Don't have one, don't need one, don't really want one

What I find really sad about this type of thread is that generally people seem to be proud of the fact they are not using technology. Either through ignorance, lethargy stubbornness or simply lack of interest it seems such a shame that they are not enhancing their lives with this absolutely amazing piece of equipment. Nowadays they are simply not difficult to use. Like many others I use my iPhone constantly, from shopping to moving money around to identifying plants to catching up on the news to playing games and keeping in touch with friends and family. Just a few examples! I have just used the phone to find our way around an unfamiliar town. In the last two hours I have photographed images of the canal, located the local Spar, emailed an important message and looked up the weather for tomorrow. Personally I would be very frustrated without it and it definitely improves the quality of my life. All for £7 a month. I wonder if the technophobes ( I won’t use the term Luddites!) know what they are missing! But hey, everyone to their own!

I got my first mobile phone in the 1990s. I had a "care in the community" neighbour who cut my phone wires to my flat because I wouldnt give him money. He was arrested and the experience made me get a mobile. It was like a brick back then.

I was also provided with a mobile when I became an academic as i had to go into the field to interview people. It was a departmental requirement. However I always turned it off outside working hours.

The "smart" phones did not really evolve until after I had stopped working for an employer. I stuck to my old dumb phone because I dont want people to be able to contact me too easily.

And life still went on. I have neever got addicted to social media. Its a monumental time waster.

More recently I got a nicky-no-name PAYG smart phone because my security system would not run on a tablet. However its smart enough to stay out of my way unless I need it.

I think it would be very beneficial to get one now and learn how to use it while you can. So many things in life now require or are made a lot easier by having one, ie covid passport, GP apps for appointments and health records, parking and paying, shopping, even games such as Solitaire for brain exercise.

Sad to note that there was no comments on the problems I have using a mobile phone because of dyspraxia, nor consideration in any one's post for the problems of anyone who actually has problems, ohysical or cognitive, using a smartphone.

I was certainly glad of mine recently, after I walked into town (25 minutes, downhill) and only realised when I’d finished my shopping that the buses were on strike.

Quick (free) WhatsApp call to my chauffeur, aka dh, phew. Otherwise it would have been a tenner for a taxi. I’d have paid that, mind you, rather than the uphill walk with heavy shopping.

For those sneering about being on one’s phone , what are you doing on grams et? You must be accessing it somehow . I’m on my phone following this thread right now .
I don’t have a laptop but I do have an I pad . I prefer to everything on my phone . The iPad is too big to hold in one hand and too heavy so I use my phone , a lot.
The iPhone has all my apps on it . The only thing I don’t really use it for is calling people , I hate speaking on the phone ?. It’s texting all the way for me . We have a landline because of the internet but none of us know the number and we never answer it if it rings . If people really need to speak to one of us they will phone someone’s mobile .

Monica I too would be much happier if my iPhone was the size of my Kindle. I find it hard to see well enough and have less dexterity in my fingers to be able to use the phone easily for texting. It would also mean that if I know that I’m likely to spend time waiting for an appointment, I wouldn’t need to carry both phone and Kindle with me.

Thank you dustyangel and no thanks to Thisismyname1953 Bully for you that you can use a phone so easily.

Do you ever think about those who for physical and other reasons cannot use a phone as you do? I am not talking about about those who are elderly and cannot cope with modern technology, I am talking about those, of all ages, with some disablity, however slight, that makes using something as small and fiddly as smart phone very difficult indeed.

I use an iPad mini, it dos fit in my bag on the rare occasions I need to carry it.
appleinsider.com/articles/21/11/15/compared-ipad-mini-vs-kindle-paperwhite

It has a torch - I love that!

We did not have one for ages as we lived where there was no reception - so not a lot of point.

I remember trying to open a Santander savings account many years ago, and backed out of it because every transaction required sending codes t a mobile - which I did not have!

M0nica

Sad to note that there was no comments on the problems I have using a mobile phone because of dyspraxia, nor consideration in any one's post for the problems of anyone who actually has problems, ohysical or cognitive, using a smartphone.

Actually, yesterday, I specifically said ‘ I understand that some people can’t easily use them because of physical disability or extreme poverty’. I’m happy to add to that ‘or cognitive disability’.

Today I combined Alexa and my phone to create a shopping list. As I usually lose or forget the lists I make on the back of an envelope, this is a huge benefit. I then used my phone to claim Waitrose vouchers which saved me around £3. I wouldn't call myself a technophile as I don't play games on the phone and I'm not using it now. I am on my laptop,

I use my phone to listen to spotify.
I can't seem to organise play lists or anything, but still...

geekesse Thank you, it is not I specifically want to highlight my case, but there are many people with problems using smart phones, and I do think that there should be more effort to recognise and address their probems.

It is just that some of the replies on this thread are almost dismissive of anyone who isn't as adept as the poster is at answering the phone, sorting out a childrens teaparty and organising a meeting with friends, all while swinging on a high trapeze.

To have made a post here you are obviously up to speed with computers. May I politely suggest that you might not realise that smart phones are really hand size portable computers that can be used as phones. I know of two older friends who, once they discovered quite how useful they can be, wondered why they held off getting one for so long. May I politely suggest you get a friend/relative to run through with you what functions they have to help you be certain you don't need one.

Tennisnan Yes I am computerate, but I am dyspraxic, which means I have very poor fine motor control and, as an additional problem, the tips of all the fingers on my right hand are permanently numb following a carpal tunnel operation.

It is physically difficult for me to use a mobile phone, the technology is not the problem. I also have problems with sequencing actions, again part of my dyspraxia, so between not knowing how hard or soft, or if at all I am touching the screen, finding for every letter I hit correctly I hit several incorrectly, and then knowing the sequence of commands needed, but entering them in the wrong order, compared with which the technology is a doddle.

But the point is, I am not alone in this, there are others with similar disabilities, dyslexia causes problems, some eyesight problems, deafness, not to mention those whose poverty means that even the cost of replacing their non-smart phone, let alone buying a smart phone is beyond their finances.

DD was an early adaptor of smartphones and when she showed me her first one and all it did, I couldn't get one fast enough. It was a real shock when I encountered my personal problems with it. Over 10 years and three phones on, I am still struggling, I do now understand my problems and the extra problems of numbness in my fingers since I got my first phone doesn't help.

I have actually paid for tuition to see if it would help me but it cannot it as mine is a physical problem, not a question of understanding the technology or the device.

My Dh struggles in a similar way to you, Monica. He’s not dyspraxic but he has psoriatic arthritis and his fingers are swollen. The tips are almost twice as wide as my own, plus he has numbness, so typing on a small screen is arduous.

He’s just reverted to a dumb phone, in part because the swelling means that fingerprint recognition rarely works for him on a smart phone. Facial recognition could solve that one but often the speed that’s required to use it means it’s closed down before his fingers have managed to prod the various ‘buttons. Another issue is that the swelling means he often accidentally touches the sides of the screen and shuts it down. That even happens on something as big as his iPad so a phone is even more challenging.

I suppose it’s also a generational problem because we didn’t grow up with these skills. I know a number of people with dyspraxic children/GC and they all somehow seem to manage to use screens - sometimes to their parents’ despair!

*SueDonim, I knew I wasn't the only person with this problem! There are many reasons why people cannot, or have difficulty, using mobile phones, that are not technological.

Dyspraxia, like dyslexia etc affects people different ways. When I was diagnosed, I had some specialist pysiotherapy that helped, but I also have a problem with distraction by outside events, ambient noise and I do not like using a phone in busy places. Even at home, with a landline phone, I will go into another room by myself if a phone call is of any length or concentration is required and I do a lot of things with my eyes shut to remove visual distractions. DS, whose diagnosis of dyspraxia led to me being assessed, does manage with a mobile phone, but his dyspraxia manifests in different ways, his problem that is he is never sure if he can find it!

Modern smartphones can be easily set up for use by people with many disabilities.
For example those with dexterity problems can use voice control. I have dictated this reply, no typing involved.
You might need a young person to set up the accessibility features and some advice on which phone and set up could help you most.

Although I wouldn’t be without my phone, I still use my iPad a lot - big screen makes many things easier.
Also, so much better viewing photos/little videos (I get a lot from dd of the Gdcs) on the iPad’s bigger screen.

All photos and videos received on my phone automatically appear on the iPad, too.

Yes I think its also worth remembering that in the last few years technology has had a really positive impact for many of those with learning disabilities. I use various forms of technology almost every day to give children with learning disabilities some independence. Many of the phone providers give advice on making phones accessible, voice apps etc. I am not saying that it isnt an issue but that technology has at the same time provided many opportunities certainly for the children I work with many of whom have complex physical needs.

Pittcity, I can cope with the technology as I keep saying, but thank you, that is a good suggestion.

I prefer big screens. As we are away from home at present, I am currently on my laptop. I have a large laptop at home. I have been using computers for over 40 years and have successfully made the transition from technology to technology and through generations of software, I edited a learned journal for 20 years, including keeping up with printing technology

I am not technology deficient, it is just those pesky little phones and the operations and apps. I phone, do not text if I can avoid it and use sat nav. But would like to use this expensive bit of kit a bit more.

I have a phone but it is very basic and doesn't connect to the internet. It phones and texts, that's all I need - in case of emergency which in the car.

M0nica

Sad to note that there was no comments on the problems I have using a mobile phone because of dyspraxia, nor consideration in any one's post for the problems of anyone who actually has problems, ohysical or cognitive, using a smartphone.

Any phone is a bit hard to operate for anyone with those problems. Even opening an envelope is an ordeal if you have arthritis in your hands! For some disabilities, a smart phone actually helps more than the old fashioned methods.

I love my iPad, but resisted having a smartphone for years. I just had an old fashioned basic mobile phone that I kept in the car glove box in case I broke down in the car and needed to call for rescue.
However a couple of years ago I started to find that some of the websites I use require a second level of security by sending a message to the phone, and it didn’t work with landline or old mobile phone, so I relented and got a smartphone. I still use the iPad for internet stuff though, as the screen on the phone is so small.