Anyone else living without a cell phone??

[tomturbomatic]

The saddest thing is parents not interacting with their children because they are too busy with their devices. So much for bonding and creating great memories.

 

Fortunately, not one of my appliances is connected to the web either. They and I are all in with the out crowd.

 

[artcurus]

As for the negative social aspects of phone ownership, I'm not convinced the device is to blame. Those people just may not have much to offer the social world in the first place. No doubt that society is changing though, probably in many of the same ways that our parents complained about. Ultimately there are two choices, stay on the curmudgeonly safe rocking chair or go along with the changes. Neither is wrong and the choice is personal.

^ disagree. Phone/device ownership is hovering around 70-80% of the population, including preteens and younger. As I mentioned before, too much screen time is devastating to the younger set because it's limiting socialization, and actual hands on play which is how these children learn about their world and how to interact with it. It's also hamstringing problem solving because they are not getting the real experiences needed to work through problems.

Kindergarten teachers have seen marked decreases in attention spans, the quality of concentration, and the constant need to be entertained.

 

[launderess]

Kindergarten teachers have seen marked decreases in attentio

Well that is nothing new; educators and others have been saying the same thing pretty much since television arrived on the scene.

 

[blackstone]

Real experience to work through problems??

Not all updates and downloads work as flawlessly as intended. Computers are unforgiving. Everything has to work as planned. There is no option of hitting it with a hammer, or jiggling the handle. Problems have to be solved logically, using your mind.

Sure computers are more reliable than in the days of floppy disks. But they also can do more with more software. Phones are just small computers.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

I resisted having a cell phone for quite sometime. Until 9/11. The sheer horror of that day, and being unable to find a free payphone for me to call home. No, never again.

 

[artcurus]

@Laundress,

Agreed, but when you work with kids, and see daily what's happening, it's a completely different ballgame.

@blackstone,

No clue, it looks you're comparing apples to oranges.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

"Lifelike games, the sum total of human knowledge, banking, shopping, news, entertainment, social media, dating/hook-ups, porn, and a computer travel with you in your pocket."


 

One could argue that cell phones free up all the time/energy/money formerly required to procure these things, and to travel to and from the place of procurement. Whether those freed up resources have been used effectively is another issue.

 

As for dating/hook-ups, There are push factors as well. I don't think many people would argue that the average cost of a night out has risen a good bit faster than the average wage.

 

Personally, I have NO problem whatsoever switching my phone to 'silent' and leaving it in my pants pocket once it appears the bedroom is a likely destination, lol.

  "I swear I HATE texting!! HATE IT! I prefer emailing on a regular keyboard because I can type super fast."


 

This is why I stay with Blackberry. I type much faster, with fewer errors and much less fatigue on a physical keyboard than I do on a touch screen. 

 

Kindergarteners: Most teachers I work with agree with the changes, but they generally ascribe the changes to lack of Birth-3 stimulation and the lack of unstructured play time. Cell phones & tablets are frequently mentioned as fueling the problem but not as actually causing it.

 

Jim

 

[vacerator]

I just saw a news

report about a suburban police dept. getting reports of suspected stranger danger at parks where kids play Pokémon Go.

 

[norgeway]

If I was rich enough!

I would have only a rotary dial phone and drive a Desoto everyday!If I could, I truly would live as much in the past as possible, I would gladly watch a black and white tv, I already used only vintage radios and HiFi's, I don't even own a new vacuum or mixer, my washer is a 85 Kenmore and the dryer is a 73Lady Kenmore,I use a somewhat vintage stove, 1972 Westinghouse, that is almost too new, I do have a somewhat new fridge, that I pray will quit so I can replace it with a proper one with a latch on the door and round corners!A computer is a somewhat necessary evil, I use it for these groups , ebay and very little else, I still have lots of difficulty with it, the one at work is constantly crashing and loosing all our paper work, I told the boss if he would get me a file cabinet and a copying machine I would fix the problem, because if the building doesent burn down, what you write cant disappear!

 

[norgeway]

I guess

What I'm trying to say is...if anyone ever invents a time machine that can zap me back to the 50s, then BYE BYE I'm gone!