When did having a smartphone become compulsory?

I wouldn't be without any of my tech. My 3 sons bought me up kicking and screaming with www.

They showed me, twice then said Google how to do it. Don't click links unless they are Microsoft, Windows or the like and check any links to ensure they are OK.

It was the best thing they ever did. I'm sponsored by Google and as I say "God couldn't be everywhere so God gave us Google" 😉

I don't use my laptop or notebook like I used too as everything so easy on the phone.

Downloading a legitimate app doesn't mean it collects anymore info than the brand already knows if your a customer, for example of a bank or shop online.

I have to have mobile banking with my bank anyway as it verifies alot of payments online by asking you to login your banking and verify the payment.

Remember back to when we rolled our eyes at our parents who weren't going to have XYZ, developed when we were young 😉

Go for it. It's only fear as to why people don't want to change

I do have a smartphone and would find life difficult without it as we spend a lot of time away from home. My phone, which is not the latest model Samsung, cost £250 from eBay (someone's phone upgrade they did not require) and I found a phone contract which costs me £10 a month and includes all calls, all texts and 40GB of data. So I tend to use my phone for everything now, we never use our landline although we have one. When we are away from home we use our phones as a hotspot and so can connect our tablets to it and use our phone data for the internet on those too. I'm actually reading Gransnet on my phone at the moment , in my car while waiting for an appointment.

I am perfectly capable of using smart phone, computer etc. and do do so but at my own choice. Do not choose to have apps so that supermarkets can gain information etc. However I have two separate things to mention. The idea that £200 is not much may be true for some people but for others that is a lot of money to be pressured into having to buy to just suit job centres and councils etc. I would also point out that in various areas and in my own area of the Yorkshire Dales there are a lot of places where you have no signal , and could not use a phone to do anything. Until there is 100% coverage there should be simple and clear ways to contact, or pay for things without phones. For the same reason, although I do at times use a card to pay for something, I choose to use cash for a variety of things, to use on an open market, be clear exactly what I am paying, etc. Recently I contacted a hotel intending to stay there but when they told me that they did not accept any cash, cancelled and went elsewhere. It is the principle of the thing, that they do not state in their advertisments that they do not accept cash. There are people who do not have a bank account for whatever reason. I do not see how these places think they can dictate to you when they want the business and I am offering them "coin of the realm" . The banks and business wanted to get everyone using cards and have seized the opportunity to push it due to the pandemic. Whilst of course they have the right to choose what to do, I and many others have the right not to use them or pay them and the same goes for phones. If you are looking for work, and can prove that you are doing so, not having or using a phone is not a criminal offence. Some years ago a friend was living quite a long way in the country and had no TV.She constantly got threatening letters ordering her to get a license. As she was doing nothing wrong she just ignored them and eventually someone turned up in a tv detector van and ended up apologizing to her for the tone of the letters etc. She could have written to them , but again , if you are living an honest life and are not guilty of a crime, why should YOU have to contact them. Having been involved in food banks and various other things and the cost of heating etc., I can tell you there are many families that are concerned with basic needs of food and warmth and a telephone for £200 is not on their lists of vital necessities. Even if we accept the majority of people want or choose to use a phone, have a car or whatever, it should not put those who cannot afford or choose not to have them at a disadvantage in basic ways.The word is choice not forced .

Loads of typos! Clicked "post" instead of "preview" Oops. . I meant £20 a month, and hopefully you can work the rest out for yourselves!

Where does this £100 come from?
I pay under £2₩ a month which covers my phone unlimited calls and texts and an amount of data usage that I ratelyb4chsust.
Just as telephones (landlines) became a necessity televisions and IT access, I thin you have to accept that smart phones are here to stay. Used wisely they improve much of our lives.

My phone 100% makes my life easier - iPhone 12 plus iPad mini. All my banking, travel info (tickets/flights etc), contacts, Kindle app for reading etc etc. My mother used to say very proudly that she’d never used a computer or smartphone in her life. Not something to be proud of and it would have made everything much easier for us all if she had.

Skye17

boheminan

ordinarygirl I don't have/don't want a mobile/Smartphone - what's the difference?!
Yes, it does feel we're blindly being pushed into it - no bank account without a mobile phone number, now everything seems to be done on 'apps' why? what goes on behind them? Let me say I'm not a believer in any conspiracy theory on this, I just mourn the lack of choice that's being taken away.

I believe others do have other real reasons why they won't use a smartphone - cost being one of the factors 'only £100' is a lot to some people.

This old chestnut has come up on GN a couple of times previously and the response is always the same - a long discussion as to what the best phones are, how wonderful they are, what they can do, etc, etc. No questioning as to why we're being pushed into that direction. Progress? to what?

But is anyone pushing us, or have smartphones just caught on because they are so useful (and entertaining?)

Once a good proportion of the population has them, as has now happened, providers of goods and services (like solicitors) will increasingly use them, and life will become harder for people without them. I think that’s regrettable, and people without smartphones should be catered for as far as possible, but it’s not necessarily the result of a plan.

According to Statista,

‘The smartphone penetration rate in the United Kingdom has increased each year, reaching an overall figure of 93 percent in 2022. While the survey modified the division of respondents over the ages of 55 from 2016 onwards, there has been a clear increase in the rate of smartphone ownership among those aged 55 and above. In 2016, less than half of all respondents over the age of 55 owned such a device, a figure that eventually rose to 82 percent in 2022.’

It’s not going to be viable to provide alternatives for an increasingly tiny percentage of people who don’t have smartphones, and it will happen very soon indeed now. The best analogy I can think of is being the last person in your town with a horse and cart when everybody else has a car - you will inevitably be reliant on other people to carry out basic tasks for you without one.

I worked in the telecoms industry starting in the year 2000. How we laughed at the idea we’d use our phones for anything other than calls! 2G anyone? Smartphones are wonderful, apps are awesome and mobile banking and parking apps are terrific. Face recognition is a great safety solution for your banking app. I love them. I never in a million years truly believed back in Y2K )as it was called then) that we would have moved on so much.

boheminan

ordinarygirl I don't have/don't want a mobile/Smartphone - what's the difference?!
Yes, it does feel we're blindly being pushed into it - no bank account without a mobile phone number, now everything seems to be done on 'apps' why? what goes on behind them? Let me say I'm not a believer in any conspiracy theory on this, I just mourn the lack of choice that's being taken away.

I believe others do have other real reasons why they won't use a smartphone - cost being one of the factors 'only £100' is a lot to some people.

This old chestnut has come up on GN a couple of times previously and the response is always the same - a long discussion as to what the best phones are, how wonderful they are, what they can do, etc, etc. No questioning as to why we're being pushed into that direction. Progress? to what?

But is anyone pushing us, or have smartphones just caught on because they are so useful (and entertaining?)

Once a good proportion of the population has them, as has now happened, providers of goods and services (like solicitors) will increasingly use them, and life will become harder for people without them. I think that’s regrettable, and people without smartphones should be catered for as far as possible, but it’s not necessarily the result of a plan.

montymops

Maybee - I have an Apple SE iphone - bought new recently for £400 pounds- I have a sim only contract. I thought about buying a secondhand Apple iPhone but was warned by a friend that if anything goes wrong- such as a broken screen- Apple will not touch it should you need their help, as parts have been replaced by non Apple screens or other parts.

I’ve had secondhand iPhones for over 10 years. I haven’t needed much help from Apple in that time but I have never had a problem getting it.

I’ve also had no problems with viruses, or with online banking on my phone.

I wouldn’t be without my smartphone, fortunately, my grandson updates his every couple of years and I get his old one.

I don't need a handbag when out any more just my phone, I listen to podcasts while out, use it to pay for things, compare prices and show my hairdresser pics of how I want my hair, as well as having a torch and camera handy at all times.

Thankyou cc, yes, mine have too, but it seems WhatsApp for iPad isn’t as straightforward as it is for an iPhone. There is a way, by linking devices, but it takes a bit of working out (for me, anyway).

In the meantime I can use iMessage on my iPad, which is very good too. My next smartphone will be an iPhone.

ordinarygirl I don't have/don't want a mobile/Smartphone - what's the difference?!
Yes, it does feel we're blindly being pushed into it - no bank account without a mobile phone number, now everything seems to be done on 'apps' why? what goes on behind them? Let me say I'm not a believer in any conspiracy theory on this, I just mourn the lack of choice that's being taken away.

I believe others do have other real reasons why they won't use a smartphone - cost being one of the factors 'only £100' is a lot to some people.

This old chestnut has come up on GN a couple of times previously and the response is always the same - a long discussion as to what the best phones are, how wonderful they are, what they can do, etc, etc. No questioning as to why we're being pushed into that direction. Progress? to what?

Forgot to say I also have a newer standard size iPad that I use for gaming, email etc in addition to a fairly new desktop PC - I love my tech

I used to have Android phones but 7 years ago I won an iPad Mini in a competition - which I still have and use as an ebook reader. After that I switched to Apple phones and have never looked back - they are easier to use than Android and more secure as its a closed system rather than an open one. I got my current iPhone 2.5 years ago - cost £900 but I just pay £25 a month over 3 years, interest free, and no upfront cost. It was the current model but I bought it a few weeks before the next generation of phones was due out and saved at least £200 that way. My minutes/texts/data costs £6 a month on top, rolling 30 day contract that I can change whenever I wish. I wouldn't be without it - can't remember the last time I needed to go to the bank, I can even pay the occasional cheque in using my phone. I don't have a landline, haven't had one in the 20 years I've lived at this address.

Maybee - I have an Apple SE iphone - bought new recently for £400 pounds- I have a sim only contract. I thought about buying a secondhand Apple iPhone but was warned by a friend that if anything goes wrong- such as a broken screen- Apple will not touch it should you need their help, as parts have been replaced by non Apple screens or other parts.

I was stunned when I tried to repay my god-daughter for some food on holiday in cash, and she said ‘I don’t use cash, can you make a bank transfer please?’ I did a typical ‘old lady muttering rant’ about how I’d never heard anything like it … but I did use my banking app to repay her!

cc

NotAGran55

I have just signed up for the QwikPark app and looking forward to using it. No more tickets or queuing to pay.

But beware, there are many different apps for different car parks.

Indeed there are.

WhatsApp is universal.

I phone had it first, marginally,

"Platform history. After months at beta stage, the official first release of WhatsApp for iOS launched in November 2009

. In January 2010, support for BlackBerry smartphones was added; and subsequently for Symbian OS in May 2010, and for Android OS in August 2010."

NotAGran55

I have just signed up for the QwikPark app and looking forward to using it. No more tickets or queuing to pay.

But beware, there are many different apps for different car parks.

valdali

My smart phone's 8.50 a month. Never spent over the limit. Used to spend more than this 10 years ago with my pay-as-you-go. I do prefer using my chromebook but I have made more of an effort & apart from me being not as dextrous, tired old eyesight & can't hear which means it'll always be a bit of a faff for me, have to say most things are pretty intuitive on there if you put your mind to it.My son's smartphone is £6.00 a month so a couple cups of coffee out equivalent - & theoretically you then dont need a landline.

My phone bill is just over £10 per month now, much less than I paid on Orange up until a couple of years ago, and never any extras. I've been with Virgin for four years now and I have more data/minutes/texts than I can use, any left is rolled over at the end of the period.

Delila

I have an iPad and an android phone. I find the Android operating system much more complicated (probably wouldn’t if I’d never had an iPad to compare it with), but one advantage of android devices is WhatsApp, which I don’t think is available on iOS devices?
Smartphones are definitely worth having, whatever the operating system, but I’ve kept my clunky 12year old simple Nokia that raises a laugh every time I produce it, as it’s simple, cheap, works fine as a phone, and is small & tough enough to carry in a pocket on country walks with the dog. £5 lasts me months.

My children all have iphones and all have WhatsApp

My smart phone's 8.50 a month. Never spent over the limit. Used to spend more than this 10 years ago with my pay-as-you-go. I do prefer using my chromebook but I have made more of an effort & apart from me being not as dextrous, tired old eyesight & can't hear which means it'll always be a bit of a faff for me, have to say most things are pretty intuitive on there if you put your mind to it.My son's smartphone is £6.00 a month so a couple cups of coffee out equivalent - & theoretically you then dont need a landline.

My iPhone does almost everything for me. Grocery deliveries, all clothing, pays all our bills, streams tv and entertainment which I cast to the Tv, answers all my questions, sends emails, downloads all my audiobooks, teaches me foreign languages, is my diary and gives me reminders, is my camera and video maker, is my photo album, tells me the weather forecast, is my GPS for travelling, taps in shops to pay using my face as recognition, lets me do all my banking and tax affairs, let’s me see and chat with grandchildren, attend meetings without leaving the house, keeps me in touch with all my friends plus many more uses I can’t think of now. Oh and yes I can make and receive calls and texts. I’m no techie, 69 in two weeks but I’m struggling to learn how to use QR codes. I dread getting older and becoming dependent on others like my 96 year old mother who no longer has even a phone book and can only answer her DORO phone. And it’s been like that for over 20 years now.

I don't have a mobile phone and don't need one. I did resent taking my girls out for a meal and found my bank card wasn't accepted because I didn't have a mobile number to verify it.