Never pull out your phone unless you politely excuse yourself from the people you are with.
This will dramatically limit the amount of times you check, and on the off chance you really do need to check your phone, say a phone call, then it will be a politeness to those around you.
Do this just one night and you'll feel embarrassed every time you need to check it.
"Never pull out your phone unless you politely excuse yourself from the people you are with."
Among people I know, that is the standard practice; it's not something I've ever heard anyone advocate, it's just what everyone does. I'm intrigued as to what context you (and, by the looks of the comments here, lots of other HN posters) are in where people just break off in the middle of social interactions to mess about with their phones. That's such a basic violation of (what I take to be) standard interpersonal norms I have trouble imagining anyone doing it.
I had a friend (not a close one, but good enough to arrange one-on-one meetings in NYC) repeatedly pull out his phone in the middle of conversations. Everything just stopped for a minute 4-5 times/hr. I then defriended him in real life.
But then you also have the people who just scroll through Instagram or something similarly non-linguistic while you're in a conversation. They say they're listening but they "just do this naturally" or "I can do two things at once".
Whether their phone use is blocking or non-blocking of our conversation, it's simply a gesture of disrespect if done more than once or twice. If you don't like my company enough to give full attention, or your other friend is in an emergency, just excuse yourself and leave.
I think I'm going to start excusing myself when I find my friends are doing it.
You'd think it would be. Regularly at bars / restaurants when I'm with other people they'll just check their streams during conversations. Usually it's because they got a text first and one thing leads to another. Even when you get a text, to me, I think it's just general good manners to excuse yourself.. "Sorry, I think my wife just sent me a text, do you mind if I check it"?
I'd like to say it was just an age thing, but I see it all the time around my tech professional friends.
I don't know if you endorse the message behind that photo or not, but I've never taken someone out to dinner who busted out the newspaper while I was trying to talk to them.
But do you often find people around you checking their phones while in the middle of doing something else? It seems to me that people mostly use smartphones to kill time, when they're not doing anything else; on public transport or while waiting for something, that is, just the sorts of times you'ld see people reading the newspaper.
Of course, you have to try really hard to even find newspapers anymore, and people didn't "go out to dinner" carrying the paper, but yes, I do remember plenty a time when many people would lose themselves in the newspaper while at the table, for breakfast or lunch, both informal and not so informal settings. I guess I do "endorse the message behind that photo".
When I go out to eat with my Mom we usually have books/ereaders with us, and if we don't have anything to talk about, we read. We enjoy eachothers company without talking. There has been a few times when one of my sisters would join us and would offended when she took the impression that we didn't want to talk to her since we were reading rather than talking.
There is a difference of enjoying each other's company while being quiet and being rude while ignoring someone else. I wish some very talkative person wanting me to entertain them on the bus could have been entertained by their phone. I've often used books/ereaders/phone to keep others from talking to me (and enjoying reading of course). I think one major thing to discuss is not how much we're being distracted by technology, but more of how much priority we put on socializing face to face.
It seems similar to how you generally don't see people whipping out an iPad in the middle of dinner. It's easier to seem not-rude while using a phone, because it's smaller.
Well, the message behind the photo is to debunk the "Oh, if only we didn't have this tech, we would just talk to one another again." Reality simply is not like that.
That last statement (“Nobody pulled out…”) does not coincide with either my personal experience or the experience presented in some older television comedies where the husband is reading the newspaper as the wife is talking to him about something important and his response is “uh-huh” until the point she says something ridiculous or that he would never otherwise agree to. I'm pretty sure that “Married…with children” used this gag more than once.
I remember a time roughly 20 years ago when this was commonplace. Newspapers folded up into quarters (roughly today's tablet computer size, actually) and held on the lap waiting for a lull in conversation or when most of the table had gotten up to use the restroom.
I also remember that everyone had their own kind of 'roughly tablet-sized' time waster, including crossword books, Reader's Digest, novels, magazines, and yep, even TV Guide.
Over the years this had expanded to portable game systems like GameBoy, virtual pets like Tamagotchi, the original push e-mail devices like BlackBerry and so on. Hell, even when Timex came out with Indiglo watches I remember people used to pull out their watches and compare backlights the way people started to do the same with ringtones on feature phones.
However the modern smartphone is the amalgamation of all of these things into one. So in one sense the smartphone is really just an all-in-one version of the separate time-wasters.
The key difference that I see isn't just that "after you read the paper for the day, that's it, it's done" (and I do agree with you on this point), it's that the mobile phone (especially the smart phone) also enables a new application that wasn't previously possible: engaging in conversation with someone else than the person(s) you are physically next to.
No previous method of communication was portable like this with the potential to allow you to bypass a physical conversation so easily. And on top of that, since the phones have access to so many social connections, people seem to have unlimited opportunities to engage in long-distance conversations while ignoring those present physically.
But someone else rightly pointed out in another comment that the problem isn't so much that this is possible, but that our social norms haven't updated to make this a truly rude act. I just went to our friends' American Thanksgiving party and watched many conversations halt at any incoming mobile phone notification. Which I find doubly-rude: that the conversations on the phone seem prioritized over finishing an in-person exchange?
I think the best thing we can do is to just own the device we like, and practice the social etiquette that we hope others adhere to as well.
Those look like commuters. Commuters are already zombies. Going back and forth between their home and office on autopilot.
The thing I find interesting is watching the different types, like for example, very early in the morning you get 'lower' class workers with a standard tabloid newspaper and overalls. The closer it gets to nine, the more they look like managers or office workers, and the more focused they are on their gadgets.
The difference is that without a direct method of response when reading the newspaper one would often converse with a nearby acquaintance concerning the content of the stories.
They are different social methods rather than one being anti- and one being pro-social [did I make that word up?]. However direct local conversation seems more social [to me] for sure.
I'm really glad that this was written, and even more glad to see it getting some attention on HackerNews.
By definition, most of us on this site live our lives by technology. Especially as engineers, it's easy to get caught up in thinking about the tools we use, how to use them better, how to use them faster, and how to use the more. Just as important, however, is the ability to step back and think about when we should be using these tools, and how.
Technology is an incredibly powerful tool, but it's simply that. A violin is not music; it is simply a medium (literally) that a musician uses to create music.
It's all too easy to confuse the technique with the goal.
I've been trying to say the same thing as the OP for a while now, but often when I do, I tend to get branded a "Luddite" or even get told to "stop reaping the benefits of technology".
It's funny how you get called a Luddite by people who don't see anything past the shiny user interface.
I'm an iPhone user and I use the Do Not Disturb feature so only calls from my immediate family will ring through. In the Notification Center I never configure applications to buzz the phone - instead I opt for the application icon to be badged when it has something for me. I think of it as making the phone work for me over my becoming a slave of the phone.
I understand the motivation behind this, but after doing the same thing I find myself checking my phone more because it no longer alerts me when there's something I might care about. Instead I check it much more frequently than I need to because I have no idea which little addiction icons will be lit up when I check each time.
I'm a bit extreme, but I don't own a smartphone, I never have owned a smartphone, and I never plan to own a smartphone. I already know what it will do to my brain, because I spend all day at my computer, and it's a constant struggle to not waste time on the Internet. (Most of my best work has been done on pen and paper while taking a walk.)
Even when I'm not working, I like being disconnected. It gives me a chance to reflect on my life. Where I am, where I want to be. Ideas I have. I find it difficult to produce anything of value to myself or others when I am too busy consuming stuff through my screens.
I think the worst part of smartphones are the cameras. I had an epiphany one day at some aquarium in NJ. The aquarium was mediocre, certainly nothing worth taking pictures of. But yet every group of people had to take videos of the fish, had to pose with the fish with their friends, etc (who knows why, those people will never view those videos ever).
Of course all of this picture taking took so long that people got bored. Why not, they couldn't see the fish, after all. So of course, everyone got on their phones and goofed off, which made the crowds even MORE sluggish, which made the whole affair take longer, and which made the aquarium experience even more boring.
I think that if phones were banned at the aquarium people would have gotten in and out more quickly, seen more fish, and had more fun. It's ironic that the smartphone--which is supposed to be whiz-bang-wow-entertainment-whenever-you-need-it--contributed heavily to making the aquarium experience boring for everyone.
Sorry to ramble! This issue means a lot to me. For a funnier presentation of what I just said, check out Louis CK's standup (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd2sRC3K9Hs).
I don't own a smartphone either, and I don't normally carry a cellphone. I figure if everyone around me has one, I don't need one. The sad thing is when you meet new people and are expected to exchange phone numbers, it takes a little explaining to make sure they don't take "I don't have a phone" as "I couldn't come up with a more plausible excuse to never see you again."
I don't own a smartphone either, and in my work days (I don't work anymore) potential employers always thought I didn't know much about technology (or anything else for that matter), just because of this. They wanted people who used all the latest stupid "apps", and were connected to the matrix 24/7 through many different channels.
"(Most of my best work has been done on pen and paper while taking a walk.)"
You are fortunate to be on the maker schedule rather than the manager schedule[1]. As a teacher, I have to be on manager time while in the class and when in College. Creative thinking tends to be done at home/weekends.
Ha, once Google Glass goes mainstream no one will be pulling out phones, they can stare blankly at you and read whatever they want.
Seriously, there's a middle ground with everything, too much TV, on the laptop, playing video games. Individuals need to evaluate their own life and valuable interactions. At least the guy in the video made the hike instead of getting a virtual tour.
Good article, but there seems to be a current trend towards being either a full-time tech-head or a neo-luddite who rejects technology. I'd argue it's possible to be both. I have to be (and actually rather enjoy) being 100% plugged in for my job - yet I also enjoy powering down all my tech and spending dedicated time with my family with no devices online.
I think we sometimes forget that we're allowed to do them both - but sometimes the balance gets skewed. Plug in if you want to, but when you unplug, unplug completely. It's bliss.
> Next time you’re in a restaurant with friends, have everyone put their phones stacked and face down in the center of the table. If anyone takes their phone off of the stack during the meal, they have to pay everyone else’s bill. It’s a fun way to make sure everyone is off their phone without seeming like an imposing ass.
If what keeps people from checking their phone is the threat of having to foot an expensive bill, it's not so much a society of phone zombies, but a society of people with no self control.
With a term like zombies, it's implied that there's a shortage of self-control at play. The risk of paying the bill can be seen as simply a training exercise to build confidence in a non-phone experience. Baby steps!
Do you have zero addictions? Are you a perfect, rational person that never does anything against their better judgment?
If so, congratulations.
As for myself, I have no problem avoiding sugar, bad foods, alcohol, lottery tickets, cigarettes, drugs. I have dodged all those bullets. But the internet has a hold on me. I want to use it less, but it's compelling.
Some people don't have that, but they suffer other compulsions. Unless you have zero compulsions, I would not be so quick to judge others.
I'm not judging other people. I think it's a crisis of self control for me as much as it is for other people.
I'm still undecided on whether stuff is getting more addictive (http://www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html), or we're losing our ability to control ourselves, or both.
This attitude is maddening. You're not perfect, so you have no place pointing out other people's flaws? Ridiculous!
This is also the third time I've seen it expressed in the last half hour. Where do people get the idea that no one should be allowed to criticize them unless the critic is a flawless person? Is this the result of the "you're a special person" upbringing many of us suffered through?
Are you a perfect programmer? No? Then shut up, my code works. Are you a perfect father? No? Then shut up, my kid's behavior is none of your business. Are you a perfect driver? No? Then shut up, dotted lines are just suggestions.
No one is perfect. If you can't deal with criticism, consider it a reflection on YOUR character, not anyone else's.
The above comment seemed condescending. Like it isn't a real problem, just something for people with a certain character flaw which implies that it's their fault.
He added more in another comment and rereading it I think it's correct, but that's how it came off the first time I read it too.
Well, yes. Growing up surrounded by messages to constantly BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY ON IMPULSE BUY RIGHT NOW kinda erodes self control.
If the phone-stacking trick works, then it's a useful hack to retrain ourselves - at least for a moment - out of this constant impulsive consumerist haze.
Reminds me of the time my wife's mother was very sick with cancer and we were at dinner and her dad was texting her updates. One time we happened to be at dinner and he sent her some messages so they were texting back and forth for 2-3m. During this time, the older gentleman at the table next to us actually says excuse me, can you get off your phone? You kids always being on your phone is getting really old. Because, you know, at 31, I personally embody ALL kids.
I guess maybe the moral of the story for me is that we would probably be happier people if we weren't fretting about a harmless thing people were doing and instead focused on our own happiness. Maybe instead of sitting there getting grumpy that a stranger was looking at a screen this guy could have just had a conversation with the person at his table? Maybe its time for people to stop throwing a fit about things other people are doing and maybe that would make us all a bit happier.
I think you and the article raise some good points. I guess I'm vain enough to think that when I take someone out to lunch I expect at least the majority of their attention. I won't fault them for replying to a text. But if you're browsing Twitter/Facebook/whatever while I'm trying to have a conversation with you, I'd naturally be annoyed as I think anyone would. Wouldn't you? I'm surprised that the older gentleman would say something, though.
I agree with you but "if you're browsing Twitter/Facebook/whatever while I'm trying to have a conversation with you, I'd naturally be annoyed as I think anyone would" just isn't relevant to the situation at hand. One of my main problems with the article is that the author projects the "this person must just be browsing twitter/fb and getting ZERO VALUE FROM ANYTHING THEY ARE DOING AND MUST BE UNHAPPY". Why does the possibility of this even enter the authors mind, let alone turn into a certainty?
This is a terrible comment, and I want to explain why. It subtly changes the subject.
It's not about what others think of your technology use. It's what you think about it yourself. The reason many of us feel moved by the article and the video isn't some need to tell others what to do, it's the recognition that we ourselves are missing out on important parts of life in some kind of weird attempt to become a TV reporter.
So sure, for the .1% time that you're texting your sick wife with cancer and she's able to vicariously experience things, you are probably feeling pretty good about what you're doing. Now how about the other 99.9% of the time? Do you personally feel that all that tech use is in the interests of some greater good? If so, have fun with it. After watching my own habits, I am very doubtful that this is true. I see people all the time use tech in such a way that's directly opposed to their own best interests -- and they're smart enough to realize this, too. The problem isn't my judging them -- heck I don't care what people do -- it's that we're turning into a society that's spending significant time doing things that we don't want to do. They just give a bit of immediate gratification.
This is a terrible comment and I want to explain why. It uses hyperbolic language in an aggressive manner far out of proportion to content of the comment it is replying to.
Youtube comments are generally terrible. Stormfront comments are terrible. 4Chan comments can be terrible. This comment had content directly related to article it was replying to, talking about the utility this technology can provide, and also that the main thrust of the article and the video it contains seems to be someone else's value judgement on what other people should enjoy.
So sure, for the .1% of the time that a comment on this site is actually derailing or contains just blatant flamebait, trolling, attacks, etc it probably feels pretty good to call it out as terrible. But for the other 99.9% of the time? Have some perspective, grapple with the content of the comment, and do so in a non-aggressive manner entirely in proportion to what you are replying to. Don't go for the over the top hyperbole, no matter how much immediate gratification it gives you.
Good grief. Just to be clear, no disrespect to the commenter was intended or made. The comment itself was bad, because it took a wonderful personal story and used it to derail the attempt by the larger group to analyze the topic. Good people can make bad comments. I do it all the time. Most of the time I try to self-identify such comments by prefixing them with "sidebar" "meta" or another tag.
Yep, it is not disrespectful in any way to call someone's point stupid and use your own incorrect projections as a way of doing so. Maybe the next time you think "I'm going to make a helpful comment on the internet" just go sit in the corner and don't bother the people who are actually having a useful adult discussion that involves facts versus baseless, passive aggressive projected insults. I genuinely feel like you would have contributed more to society by just sleeping in today...
Maybe 'bad' is not the best description for getting your point across in this case. I feel that the two of you understand differently what you tried to say.. 'bad' is quite emotionally charged for some (for someone it's directed at) and can distract from the discussion for this reason, and I think there are adjectives that do a similar enough job without this while still explaining what happens here from your point of view.
wrong. the article is very much about one person (an assertive type-a sociopath) imposing what they think of technology on others:
> A few weeks ago, while out with some friends, I took everyone’s phone and powered them off for the night, saying that we were going to focus on the night rather than our “stupid fucking phones.”
> Next time you’re in a restaurant with friends, have everyone put their phones stacked and face down in the center of the table. If anyone takes their phone off of the stack during the meal, they have to pay everyone else’s bill.
Huh? I didn't say that my wife is on the phone any non healthy amount of time. She was on the phone for a short period of time for a very good reason and someone lacked the mental health and self awareness to think "maybe me butting in and lecturing two strangers eating dinner IS more rude than someone being on their cell phone." Normally our usage is completely fine and not a problem, so during all of this, I never had a problem with our usage and only some old stranger did. This is a problem.
The fact that you called my point a terrible point and projected that I must be "turning into a society that's spending significant time doing things that we don't want to do." when you don't know me at all is a pretty scary lack of self awareness. Your entire point is rock bottom terrible and you STILL start off by telling someone else that their point sucks. I don't even know why I bothered to respond because you don't seem even slightly interested in your argument connecting to the actual reality at hand and instead construct it to argue against a strawman version of our society you've built.
"So sure, for the .1% time that you're texting your sick wife with cancer and she's able to vicariously experience things, you are probably feeling pretty good about what you're doing. Now how about the other 99.9% of the time?"
Is the implication here that I must only be using my cell to waste time and drive myself into some sort of deep depression while being too stupid to realize it? Well finally the internet messiah came along to save me! Anyway, my call very certainly saves me time when I use it and I only use it when I need to. I'm not sure why I've become the example when I presume my habits must not be known to you?
"... I never had a problem with our usage and only some old stranger did. This is a problem..."
This is a problem, sure. But it's not related to people themselves using their phones and being unhappy with their usage.
The comment was bad because it took a discussion around whether we are ourselves with our tech use and turned it into some kind of reminiscence about annoying mentally unhealthy people. That's a great story, but it has nothing at all to do with what this article is about.
If you and your wife are happy about your tech use, good for you. If there are rude people in the world, that's a shame. Okay. Got it. Now can we move on to the subject of the article, which is something along the lines of "are we really happy with our own tech use?"
Or we could continue talking about how rude the guy at the restaurant was, how rude I am, how people are always nosing into other people's business -- and a dozen other things not related to that. As long as you realize you're changing the topic, works for me.
There's going to be a very big adverse selection effect on the comments to this story anyway, because anyone who has a healthy relationship to technology is going to think "Eh, it's not worth my time to participate in the debate and get worked up over something generally inconsequential to my life."
I thought about reading through the comments here and participating, but I'm going out for a walk with my family instead.
"Your point, as I understand it, is that since there is one good use case for texting while eating, we should not discourage people from texting while eating in general. That is pretty clear from your post."
I don't think you should discourage anyone from doing this because you don't know what you're talking about.
"The comment was bad because it took a discussion around whether we are ourselves with our tech use and turned it into some kind of reminiscence about annoying mentally unhealthy people. That's a great story, but it has nothing at all to do with what this article is about."
No actually the story pretty much reads like a "I'm sick of these damned kids doing this thing I don't like! I don't understand it and therefore it is evil!" story and assumes that every single time someone uses their phone at dinner they are terribly unhappy and socially unhealthy. My point was simply that he is wrong. There are many completely acceptable uses and sitting there watching someone do something productive or useful on their phone and thinking "this is upsetting! I need to stop this!" really reverses the role of who actually has the problem with unhappiness here.
"If you and your wife are happy about your tech use, good for you. If there are rude people in the world, that's a shame. Okay. Got it. Now can we move on to the subject of the article, which is something along the lines of "are we really happy with our own tech use?""
Um, yeah, my answer was simply. We are happy with our tech use but multiple people want to push a belief on us that we are not happy for no reason. This again seems much less mentally healthy to me.
"Or we could continue talking about how rude the guy at the restaurant was, how rude I am, how people are always nosing into other people's business -- and a dozen other things not related to that. As long as you realize you're changing the topic, works for me."
Whereas you being rude while being 100% disconnected from the topic in any way while twisting my words to the point they couldn't be recognized. Finally the messiah has come to save us all from our own stupidity right?
This article is about being on your phone putting your eyes on advertisements put out by facebook, buzzfeed, etc. because you need to be constantly entertained. It's an encouragement to people who are in that situation to stop doing it.
If you're not in that situation, proclaiming that you're not in that situation and that maybe other people aren't in that situation is a useless comment. It's simply not relevant to the discussion. It's like coming in to a discussion about Hulu and Netflix and telling everyone that you only watch live sports on broadcast TV. What's the point?
[EDIT: P.S. you're not, by any chance, Ryguy from Rangers blue squad?]
Huh? I think if you really want to make the "smartest most critical person in the room" argument, it might be for the guy who snarkily told off someone using their phone while their mom had cancer. But yeah, you're totally right, its not him, its me for even daring to propose that, hey, maybe instead of another rant on these damned kids using their cellphones, just stfu and let people do their thing. The constant judging while having no idea wtf you're talking about (your post here is a case in point) is getting really old. But I'll let you get back to, you know, putting down someone elses point in an attempt to feel like the smartest most critical person in the room. :)
The author of the article is supposing that those incessantly using their phone are brainless zombies, preferring their phone to the lives around them. They didn't miss the point of the article, but rather, provided a great counterpoint.
Is anything ever "bad" for you? Even the worst thing can occasionally produce a positive outcome, by your logic we should leave them all alone just in case.
I don't even understand what you're trying to get at here. Because I believe that it is inappropriate for someone to interrupt other people's dinner because one person is using their cell phone I must:
A) Think that NOTHING is bad.
B) We should leave everyone alone, even if they are doing the worst thing.
Do you want to just start over with this point maybe? Seems like you maybe didn't think at all before making it the first time so I thought you might want another shot.
>Do you want to just start over with this point maybe? Seems like you maybe didn't think at all before making it the first time
Thanks for being rude.
Your point, as I understand it, is that since there is one good use case for texting while eating, we should not discourage people from texting while eating in general. That is pretty clear from your post.
My counter point is that there are many things that have one good use, but are still bad overall. Following your logic, we should not discourage those things either, at least if we wanted to stay consistent in our application of logic. Considering that even most bad things have occasional positive side-effect, and following your logic we would end up not discouraging anything ever. Clearly that is not a desirable outcome, therefore I think your logic is flawed.
If you think I was being rude and you were not, there is simply no helping you.
"Your point, as I understand it, is that since there is one good use case for texting while eating, we should not discourage people from texting while eating in general. That is pretty clear from your post."
Nope. My point is that when you see someone texting or on their cell. YOU DONT KNOW WHY THEY ARE DOING IT. Projecting a "they must be wasting their time, UGH I'm surrounded by brainless zombies" is utterly insane. My point is that instead of freaking out at people around you using their cellphones, maybe just don't freak out and project actions and emotions on people and mind your own business.
How you took this to mean "you think nothing is ever wrong" is well beyond any stupidity I am able to comprehend. Sorry if that was rude, but it is also true unfortunately.
You're the only person who talks about interrupting strangers, as the author of the article has only suggested interrupting friends, and only close ones at that.
Which can mean nothing but "I see nothing as bad". Perhaps just hold your hands up and say "yeah, I'm wrong, stupid point, nevermind" versus continuing to argue no matter how wrong you are. It's like a modern day disease. Complete inability to admit you're wrong to strangers on the internet after you attempted to be an asshole for no reason. Congratulations I hope you're able to continue making yourself happy this way.
The story you've laid out isn't the problem. The problem is when you are at lunch with someone and instead of conversing with you they are on their phone (in your example this is justifiable but I'm guessing most people aren't getting important updates - they're texting, or checking Twitter). It's rude (I don't think anyone can deny that). The person at the next table shouldn't give a shit - it's nothing to do with him. But I can be pissed off. In this example I care about what someone else is doing because it is directly negatively effecting me. I'm at lunch with them to talk and eat with them and they are ignoring me. It would be the same if you went out to lunch with someone 20 years ago and instead of talking to you they took out a notebook and started writing, or they simply stared out the window and completely ignored you.
Still not...
Thinking is expensive...
The problem is an economy one...
You are basically consuming instead of creating...
So the term "Zombie" I think is accurate, this is the new religion, the way of getting people think away of your first and main problem in life... life it's finite, what should you do to make it worth it.
There are several things here, according to [1] getting people from just fit to society to have a character, and this is mine: to have an idea of life requires a process of evaluating and suffer, this is both expensive and not pleasant, and we are machines of pleasure.
Just think about twitter... how many totally articulated ideas you can get on the tipical facebook post size? now shrink it to 140 chars... substract the space for hashes and you get vomited something someone else said....
No discussion, no food for your brain.
Of course you may agree with this with inversely proportional occurrence to this statement to how much you like to analyze things...
btw, as much as I hate to think this, HN is our FB.
I'm not answering or working on the answer to the question, what great thing should I do with my life here...
just the small immediate gratification...
And yeah, I have a similar phone laying around that I've been thinking about trying. The battery life on those suckers is absolutely insane relative to smartphones!
Yeah I charge mine once every few weeks. It takes about 20 minutes. If it played MP3s from an SD card it would be perfect.
Not having the maps is occasionally annoying. Aside from that it's great, there really is no good reason to have a web browser in your pocket that can outweigh the damage from having the internet creep into real life.
But then I never really used any apps back when I had a smartphone anyway. Maybe the highly industrious networker types won't find it so simple.
In my opinion, one of the most egregious examples of phone zombie-ism is the amount of people taking pictures on their phones / tablets when at some sort of famous monument or location.
To quote (of all people) Maddox:
> I kept staring at "my" picture, looking for some glimmer of justification for its existence, I thought that maybe I could show this to my friends as proof that I'd seen the portrait with my own eyes. But I'm not in this picture, so there's no proof I was ever there. Even if I was in the picture, it could have been photoshopped. And why would I need to prove it to anyone anyway?
I used to do this when I was younger, but I've come to realize that:
1. A professional photo of a famous destination looks seriously better than an iPhone photo.
2. The only reason people take these photos is to get more likes on Facebook and Instagram.
3. Nobody actually cares.
I've found myself enjoying a photoworthy location much more when my head is out of my phone and focused on the scene itself. This notion has served as inspiration for a recent project and venture I've been working on.
I've been travelling around Europe ever since I met my (now) wife and she taught me a great tip: the cheap postcard you can buy at the newsstand or souvenir kiosk in any scenic town will be light-years better than anything you could take. Instead of fretting about getting the perfect picture, why not just relax and enjoy the view?
If overconsumption of technology harms productivity of people, great! Less competition for me. As they say, "it's a dog eat dog world." While you're browsing Facebook, I'm advancing myself in the world. Good luck catching me.
Why impose your own made up version of "normal" on other people in a world where literally everything is made up and everything will cease to exist one day?
Almost any time people are harmed, it is in part due to their own choices.
But in any case, you have made your position clear. You would prefer to see people harmed in order to make it easier for you to gain advantage over them because you believe in a dog-eat-dog world.
Since when does spending too much time on your phone mean you're "in trouble?" Last I checked that's an entirely personal choice. You're talking about my statement like I'm celebrating homelessness or something equally despicable.
To this day, I still don't own a smartphone. This will eventually change, because I need it for more practical things, like having a map and being able to search google for things while I'm on the road.
But what completely boggles my mind is actually letting the phone buzz me for anything other than an actual phone call. Even when I'm at my desktop the only notifications I get are skype conversations, and sometimes I turn those off too.
I think the problem isn't phones, it's notifications. We have become addicted to notifications on both phones and the desktop.
Another component of a solution for this is giving parents better control over the time and energy kids are allowed to spend on their smartphone. As ADHD as I am as an adult, I wonder what the the effects an always on entertainment device would have had on my issues with distraction in my developmental years.
Maybe this already exists, but ideally I'd like to have unrestricted voice, but limited non-voice (I.e app) usage settings per day on phones.
I noticed this the other day, and I realized the root urge behind "phone zombie" is to connect with other people: Friends, news, the world at large. Mobile phones are the inevitable byproduct of humans being incredible social animals.
(I try to minimize my own notifications and mobile phone usage, but to each their own).
Sure we're attempting to connect with other people, but I argue that it's degrading the quality of the connections we're supposed to be making in real life.
There's one solution few people consider: don't get a data plan.
The original iphone launch trained us that smartphones must have a data plan. You couldn't buy one without data. But now you can. I have an iphone with unlimited calls and texting, for $40 a month.
I use wifi at home, but when I'm out and about I'm not connected. I've never had a single problem as a consequence.
You might say "but....google maps!". I've found that without Google maps, I am forced to actually learn my way around. Within a day or two I know a new city better than most locals.
My phone is much less distracting as a consequence.
Data is only going to get cheaper, and voice and SMS only plans are only going to get more scarce. Even without a data plan, prepaid in fact, 3 are 'only' charging $0.016 / MiB here in the UK. I remember when web hosts were charging rates that high.
In another few years it's likely you won't even need to make the decision about whether you need or want a data plan or not. You'll just get data. At least I hope so.
Perhaps I wasn't clear. I wasn't avoiding data because of cost. I don't WANT it.
Many people want their phones less distracting, but they lack the willpower not to check their phones. But remove the data plan, and you don't need willpower to avoid checking it.
I wish there were GPRS-only plans. They're everything I need for Threema/WhatsApp/FB Messenger/whatever - which saves my friends $$$ on texts.
My advice as an "iPhone under-user" (often without data plan):
Forevermap is an OSM-based offline map app, and is good enough in many countries. Definitely good enough to find your way home.
Never install Facebook with the excuse of messaging. The Facebook Messenger app is much more focused.
There's an iOS app that has a relatively recent dump of StackOverflow if you want to code on the train. I'm not sure if I want to recommend it as the UI is really sketchy, but it has helped me.
I realise the danger to others is much greater if a driver is using their smartphone but I've seen my fair share of cyclists using them too. And as a bicycle commuter myself, I know how insane that is.
Smartphone use in a vehicle is a problem, so I agree with the gist, but this part about you riding a bike is completely irrelevant to the point you made. But maybe you want some kind of cookie for being so respectful of the environment and conscientious enough to ride a bike on a regular basis. So I just wanted to take this moment and thank you for riding your bike. You're a good person. You should tell more people that you are a bicycle commuter so you can get more people to thank you for your service to the world.
I think that you are missing my point, because the bicycle is entirely relevant.
I own a car. I drive it. A lot. You didn't need to know that.
But in the situation I described, I feel quite vulnerable, because I'm not in a car, and because I'm not on the sidewalk. In other words, because I'm on a bicycle.
I get that. I totally agree with the point that smartphone use while driving is bad, that's why it's also illegal. But it's dangerous for everyone, not just bicycle riders.
Personally, and I'm sure the downvotes will keep flying in, I think it's completely reckless to ride a bike in dense traffic, surrounded by people who are on their smartphones and driving too fast, but you can feel all self-entitled to the road because the law just happens to be on your side (but not the infrastructure - not many bike lanes), but maybe instead ride on less busy roads or just don't ride at all.
I give bikers a lot of space, and everything that is required for them to be safe, but though I will never do anything less, I have learned to resent it. So many people riding their bikes just seem oblivious to their surroundings and make bad decisions and simply get in the way not caring. Then you come and post on the internet about how bad drivers are. I wish it was safer for people to ride bikes. I wish bike riding were a great thing where there were many lanes available, and everything was happy and safe, but it's not. So maybe just stop riding your bike, or ride on a less crazy road.
Your assumptions ("not many bike lanes", "self-entitled") seem to be somewhat localized, but your anger and willingness to jump to incorrect conclusions about who I am or how I ride isn't.
I'm pretty sure I don't live near where you live. Cars don't drive too fast. There are bike lanes. When I see a stop sign, I stop. I try not to piss off drivers.
You seem to be offering me a false choice: "stop talking about risk" or "stop riding your bike".
Not irrelevant. Those who use phones while driving put this person's life at risk. Same thing with motorcycles, to lesser degree; pedestrians, to a larger degree. A person is allowed to express the risks they face by riding a bicycle without having to worry that they should have suppressed that fact for fear of sounding too hipster.
To say that driving while texting is bad without including the personal relevance is a hand-wavy general comment.
I am a big fan of the current phone zombie generation!
It helps me a lot to recruit new users for my website. I usually start by asking them "Could you do me a favor and take a look at my website. I've not checked my site on your kind of mobile phone".
Currently, I have a success rate of 80 percent of users taking a look at the website, and out of them, roughly 70 percent go to sign up with Facebook.
Besides getting new users, I get invaluable insight into my users' behavior and expectations while peeking at their phones. Additionally, I can check out how my website works on different kinds of mobile phones, OSes and tablets.
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[ 4.6 ms ] story [ 130 ms ] threadNever pull out your phone unless you politely excuse yourself from the people you are with.
This will dramatically limit the amount of times you check, and on the off chance you really do need to check your phone, say a phone call, then it will be a politeness to those around you.
Do this just one night and you'll feel embarrassed every time you need to check it.
Among people I know, that is the standard practice; it's not something I've ever heard anyone advocate, it's just what everyone does. I'm intrigued as to what context you (and, by the looks of the comments here, lots of other HN posters) are in where people just break off in the middle of social interactions to mess about with their phones. That's such a basic violation of (what I take to be) standard interpersonal norms I have trouble imagining anyone doing it.
But then you also have the people who just scroll through Instagram or something similarly non-linguistic while you're in a conversation. They say they're listening but they "just do this naturally" or "I can do two things at once".
Whether their phone use is blocking or non-blocking of our conversation, it's simply a gesture of disrespect if done more than once or twice. If you don't like my company enough to give full attention, or your other friend is in an emergency, just excuse yourself and leave.
I think I'm going to start excusing myself when I find my friends are doing it.
I'd like to say it was just an age thing, but I see it all the time around my tech professional friends.
There is a difference of enjoying each other's company while being quiet and being rude while ignoring someone else. I wish some very talkative person wanting me to entertain them on the bus could have been entertained by their phone. I've often used books/ereaders/phone to keep others from talking to me (and enjoying reading of course). I think one major thing to discuss is not how much we're being distracted by technology, but more of how much priority we put on socializing face to face.
Nobody pulled out the newspaper during a meeting or a meal and pretended they were paying attention while really playing a game or reading some trite.
I also remember that everyone had their own kind of 'roughly tablet-sized' time waster, including crossword books, Reader's Digest, novels, magazines, and yep, even TV Guide.
Over the years this had expanded to portable game systems like GameBoy, virtual pets like Tamagotchi, the original push e-mail devices like BlackBerry and so on. Hell, even when Timex came out with Indiglo watches I remember people used to pull out their watches and compare backlights the way people started to do the same with ringtones on feature phones.
However the modern smartphone is the amalgamation of all of these things into one. So in one sense the smartphone is really just an all-in-one version of the separate time-wasters.
The key difference that I see isn't just that "after you read the paper for the day, that's it, it's done" (and I do agree with you on this point), it's that the mobile phone (especially the smart phone) also enables a new application that wasn't previously possible: engaging in conversation with someone else than the person(s) you are physically next to.
No previous method of communication was portable like this with the potential to allow you to bypass a physical conversation so easily. And on top of that, since the phones have access to so many social connections, people seem to have unlimited opportunities to engage in long-distance conversations while ignoring those present physically.
But someone else rightly pointed out in another comment that the problem isn't so much that this is possible, but that our social norms haven't updated to make this a truly rude act. I just went to our friends' American Thanksgiving party and watched many conversations halt at any incoming mobile phone notification. Which I find doubly-rude: that the conversations on the phone seem prioritized over finishing an in-person exchange?
I think the best thing we can do is to just own the device we like, and practice the social etiquette that we hope others adhere to as well.
The thing I find interesting is watching the different types, like for example, very early in the morning you get 'lower' class workers with a standard tabloid newspaper and overalls. The closer it gets to nine, the more they look like managers or office workers, and the more focused they are on their gadgets.
They are different social methods rather than one being anti- and one being pro-social [did I make that word up?]. However direct local conversation seems more social [to me] for sure.
By definition, most of us on this site live our lives by technology. Especially as engineers, it's easy to get caught up in thinking about the tools we use, how to use them better, how to use them faster, and how to use the more. Just as important, however, is the ability to step back and think about when we should be using these tools, and how.
Technology is an incredibly powerful tool, but it's simply that. A violin is not music; it is simply a medium (literally) that a musician uses to create music.
It's all too easy to confuse the technique with the goal.
It's funny how you get called a Luddite by people who don't see anything past the shiny user interface.
Even when I'm not working, I like being disconnected. It gives me a chance to reflect on my life. Where I am, where I want to be. Ideas I have. I find it difficult to produce anything of value to myself or others when I am too busy consuming stuff through my screens.
I think the worst part of smartphones are the cameras. I had an epiphany one day at some aquarium in NJ. The aquarium was mediocre, certainly nothing worth taking pictures of. But yet every group of people had to take videos of the fish, had to pose with the fish with their friends, etc (who knows why, those people will never view those videos ever).
Of course all of this picture taking took so long that people got bored. Why not, they couldn't see the fish, after all. So of course, everyone got on their phones and goofed off, which made the crowds even MORE sluggish, which made the whole affair take longer, and which made the aquarium experience even more boring.
I think that if phones were banned at the aquarium people would have gotten in and out more quickly, seen more fish, and had more fun. It's ironic that the smartphone--which is supposed to be whiz-bang-wow-entertainment-whenever-you-need-it--contributed heavily to making the aquarium experience boring for everyone.
Sorry to ramble! This issue means a lot to me. For a funnier presentation of what I just said, check out Louis CK's standup (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd2sRC3K9Hs).
You are fortunate to be on the maker schedule rather than the manager schedule[1]. As a teacher, I have to be on manager time while in the class and when in College. Creative thinking tends to be done at home/weekends.
[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html (I know most here will be familiar with the reference but just in case).
Seriously, there's a middle ground with everything, too much TV, on the laptop, playing video games. Individuals need to evaluate their own life and valuable interactions. At least the guy in the video made the hike instead of getting a virtual tour.
I think we sometimes forget that we're allowed to do them both - but sometimes the balance gets skewed. Plug in if you want to, but when you unplug, unplug completely. It's bliss.
If what keeps people from checking their phone is the threat of having to foot an expensive bill, it's not so much a society of phone zombies, but a society of people with no self control.
If so, congratulations.
As for myself, I have no problem avoiding sugar, bad foods, alcohol, lottery tickets, cigarettes, drugs. I have dodged all those bullets. But the internet has a hold on me. I want to use it less, but it's compelling.
Some people don't have that, but they suffer other compulsions. Unless you have zero compulsions, I would not be so quick to judge others.
I'm still undecided on whether stuff is getting more addictive (http://www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html), or we're losing our ability to control ourselves, or both.
This is also the third time I've seen it expressed in the last half hour. Where do people get the idea that no one should be allowed to criticize them unless the critic is a flawless person? Is this the result of the "you're a special person" upbringing many of us suffered through?
Are you a perfect programmer? No? Then shut up, my code works. Are you a perfect father? No? Then shut up, my kid's behavior is none of your business. Are you a perfect driver? No? Then shut up, dotted lines are just suggestions.
No one is perfect. If you can't deal with criticism, consider it a reflection on YOUR character, not anyone else's.
He added more in another comment and rereading it I think it's correct, but that's how it came off the first time I read it too.
If the phone-stacking trick works, then it's a useful hack to retrain ourselves - at least for a moment - out of this constant impulsive consumerist haze.
I guess maybe the moral of the story for me is that we would probably be happier people if we weren't fretting about a harmless thing people were doing and instead focused on our own happiness. Maybe instead of sitting there getting grumpy that a stranger was looking at a screen this guy could have just had a conversation with the person at his table? Maybe its time for people to stop throwing a fit about things other people are doing and maybe that would make us all a bit happier.
It's not about what others think of your technology use. It's what you think about it yourself. The reason many of us feel moved by the article and the video isn't some need to tell others what to do, it's the recognition that we ourselves are missing out on important parts of life in some kind of weird attempt to become a TV reporter.
So sure, for the .1% time that you're texting your sick wife with cancer and she's able to vicariously experience things, you are probably feeling pretty good about what you're doing. Now how about the other 99.9% of the time? Do you personally feel that all that tech use is in the interests of some greater good? If so, have fun with it. After watching my own habits, I am very doubtful that this is true. I see people all the time use tech in such a way that's directly opposed to their own best interests -- and they're smart enough to realize this, too. The problem isn't my judging them -- heck I don't care what people do -- it's that we're turning into a society that's spending significant time doing things that we don't want to do. They just give a bit of immediate gratification.
Youtube comments are generally terrible. Stormfront comments are terrible. 4Chan comments can be terrible. This comment had content directly related to article it was replying to, talking about the utility this technology can provide, and also that the main thrust of the article and the video it contains seems to be someone else's value judgement on what other people should enjoy.
So sure, for the .1% of the time that a comment on this site is actually derailing or contains just blatant flamebait, trolling, attacks, etc it probably feels pretty good to call it out as terrible. But for the other 99.9% of the time? Have some perspective, grapple with the content of the comment, and do so in a non-aggressive manner entirely in proportion to what you are replying to. Don't go for the over the top hyperbole, no matter how much immediate gratification it gives you.
> A few weeks ago, while out with some friends, I took everyone’s phone and powered them off for the night, saying that we were going to focus on the night rather than our “stupid fucking phones.”
> Next time you’re in a restaurant with friends, have everyone put their phones stacked and face down in the center of the table. If anyone takes their phone off of the stack during the meal, they have to pay everyone else’s bill.
The fact that you called my point a terrible point and projected that I must be "turning into a society that's spending significant time doing things that we don't want to do." when you don't know me at all is a pretty scary lack of self awareness. Your entire point is rock bottom terrible and you STILL start off by telling someone else that their point sucks. I don't even know why I bothered to respond because you don't seem even slightly interested in your argument connecting to the actual reality at hand and instead construct it to argue against a strawman version of our society you've built.
"So sure, for the .1% time that you're texting your sick wife with cancer and she's able to vicariously experience things, you are probably feeling pretty good about what you're doing. Now how about the other 99.9% of the time?"
Is the implication here that I must only be using my cell to waste time and drive myself into some sort of deep depression while being too stupid to realize it? Well finally the internet messiah came along to save me! Anyway, my call very certainly saves me time when I use it and I only use it when I need to. I'm not sure why I've become the example when I presume my habits must not be known to you?
This is a problem, sure. But it's not related to people themselves using their phones and being unhappy with their usage.
The comment was bad because it took a discussion around whether we are ourselves with our tech use and turned it into some kind of reminiscence about annoying mentally unhealthy people. That's a great story, but it has nothing at all to do with what this article is about.
If you and your wife are happy about your tech use, good for you. If there are rude people in the world, that's a shame. Okay. Got it. Now can we move on to the subject of the article, which is something along the lines of "are we really happy with our own tech use?"
Or we could continue talking about how rude the guy at the restaurant was, how rude I am, how people are always nosing into other people's business -- and a dozen other things not related to that. As long as you realize you're changing the topic, works for me.
I thought about reading through the comments here and participating, but I'm going out for a walk with my family instead.
I don't think you should discourage anyone from doing this because you don't know what you're talking about.
"The comment was bad because it took a discussion around whether we are ourselves with our tech use and turned it into some kind of reminiscence about annoying mentally unhealthy people. That's a great story, but it has nothing at all to do with what this article is about."
No actually the story pretty much reads like a "I'm sick of these damned kids doing this thing I don't like! I don't understand it and therefore it is evil!" story and assumes that every single time someone uses their phone at dinner they are terribly unhappy and socially unhealthy. My point was simply that he is wrong. There are many completely acceptable uses and sitting there watching someone do something productive or useful on their phone and thinking "this is upsetting! I need to stop this!" really reverses the role of who actually has the problem with unhappiness here.
"If you and your wife are happy about your tech use, good for you. If there are rude people in the world, that's a shame. Okay. Got it. Now can we move on to the subject of the article, which is something along the lines of "are we really happy with our own tech use?""
Um, yeah, my answer was simply. We are happy with our tech use but multiple people want to push a belief on us that we are not happy for no reason. This again seems much less mentally healthy to me.
"Or we could continue talking about how rude the guy at the restaurant was, how rude I am, how people are always nosing into other people's business -- and a dozen other things not related to that. As long as you realize you're changing the topic, works for me."
Whereas you being rude while being 100% disconnected from the topic in any way while twisting my words to the point they couldn't be recognized. Finally the messiah has come to save us all from our own stupidity right?
This article is about being on your phone putting your eyes on advertisements put out by facebook, buzzfeed, etc. because you need to be constantly entertained. It's an encouragement to people who are in that situation to stop doing it.
If you're not in that situation, proclaiming that you're not in that situation and that maybe other people aren't in that situation is a useless comment. It's simply not relevant to the discussion. It's like coming in to a discussion about Hulu and Netflix and telling everyone that you only watch live sports on broadcast TV. What's the point?
[EDIT: P.S. you're not, by any chance, Ryguy from Rangers blue squad?]
A) Think that NOTHING is bad. B) We should leave everyone alone, even if they are doing the worst thing.
Do you want to just start over with this point maybe? Seems like you maybe didn't think at all before making it the first time so I thought you might want another shot.
Thanks for being rude.
Your point, as I understand it, is that since there is one good use case for texting while eating, we should not discourage people from texting while eating in general. That is pretty clear from your post.
My counter point is that there are many things that have one good use, but are still bad overall. Following your logic, we should not discourage those things either, at least if we wanted to stay consistent in our application of logic. Considering that even most bad things have occasional positive side-effect, and following your logic we would end up not discouraging anything ever. Clearly that is not a desirable outcome, therefore I think your logic is flawed.
"Your point, as I understand it, is that since there is one good use case for texting while eating, we should not discourage people from texting while eating in general. That is pretty clear from your post."
Nope. My point is that when you see someone texting or on their cell. YOU DONT KNOW WHY THEY ARE DOING IT. Projecting a "they must be wasting their time, UGH I'm surrounded by brainless zombies" is utterly insane. My point is that instead of freaking out at people around you using their cellphones, maybe just don't freak out and project actions and emotions on people and mind your own business.
How you took this to mean "you think nothing is ever wrong" is well beyond any stupidity I am able to comprehend. Sorry if that was rude, but it is also true unfortunately.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_Disintegration
it's not just about the cell facebookers
Anyway, this problem is easily solved: http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Black-Unlocked-DualBand-Phone/dp...
And yeah, I have a similar phone laying around that I've been thinking about trying. The battery life on those suckers is absolutely insane relative to smartphones!
Not having the maps is occasionally annoying. Aside from that it's great, there really is no good reason to have a web browser in your pocket that can outweigh the damage from having the internet creep into real life.
But then I never really used any apps back when I had a smartphone anyway. Maybe the highly industrious networker types won't find it so simple.
To quote (of all people) Maddox:
> I kept staring at "my" picture, looking for some glimmer of justification for its existence, I thought that maybe I could show this to my friends as proof that I'd seen the portrait with my own eyes. But I'm not in this picture, so there's no proof I was ever there. Even if I was in the picture, it could have been photoshopped. And why would I need to prove it to anyone anyway?
I used to do this when I was younger, but I've come to realize that:
1. A professional photo of a famous destination looks seriously better than an iPhone photo.
2. The only reason people take these photos is to get more likes on Facebook and Instagram.
3. Nobody actually cares.
I've found myself enjoying a photoworthy location much more when my head is out of my phone and focused on the scene itself. This notion has served as inspiration for a recent project and venture I've been working on.
But in any case, you have made your position clear. You would prefer to see people harmed in order to make it easier for you to gain advantage over them because you believe in a dog-eat-dog world.
Thanks.
You celebrated an instance of this because you said you thought it would give you an advantage in competition against them.
But what completely boggles my mind is actually letting the phone buzz me for anything other than an actual phone call. Even when I'm at my desktop the only notifications I get are skype conversations, and sometimes I turn those off too.
I think the problem isn't phones, it's notifications. We have become addicted to notifications on both phones and the desktop.
Maybe this already exists, but ideally I'd like to have unrestricted voice, but limited non-voice (I.e app) usage settings per day on phones.
I noticed this the other day, and I realized the root urge behind "phone zombie" is to connect with other people: Friends, news, the world at large. Mobile phones are the inevitable byproduct of humans being incredible social animals.
(I try to minimize my own notifications and mobile phone usage, but to each their own).
The original iphone launch trained us that smartphones must have a data plan. You couldn't buy one without data. But now you can. I have an iphone with unlimited calls and texting, for $40 a month.
I use wifi at home, but when I'm out and about I'm not connected. I've never had a single problem as a consequence.
You might say "but....google maps!". I've found that without Google maps, I am forced to actually learn my way around. Within a day or two I know a new city better than most locals.
My phone is much less distracting as a consequence.
In another few years it's likely you won't even need to make the decision about whether you need or want a data plan or not. You'll just get data. At least I hope so.
Many people want their phones less distracting, but they lack the willpower not to check their phones. But remove the data plan, and you don't need willpower to avoid checking it.
My advice as an "iPhone under-user" (often without data plan):
Forevermap is an OSM-based offline map app, and is good enough in many countries. Definitely good enough to find your way home.
Never install Facebook with the excuse of messaging. The Facebook Messenger app is much more focused.
There's an iOS app that has a relatively recent dump of StackOverflow if you want to code on the train. I'm not sure if I want to recommend it as the UI is really sketchy, but it has helped me.
It's selfish and dangerous as hell, and those who do it exhibit the same really obvious symptoms as those on foot.
Lack of situational awareness, delayed response, and the poor decision-making that results from those.
I wonder how Steve Roberts (http://microship.com/bike/index.html) feels about them.
Smartphone use in a vehicle is a problem, so I agree with the gist, but this part about you riding a bike is completely irrelevant to the point you made. But maybe you want some kind of cookie for being so respectful of the environment and conscientious enough to ride a bike on a regular basis. So I just wanted to take this moment and thank you for riding your bike. You're a good person. You should tell more people that you are a bicycle commuter so you can get more people to thank you for your service to the world.
I own a car. I drive it. A lot. You didn't need to know that.
But in the situation I described, I feel quite vulnerable, because I'm not in a car, and because I'm not on the sidewalk. In other words, because I'm on a bicycle.
Personally, and I'm sure the downvotes will keep flying in, I think it's completely reckless to ride a bike in dense traffic, surrounded by people who are on their smartphones and driving too fast, but you can feel all self-entitled to the road because the law just happens to be on your side (but not the infrastructure - not many bike lanes), but maybe instead ride on less busy roads or just don't ride at all.
I give bikers a lot of space, and everything that is required for them to be safe, but though I will never do anything less, I have learned to resent it. So many people riding their bikes just seem oblivious to their surroundings and make bad decisions and simply get in the way not caring. Then you come and post on the internet about how bad drivers are. I wish it was safer for people to ride bikes. I wish bike riding were a great thing where there were many lanes available, and everything was happy and safe, but it's not. So maybe just stop riding your bike, or ride on a less crazy road.
I'm pretty sure I don't live near where you live. Cars don't drive too fast. There are bike lanes. When I see a stop sign, I stop. I try not to piss off drivers.
You seem to be offering me a false choice: "stop talking about risk" or "stop riding your bike".
To say that driving while texting is bad without including the personal relevance is a hand-wavy general comment.
It helps me a lot to recruit new users for my website. I usually start by asking them "Could you do me a favor and take a look at my website. I've not checked my site on your kind of mobile phone".
Currently, I have a success rate of 80 percent of users taking a look at the website, and out of them, roughly 70 percent go to sign up with Facebook.
Besides getting new users, I get invaluable insight into my users' behavior and expectations while peeking at their phones. Additionally, I can check out how my website works on different kinds of mobile phones, OSes and tablets.
So I am really happy with so many phone zombies.