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 go everywhere with it. It's a safety net above all else. If there's an incident or an accident I can call for help - or likewise if someone needs me in an emergency.
I also use the payment option on my phone.
I'm not into constantly seeing everyone on their phones but I wouldn't leave the house without it, I'd rather just slip it in my bag or pocket.

Being different doesn't mean you're wrong. It just means you're different.

I don't take my phone everywhere. And I don't understand why people are always glued to their phones. If I'm driving I tend to take it in case the car breaks down (I live rurally) - but if I'm going for a walk in the local area I don't take it. I don't take it when I walk to the local shop / post office. I take the phone when proper walking (hills) in case of emergencies, but I'm not foolish enough to use it for navigation - I take a map and compass and know how to use them.

But I'm a luddite and I'm uncomfortable with the data harvesting mobiles and apps facilitate - one look at the permissions and I generally reject the app. So my phone has minimal apps: no banking, no wallet, no loyalty card app, no whatsapp, no parking app, etc. I despise google and the major tech firms and have no desire to make them even richer and powerful than they already are.

I hope the government allows us to have a physical ID card when they roll them out or I'm going to be screwed.

For me it's not about getting calls though, it's the ability to make calls, especially if something goes wrong.

I rarely take my mobile phone with me when I'm just going out for a short time. But that's because I have a Google watch with its own SIM. It's basically a pared-down version of my phone. I can receive and read emails and texts. I can receive and make phone calls. And it has my payment app on, so I just tap my watch to pay.

On top of that, it has a fall detector linked to emergency services, a pedometer, and even an ECG app! It's definitely been liberating for me not to have to take a bag with me each time I run out or to have a heavy phone sticking out of my jeans pocket.

I don’t take my phone for a walk or local shopping but do when I’m out for longer. Hate carrying things to and phones are quite heavy.

If you hadn't already said you were 49 I'd wonder if you were my mother, aged 90, whose response to the question, "What if you have an emergency?" was, "But I'm not going to have an emergency." When she did end up falling on an uneven pavement, she relied completely on the assistance of strangers, and she was extremely lucky that they weren't the sort of people who would run off with her handbag, housekeys, and car keys. DM broke her right wrist when she fell, so a first aid kit wouldn't have been much use to her.

Don't be my DM.

I keep my phone in my handbag or in what we call here in the US a 'fanny pack'. I also keep my car keys in my bag or fanny pack, along with my wallet (I carry my driver's license, my health insurance card, and my credit and debit card in my wallet). I don't pay by phone.

Bags are very handy. Fanny packs are too (aka bum bags).

I have a really old car so I’m always worried something will happen while driving. Don’t want to be stranded somewhere without my phone.

It’s extraordinary the things people think make them more interesting/superior people. There used to be a poster on here who referred to most people who weren’t her as “mundanes”. People who watched TV. All “school gate mums”. I’m sure she would have added “people who take their phones with them when they go out”!

I drive for work. I'm nearly always on foot out of work

True! Plus, it just makes no sense. You own a very useful piece of technology which isn't heavy and takes up little space, could save you time, effort and energy, is a boon in an emergency, but you leave it in a drawer?
I think your "interesting/superior" tag is correct.

Michael Moseley would still be alive and well if he'd taken his phone with him and used it.

Honestly the defensiveness and conclusions drawn. I work 60ish hours a week, so it's with me all that time. If I'm at home it'll be on charge in the kitchen, so I'm likely to hear it if it pings, but maybe not if I'm elsewhere in the house. I might check it if I walk by. The only difference is if I'm out on foot to the shops or gym, or just a wander I won't take it. It weighs down my shorts, and it doesn't seem necessary. Or if we're out as a family in DH's car, I probably won't take it because both DH and DD2 will have theirs.

My original point was that everyone thinks we're being tracked all the time, because we always have our phones, but I didn't think that was true since there are occasions when I don't have my phone, I thought most were probably like this. It turns out I was wrong, but who cares. I'm not violently anti-phone as I seem to have been characterised, just interested that people seem to like it ALWAYS on them as default, whereas my default is to not have it unless needed. And it's needed a lot, so I have it a lot.

In a drawer next to her keys, that she doesn’t take because she doesn’t lock her door. And who needs insurance?!

#interesting #superior

Quite! I think she's what they call an "outlier"!

“It’s needed a lot. So I have it a lot”

Exactly, OP. Hence most people always have it, as they perceive other needs that you don’t:

• emergency contact
• what3words/GPS tracking for emergency
• navigation of unknown area while on foot
• photographs while out and about
• contacting the friend they’re about to meet up with to help find each other
• convenience of being able to call/be called by anyone, or send/receive a message
• Information about the world around them
• listening to music (I’m obsessed with music)
• other entertainment- watching things, reading things
• payment!! I never carry cash or purse so Apple Pay has been a godsend for me
• ability to buy things online on the go - whether that be goods, services, train tickets etc
• games
• Ability to monitor cameras back at home (and speak to anyone who rings the bell to deliver an expensive parcel you’re about to miss!!)
• Shopping lists
• Health tracking /exercise tracking
• everything has an app these days, even maccies, so often a benefit of having phone with you

I’m sure people could continue to add to this list almost endlessly!

Right. That's quite different to your original posts, so I think you can understand the responses.
I don't think anyone is being "defensive", it's just that your original posts did appear to be critical of those who carry phones with them when they go out.
It's really not a problem and a personal choice, which is fine.

I think that probably most people who have a phone carry it just about everywhere with them. Definitely to the shops as I have my shopping list on there.
Out for a walk, yes, I walk loads and it's great for showing where the public footpaths are in an unfamiliar area.
I never took it on the school run because the school is a two minute walk from my house.
People have mobiles so that they can take them with them when they are, you know, mobile.

I think that’s rubbish that you thought most people were like you, because you said that on the occasions when you’re out with family and don’t have yours, they have theirs. So in fact you have two people in your own family who don’t do what you do. So already you’re in the minority.

That would literally have been a lifesaver for Michael Moseley.

I'm on holiday. At a museum exhibition my phone camera linked to Google Translate and automatically translated the descriptions and history of all the notices for me while I looked at them. It was amazing.

It's also helped me when my grasp of the language here wasn't sufficient for the vocabulary I needed. Plus of course all the photos, the train timetables, maps, opening times of restaurants and museums...

And telling the postman where to put the parcel when he rang our front door at home. And keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the teens at home occasionally to make sure all is well. What a lot of pizza deliveries

I can’t imagine the sheer panic the people who have absolutely everything on their phone would feel if it got stolen. I think it’s a good idea to have a back up payment card with you in a separate pocket at least.

I do. Physical cards stay in my bag, but I might nip out with just my phone.

Also, before I had a smartphone I very rarely went anywhere without a book. Now I never go anywhere without about a hundred books!

I'm mid 60's and I take my phone everywhere with me. I use it to pay for things too, so would be stuffed if I didn't have it.

Ever since I've had a mobile from the late 90's I've always carried it with me.