Is the Answer to Phone Addiction a Worse Phone?

[Mike]

This is sort of relevant here -

I didn't have my first cell phone till i was 27 or 28. Right around then. No land line either. No email address. Nothing. Getting ahold of me was a challenge. You had to call around and hope the next person you reached was with me or might be with me soon or might be able to pass a msg along to someone who might.

My girlfriend at the time was several years younger than me and wouldn't tolerate any of this LOL. She was in college, and I think it actually embarrassed her when it was revealed to her friends that I had no cell phone. Very unhip!

So she dragged me to the mall one day and actually bought me a cell phone and got me started! I had no idea what to do with the thing. It was like willfully carrying along a tumor with me wherever I went. A rude intrusion, especially since i can't stand having stuff in my pockets.

I played with the thing for a few moments, and sent her a text msg. There was no reply for maybe an hour, and I thought "well that was pretty rude." But I was willing to let it go. But the second time I texted her the same thing happened. So I called her with a slightly miffed attitude, asking what the hell was taking her so bloody long to respond. See, this is how out of the loop i was! LOL. I regarded texting as no different than talking, and actually took offense when there was a gap in communication. I was like a socially clumsy alien who had just arrived to earth and was slowly adjusting to it's customs. At the time I just couldn't conceive of the idea that texting was a convenient way to communicate on one's own time!

[alexius]

An answer to the question in topic might not be about the phone itself but more closely connected to behavior. A drug addict might not free himself by choosing a less effective drug. Likewise for the alcoholic, less % of alcohol doesn't really take care of the problem.

The problem and solution lies within you. Not outside.

Hope this might have given you a hint on where to look.

[Smell the Roses]

Alexius makes an excellent point, as does the picture of the people reading newspapers (perhaps posted by Target). I believe the concern, as with all addictions, has to do with taking oneself out of the present moment, perhaps in avoidance of something one does not want to face. I used to spend many hours a day reading books, which is in itself not a bad thing, but I much preferred it to communication with living humans. I try not to shut myself off as much as I used to, but the cell phone certainly can be another way of doing this for people who have trouble facing the world.

[petra]

UPDATE: My phone is still gray, and it's only a little bit annoying! Candy Crush is GONE

I can no longer tell easily if my alarms are off or on, and so I need to resort to positioning kind of like how a color blind person would know if the traffic light is red or green. I see this as a bit of a handicap! I can see myself keeping the thing gray forever - but I guess we'll see. It'll take a lot at this point to get me to want to change it back

Posted by Mike (here)
It was like willfully carrying along a tumor with me wherever I went.

I had to actually pause when I got to this part, too funny Mike!

I put my first phone onto a belt clip like a construction worker. It was a part of me. Like a tumor lol

[Joe from the Carolinas]

Posted by petra (here)
UPDATE: My phone is still gray, and it's only a little bit annoying! Candy Crush is GONE

I can no longer tell easily if my alarms are off or on, and so I need to resort to positioning kind of like how a color blind person would know if the traffic light is red or green. I see this as a bit of a handicap! I can see myself keeping the thing gray forever - but I guess we'll see. It'll take a lot at this point to get me to want to change it back

Posted by Mike (here)
It was like willfully carrying along a tumor with me wherever I went.

I had to actually pause when I got to this part, too funny Mike!

I put my first phone onto a belt clip like a construction worker. It was a part of me. Like a tumor lol

Consumer reports and a bunch of other groups out there have warned about keeping cell phones close against the body, despite the lack of conclusive studies that cell phones may be harmful-- this was from 9/28/2015. Here's a snippet:

Posted by consumer reports
So Should I Stop Using My Cell Phone?

No, Consumer Reports does not think that’s necessary. But we do have some concerns.

“The evidence so far doesn’t prove that cell phones cause cancer, and we definitely need more and better research,” says Michael Hansen, Ph.D., a senior scientist at Consumer Reports. “But we feel that the research does raise enough questions that taking some common-sense precautions when using your cell phone can make sense.” Specifically, CR recommends these steps:

Try to keep the phone away from your head and body. That is particularly important when the cellular signal is weak—when your phone has only one bar, for example—because phones may increase their power then to compensate.
Text or video call when possible.
When speaking, use the speaker phone on your device or a hands-free headset.
Don’t stow your phone in your pants or shirt pocket. Instead, carry it in a bag or use a belt clip.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...hone-radiation

[petra]

Thanks Joe, I've wondered about that too. The phone doesn't make me feel funny, but microwaves do when they're on. I seem to be keeping my distance from microwaves out of instinct, because really it's just a bad feeling and I don't think it's superstition.

I found this bit particularly interesting, I bolded the part about DNA

The frequency of a cell phone’s RF waves falls between those emitted by FM radios and those from microwave ovens, all of which are considered “non-ionizing” forms of radiation. That means that—unlike radiation from a nuclear explosion, a CT scan, or a standard X-ray—the radiation from your phone does not carry enough energy to directly break or alter your DNA, which is one way that cancer can occur.

[TargeT]

Posted by petra (here)
Thanks Joe, I've wondered about that too. The phone doesn't make me feel funny, but microwaves do when they're on. I seem to be keeping my distance from microwaves out of instinct, because really it's just a bad feeling and I don't think it's superstition.

I found this bit particularly interesting, I bolded the part about DNA

The frequency of a cell phone’s RF waves falls between those emitted by FM radios and those from microwave ovens, all of which are considered “non-ionizing” forms of radiation. That means that—unlike radiation from a nuclear explosion, a CT scan, or a standard X-ray—the radiation from your phone does not carry enough energy to directly break or alter your DNA, which is one way that cancer can occur.

the way you bolded it is semi misleading; I fixed it

Microwaves and Cell phones are HUGELY different in power output... that's like comparing a skateboard to a muscle car.

[petra]

Posted by TargeT (here)
the way you bolded it is semi misleading; I fixed it

Microwaves and Cell phones are HUGELY different in power output... that's like comparing a skateboard to a muscle car.

It was too. Thanks! Although it says "does not" the part that ticks me off is the idea of "breaking and altering DNA"

[TargeT]

Posted by petra (here)

Posted by TargeT (here)
the way you bolded it is semi misleading; I fixed it

Microwaves and Cell phones are HUGELY different in power output... that's like comparing a skateboard to a muscle car.

It was too. Thanks! Although it says "does not" the part that ticks me off is the idea of "breaking and altering DNA"

Well any ionizing radiation will damage DNA, this is just saying that it's not ionizing radiation; microwaves are 99% absorbed in the outer 1cm of your body plus the power output of even a home microwave is pretty small, though it could certainly cause burns if you were directly exposed for a period of time.

[bluestflame]

whole popularity of mobile phone tech is what it enables , it mimics NATURAL divine abilities , more we use it, less likely we are able to develop those natural abilities , they're just trying to hijack and divert it

we can do all this and more without the need for tech , tech has been used against us , one example is synthetic telepathy which is compensated by the ability to up the volume and use brute force

[Merlinus]

I recommend downgrading to the old, basic mobile phones, the ones without internet/apps.

I haven't done this myself, I plan to in the future.

[Bill Ryan]

An anecdote that may raise a smile.

A full 10 (ten) years ago, I went to a large phone store in the UK to buy a BIG cellphone, with BIG buttons, with NO OTHER FEATURES, just a phone — for my elderly mother, in case she needed to reach me in an emergency.

The assistant there looked at me kindly, and assuming I was some kind of Luddite simpleton, explained slowly, carefully and patiently that nothing like that existed.

[integralpart]

Well just delete all game apps, chat apps, social media apps on your phone then it will be nothing better than a basic Nokia of the 90s. I did that myself, so even I have a good phone, I don't use it much.

[petra]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
An anecdote that may raise a smile.

A full 10 (ten) years ago, I went to a large phone store in the UK to buy a BIG cellphone, with BIG buttons, with NO OTHER FEATURES, just a phone — for my elderly mother, in case she needed to reach me in an emergency.

The assistant there looked at me kindly, and assuming I was some kind of Luddite simpleton, explained slowly, carefully and patiently that nothing like that existed.

Doesn't exist... ha ha ha. Don't you just hate when that thing you want just doesn't exist?

I have a similar story of trying to get my mom a radio. She wanted just a simple radio with no other stuff on it, and since Future Shop has a lot of stuff, we went there. They told us something like "No Madame, we don't carry anything like that. Sounds like you are looking for Past Shop"

Might as well update regarding my own phone too. It is still grayscale, and the only fun thing I do on there is watch music videos. You'd think that'd annoy me at least a little bit by having to watch videos in black and white, but it doesn't.

[petra]

Posted by Merlinus (here)
I recommend downgrading to the old, basic mobile phones, the ones without internet/apps.

I haven't done this myself, I plan to in the future.

I don't think you can get a phone without internet anymore can you? That sounds NICE.... and secure.

I'm deteriorating my phone battery by doing things on the phone which I could do elsewhere, too.