Ask HN: Does anyone here not own a phone?

If the internet went too far sideways I could have a chat server and forum for local folks as most folks here are on the same fiber/dsl network. I already have some servers that are restricted to the CIDR blocks of my provider.

I never felt disconnected, family knows to email me and that if they send me a picture over text it comes up as a 1 inch square that I couldn't see.

What's your definition of an awkward social situation? For me I don't consider anything I routinely do as awkward. For example, standing on line waiting for a cashier to be free is normal behavior. I just stand there looking at my surroundings.

You do get a lot of PITA situations where your bank, some venue, or something else expects you to use one. You learn to either ask the employees there for more help in these situations and just avoid services that don't accomodate.

I don't really travel a lot outside of my state.

There are certainly downsides, I wrote about it a bit[1], but for me, the upsides are worth it all. Not everyone suffers from the same issues, of course, but I've been pleased at the changes in myself and my family.

[1]: https://kyrofa.com/posts/my-phone-isn-t-as-smart-as-yours/

Friends and family who want to contact me can call (or leave a message) on my landline, drop by for a visit, or meet up somewhere like a coffee shop (where I ask that their phone is put away).

The people that matter keep in contact frequently, and we have more meaningful interaction and conversations where everyone can enjoy the moment. Just like in the 1990s.

Sometimes I use it to see if mobile web sites I develop work on low-end Androids.

I also have an iPad in my backpack that connects via Wi-Fi and that runs Skype in addition to my laptop running Skype. I am just waiting for the people at the public library to tell me I'm not supposed to talk on a "phone" and then I'll tell them I'm not talking on a phone.

I live in upstate NY which has cell phone dead spots bigger than some European countries, it makes no sense at all to me to get an expensive mobile subscription from a carrier that chooses not to offer service where I live and many of the places I go.

I do it since my SE xperia mini has broken sensor on 2016.

> What does that look like?

No stupid apps with pesky adware, most of them might be easily replaced with web-browser on laptop. Sometimes some things is not available for me but I do not miss it. My life is totally ofline but with intensive use of a laptop everywhere.

> Do you feel isolated from your friends/family

Nope, I still use to have GSM phone and email.

> or do you have some other more traditional way of keeping contact?

Lots of offline in addition to phone and email.

> Do you think it's beneficial to you?

I am totally happy with this setup. Especially when I see somebody struggling with some animated shit happening on their smartphones. Nothing beats a beautiful CLI on my Debian laptop.

I lived a few years without one, but it was hard to keep up with friends and so many companies require a phone for 2FA. Extra devices for camera and navigation do add up in cost in space.

I think this is a flawed temptation. Perhaps you would be better off finding the middleground that maximizes your life like exercising the self-domination of not pulling out your phone just because you are in an awkward social situation.

Just tank the situation with full conscious attention like a badass instead of escaping.

The benefit of getting into a smartphone with access to all the apps this late is that I've seen the results of masses of people getting lost in their phones, and I've set up my phone in such a way as to refuse to participate in that. I use it as a portable camera, as navigation aid (not using anything Google provided) and directory service (looking up opening hours and such of points of interest) on holiday, and minimally, for apps like WhatsApp for people who I hold dear, but don't have the capacity to keep making exceptions for me (or my wife) for communication (think family group chats for the planning of family events).

It has almost no apps beyond a banking app, K9-mail, OsmAnd and OrganicMaps (for pre-downloaded maps on holiday), and WhatsApp with all notifications limited to a soundless icon on the lock screen.

For most things I do online, I use a desktop computer. For contact with a number of friends, email. I'm not tempted to browse mindlessly on my phone. I may read some news or look up some info when travelling, but I spend most of my travel time reading real books or just enjoying the scenery. Outside of holidays, the device is rarely in my hands. I put it in my bag when I go to the office and hardly look at it unless I expect a message. If something is really important, people will call (about the only thing that makes sound on that device).

The trick seems to be to not use it for consumption of stuff fed to you by an algorithm, and to only use it minimally for chat. And minimal notifications; certainly no audible ones.

The smartphone is useful for banking, WhatsApp (some of my social circle use it for planning stuff), some MFA uses, some rather occasional use of maps or positioning, and some occasional other purposes such as public transport apps. I've never really wanted one as my main phone that I'd always keep at hand.

I've had smartphones for work, of course, but I've kept personal and work devices separate.

I'm not particularly active socially, and I feel I have little need for most social media. I would probably be missing out if I couldn't use the same messaging apps my social circle uses. Other than that, I mostly keep everyday contacts by phone or SMS.

And that was fine. Phones were expensive and I barely needed to talk to anyone that much and the public phones were fine for the occasional times I did need to. The people I did want to contact (my friends and the teachers) were all on email, which still worked back then.

There was a point when some friends and myself considered clubbing together to purchase a domain name. We had an IP address at the university and we could have installed a copy of Apache on it. We almost went through with it until the point when it asked for a phone number.

None of us had a phone number. We considered giving the phone number of a public phone but we imagined someone would have to be there to answer it all day.

Years later, I recalled that event and wondered what would have happened. I asked on a popular Q&A forum which I thought was on-topic but I was very quickly informed of my error. The two answers that got through kinda missed the point.

https://serverfault.com/questions/360602/how-to-register-a-d...

I don’t see any downsides.

Convenient telecommunication implies prolific interruption and a chaotic disruption of attention and priorities on the timescales that matter. Of course, a time may come when an emergency makes me regret not carrying a phone, but one does not burn down one's own home to make it easier to evacuate in case of fire.

I carry around a 3"x5" Rhodia dot pad everywhere I go. If I'm ever really bored and not near my computer, I always have a handful of math problems on my back burner (generally open-ended) that I can break out to entertain myself. If it's a really long wait, though, like at an airport, I usually try to come with a book or something, since there's always the possibility of hitting a wall on the math.

I don't feel isolated. I and most of my coworkers are on-site most days, so I have plenty of in-person interaction at work. I also have regular Zoom calls (on my computer) with my few close connections.

I'm the author of this book [1]. I've never owned a smartphone. Working with them early in the mobile social-media days made me realise what was to come, and how addictive and dangerous they would be.

> What does that look like?

A $10 Nokia serves my needs for occasional use. It gets used only for voice and personal SMS coms, not for music, video, 2FA or any of that "mission creep" silliness. A landline is good for serious, lengthy conversations where a comfy chair and a hot cup of tea are also required.

> Do you feel isolated from your friends/family,

The absolute opposite. Visiting people in real life is very important. When I meet people face-to-face I feel very connected with them. Still live in a culture and age group where it's reasonable to call round unexpectedly "on my way somewhere" and get a very warm response. But I don't really have pretend-friends. Can count my closest friends using my fingers, and the rest I try to meet with at least once per year in real life. We do real things like bike riding, beach BBQs, or jamming some music together.

> do you have some other more traditional way of keeping contact?

I have a phone book, a paper one and address book in Emacs. Try to connect with people, send a life update or ask "how are you?" every now and then. Emails are quite important to me.

> Do you think it's beneficial to you?

I would put it another way; It's not harmful to me in the ways that people who are dependent on smartphones clearly have problems, and tell me they have problems. I've forgotten how often I've heard " I wish I could be like you", so that makes me think something might be right about my choices.

[1] https://digitalvegan.net

That said, there's a certain amount of privilege there. I'm well connected at home and don't need a tiny device to squint at as I can afford something large and visually ergonomic. I do understand that for many, a smart phone is their only connection.