To think a smart phone is an essential?

[picklecustard]

So every time I see the debate about free lunches for poor families on Facebook and social media, there are always people who comment about the same families being able to afford ‘non-essential luxuries’ sometimes it’s Sky Tv sometimes cigarettes and booze, but one example that consistently gets mentioned is having an i-phone/smart phone/phone contract.

Quite baffled that in this day and age people consider possessing a smart phone as a non-essential luxury. I know few people with a landline nowadays and a mobile is the point of contact for most. It’s also far more useful in the case of an emergency as you always have it with you. Access to the internet via a phone is also a necessity to most- when I needed a job most vacancies were advertised online and needed to be applied for online, I don’t drive so do my food shopping online (as well as finding recipes online), doctors appointments are booked much more easily online for my local surgery, my bills and banking are managed via apps and online, my children’s school only send letters via ParentMail app or email so all news/forms/payments and everything relevant to their schooling requires my iphone. And that’s just a few examples. My phone is genuinely an essential for everyday living and I’m surprised people don’t see it that way!

A smartphone is pretty much essential if you are on benefits, most claims can only be done on line and a laptop and broadband isn't any cheaper than a smartphone and can't be carried in your pocket. A lot of people who "don't need one" don't have to claim benefits and probably have the income and time/space to deal with the internet on a laptop. If you're vulnerably housed a laptop is just something else to lug about and get broken as you move for the 4th time in as many years.
While a smartphone can be very expensive they can also be very cheap and the vast vast majority of people on low income will have a cheap phone. Of course there will be people that have got themselves locked into expensive contracts and discovered they can't afford it (or had their circumstances change) and there will be people who don't care and buy them anyway because they're bad with money. People are very quick to judge people living in poverty but you can't know what led someone to be unable to feed their child, I can be pretty certain tho that it's not because of frivolous mobile phone purchases.

I barely use a phone let alone a smart one.

If you cant afford to feed your kids then you shouldn't have a phone worth more than 100 quid max, you shouldn't be smoking or drinking, you shouldn't have a big expensive tv, games consoles, expensive brand clothing, sky tv. You would be choosing to spend money on things you dont need OVER feeding your children. What decent parent would do that?

It is entirely possible that they don't smoke or drink. It is also entirely possible that their TV is 10 years old, already (as mine is, it's a 46").

What do you propose? that they all sell their TVs? What would that do to the price they could expect to get for a 2nd hand TV? etc etc etc.

Try not to hoik up those judgy pants too high, eh?

Smartphones are, iPhone brand however are not.

All the posters banging on about Iphones like they are the embodiment of luxury and wastefulness.
OP didn't say expensive or latest Iphone, she just said a smart phone.

I have an Iphone which is £20 a month,which pays for the phone, unlimited minutes,texts and more than enough data.

DD's school just swapped to an online only food ordering system. Her work during lockdown was sent via email. A lost of it was on websites or apps. Breakfast club can only be booked online and in advance. They stopped the uniform forms and now you must order straight from a website. Parent teacher meetings were a zoom call type thing.

That's just a few things where internet and at least one device were essential this year.

I doubt a lot of the people whinging about Iphones would even see past the brand and recognise whether it's old,new,latest model,hand me down etc.

I work in an area of extreme deprivation. The families who are the poorest do not have a landline, they tend to have a giff gaff or lycamobile sim card in a second hand smart phone.

When you’re sofa surfing, living in a travel lodge/ b&b, or in insecure temporary housing, people often don’t have access to a house phone or broadband. They totally rely on the mobile. It’s their safety net. They claim benefits on it, apply for jobs, use it as a contact for school, kids do their homework on it, contact housing department, ring their GP and organise phone appointments, sort medication etc etc

I can’t distinguish one type of smart phone from another whilst standing in the playground at the end of the day, so I don’t know exactly what they have. It amazes me how people in news reports have so much knowledge of the makes and models of mobile phones, owned by parents on the local council estate.

Not essential - my sister doesn't have a smart phone; it's irritating for me sometimes, but she survives without one.
Her old brick died a couple of months ago - she thought about getting a smart phone, but when the guy at carphone warehouse picked himself up from the floor and confirmed that, no, he couldn't repair the old one, he offered her an alcatel non-smartphone. I think it's pay as you go, but I only pay £5 for 500 minutes, unlimited texts and a shed load of data.

@Ifailed

I think you are mixing up having Internet access with having a smart phone. Over 90% of English households have broadband internet access and can therefore do all the things you mention with a laptop, PC, tablet etc. Most will also have this provided by a phone line, so probably also have a landline number. Given the cost of a smart phone over, say, a cheap 2nd hand laptop, having one is not essential.

This just shows the privilege of some people.

Smart phones are not all £1000 iPhones. My kids have £100 smart phones which are totally fine for everyday usage - you can do your banking, top up your utilities, do homework. I know this because they do.

They can also make calls from it and send messages from it without lugging a laptop or a tablet about.

So I think you’re talking rubbish and agree with the OP. It might be easier to apply for jobs (for example) from a laptop or tablet but it’s still possible from a phone.

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay is she on the bones of her arse money-wise? I suspect she doesn’t have to top up school stuff by an app, pay utilities by app or trek to the local shop after getting cash out, and has a car so can drive to get whatever she needs without ordering online. Does she have a tablet or computer and a landline?

@Gwenhwyfar

Smartphone are absolutely essential for everyone under around 70.

Those saying you can have a cheap one - only to some extent! For example, I had to use Whatsapp for work, but my phone couldn't have any more apps. I don't think work should force you to get certain apps on your personal phone, but that's the way it is sometimes.

I volunteered to help with registration for an event. I thought it would be with pen and paper, but again you had to download an app onto your smart phone.

Well, I am under 70 and don't have one. It's not essential for me, but I do have a non-smart phone, tablet and PC. I have no need for a smartphone.

And a land line.

I have got a dumb phone rather than a smart phone, and I rarely use that. For the Internet I have a choice of a tablet, lap top or desk top. I don't make many phone calls these days anyway as most of my family and a lot of my friends are dead. I just can't see what I would use one for. My h has got one though which is on PAYG. I know I am getting old, but I detest the fact that where ever you go people are glued to their phones, parents are ignoring their children while on them, people colide with you on the street because they are not looking where they are going, they are using them whilst driving. I have even had my dog attacked because the owner of the other dog was busy on his bloody phone. Yes, they may be useful, but they are also a social scourge.

@Frequentcarpetflyer you have choices and options though, and that's fair enough.

Now imagine you could only afford one device or that you lived somewhere with no wifi/landline, or you're sofa surfing or in a volatile situation that means you might have to run in the middle of the night with what you can grab, or that your computer/tablet break and you can't afford to replace them.

Ofc it's possible to manage without a smartphone,even if it still is quite a faff. However that often means that you have various alternatives/options.

Agree that a smart phone is pretty much essential for modern life. The latest model isn’t though and I agree with pp that these don’t tend to be owned by the rich. I have a refurbished phone but my ex who hasn’t got a pot to piss in and doesn’t pay any child support has the latest new iPhone.

I’m completely baffled by people stating one isn’t required because they get by with a landline, brick phone, tablet and laptop/PC. Is it really that hard to understand that a cheap smartphone is much less expensive than running all those other devices/ broadband?

Money is the key to options. Poverty means you need to be very selective on your choices.

I’m on £15 a month each sim only my next iPhone will be saved up for a se one my kindle can then go on a cheap android phone,

Mine has been essential for me this year while I have been unemployed for several months and searching for jobs.

[quote ComeOnBabyHauntMyBubble]@Frequentcarpetflyer you have choices and options though, and that's fair enough.

Now imagine you could only afford one device or that you lived somewhere with no wifi/landline, or you're sofa surfing or in a volatile situation that means you might have to run in the middle of the night with what you can grab, or that your computer/tablet break and you can't afford to replace them.

Ofc it's possible to manage without a smartphone,even if it still is quite a faff. However that often means that you have various alternatives/options.[/quote]
Of course. I am furtunate to have several devices, a secure permanent home, broadband etc.

However, to sum up, smartphones are essential for some people, depending on their circumstances. They are not actually essential for most people.

Yabu. Having a smart phone isn't essential unless it's the only device you can access the internet on. And even then, of course, it's not essential if you CHOOSE to live offline.

Our understanding of the word 'essential' is becoming controversial; does it apply to children's clothes, sanitary products, smartphones? It seems another of those terms which was once simple but is now complicated.

Is it really essential to have a smartphone or just very, very convenient? I guess the answer lies in your own personal circumstances.

A smart phone can be cheap... we pay around £20.- month ... our phones are 2nd hand and are around 6 years and old didn't cost 100's to buy outright.

I agree, they are a very useful tool for organising your life (appointments) as well as job hunting and job applications.

"Well, I am under 70 and don't have one. It's not essential for me, but I do have a non-smart phone, tablet and PC. I have no need for a smartphone."

How do you communicate with friends? I find that everyone's on Whatsapp now, or we use FB messenger and my friends expect everyone to have internet even when out and about. I'd miss changes to plans if I didn't have that option.

A phone contract is cheaper than broadband. My broadband costs £27 a month (fibre I think for gaming) and my phone costs £15 with unlimited texts and calls and a really good data package. That includes te handset. It's a decent Samsung, the cheapest Samsung was £12 on contract which is a phone which will do everything the average person needs.

Once I pay my handset off I will go for a sim only contract.

Contract phones/ sim packages are definitely cheaper than PAYG. I paid £10 a month PAYG which would frequently run out before the end of the month and for a contract you would get more than your money. You obviously can't get a contract if your credit rating is rubbish though.

Ginger - I'm typing this now on a laptop, but the internet is coming from the data on my phone.

I have the one of the latest iPhones and if I lost my job tomorrow, was on universal credit and was struggling to afford feeding my kids I still wouldn’t sell it. I’d still have about 16 months left on the contract and would have to sort out a new phone.
Also to those saying cheap laptops would be better, they don’t have 4G which is much easier to use than having to find a good WiFi connection when you’re living in a hostel/women’s shelter, or can’t afford fibre broadband at £30 per month if you live in an area where the copper broadband is useless. We need to stop judging poor people for having smartphones and any other nice things. Selling a possession isn’t a long term solution.