My latest rant...

Johnny Robbo · August 23, 2016, 07:19:14 AM

My ancient Nokia phone just died on me a couple of weeks ago so I took the plunge & went back to the world of smart phones with a Blackberry. I had it less than a week & it was driving me nuts. Back onto eBay for a reconditioned Nokia...

https://jrobsonguitar.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/smart-phones/

AndyR · August 23, 2016, 08:15:53 AM

I'm even worse, I have an old Nokia, and I don't even use it as a phone, just as a text machine. And even then that's only to my wife. If it rings, and it's not her, I ignore it.

Since she's switched to some smartphone, I've discovered I can email her, either from work or from home. So I'm not even sending SMS texts anymore. I sometimes go three or four days without even switching the wretched thing on.

If I'm with her, I never switch it on. I don't even carry it at the weekends or on holiday.

Mike_S · August 23, 2016, 08:44:50 AM

Hehe... that was a good blog John. I have to say i am pretty much with you 100% on that. I too am the owner of an old Nokia as well. The main thing for me is because of the relentless marketing push of big companies (with money as their primary concern) we are all expected to be plugged in to the digital global grid 100% of the time.

I think there is something valuable being lost. It's hard to define, but just that state of being able to relax, lose oneself in ones thoughts, being free so to speak. Ultimately I think people are unwittingly becoming prisoners of these large companies and we are losing freedoms in the process. I wouldn't be surprised if it is also adding to the strain and mental issues that dog modern society too.

Anyway good blog John!!

Mike

Johnny Robbo · August 23, 2016, 09:39:39 AM

Quote from: Mike_S on August 23, 2016, 08:44:50 AMThe main thing for me is because of the relentless marketing push of big companies (with money as their primary concern) we are all expected to be plugged in to the digital global grid 100% of the time.

I think there is something valuable being lost. It's hard to define, but just that state of being able to relax, lose oneself in ones thoughts, being free so to speak.

Brilliantly put, Mike. Did you see that other story on the news about how many folks nowadays are opting for a "digital detox"? Basically the stress of being connected all the time is causing some people to burn out... for some folks their phone is the first thing they reach for when they wake up on a morning - before they've even had a cuppa... If they're awake, they have to log in to see what they've missed while they were sleeping. In the end, they have to go on some kind of retreat without a phone or any kind of internet access. It bears out what you say about something valuable being lost, I reckon.

Mike_S · August 23, 2016, 10:06:48 AM

Not sure I heard that one, but i think I heard something similar recently, maybe it was the same. I wonder where this is all going to end, especially if people like Google, etc have anything to do with it. It could get quite sci-fi really if things like Google glasses, etc come around and mean that those who don't wear them are missing out opportunities.

I am holding on for dear life to my little bits of freedom and I think I will be able to get along but sadly I think most of the upcoming generation will have to take part for the most part, as somehow I think they will be forced to as the years go by. Scary stuff.

Mike

Hook · August 23, 2016, 11:23:25 AM

While I do think there's a lot of Truth to what you're saying, I don't think avoiding technology is the answer. I got to go with embracing it just not overdoing it. As with everything it should come in moderation if possible.
They said the same thing about the train. They said the same thing about electricity. They said the same thing about TV. Just like 100 years ago we had the industrial revolution we are at the early stages of the Technology Revolution.
Johnny you already only use mp3s...leave the Nokia behind. I love the ease of so much information at my fingertips. So many really useful apps, perhaps for isolated situations but there are translator apps and business apps. I can't imagine not having thumbjam and garage band and TC Performer...etc.
I imagine if you are above a certain age and don't mind trying real hard, you might be able to live out your days smart phone free. Not the next generation though for sure.
I.do get caught up in my phone but hopefully as a cultural we will incorporate it into our lives and not let it devour us.
Rock on!

Flash Harry · August 23, 2016, 12:25:09 PM

Use the digitals, don't be a slave to the digitals.

I like the freedoms that the connected world brings, I'm browsing this cyberspace on an old BlackBerry, but I don't buy the latest and the greatest. My last iPhone fell to bits, the screen came off and all the guts spilled out. It was a 3GS and served me for about 7 years.

I like being connected. It's a new and parallel country where all my mates hang out.

Oldrottenhead · August 23, 2016, 12:25:31 PM

i badly burnt my carpet and am not sure whether to update to some drums or an alpine horn. i'm too old to start learning semaphore or morse code.

64Guitars · August 23, 2016, 01:37:52 PM

I love technology but I've never owned a mobile phone and I have no desire to get one. The landline is annoying enough, thank you very much. Nearly every time it rings, it's somebody trying to sell me something. Why anyone would want to carry that annoying marketing device around with them all the time is a mystery to me.