# I'm getting a stupid phone **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 6, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-a-stupid-phone/706497 "2014-12-06T14:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-a-stupid-phone/706497/41 "2014-12-08T09:52:28Z")
So, OP, should we expect to see your current smartphone in The Marketplace soon, or are you going to hang onto it until you’re sure your resolve won’t shatter? ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-a-stupid-phone/706497/42 "2014-12-08T13:32:03Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Not to pick on you personally, but when did boredom become such a horrible thing? > A few minutes of quiet contemplation, people watching, thinking about the past or the future, all unscripted and unedited. It’s not a bad thing. Because boredom is so…boring! If you enjoy silence, quiet contemplation etc. and you have an opportunity to do that, then you aren’t bored now are you 😛 Also silence? Thinking about the past and future? That’s what just before bed/the shower is for! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-a-stupid-phone/706497/43 "2014-12-08T14:57:47Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > To the OP: Will you keep your smartphone to use wherever you have access to wifi? Nope. > [@Simplicio](#): > > Wait a second…where the hell are there chimpanzee’s that are constantly hypnotized by little pads of light? Everywhere I look. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > So, OP, should we expect to see your current smartphone in The Marketplace soon, or are you going to hang onto it until you’re sure your resolve won’t shatter? Gonna recycle it or whatever people do with phones that they don’t actually lose. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-a-stupid-phone/706497/44 "2014-12-08T15:06:22Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Everywhere I look. You said there were people everywhere you look hypnotized by small glowing screens, like chimpanzees. I asked where there were chimpanzees that did that. Now your saying there are literal chimpanzees all around you also hypnotized by small glowing screens? Or that the people around you are like those Chimpanzees? which is just a repeat of what you said in the OP and thus raises the same question. Either way, I think either you or I don’t know what a chimpanzee is. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-a-stupid-phone/706497/45 "2014-12-08T17:11:32Z")
Maybe a better analogy would be smart phone = adult pacifier. I wont take away from the capabilities of a smart phone, but the behavior of many people who have them is what **Happy Lendervedder** may be getting at (and I tend to agree). ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-a-stupid-phone/706497/46 "2014-12-08T21:17:20Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I apologize if I gave you that impression, I wasn’t criticizing, I just thought it was an interesting observation. Heck, I do the exact same thing when I’m waiting for my son to get out of school. So there’s definitely no finger wagging going on here. I apologize likewise if my wording seemed harsh. > [@](#): > > But yes you’re right, they were all sitting in stationary cars. > > Now, the kids crossing the street while they got their heads buried in their phones is another story. No question about that. Just listening to music is one thing, or even talking to some one, but taking your visual attention away from your surroundings while crossing streets, or even just out walking, is never a good idea. If I need to dial somebody, change the music, or whatever while I’m out, I find a place to stop first. You can’t just stop in the middle of the sidewalk; there could be a bicycle coming up behind you. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-a-stupid-phone/706497/47 "2014-12-08T23:43:26Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Life seemed simpler, more quaint, back in the old days of the early aughts, when cell phones didn’t do much of anything besides ring. I long for those days. So I’m pitching my smart phone and getting a stupid one, like from the old days. Anyone else embracing the “stupid” in a world of Androids and Apples? This may be a mistake. I have an Apple iPod Touch and a $15.00 Tracfone because I’m basically cheap and don’t get or originate many calls. So my phone is just a phone. And…I never know where it is, it’s never charged, and I often forget to buy more minutes for it. The problem with a phone that’s just a phone is that it’s out of sight, out of mind. Meanwhile, the iPod Touch plays music, lets me read email in a WiFi environment, acts as a reference book, and keeps me amused with games in long lines. That device _never_ runs out of charge and I always know where it is. Yes, I’m always staring at it while in line or at restaurants. But have no illusions, if it wasn’t the iPod, it would be a book. I still wouldn’t be interacting with you 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-a-stupid-phone/706497/48 "2014-12-09T04:51:35Z")
To the OP: What kind of phone is it? I could use an extra mp3 player/mini-tablet at home. Please feel free to PM me with details, and if it’s agreeable I will reimburse you for shipping. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-a-stupid-phone/706497.md?page=2)