To mourn my pre smart phone life?

[tequilasunrises]

Just had my weekly iPhone screen time report and feel slightly aghast. I didn’t think I was that bad! So now I’m sat here fondly thinking of all the ways I used to do things before my phone did it all.

For instance, having to wait until I got home from a holiday to show everyone my (printed) photos, complete with thumb prints on the edges. What is a filter anyway?!

Back in the good ol’ days when I would pay for my food shop with cash or card, now it is Apple Pay or the Tesco app.

When I wanted to feel bad about the way I look I would have to walk all the way to the shop and buy a women’s magazine, now I just open Instagram and viola!

Anyone else?

No, because I'm a grown up and do what I want to do with my smart phone

Not happy with it, dont use it

Its hard to imagine life without it now though. I have a feeling I'd feel very isolated without mumsnet and twitter and reddit as I work ft and have small DC. Socialising is a rare occurrence these days so I love dipping in to see what people are saying and doing. I left fb though as its vile.

OP, mine was well over four hours!! I’m going to cut down this week... I hope...

Mine almost was @Moltenpink glad it’s not just me!

Four hours a week? That's not a lot is it?!

YANBU. PrincessRaven - smart phones, apps etc are designed by very clever people to be as addictive as possible. There are millions of adults who use their smartphones more than they want to, just as there are millions of adults who eat more than they want to, drink more alcohol than they want to or do less exercise than they want to. Human behaviour and reward responses are complex things. But go ahead and enjoy your smugness about being an adult.

I read the news on my phone, so I'm not unhappy with my similar screen time.

I also look up plants/flowers/goods as i shop. Or use the bus app so I'm waiting around less.

That's without bits of research and finding out what's going on locally.

I'm using a diet forum to keep me on track, so no going to SW/WW just to get weighed.

I don't use pay apps, just online banking. I deliberately have two bank accounts so if i forget my main card (usually left in a pocket) , i can transfer money to the other.

Then there's any music available anytime.

I'm in my 50's, I'd hate to go back to pre smartphone days.

4 hours seriously?! Mine would be at least double that, and that's just the time I spend using it on public transport 😂

All those mornings, evenings and nights spend shivering at bus stops, wondering whether a bus is going to come. Getting kicked off a faulty train and not having the slightest idea how to get home. Realising my bank card was missing and not being able to stop it until I could get to a phone. Having to walk through empty streets hoping for a minicab office, rather than firing up an apps and being able to see there is five registered cabs around the corner and get it without worrying I don't have enough cash on me - or find somewhere to make a call about a job application during office hours when I was at work.

Whilst I never wanted a brick mobile, as I always thought that surely the point of going out was so you didn't have to speak to anybody at work or at home (and the ex who insisted I had one was only doing it so he could keep tabs on me/demand to know why I wasn't indoors where I belonged), actually having a smartphone is great.

Occasionally, I even take a call on it.

Although, it saddens me when i see parents snapping at their children because they are getting in the way of their phone usage.

I also feel a lot more nervous about just spontaneously going to new places without Google maps.

It’s 4 hours a day not a week I think!

Some of us still live a pre smart phone life and survive quite happily.

I don't miss those days.

I do sometimes stand in awe and think Bloody Hell we live in a crazy time! Access to almost any information immediately. Access to entertainment at an instant. The ability to contact anyone we know in a heartbeat. I can track my children when they're out and don't need to stand at the front door screaming into a street for dinner like when I was a kid.
I can look up YouTube videos to find out how to fix my washer. I can transfer money around banks with the click of an app. I can pay for things by cash, cheque, chip and pin, or with a swipe of my card or my phone (or watch?).

Just fifty years ago is akin to the dark ages in comparison to what today's smartphones alone can do.

OP i deleted my instagram account in september after spending way too much time on it. It became the first thing that i checked in the morning and last thing at night. I honestly don't miss it now- but i did wonder if I had made a mistake.

I love having a camera on hand though and actually use my phone to study flashcards whilst travelling.

Try taking baby steps and turning it off more.

Now I'm actually okay with leaving it at home when I go out.