I have never owned a smart phone. AMA

[EuclidianGeometryFan]

I have never owned a smart phone. I don't think it is worth the money.
I use a laptop to access the internet.

I think the conclusion here is that different things work for different people. You are so distant from your children and grandchildren that the photos and contact seem fine to you. Most people I know would be heartbroken at that distance, not just being matter of fact like this.

The one holiday a year, never using public transport, only parking in a couple of car parks, never driving in London, fear of losing phones and doing yourself out of all sorts of conveniences and discounts simply to save £5 a month is just alien to most of us.

You are 58, the same or thereabouts as most of my friends. Aren’t you worried that your already very small world could become completely isolated?

To be honest it’s a bit like saying oh I don’t drive, I don’t want to and I don’t need to, I can use the bus or train etc…but actually my dh drives so I’ll just get in the car with him mostly. 🙄

I wouldn’t pay for a laptop - they’re surely more expensive and a lot portable/handy than phones? If you need one anyway, that’s fair enough but if not, I don’t see a laptop as a cost effective alternative to a smartphone.

How do you MFA for accounts?

How do you pay for parking when it's only an app?

Well lucky you if you never have to use a bus or train. 🙄

What about those car parks though? How are you paying without an app?

Or do you not have a car either? You just walk or cycle everywhere do you?

You will fall, eventually. You will succumb to a smart phone. Everyone does eventually. You will, because you will HAVE to.

Yes, I agree with this. The OP seems to be OK thus far, because she doesn't seem to be close to her family (DC and grandchildren.) and isn't arsed about getting pictures of them. And she seemingly doesn't have to deal with trains, buses, and car parks. As you say though, it sounds like a small, closed, restricted world for her.

And at 58, I find it very odd for someone to not have a smartphone, and modern tech. That is very young to be out of touch with tech. Everyone I know under 65 grew up with the tech we have today. Computers have been around for some decades, and the internet (as we know it) for over 25 years.

Smartphones have been around for about 15 years, so the OP would only have been in her early 40s when they became a thing. And the internet has been around since she was in her mid 30s. Mobile phones even longer.

I am surprised she is even using the internet to be honest. And yes, if I was her, I would be worried about my already small world shrinking even more, as so much now depends on a smartphone. I am laughing at how the OP says her husband has one though, so they 'use that for things.' So she has got access to a smartphone then. So it's not true that she is totally without one anyway.

I’m the same age and I find this very odd to be honest. It’s not a good thing, things change and we need to keep up.

One holiday abroad (sometimes none), but multiple holidays and short breaks in the UK. A road atlas, sometimes supplemented with a city street map, are all you need for the UK.

Public transport: if I needed to go by train I could book online beforehand and print a ticket. Buses and the underground take debit cards or cash.

Discounts for random things I wouldn't buy anyway are no loss.

I do not consider my world to be small, and I am definitely not isolated.

I have always had a laptop. I like the processing power and big screen. I use Excel and MS Word at home, photo editing software, and a variety of other programs.

Sorry what is "MFA for accounts"?

I have never yet come across a car park that takes neither coins nor debit cards.

This.

I've got a smartphone and have never used a parking app. Because they're awful.

Until recently I've either made sure I had change, or parked on the street for free further away and walked. Now contactless payment has become more common in car parks, I can use that.

I am absolutely not out of touch with tech. I work in tech, in an IT adjacent role, using modern software all day long.
There is more to tech than smartphones!

My DD does email me photos of the DGC occasionally, and I look at her Facebook page.

I would find it extremely difficult to manage life without the internet - I expect that goes for everyone in today's world. Why would you be surprised that I use the internet, just because I have a laptop instead of a smartphone?

I don't have everyday access to my DH's phone - just that we rely on it when we are abroad for google maps and Uber. That is all.

My world is not small, and not shrinking.

You are very lucky then to have NEVER come across a car park that doesn't take coins or cards, and requires an app. Do you live in 2005 perchance?

You say that your DH is always on the phone and has more contact with family and friends than you. You only talk to the kids maybe once a fortnight despite having 2 sets of grandchildren. You “presume” they don’t want more contact because they’ve never asked you to get WhatsApp.

Sorry but no, that’s a small world. You’re doing yourself and your offspring out of the opportunity to keep better, easier and more regular contact. There’s nothing like being able to send a quick snap of the grandkids to your mum in the moment and her being able to just 🥰 it and feeling connected. It’s lovely. You’re very rigid in your thinking so no doubt they know that you’d rather have them miss out on that closeness simply because you don’t want to risk being careless and losing a £50 phone 😔

As for the discounts for random stuff you’d never buy, well you’ve admitted to going to the cinema so often that you have a “plastic card”. Guess what, you could go BOGOF every week 😆. You could get discounts on your shopping, on that holiday you go on once a year, cashback on the airport parking since you never use public transport. Collect rewards on pretty much every food place, free drinks or food at the pub. A free veg item at the supermarket each time you go. You can rescue food that would otherwise be wasted. Great fun. Cashback on Christmas presents, assuming they’re not too wasteful for you. And on and on it goes.

It’ll be rolled out everywhere shortly. Car parks taking cash hasn’t happened round here for ages. Why would councils have cash lying around the car parks waiting to be stolen and debit readers that they need to maintain when you can click 2 buttons on a phone and job done?

And how much does it cost to buy an accurate “road atlas supplemented by a city street map” 😅 so much unnecessary fucking about for the sake of being weirdly righteous and saving £50.

I suspect the reason DH is always on his phone is because he’s doing the smartphone work of 2 people!

These staff members will be using their phones to look things up re the meeting as well as taking notes and communicating with each other during the meeting. Maybe even about you behind your back but in front of your face as it were.

You just presume they’re using it for something silly but it’s a Smartphone so it’s a computer with internet links so a highly useful piece of equipment

It sadly says a lot about you that you look down on other staff members who are using this technology at meetings when you have no idea re its capabilities and instant fact finding abilities

The OP will be back to tell you that no, they are all on social media or whatever because she can see everyone’s screens and is sitting there waiting to snootily pull them up on it. So much for paying attention. They’re probably researching something relevant and helpful for work!

In a “tech adjacent role” I would absolutely expect that staff kept up to speed with the most powerful technology. Yet the OP is bluntly refusing to make a smart phone available despite admitting to using social media, the internet and spending more money on printing and atlases and overpaying for stuff with app discounts. It all sounds very judgemental and stubborn and frankly unnecessary. There’s always one though.

Plus there is no way you can keep up with meeting friends and family on a regular basis without a smartphone. People texting to say they’re going to be late or dropping out last minute etc or sending relevant photos or details.

All I’m getting is that you don’t have many friends, don’t go out much ie socialise, and are generally not curious about the world.

Is it some sort of stubborn badge of honour type thing? Smart phones have made life so easy.

Yesterday I went to the gym, listened to my audible book on phone app as I ran. Then I had a facial, paid for it by tapping my phone. Popped into M&S, tapped phone to pay, sparks card app automatically applied discounts. Met husband for lunch, Apple Pay again. Watched son’s location so we could collect him from the station exactly when his train arrived. Pinged a friend my share of a kitty as soon as she asked for it (she’s organising a Christmas do). Picked up a To Good to Go surprise bag, 5 mins after paying on the app. I could go on and on and on.

Modern tech is fantastic. My 90 year old mil uses her iPhone for everything. Even her hearing aids are controllable via an app - she adjusts them on the app according to the environment.

I really don’t get not embracing things that make life better.

My mum has a smartphone but will only have pay as you go, and it takes her a few months to get through £10 top up because she uses it so little when out and when she's at home she uses wi-fi and whatsapp audio for calls. I don't think she would be without it as she likes to take photos a lot and do Wordle and we share lots of things.
Do you think having a smartphone would enhance your calls with your DC? Mine always uses Facetime to talk to me and I love to see his face and his surroundings, as I hardly see him in real life.
You say you use your landline a lot. Do you think people mind having to speak to you on it? I would be astonished if any friend or relative other than my parents or children called me to actually chat, I'd wonder why they hadn't just messaged.

It's some kind of weird flex to be "I don't have a smartphone" in 2025. Honestly life is easier with them.

I wonder why many secondary schools are banning smartphones in lessons? Maybe they don't want pupils to be distracted from what they are being taught.

In the case of staff using their smartphones in meetings it would be nice if they could pay attention.

Presumably the OP isn’t talking about school staff meetings since she works in a “tech adjacent role” using the latest technology. There are times when looking up information during a meeting is fine. It’s a meeting not a fucking lecture.

Kids not having phones in school is a completely different issue. The OP is 58