You keep bringing up Sri Lanka as the justification for a smart phone. The reality is you can just walk around a central district and choose a restaurant based on its appearance, convenience, location, or posted menu. This is how it was done 15 years ago and earlier. You don’t need to read reviews or it’s opening hours on a smart phone. If you’re standing in front of it, you know if it is open. If the food turns out to be bad because you did not read online reviews, so what? Is your trip spoiled or did you just make a memory about shitty food in a Sri Lankan square? If the food is good, did you just discover a “hidden gem”?

I’m sure you’ll post a reply that explains some outlier reason for a smartphone: what if I’m in rural Bangladesh and there’s no central square? What if….

But think how people got through these difficulties before smartphones. A lot more experimentation and reaching out to locals. This is why portable language phrase books used to be so popular when traveling.

No, I'm giving examples where your life is made easier by having a smartphone, based on my very recent experiences. They're also very practical in daily life (i can pay with one, share my location with my SO for easier coordination, etc)

Not every city has a central square, not everything you want to see might be within reach of one, not all restaurants are there, and of course all restaurants there can be tourist traps.

I don't need to think about how people struggled with things that are easy to today besides for the fun/novelty of it. While we're at it, exchanging money, carrying around and paying in cash suck. It was slightly less bad because i could look up the locations of ATMs of banks that don't charge you an extra fee for being a tourist on the spot.

> If the food turns out to be bad because you did not read online reviews, so what? Is your trip spoiled or did you just make a memory about shitty food in a Sri Lankan square

Considering how bad "bad" can get, that memory can involve a trip to the hospital ( food poisoning, parasites, etc.).

Do you think locals need a phone constantly to navigate? To avoid bad food? They operate on information cached in their brains and that is transferable. Ask a hotel attendant or a shop owner checking you out for any local restaurants they like or where the nearest X is.

His approach is a great example of how these devices have affected IRL interaction. They’ve significantly reduced them. Whether that’s good bad or neutral, who knows?

I read tons of comments and reviews -before- I travel to a new area and take note of multiple destinations that might be worth checking out.

Thieves target people who are distracted so they can run by and grab a wallet before you see them coming. Scammers and sales people target people who look lost.

When you take the time to learn the things you want to do in advance and where they are you can walk alert, tall, and confident without your head buried in a phone during precious vacation time. This body language wards off many predators be they human or animal.