Those who are anti-smartphone?

[tshinet]

I'm a journalism student writing an article regarding the trend of smartphones replacing traditional cell phones in popular use. What are your thoughts about smartphones' effects on society? Do you think they're a good/bad influence or both? How has communication changed, from your perspective? Are smartphones practical?

Include first name (or fake name), age (if you want) and country. Any additional input you have is welcome Thanks!

[KALEL]

I finally got a smartphone only a week ago, a droid.

Now, I have a certain aversion to cellphones in general and avoided them for many years, then purchased a Razr in 2003. Since I rarely used it, the prepaid minutes through T-Mobile worked fine for me and made me feel a bit less gouged by the bill.

Over the past 2 or 3 years, people had begun laughing at the "old technology" of my Razr, but I am 52 now and honestly could not care less about the ribbing. Not everyone has a desperate urge to rush out and buy "the next phone." That Razr served me well.

My new droid is a no-contract through T-Mobile, and I wanted it because of my circumstances. I have vision problems and use public transportation, so access to the Internet, transit schedules, reading the news, etc are very useful and entertaining to me. This is a luxury I can easily afford.

Not everyone realizes it is a luxury, however. I hear mothers saying it's impossible to raise kids without a cellphone, which is beyond absurd. Kids who can't afford to buy a hamburger on their own have smartphones. And what do they do with them? They have inane conversations. They play games. They send emails and listen to tunes. And they have no idea how masturbatory it looks for them to be constantly staring at their palms.

Lethal traffic accidents due to cellphone use occur regularly. Pedestrians wander into traffic lanes, oblivious to their surroundings. Kids snark at each other about what kind of phones they have, which sounds a lot like comparing penis size. And it is very easy to track all your movements by the position of your smartphone, so privacy has suffered too, if it exists at all. And they are much too expensive, but people today seem to love being overcharged.

I think smartphones are great, but it takes a little maturity to use them and not be used BY them.

George Carlin said we are constantly in search of the newest phone, one that will make pancakes and scratch our groins for us. He was right.

Kevin 52 USA

[STEPHEN]

Stephen
14
US

well since apparently 1 in 7 people in the world have a smartphone i think that smartphones are just like how technology is going to always be progressing forward - the cellphone has evolved just like how TV's and computers have. I think that smartphone's have a both good and bad influence to society - the good part is how everyone enjoys its convenience and how easy it is to do so many different things on that one phone. The bad part, that not a lot of people notice, is the negative side to how quickly news can get spread - specifically linked to cyberbullying, the easy access to texting and social media on the phone.
I believe smartphones' effect on communication is how much easier it is to communicate with others, so those who have smartphones connect with social media or with other people a lot more often. I had an old slidey normal phone for three and a half years and recently switched over to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 - I'm finding myself so attached to things like Twitter and YouTube and really enjoying how easy and appealing it is to text or call people.
I really enjoy smartphones. It might just be because of how I spent almost four years on a normal phone and how I only got my new smartphone only in January of this year, but I find myself spending less time on the computer and more time on the phone just because I enjoy how appealing it is and its convenience. I don't think there is much wrong or negative about smartphones besides the few negative side effects like the one i mentioned earlier (that might not even be true, i just heard the idea from somewhere) or some recent things i've heard about how Siri and its voice-to-text will still make drivers distracted in trying to figure out what they want to say and stuff like that.

Overall, my opinion on smartphones: I don't think they're much harm. Technology is constantly moving forward and it's not going to be stopped easily. I like smartphones.

I hope my answer wasn't too long or that I answered the question wrong.

[TheFarmer'sWeirdCousin]

Ramona
23
United States

I feel as though smart phones are good for society in general, being that it has compacted features that are good for accessibility, such as apps like Facebook, Tumblr, etc.

I also like the design of most popular smart phones.