88 Times a Day....Smartphones

[10thumbs]

I don't have a Smartphone,  no tattoos either, but that's another story.

Anyway, I heard on the news today, statistically, in Germany every citizen looks at the smartphone display 88 times a day!

Hardly anyone just walks downtown anymore without the silly thing in their hands, eyes glued to the display.  Worse, while driving cars too.

Anyone here that does not have one? 

88 times a day,  how many times do you think you'll have a peek?

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

I don't have a Smartphone,  no tattoos either...

Anyone here that does not have one? 

No smartphone, no tattoos...though I've been in one of the classic environments where tattoos were a little more than me-too me-too fashion statements.

I even get ticked if someone calls my coal-burning cell if it's not a life-threatening emergency.

I recently spent some time at the Grand Canyon and was amazed at the number of people looking at their phones, and the number with their backs to the canyon, taking selfies.

Being where-you-are, with-whoever-you're-with, and in-the-moment seem to be decidedly old fashioned concepts. 

PS: Nevada has apparently passed a no-phones-while-driving law that is being actively enforced. $250 fine for first offense if what I was told by the car rental agent is correct. Good job, Nevada.

PPS: Paper MAPS still exist in the world for people who prefer to use them...and can. Somehow I managed to drive a couple thousand miles with NO GPS or moving map. Didn't get lost once. Simply amazing, eh? 

 

Edited August 20, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[cobraman]

No tattoo's but I do have an iphone. Don't look at it 88 times a day however. But probably more than I really need to.

[wayne swayze]

No smart phone, no tattoos,  no silly haircut, and no piercing.  Just an old school guy...mostly old!     

[Ramfins59]

No smart phone, no tattoos,  no silly haircut, and no piercing.  Just an old school guy...mostly old!     

X2

[10thumbs]

Geez, just a bunch of boring old farts here, huh?     I'm good with the category though.

A talk show recently on TV, the theme was "doing what everyone else does".  Lots of 40ish folks already wishing they hadn't gotten tattooed. 

Recently, the wife and I did another dance course, ballroom dancing.  Chicks just love to dance and I like it too.  Not long ago, the participants used to talk with one another in the breaks and get acquainted to find out who you could meet up with to go out dancing as a group.  Nowadays, the breaks were just showing almost every person, having their heads down during the whole break.  No conversation, even among the couples that were attending the course.  I looked at my wife and asked if I'm offensive or what the deal is.  She laughs and tells me we're just old fashioned.

So be it.

88 times a day.  I believe it too.  That even takes in the 1/4 of the population that doesn't have a smartphone here.

@Bill, the Grand Canyon with head down, gotta love it!  Good too about the fine while driving.

[espo]

Last summer my wife and I went to dinner at one of our favorite places in Lawrence Ks. This is a popular micro brewery/sandwich place near the KU campus. After parking our car we  saw  a college age couple walking with their arms around each other like they were never going to let go. They were both on the phone with the  free hand. I asked my wife if she thought they may be talking to each other. It's  a communication devise, they might want to communicate with the other person if they're really interested enough to be intertwined while walking down the street.   

[JollySipper]

The only phone I have is a land line........ The last cell phone I had wouldn't even take pictures. I'm not old fashioned, just behind the times, I guess (or is that the same thing?)

I do have a tattoo, it's of Swiper the Fox! I got it for my niece when she was about 3, she's 13 now...... I'm still glad I have it.

[10thumbs]

.... we  saw  a college age couple walking with their arms around each other like they were never going to let go. They were both on the phone with the  free hand. I asked my wife if she thought they may be talking to each other. It's  a communication devise, they might want to communicate with the other person if they're really interested enough....  

David, excellent.  I feel folks like this are losing the personal touch in life.  For my part, I like to talk, and I like feedback.

Example;  The wife and I love going to outdoor local restaurants during the day.  OK, I'm retired and can enjoy daytime activities.  Summertime is a great time.  The place starts to fill up with other seniors and lots of happy faces and lively conversation start to settle to the tables.  Soon, the "working folk" come in, day breakers and office folk.  Hardly anything personal is spoken, they're mostly doing their displays.

Yesterday, out again, the table behind us had two guys sitting.  The waitress (end 40's) comes up to catch their order.  Both we're busy with their smart-toys.  The gal says,

"either you get rid of those things and order food, or you can leave.  This is a restaurant".  Wow.  I like.

 

[bogger44]

 

PPS: Paper MAPS still exist in the world for people who prefer to use them...and can. Somehow I managed to drive a couple thousand miles with NO GPS or moving map. Didn't get lost once. Simply amazing, eh? 

 

I'm old fashioned as well and still use paper maps and always will.  I like to plan my own course and not have a device tell me which way I should go.   I do use GPS on occasion, but those times are mostly on trips into a big city traveling on city streets/areas I may not be familiar with and not just passing through on an interstate.  I do have a smartphone as they do come in handy, but good lord I don't come anywhere close to 88 times a day, probably more like a quarter of that total or less.  No tattoos either.  I've thought of getting one a couple times, but always decided against it.  These days you're almost more of a "rebel" by not having any and bucking the "me too I'm cool!" fashion.

[cowboy rich]

88 TIMES a day I do have a smart phone 2 actually 1 for work and one personal, which spends most of its time in the pickup. With where I live that's the only internet access I have and all of my paper work is done electronically so the work one is kind of a must but still not I my hand 88 times a day!

[signguy2108]

Still have an old flip phone.Since i've been retired (disabled) 10 years it doesnt ring much anymore, but  I dont mind that one bit! As for 88 times a day, I told a Walmart exec the other day they needed to consider traffic cops inside the store, people on phones pushing buggies, I hate to even go in the store anymore! No tatoos and not enough hair to worry about having to cut!

[High octane]

One tattoo from '67, a "flip phone," and I still use a MAP as it worked in the 60's and it still does today.

[10thumbs]

I'm loving these replies, great to know you're not alone!

Paper maps, I read that loud and clear.  I can relate.

Last year I relied on a GPS device deal to get me through the Alps heading south, problem was though, the read was old, I was dumb enough to follow.  The "route" was meant for summer passage.  I fell for it.  Ugh.  Lots of snow up there in May.  Great for driving through big cities though!

@Larry,  since my recent retirement, I'm amazed at how often the mailbox is empty.  I did move though.  Love it.  I'm not interesting anymore, and hope to remain relatively invisible.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Just a quick additional comment...I'm not opposed to the idea of smartphones and I believe they're great tools, just like a lot of other great tools available that help humans do a lot of things (I'd rather change a flat tire with a jack and a wrench than a stick and a pile of rocks...unless there's a phone app for that now ). Seriously, because today's hand-held processing ability is so huge and speech recognition is just about on a par with a human helper, I see a smartphone in my immediate future. It would have been nice to have in-vehicle access to some internet data during my last trip, for instance. Handy, but certainly not indispensable. During my recent 10-day drive, I did have to stop at a public library and get online for a few minutes. Once.

My paperwork is also done mostly electronically these days, but a smartphone isn't appropriate for it in my own case. A laptop is pretty much mandatory for the lengthy and detailed documents I have to prepare.

What I DON'T understand is the constant need to check and update one's social network "status" on a minute-to-minute basis...and it's this that appears to me to be what most of the smartphone addicts are doing.

Is it REALLY so important to know where one of your hundreds of "friends" had lunch, took a dump, or bought shoes? And does the rest of the world REALLY need to know about the most trivial and insignificant happenings in your daily life, or your inane and uninformed opinions on world events, or what infantile celebrity-behavior has the trending-world all atwitter at the current instant?

 

 

Edited August 20, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Petetrucker07]

The trucking industry is embracing the smart phone. There are apps for electronic log books, that are wirelessly connected to the truck, satellite located, and communicate with the main offices and shops, to track location, manage and update the E-Log and keep the shop updated on the daily vehicle inspections. What this sounds to me like, a SERIOUS distraction. That we need out on the road is more distractions.

I have a smart phone, that's my main Internet access. I do not look at it while driving unless it's to see who's calling. No texts, no internet, no movies. I seriously doubt I look at it 88 times a day, I think 30 is on the high side since I spend around 12 to 14 hours a day working, then I'll eat, watch some TV, then go to sleep. I only have about 10 to 12 hours out of the truck to rest. I try to get as much sleep as possible and just don't have time for looking at my phone.

Now, does the industry need every truck, every driver, to have all that going on in the truck, NO! The law makers and law enforcement need to crack down on the "4 wheelers" who have that phone glued to their eyes, people putting on makeup, reading the paper, eating a bowl ceral (yes I've seen it), playing the guitar (i really wish that was a joke), and just out right bad driving (passing trucks on the right, cutting us off....).

Sorry, got a little on that soap box.

 

It's amazing how attached to phone society has become, in such a short amount time. I still know how to read a Thomas Guide, read a map and find my way without issue. I use the GPS also and find it more depressing than anything since it gives me the estimated time of arrival. Friday, on a holiday trying to head east out of Santa Monica at 430 in afternoon should say enough. I don't need to know there's a 3 hour delay. I already know it's screwed, it makes it worse having something starring at you saying it.

[gbdolfans]

No smart phone for me,I'm to dumb to use one. We have a flip phone with pay as you go for my wife to have for emergencies.

There are about 1200 minutes on it.Keeps rolling over.

No tats either, just old !!!

[Rob Hall]

I couldn't imagine not having a smartphone, after having cellphones for 20 years and smartphones for almost a decade.   Though when I'm home in the evening and weekends, I tend to put my phone down to charge and use my laptop and tablet instead.  I'm sure I look at my iPhone more than 88 times a day, though...(for checking the time, taking/making calls, surfing Facebook, surfing this and other modeling forums, listening to podcasts, listening to music, checking the weather app, checking Mint and my banking apps, checking eBay, reading restaurant reviews on Yelp, looking at maps, etc..)

[JollySipper]

Hey, Clayton.... I have a few truckers in the family. One is an aunt that drove over the road for about 30 years. (she told me the secret to backing a trailer). With everything being kept up with electronically now, I bet it's impossible to make "adjustments" in your logs, or to drive more hours than you should, or even slip over into the far left lane to make time anymore....... Everything has to be by the book, now.........

I have nothing but respect for truck drivers, a cop once told me that while directing traffic you can tell a truck to go up, and he'll do his damnest to do it. It just seems like a lot is changing for drivers, and some not for the better.............

[Ace-Garageguy]

I couldn't imagine not having a smartphone, after having cellphones for 20 years and smartphones for almost a decade.   Though when I'm home in the evening and weekends, I tend to put my phone down to charge and use my laptop and tablet instead.  I'm sure I look at my iPhone more than 88 times a day, though...(for checking the time, taking/making calls, surfing Facebook, surfing this and other modeling forums, listening to podcasts, listening to music, checking the weather app, checking Mint and my banking apps, checking eBay, reading restaurant reviews on Yelp, looking at maps, etc..)

Wow. I have to actually WORK during business hours. I guess that's an old fashioned concept too.  

Edited August 21, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Rob Hall]

Wow. I have to actually WORK during business hours. I guess that's an old fashioned concept too.

I'm a good multitasker...I work my 40 hours...usually always have music or a podcast going that I'm listening to.  And I use my phone for work sometimes, to check how the websites I'm building look on  mobile. 

Edited August 21, 2016 by Rob Hall

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'm a good multitasker...I work my 40 hours...usually always have music or a podcast going that I'm listening to.  And I use my phone for work sometimes, to check how the websites I'm building look on  mobile. 

I find I need to be pretty focused while designing, fabricating, welding, machining or testing real-world parts and assemblies that have to function reliably in three dimensions, and particularly while diagnosing problems or designing and integrating electrical and electronic parts and applications. I guess that requiring focus to do these old-fashioned things, I must be pretty stupid.  

[Petetrucker07]

Hey, Clayton.... I have a few truckers in the family. One is an aunt that drove over the road for about 30 years. (she told me the secret to backing a trailer). With everything being kept up with electronically now, I bet it's impossible to make "adjustments" in your logs, or to drive more hours than you should, or even slip over into the far left lane to make time anymore....... Everything has to be by the book, now.........

I have nothing but respect for truck drivers, a cop once told me that while directing traffic you can tell a truck to go up, and he'll do his damnest to do it. It just seems like a lot is changing for drivers, and some not for the better.............

I'm fortunate enough to work for a small company, with an owner who looks at things this way....if we can't do it legally, we don't need to do it.

I did work for a guy who ran like it was 70s (this was just a few years ago I worked for him). He saw it as, the suns up, keep going, nevermind he knew we started at midnight. 

I have my satallite radio, I have my Ipod, my music is covered. I use my phone for calls, texts, and internet. I also have a tablet for Netflix when I'm at a hotel and want to watch a show or movie. I have my Bluetooth, you will be hard pressed to find me lookin at my phone while driving.

Now the weekend...that's another story. I might look at it 40 times, but I look at it for minutes at a time. Mostly the forum and news feeds. I'm not on any of the popular social media outlets, Facetime, Instatwit, or any of those. No tattoos (yet). I do my best to empower a no phone rule while eating, home or restaurant. 

[Tom Geiger]

Let's say of a 24 hour day you sleep 8 hours (I wish!) so that leaves 18 hours divided by 88 is 5 times an hour or every 12 minutes. I can believe that. 

I have a smart phone and no tattoos!  I believe in using every modern tool given to me, so I use my smartphone for everything I can.  I navigate via GPS, but lately it's been more on a cell phone app called "Waze"  which not only is a GPS but also warns you of road hazards and police ahead, as reported by other users.  

I use my cell phone all day for business.  I don't even have a company phone number, I have my cell listed in the company directory.  Since we work fairly virtual and may be at different locations, or working from home, my group has a touch base phone call at 7am.  Most of the time I'm in the car on my way to the office.  I'm on conference calls much of the day.  I don't have assigned office space, I work where ever I'm needed, so I don't keep any paper.  All my records are on my lap top and our server space.

[Rob Hall]

 

I use my cell phone all day for business.  I don't even have a company phone number, I have my cell listed in the company directory.  Since we work fairly virtual and may be at different locations, or working from home, my group has a touch base phone call at 7am.  Most of the time I'm in the car on my way to the office.  I'm on conference calls much of the day.  I don't have assigned office space, I work where ever I'm needed, so I don't keep any paper.  All my records are on my lap top and our server space.

That's kind of how it was when I worked for a consulting firm for a few years....I had desk space at the office, but usually worked from home or at a client site..I'd drop in the office a couple times a week for meetings and then usually worked on my laptop on a sofa.  I used my work iPhone for all my communications, carried a Mac Book Pro laptop wherever I went.   I liked that way of working... don't know if I'll ever go back to a normal FTE gig, I like contracting and consulting..