alt Hacker NewsI'm conflicted about this. I hate smartphones, all of them. On the other hand I'm not really nostalgic for 100 stupid devices with AA batteries and weird failure modes. With a basic consumer device you can browse the web, listen to music, read, pay, get directions, take photos, make calls, increasingly importantly access AI services and even develop your own software. I feel like problems mostly come with the social pressures and expectations phones create rather than the technology itself.
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I think a large part of the motivation for this is surely the fun of playing with toys from a different age. Nothing wrong with that of course.
I got a digital camera as a gift a few years ago and I never use it. I do sometimes consider using it instead of my phone camera. But replacing my phone with all of these devices would just be too inconvenient for me and that would outweigh any supposed benefit.
It's a little strange to see people scramble to replace their phone with other things. Before smart phones, or mobile phones in general, I'd carry my wallet and keys, nothing else. We can still just do that, it's fine. If you replace your phone with all this stuff anyway, I don't really see the point. Sure, bring a book if you're traveling, but we don't need to listen to music or be able to watch a movie all the time. It's okay to be bored or just observe your surroundings.
The social pressure I don't get, I think that's a made up excuse. I'm never encountered anyone say anything beyond "Oh, okay" if it comes up that I left my phone at home.