to “all technology is bad” 

There's a philosophical debate dating back to historic times whether technology kills techne, encompassing essentially technology as a whole, but, lol, this conversation is not that conversation. 😉 

[EmseB]

8 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Esme, the thread is a "could you go one year without using a smartphone" thread.  So my answer was answering specifically if I could do so.  And the answer FOR ME was "yes, I could  but I wouldn't want to."  And I said why I wouldn't want to (it is specifically helpful to me, it passes the time in a useful and sometimes just fun way).  Another person might say (and have said) "I don't have one to begin with" and many have given various reasons why (finances, addiction, no interest. . . ).  And someone else might have another answer entirely (I'm too lazy to compile what other answers people have given in the thread).  So no, there was no "just use it as a tool" as a directive to other people.  It was a "I use it as a tool".  If someone else doesn't want to use it as a tool, or doesn't need the tool or doesn't find it easy to use as a tool or doesn't find it possible to use it as a tool or any other the other possible permutations, then they should simply answer the thread as it makes sense to them. 

Right, I get that now.

I think a) I have/had a chip on my shoulder about phones as I explained, and b) it would be ridiculous in my mind to give up a blender and mix smoothies by hand but it's not super ridiculous (to me) want to give up my smartphone so I attached a value judgment to your writings that wasn't there. I explained myself poorly after the fact, but really, I have no beef with your posts. I'm sorry I used them as a jumping off point re: my own personal issues with phones.

[VaKim]

Well, I am almost 53 and never even had or used one until earlier this month, when I got a new tracfone and figured I might as well get a smart phone since they were on sale. So absolutely. I could go forever without touching one. I still do everything on the computer and only use the phone for very infrequent calls and occasionally look at the weather on it. 

[historically accurate]

Sure, really the only thing I would miss is my calendar. I suck, like absolutely suck, at physically writing things on a calendar. Opening up an app and typing it in, easy-peasy, so I don't know why I couldn't keep a calendar straight until I got a smartphone. I occasionally use Navigation, but I can print from Google Maps before I leave. I have a tablet (2 actually - I won them both); one is my daughter's calm app music box, and the other is in a pile of Kindles that haven't been used in who knows how long...

I don't have Twitter or Instagram, so I can't enter anyway.

[Faith-manor]

For 100,000 yes because it is more than I make with my employer so would quit the job, and then find something else. Currently, I am required to carry a smart phone for work. I do all kinds of things on it like create community announcements while waiting for the cast to arrive for rehearsal, and definitely use it for a number of job related things when I am at music conferences.

[Lady Florida.]

13 hours ago, Frances said:

I’ve never had a smart phone, so it wouldn’t be a problem at all. I could easily afford a smart phone, but I have no desire or need to be constantly connected to the internet. I also like the small size of my old flip phone. I use a computer at work and have an iPad at home. I rarely take my iPad anywhere and I don’t have a data plan for it, so I don’t consider it to be like a smart phone.

 

11 hours ago, Tanaqui said:

I neither have a smartphone nor want one. I spend enough time online as it is!

Not picking on either of you but theses are the kinds of statements that make me realize that a lot of people don't use their smartphones as tools and think of them mainly as just another way to go online. 

10 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

 

No.   My phone is a tool.  it is my calendar, my messages, phone, maps, etc.   (i even use as a kindle.  sometimes. . . . )

I don't use it for games, or watching tv, or listening to music.   (but after seeing the thing to sync your phone to your car's speakers on another thread - I'm considering it.)

This. All of this. It's a tool. If you think of it as merely a gadget or toy you miss out on a lot of its practical functionality.  

[Lady Florida.]

9 hours ago, EmseB said:

I guess I read the thread, and subsequently your post, much differently. I haven't seen anyone saying that all tech is bad or all smartphones are bad or all people are susceptible to tech addiction (although I would venture that the percentage of people who are is very high). I didn't see a moralistic tone about getting rid of one, so it didn't occur to me that's what you were speaking of in your post. In fact, I saw most people saying they prefered having one for day-to-day living.

But also, I wasn't trying to pick on you because I do think it is great that people can use tech as just a tool. I was more going on a tangent about why smartphones, and most apps, are not the same as most simple technological tools and advancements. I'm sorry for not knowing what you knew about the science. I didn't get that from your post either because of the blender comparison. The brain science is so much different between something like a tool (I would say GPS) and a social media or game app on a phone.

Anyway, my post was riffing off of your comment about finding it weird that people would be beholden to their phones, which it turns out was not your intention, so just take it as a stand-alone rant about why I think smartphones aren't as innocuous as small kitchen appliances. 😄

I posted a reply that talks about using it as a tool before I read your post. And I get what you are saying so I don't want you to think I was ignoring your post or contradicting it. As you said, you're not on some moral high horse about it. In my comment I was really addressing those who are. It's not better either way. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have only had a Smartphone for a couple of years, but it took me awhile before I started to see how useful it could be FOR ME.  My kids had to show me some very useful apps and get me over some mental hurdles to start using them.  Again - no judgment if others don't find it useful.  But I have flashcards on it for language learning, used it when we were traveling for checking in to our air bnbs, can open up my word processor and use it (though it's not my favorite way to write but I have had to use it on occasion to meet a deadline), I use it to order Starbucks when we are about ten minutes away and then pick up our drinks at the window, can read my Bible on it, listen to music in the car (it connects to the car bluetooth so that I can go to Spotify), can have conference call meetings with the board that I'm on (though I prefer face to face), communicate with my kids on things like Snapchat as well as text, do library holds etc., look up recipes in the grocery store (as someone else mentioned), see how I'm doing on Fitbit and enter food choices on Sparkpeople tracking, glance at my newsfeed to see breaking stories, as well as the usual calendar, camera etc.  Oh and I almost forgot the Hive.  About half of my hive reading is done on my Smartphone.  I update my tackle thread using my phone.  And I like my hidden object games.  They are fun.  And for me, a distraction from the pain at times that uses no drugs other than the infamous dopamine (though I doubt that hidden object games are a huge dopamine pusher).  I haven't found that it has interfered with my real life human interactions in any way. 

But everyone has different needs, right? 

Edited December 15, 2018 by Jean in Newcastle
edited to add reference to the Hive

[Frances]

On 12/15/2018 at 9:13 AM, Lady Florida. said:

 

Not picking on either of you but theses are the kinds of statements that make me realize that a lot of people don't use their smartphones as tools and think of them mainly as just another way to go online. 

This. All of this. It's a tool. If you think of it as merely a gadget or toy you miss out on a lot of its practical functionality.  

 

I think everyone is just different with different needs, and it’s all good.

Edited March 11, 2019 by Frances

[Tanaqui]

Sure, it is and can be a tool, but if I had one I'd spend an awful lot of time online, playing games, and generally not doing any of the things I should be doing. If I need a calendar, I'm better off using a physical planner. If I need a map, I'm better off using a paper map. If I need a phone, well, my phone works well enough as one without having any extra functionality. (And indeed, I leave it at home as much as possible. I don't like having a leash.)

[Farrar]

Dh was like, "Send me the link." Lol.

Then he understood that he couldn't hand me my phone and was like, hm... maybe not.

I could do the main parts of it for me. It would be a huge pain in the ass. My car doesn't have gps - I use my phone. I'd have to plan ahead a lot of things. But all the other stipulations... like, I find it hard to promise I'm not going to hand my kids their phones... or move them if they're in my way! If I'm lost with my family in the car, does it count that they are likely to be like stop driving in circles and I'm directing us from my smartphone? I could not touch or use my own... I just don't know how to avoid them as a whole thing without a lot more hassle.

[shawthorne44]

I can't think of anything I do on my smart phone that couldn't be done with something else.   The thing about the smart phone is the all-in-one-ness of it.   
For example, the new Kindle Paperwhite also plays audiobooks.  The e-ink is better on your eyes.   A digital camera that takes photos better than the phone is cheap and easy to get.   A GPS device does a better job than Google Maps.  The dumb phone takes care of phones and texts.  Lists could be done with paper.  

[mumto2]

On 12/14/2018 at 1:39 PM, marbel said:

LOL but no.  🙂

My kids and I have vivid (unhappy) memories of the attempted trip into south Philadelphia (11 years ago) that prompted my husband to get me a GPS for Christmas.  Map books are great if you have a navigator who can look at the maps and guide the driver.  Not so great for someone alone, or with little kids, in a busy area without frequent places to pull over to study the map!  🙂

(We returned home 4 hours after attempting to drive to a museum 19 miles from our house, without ever finding the museum.)  

I love my Garmin!  My kids were absolutely terrible at reading the Garmin at first..........so many wrong turns!

in terms of giving up the smartphone............I don't have one. so easily.  As long as I get to keep my Kindle reader no problem!

Edited December 15, 2018 by mumto2

[Jean in Newcastle]

9 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

I can't think of anything I do on my smart phone that couldn't be done with something else.   The thing about the smart phone is the all-in-one-ness of it.   
For example, the new Kindle Paperwhite also plays audiobooks.  The e-ink is better on your eyes.   A digital camera that takes photos better than the phone is cheap and easy to get.   A GPS device does a better job than Google Maps.  The dumb phone takes care of phones and texts.  Lists could be done with paper.  

A lot of what is done on my Smartphone is what I used to do with my Franklin Planner.  (Remember those? They are still around but aren't as popular anymore, I don't think.)  But those things were bulky to carry around..    And I used to always forget to bring my camera places.  In fact, my younger child has large periods of her childhood undocumented because I could never remember to bring my camera!  My phone, however, has tons of photos on it.  That's why for me the "all-in-one-ness" of it is so great.  But I really am not trying to convince anyone to go to a Smartphone. 

[purpleowl]

I am thinking of entering. If you go to vitamin water's website and look at the fine print, it shows how they will score entries to determine who the potential winner will be. 

I have realized a couple of other things I would really miss...

* YNAB app - I am so accustomed to entering each transaction on my phone, and sometimes I don't bother getting a receipt because I'm entering it in YNAB right then. I would have to adjust to taking receipts home and entering transactions on the computer.
* Calendar - I use my Google calendar for everything, and it's nice to be able to pull it up on my phone when I'm with friends to arrange plans or whatever. So either I'd have to use a paper calendar, or I'd always have to say "I'll get back to you" about scheduling things.
* Chick-fil-A app, lol. I usually have DH and/or kids with me there, so I could probably just have one of them be responsible for scanning the app. I also use store apps for coupons at Hobby Lobby & Joann's. Of course, $100,000 is quite a bit more than what I save with those coupons...

 

[shawthorne44]

3 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

A lot of what is done on my Smartphone is what I used to do with my Franklin Planner.  (Remember those? They are still around but aren't as popular anymore, I don't think.)  But those things were bulky to carry around..    And I used to always forget to bring my camera places.  In fact, my younger child has large periods of her childhood undocumented because I could never remember to bring my camera!  My phone, however, has tons of photos on it.  That's why for me the "all-in-one-ness" of it is so great.  But I really am not trying to convince anyone to go to a Smartphone. 

 

Yeah, I remember having a Compaq electronic planner.   I even had a sleeve for it that was a phone.   That thing was awesome!   The best use was when my flight was cancelled and I was the only one with basically a smart phone.