My mobile phone steals from me

 

I do not hide about how much I hate my mobile phone. Yes, there are things like the GPS and the camera that are useful. As for the reliance on tickets, too often there will be a failure, so I will want a paper copy with me. I've had problems with my Covid code as well.

I refuse to give the number out to many and for the few people who do have it, know to only call me for EXTREME EMERGENCY as deaths and accidents. Or maybe when we are due to meet and there is additional information needed such as "The restaurant we're meeting at is closed, but Flamingos is open. Meet you there. It'll take me ten minutes."

I do not want aps on my phone.

I don't want Facebook, email or other things on my phone. These are for home where I can use them without distractions of the outside world and I love them then, I certainly don't want to look at them when I'm out of the house.

Why?

Because if I am out of the house, and I'm on the phone, it means I'm missing out on what is around me. I don't see the flowers, scenery, activities, buildings, depending on where I am. the people, the places I might want to stop later. 

One example, I saw a man reading on the bus. When he got off the bus, he put on dark glasses, got out his white cane, and preceded to walk down the street as a blind man. If I were looking at my phone, I'd have missed that. And there are hundreds of life's insights that enrich my life.

In other words my use of the phone could have stolen parts of my life.

I see people who are on the phone in restaurants ignoring the people they are with. Why bother to be with them if they can't give their dinner companions attention? To be fair sometimes something comes up in discussion and the phone can provide additional information about whatever but that takes minutes. It does not take an entire meal.

And there is a safety feature of being able to call someone in an emergency...but how often does that happen? So far in 80 years, I have only needed to do this once.

And what about tourists who instead of looking at the sights, are looking at their telephones. Why spend money to travel to see something that they don't see when it is in front of their eyes?

I do admit I'm more and more of a COW, Cranky Old Woman, albeit smiling, but my life is too precious to waste when the world is around me to spend it staring at a tiny screen.