

I Hate Smartphones - rphlx
http://mygodwhathassciencedone.blogspot.com/2013/01/i-hate-smartphones.html

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pixelcort
I agree it's not good to waste time with friends and family on your
smartphone. But let's also look at the benefits of having one in this
situation:

* Helping additional people find your current location * Showing pictures * Taking pictures * Checking a map * (Sparingly) looking up mutually relevant facts * Getting info on family emergencies

And not to mention all the time waiting in lines all week. Sure when walking
around enjoy the scenery, but when you're waiting in line by yourself at the
same place every week maybe it's okay to enjoy your smartphone.

If you have friends and family that use their smartphone in front of you,
politely ask them what's wrong and if they need to excuse themselves to a more
private location. Even for texting more than a few minutes, one should have at
least the courtesy to leave the table and step into a hallway.

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pattisapu
There are restaurants (e.g., the University Club in Orlando) where if anyone
answers their phone they pay the bill for everyone in the restaurant. The rule
is rarely "enforced," of course, but people generally follow it and meals
there are a palpably different experience. :)

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deft
The phones in the middle of the table works well, but isn't that something you
do to children to get them to behave? If you're so attached to your phone that
you can't just choose not to use it, this idea is pointless.

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rolux
[https://www.google.com/search?q=electro-
libidinal+parasites](https://www.google.com/search?q=electro-
libidinal+parasites)

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lkd
So use a feature phone. They still make them by the billions.

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al2o3cr
ALSO GET OFF MY LAWN YOU DAMN KIDS

~~~
PavlovsCat
Not every change constitutes progress just because it occurs later
chronologically. If chronology is your only measure of something, that means
you have no measure; and if it's not, why even bring it up?

