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!

Yes, higher than 90% now.
www.statista.com/statistics/275999/household-internet-penetration-in-great-britain/

@Fluffybutter Internet access and a PC is a cheaper alternative than everybody in the family having a smartphone aswell as the texts, calls and internet needed.

@TeamLucille

YAB massively U

It's much cheaper and more efficient to have internet access at home with a cheaper computer.

I can't think of a single time when I used my phone for anything but posting photos or killing time in a train station or airport - definitively not essential.

It's so much easier and more efficient to have a bigger screen at home anyway. Who is expecting their kids to do homework on a phone? Any document is much easier to read on a decent size screen too.

Smartphones are a nice thing to have, but definitively not an essential.

Well that's your problem if you're not using your phone to it's full potential, whether that is by choice or not.

I use it for everything as I don't use any other devices.

It's much cheaper and more efficient to have internet access at home with a cheaper computer.

Except it's not....

Yes 90% have broadband and yes wifi / broadband is cheaper than data. But a PC... no. Can I call you for a job interview on your computer? Does it have a decent webcam (and enough processing power) to chat with gran or attend my virtual interview?

Oh but you can pick up a cheap laptop for 200 quid...or a basic smart phone for 100. But they don't have 100 today. They have 20 quid this month.

It's expensive to be poor... I'm fortunate and can afford to go to Costco and bulk buy - buy the bigger packet with more grams per pound. But if I only have a tenner....I can't save that for 3 months to buy a cheaper weekly shop.

Similar with the phone. You cant expect them to save for a year (phoneless) just to please you that they don't deserve an iPhone. Cos that's what it is isn't it. The poor doesn't deserve an iPhone.

You need a smart phone. No it doesn't have to be an iPhone. But you know sometimes that's the most cost effective. It has the processing power to manage today's apps. You can entertain a child on the go, you can play candy crush when you have nothing else to do. They have much larger screens so you might manage an online course. They are very compatible with things...actually I think there is a kids reading app - orchard tree or something that only compatible with iPads...or do poor people not read to their kids?

It is no where near as essential as feeding your kids.

Given that the DWP can fund the purchase of a smartphone for benefit claimants looking for work, I'd agree with you.

Having internet connection at home and having an tablet or laptop to do your work on are two different things. I know of households where the parents have internet and a smart phone but the kids don't have anything to use to do school work on.

I do wonder why, if they are so wonderful, the majority of people currently WFH are not using their smartphone, but a laptop or PC? Maybe some of the posters here could start up a company that trains people to use Excel, PowerPoint, Word etc. on their iPhone?

I can't think of a single time when I used my phone for anything but posting photos or killing time in a train station or airport - definitively not essential.

Well arent you lucky!

I have to do everything on my phone, ring text email, kids have to do thier homework on it..the see saw app. Dd13 has worksheets from school

BECAUSE we cant afford anything else at the moment. I dont have a spare 100 pound laying about every month.

And as for the dwp funding smartphones yes maybe but they dont fund the top ups and they will only pay 40 pounds or so towards it. The very basic smartphones are not fantastic.

And the poster who said a smart phone is not as essential as feeding your kids..yes but you need a smart phone or some form of internet access to apply for universal credit. Without that many cant feed your kids..I couldn't l..and before all the people bang on about get a job. I have. Without universal credit top ups I'm fucked

Their not your!

@Ifailed

I do wonder why, if they are so wonderful, the majority of people currently WFH are not using their smartphone, but a laptop or PC? Maybe some of the posters here could start up a company that trains people to use Excel, PowerPoint, Word etc. on their iPhone?

How many people do you know in minimum wage jobs (the ones more likely to be on UC or in need of FSM) that are also able to WFH? The disassociation on this thread is bonkers.

@funinthesun19 If people have a contract and lose their job, they have my sympathy. Those who don't work or earn very little but choose a contract and then claim they can't feed their children are the ones that people are referring to.

So what do you expect them to do then? £30 per month for a contract is cheaper than paying £100 upfront for a second hand phone and even more upfront for a second hand laptop. What makes you think they have hundreds to go and buy second hand technology if they’re struggling already? Sometimes you don’t even have to pay anything upfront when you take out a contract- I didn’t. It may be the only way they can get hold of a device which they need for job hunting, logging on to universal credit accounts, online banking, contacting teachers, video calling loved ones and god forbid taking nice photos of their children. Etc etc... There’s an app for everything these days remember.

So while the contract might look like a bad idea to you, it might be their only option of getting hold of a device instantly. Yes they could cancel their contract once it’s up, but if anyone’s smartphone is like mine, it doesn’t last forever.

Zoom meetings too Sometimes I wish I didn’t have a smartphone.

[quote funinthesun19]**@funinthesun19 If people have a contract and lose their job, they have my sympathy. Those who don't work or earn very little but choose a contract and then claim they can't feed their children are the ones that people are referring to.

So what do you expect them to do then? £30 per month for a contract is cheaper than paying £100 upfront for a second hand phone and even more upfront for a second hand laptop. What makes you think they have hundreds to go and buy second hand technology if they’re struggling already? Sometimes you don’t even have to pay anything upfront when you take out a contract- I didn’t. It may be the only way they can get hold of a device which they need for job hunting, logging on to universal credit accounts, online banking, contacting teachers, video calling loved ones and god forbid taking nice photos of their children. Etc etc... There’s an app for everything these days remember.

So while the contract might look like a bad idea to you, it might be their only option of getting hold of a device instantly. Yes they could cancel their contract once it’s up, but if anyone’s smartphone is like mine, it doesn’t last forever.[/quote]
You do what I had to do and save up! I didn't just magic £99 up - I went without and saved up! And whilst I did save up, I used my old phone that wasn't a smart phone and guess what? I managed because I HAD to!

You can get basic smartphones free on much cheaper contracts than £30 pm

Tesco do one for about £8 with a free phone. Of course it's not the latest and greatest and you won't get enough data to spend all day pissing about on youtube but it will serve a basic purpose until a better one can be saved up for.

It's funny how the sums being bandied about differ so much,and how subjective it all is.
£1000,£50 a month,£30 a month,£20 a month, all on par and equally excessive.

A pp mentioned a £5 a month contract,so the tesco £8 is quite luxurious.

Let's see how low can we go?

To what lengths can we go to portray poor people as feckless,reckless idiots that are entitled and always wanting more than they deserve?

For us a laptop (cheap reconditioned) plus broadband is cheaper than 4 Smartphones without the broadband. And for a secondary school age DC, it's pretty impossible to manage with just a smartphone.

DC's school sent out questionnaires before we went into lockdown to determine who was able to access the school VLE. They very quickly realised they had asked the wrong question because every child with a smartphone had said they could access the VLE but with just a smartphone it was basically impossible to successfully look at multiple input materials and type up school work. Not to mention that some people only had limited credit and couldn't afford enough for 6 hours a day, every day. Yes, lockdown was an extreme event, but more and more secondary school work is online and a phone alone won't cut it.

So I'd say the essential is a tablet or laptop, plus home internet.

That’s fair enough. Depending on how much a person saves up though, they could easily get a cheap contract instead so what’s the difference? We don’t know how much people are paying for their contracts, they could only be paying a small amount and yet people are getting worked up about it. It’s silly.

That was to Snackasaurus

Apart from my first smartphone contract years ago, I've always had second hand iPhones that have never cost more than about £70. So just because someone has an iPhone doesn't mean they are spending a fortune on their phone contract.

@bringbackCabanas

Apart from my first smartphone contract years ago, I've always had second hand iPhones that have never cost more than about £70. So just because someone has an iPhone doesn't mean they are spending a fortune on their phone contract.

Poor people are not allowed Iphones, that's what it comes down to.

How dare they be poor and own an Apple product?

Can I call you for a job interview on your computer?

why do you need an expensive smartphone to receive a phone call now?

@funinthesun19

That’s fair enough. Depending on how much a person saves up though, they could easily get a cheap contract instead so what’s the difference? We don’t know how much people are paying for their contracts, they could only be paying a small amount and yet people are getting worked up about it. It’s silly.

A cheap contract that ties them in for a period when they may or may not be able to afford it. A sim only deal and a cheap smart phone is not tying them down but still allowing them to be able to job hunt, keep in contact with relatives etc.

Poor people are not allowed Iphones, that's what it comes down to.

How dare they be poor and own an Apple product?

the sense of entitlement of some people is priceless
You are allowed anything you want - but if you can't afford it, don't pretend it's an essential.

@ComeOnBabyHauntMyBubble it's not about 'poor people not being allowed iphones'. It's about 'poor people' who prioritise the latest iphone instead of the basic essentials like food!