Re:Life before smartphones (2020)
by tboyd47 on Monday August 02, 2021 @02:48PM
(#28040992)
Things I enjoy about my life now, after having ditched my smartphone:
* Being fully into a stimulating conversation with friends for an hour or more, without constant interruptions for people to check their phones and then change the subject to something irrelevant and mildly infuriating.
* Being able to go for random/spontaneous drives with my family in the car and negotiate where we're going next without having to pull over to update Google Maps or hear the phone bark "Make a U-Turn" a zillion times until I do.
* Looking forward to social interactions being events where I enjoy doing things I like with people whose company I value, instead of a constant stream of bullshit, dueling ego trips, and disconnected conversations where both parties spend more time correcting the other person about what they meant than actually saying something.
* Waking up in the morning earlier than planned, full of energy, then sipping my coffee slowly as the sun rises, because I got good, restful sleep last night.
* Not having to face surprise criticism about something I said X days ago, because most of my statements are verbal, only reach the people they were intended to reach, and are not preserved after that.
* Not having to spend more time taking pictures of an activity than actually doing the activity.
* Not being in a constant state of annoyance all the time due to a distinct lack of time spent correcting typos, fat-fingering menus, waiting on things to load, and dismissing popups.
* Tasting true solitude (not just alone time) once in a while.
* Being fully into a stimulating conversation with friends for an hour or more, without constant interruptions for people to check their phones and then change the subject to something irrelevant and mildly infuriating.
* Being able to go for random/spontaneous drives with my family in the car and negotiate where we're going next without having to pull over to update Google Maps or hear the phone bark "Make a U-Turn" a zillion times until I do.
* Looking forward to social interactions being events where I enjoy doing things I like with people whose company I value, instead of a constant stream of bullshit, dueling ego trips, and disconnected conversations where both parties spend more time correcting the other person about what they meant than actually saying something.
* Waking up in the morning earlier than planned, full of energy, then sipping my coffee slowly as the sun rises, because I got good, restful sleep last night.
* Not having to face surprise criticism about something I said X days ago, because most of my statements are verbal, only reach the people they were intended to reach, and are not preserved after that.
* Not having to spend more time taking pictures of an activity than actually doing the activity.
* Not being in a constant state of annoyance all the time due to a distinct lack of time spent correcting typos, fat-fingering menus, waiting on things to load, and dismissing popups.
* Tasting true solitude (not just alone time) once in a while.
I could go on and on.