I cannot tell you a way my life has genuinely gotten better since the advent of "smart" phones.

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Sucks to be you, bro, but that's not a universal experience.

I grew up when cell phones weren't common, then flip phones were the thing. I didn't get my first smartphone until I was already out of high school. My life was improved immensely. Not just the connection that allows me multiple vectors of communication to the people who matter to me, and the ability to plausibly ignore communications from those who don't, but the absolute plethora of utilities now at my fingertips.

Do you even know how to balance a checkbook? Have you ever had to do it? In less than a minute I can see not only my bank balance, but all transactions going back months.

My teachers all told me I wouldn't have a calculator with me all the time. Turns out that was not to be.

If I need to know something, anything, ever, I have a device on my person that allows me immediate access to the sum total of human knowledge. Whether it's a question of what time the hardware store opens, how to fix a cracked pipe, or what rocket fuel the Saturn V used, the information is right at my fingertips.

I don't ever have to be lost again. First time in a city? I can get directions to anywhere, from anywhere, any time I want.

I even have a freakin flashlight at all times.

Yeah, it sucks that some people get stuck in a narcissistic spiral on facebook or obsessively doomscroll to the detriment of their own health, but that's not the smartphone's fault any more than it is just the invention of electricity's fault.

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Does it suck? To not be reliant on something like a "smart" phone?

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I hear ya. I too was a late cell and smart- phone adopter.

If I couldn't use them anymore I would be annoyed at first. But I would adjust and yes, would certainly lead a fulfilling life regardless.

I myself am in between both extremes. Here are some ways I remain old school even though I've bought into the smartphone era:

I remain in a real sense anti-app and keep them to a minimum on my phone. I keep their permissions as locked down as I can and I review every update pretty extensively. It's ridiculous how everyone and their brother wants me to install their app. No thank you. I'm quite content getting up to adjust the thermostat and don't need a fully automated smart home.
If I'm socializing with someone they get my full attention. If I need to look something up, respond to a text, etc I excuse myself.
When I'm out and about I'm present in my environment. "Smartphone zombie" behavior is foreign to me.
I take full advantage of the digital well being and bedtime features of my phone. I set timers for my addicting apps.
Oh, when I do drive I am hands off with my phone. If I really do need to use it then I pull over.

Etc

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The 'smart' is the only part of my phone I like.

the good:

wife can see when I'm running late because I chose to share GPS location
I have maps
I have zello
I have messaging and asynchronous comms is so great
I have email
I have web so I can see my monitoring green-light

The bad:

it would ring, if it wasn't set up as a tablet
if i installed IG or FB or Twitter, I'd have those, which are apparently toxic

So, yeah.

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Sure, I used to manage before Maps was a thing

Remember keeping a stack of bus route maps in your bag? Ha ha ha, dumb times.

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Sometimes u just wonder if we, as a people, will set down the phone and say, "that was interesting." And kinda move on. Not like throwing them away but maybe just realizing, this isn't everything.

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What if i liked my ipod?

Psst. There's music in your phone. That's a plus. Load up songs, play songs, be happy.

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These days, they are ultra expensive glass rectangles that exist to serve you endless ads and harvest every piece of info about every facet of your life.

It sounds like you need to delete some apps.

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Printing out the MapQuest directions. Keeping the Thomas Guide in your car.

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You mean portable GPS devices that have been around for a decade before smart phones?

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I was content and managed just fine with paper maps and directions before smartphones. When I got my first one it rendered those devices obsolete for me.

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I don't think it sucks for you to not be reliant on it, but it also seems like you don't know how to use it for your advantage.

Never install social media on it and go figure out what it can do for you.

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Fair enough. My life would be quite a bit worse without it personally. Nobody is forcing you to have one though, if it's genuinely not doing it for you you can always get a dumb phone.

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Hey, to each their own.

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Please, let me know what else I can do to get more value from my smart phone. I'm open to it.

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Twitter isn't toxic. Twitter doesn't exist. Twitter was very left leaning.

X is toxic.

I've not heard IG is toxic. I've only heard it's the place to see braindead bimbos in bikinis.

FB is more 1984 than toxic. It steals all your personal info. Even if you've never signed up at all.

Got a mom who uses FB? Well she put your phone number in.

🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️

Having access to the sum of all human knowledge in your pocket hasn't helped you in any way at all?

Either you're too high to think straight, or you're lying.

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For me, it was notes, calculations, and having access to the necessary information for making the two.

I might be sitting in the train, looking out the window, zoning out, and suddenly I start thinking about the melting point of tungsten. I begin to wonder how much power an arc furnace would draw while melting tungsten, and could you keep one running with just solar power. How many panels would you need at this location? I have so many questions, and most of them involve calculations.

You can imagine how glad I am that I don’t need to carry a calculator and a bunch of books with me.

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Suddenly, printing stuff has declined in popularity when you could just have all the data with you in your phone. Don’t even have to be stored locally when you can access the cloud instead.

tate

I thought there was a whole movement going on among the "youngs," where they were specifically getting old flip phones that couldn't run any apps. I heard about that trend more than a year ago, so it's probably long passed.