Surely you don't carry your phone everywhere?

[SEmyarse]

Every time there's a discussion about civil liberties, for instance at the moment with ID cards, people always say, why are you worried they can track you by your phone anyway. But that implies that people are always carrying their phones.

I have a phone, I have to for work, and it's very useful outside work as well. I sometimes use it for navigation, and on certain instances I might take it with me if there's a chance I'll need to liaise with someone while out. Super helpful technology.

But surely people aren't taking it to the shops, or on the school run, or out for a walk in the countryside?

I rent

I'm a similar age to you OP but do take my phone most places. Having said that, I only use it for phoning, texting and a camera really. I still use a bank card, a watch, a paper diary! Someone above even said they use their phone as a car key. I had no idea you could do that!

The only time I might not take it, is if I'm on a short dog walk with DH, as I know he'll have his with him. My phone doesn't always fit in my pockets very well.

I certainly don't carry it around the house with me. I wouldn't ever drive without my phone though. And on a daily basis, I need to know where my kids are and if they need picking up etc.

Yes 200 times a day is too faffy, especially when I'm driving for about 20 seconds each time. It doesn't get any charge

If there is an emergency, you’ll be using the mobile phone of a stranger to seek help. Even if I was an anti-phone type person and never used one, i’d still carry it on me turned off. The difference between now and a few decades ago is there were alot of payphones everywhere (do phone boxes still exist anywhere?). We’ve got the added benefit these days of being able to call help from the middle of the countryside.

You would be relying on strangers to call on their own mobile phones these days if you’re intentionally leaving it at home. So you would still need a mobile in an emergency, it just wouldn’t be yours. Just turn it off and take it out.

We don’t understand HOW you can be surprised, unless you live under a rock and spend little to no time with other people.

And you say you’re tired of the snarks, but you started a thread going ‘Surely you don't carry your phone everywhere?’ as opposed to asking ‘Do you carry your phone everywhere?’ responded ‘but I don’t get why’ when people said they did, then didn’t at all engage with the reasons given (at your request). You must realise how irritating you’re being. What sort of reaction are you expecting?

If I’m in the car, I have my phone. If I’m out for a walk or shopping or reading in a bookshop - definitely not.

I prefer my Samsung with its nice big screen, but Mum's iPhone seems to work for her. She's physically disabled, but mentally as sharp as tacks, so I wouldn't presume to tell her what she needs!

Exactly! My grandmother is 94 and has an iPhone, which she’s happy with. If I started trying to tell her it wasn’t suitable because of x, y or z she’d tell me she can have whatever bloody phone she wants. She’d also be a bit bemused that I’d think she was incapable of charging it.

do phone boxes still exist anywhere?

Yes, they do. Around 20,000 of them.

I'm sorry I I'm being irritating. I really don't mean it, or understand why.

I am actually feeling quite challenged by how uncomfortable it makes me feel, the idea of being tied to something, but at the same time I am unarguably less safe. As someone said, I'd probably use someone else's phone in an emergency, and likewise I've used mine for other people. I actually have it with me an awful lot.
But I feel a real discomfort at the idea that people carry it continuously, and worse, feel that I should.

Yes I carry it everywhere. In case of emergency if I get a call from my daughters school or the car breaks down. Definitely if hiking in case of an accident. Obviously if I have to go on the run it’s the first thing that gets ditched cos yes it’s trackable. 😂

But why? It’s genuinely no hardship to me that I carry it with me. I get that you have sensory issues around having it in your pocket, but I don’t 🤷🏻‍♀️. So it only brings me benefits. Why would someone carrying something that is a net positive to their life make you feel uncomfortable? It’s like me feeling uncomfortable that someone else always wear socks, because I personally don’t like wearing socks.

I would do the school run without my phone and used to go the local supermarket without it (less than a mile away) however I've only in the past couple of weeks starting using Google pay, so I no longer need to take my full purse out, just my phone. I was putting it off as was scared of someone being able to get my details if I had my debit card on phone. I'm late 30's and do feel that most people I know have their phone on them 24/7 (perhaps not my 70 year old DM and my DH does not take his if he goes for a run but otherwise has it)

You bet your sweet life. She was counting out her change for public phone-boxes (and probably complaining about the whiff) before I was even thought of and I'm in my 60s. If she decides she wants to move over to something else, she'll get plenty of help to do so, but that's up to her.

I’m not a massive fan of doughnuts. I got a lovely brownie and a croissant though.

Yes my iPhone is incredibly useful in emergencies. And well, most of my everyday life.

Yes I charge it every night. It’s no biggie. I’ve even got a charging cable in my phone so on the off chance it is on low battery before I go out I can just have it on charge whilst I’m driving. Again, it’s no biggie whatsoever.

I don’t currently pay hundreds of pounds though. I think I bought it for around £500, refurbished, 4 years ago. I pay £28 per month data contract due to a family member working for EE and having family discount. Which is an absolute steal.

I’m happy for you that you have a phone, and laptop that works for you. You go Queen 😘

Gosh, I dont think we have one/any in our town unless ive not noticed? I presumed they had all been removed now as pretty much everyone has a phone.

“Hey siri, call 999 on speaker”

can be done from across the room with no fingers needed. A button phone can’t do that.

Why would it be more likely to be out of charge than any other phone? iPhones easily last a day or more on a charge, then routine to plug in over night.

I take my phone everywhere. I use it to pay in shops, I use it to take photos out on dog-walks (dogs, sunsets, autumn colours), I use Flight Radar to identify interesting aircraft overhead, I use it for navigation when I drive somewhere unfamiliar, for live traffic updates, MapMyRun to track my walk routes, night sky apps to identify interesting stars, weather/rain forecasts, not to mention being available when one of my AC has a crisis and needs advice, or a child collected from school!

I have a smartphone that usually stays at home because I find it too big and heavy to carry around, and I only use it for texting and listening to audio. I don't have to pay anything for it, because it's always on wifi. I have a small cellphone, on PAYG, that I have with me always in case of emergency, when out or at home. It's small and fits easily in a pocket. I also have a chromebook and laptop at home for banking, purchases etc.

I do wonder how people who do everything on the smartphone would manage if they lost it, or it got stolen, or if it just stopped working? Do they have a plan for this? For getting into the house if they don't use keys any more?

Well yes, but I honestly can’t think of the closest one to my house now.

As I said upthread I use it to take photos, and mine has a very good camera. I take photos of things that interest me, but also of things like books that I might buy at a later date. Today I took photos of a mattress I plan to buy. I make notes on it for Christmas lists.

People now have all their music on it.

Recently I’ve been to a couple of exhibitions where the lighting has been such that the captions were hard to read. I used the torch on my phone to lighten them up rather than not read them at all.

So I carry a single phone rather than a notebook, camera, pen, wallet etc.

Well not in the sea or swimming pool, not in the bath and downstairs at night but otherwise with me

This ^^. Leaving your phone at home and not locking the door? Smh at both.

Mum lives in a lovely modern flat with plenty of charging points and sockets which are easy for her to get to. After decades of bringing up children, balancing budgets and running around after my hopelessly impractical DF, she's more than capable of a tiny thing like charging a phone and would be affronted if I suggested otherwise.

I'm never without my phone. Ever. Not one moment of my life. Ever. My phone has a diabetic cgms and pump app that means that my phone can't be more than 6m away from my body.

Slightly unusual. Me thinks.