# Mobile (cell) phones **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 19, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144 "2020-05-19T21:39:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/21 "2020-05-20T22:58:50Z")
I got my first cell phone in 1999. Honestly, I was not happy about it but it was a job requirement. On the very first day that I had it I was driving home that evening and I saw a bicycle rider get hit by a truck (slow moving, he wasn’t horribly hurt from what I could tell). I was able to immediately call 911. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/22 "2020-05-20T23:03:35Z")
Every major technological change solves ten old problems and causes nine new ones. So let it be with mobile (smart) phones. Yeah, a little addictive. Yeah, some social disruption. Yeah, some dimbulbs text while driving. It’s **much more than** paid for itself simply for the huge number of times people have been able to call for emergency medical assistance from remote locations. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/23 "2020-05-21T00:11:17Z")
> [@Casparlatete](#): > > Adam Gopnik of _The New Yorker_ expressed it brilliantly I think; “Smartphones create a dependency without ever actually addressing a need.” Nobody who remembers a time before cell phones could say this and mean it. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/24 "2020-05-21T00:42:57Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Nobody who remembers a time before cell phones could say this and mean it. I don’t think that he actually said it. I searched around a bit because I was certain that that quote had to be taken out of context somehow. Near as I can tell, he never said anything of the sort. I found one essay from six years ago where he said that he _loves_ smartphones but didn’t like social media in general and Twitter specifically. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/25 "2020-05-21T01:38:43Z")
I’m wondering how much of the cell phone problem is from cell phones per se, and how much of it is from social media that happens to be consumed on cell phones. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/26 "2020-05-21T02:01:34Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > I’m wondering how much of the cell phone problem is from cell phones per se, and how much of it is from social media that happens to be consumed on cell phones. Social media’s main problem is the _weaponization_ of Yellow Journalism: Sources create lies which both attract attention and feed into larger lies, getting huge numbers of people to believe them to the exclusion of news which is closer to reality. Social media platforms are only now making a serious effort to stop it, and probably won’t catch all of it. Of course, not helping are all the idiots who pretend to be wise, who refuse to see shades of gray: All news is somewhat biased, therefore all news _is_ biased, therefore CNN is just as bad as RT and Infowars/Alex Jones. Refusing to see nuance is a lack of critical thinking, and a mark of mental and emotional immaturity, but by God it can make idiots feel like they’re wise. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/27 "2020-05-21T14:56:37Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yesterday I happened to be watching a video of someone watching and reacting to the video of Queen’s performance at Live Aid. The reactor wondered what it would have been like to have been present in the audience, and noted that this was before cell phones, and that an experience like that wouldn’t be possible today because too many people in the audience would have been distracted by their phones. Until recently, I went to a lot of concerts. Some people use their phone in an annoying manner to take crappy videos they’ll never watch of their favorite songs. But otherwise I don’t see a lot of phone use outside of breaks and intermissions. And even if they did, who cares? If someone else wants to pay their hard earned money to look at their phone in a different place than they normally do, it doesn’t bother me or alter my appreciation of the performance in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/28 "2020-05-21T15:29:31Z")
> [@Casparlatete](#): > > I suppose younger generations than I (& there’s quite a few!) can’t imagine the world without them, but I’m genuinely interested why you want to ‘connect’ with more & more remote people in less & less time… The large bag style cell phones came out when I was in my twenties. I can imagine a world without cell phones pretty well. I am an introvert and focused interpersonal communication can be exhausting for me. It doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it, just that it requires effort. Before cell phones were popular I communicated with my parents maybe once a month? Now, it’s almost daily because asynchronous communication (text message) is much easier for me. I think my kids communicate with me more for the same reason. We don’t have to wait to arrange a time when we are both available to communicate. It’s also nice having a computer containing the world’s knowledge at my fingertips. It gives good directions too. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/29 "2020-05-22T01:42:15Z")
I grew up before cellphones and smartphones, and the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. If you are running late you can tell the person you’re meeting. You never get lost, eliminating a whole class of men don’t ask directions jokes. Uber and Lyft. Cellphone lots at airports. Cheaper than paying, safer and wastes less gas than driving around and around until you find your party. When I’m walking in San Francisco, I can get the Muni app and find a bus going where I want to go and find when it is coming. Loading supermarket coupons at the spur of the moment. Avoiding traffic. When I used to commute, I could use my phone to find the best way home. I’m not counting email or social media or even the phone. ---
**Author:** ![Casparlatete](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/casparlatete/32/3377_2.png) [@Casparlatete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casparlatete)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/30 "2020-05-22T07:40:59Z")
I too was also born before cellphones, in fact I remember well my childhood in England in the 1940’s when even having a house-phone was way beyond the reach of most people. Of course there are advantages, but I think people are today withdrawing into remote interactions not directly with the people around them. What’s wrong with getting lost now & then & having to talk to people to get directions? Walk through a train compartment & almost everyone is staring at their phones whereas at one time there would have been more of meeting & talking to strangers. These things are making anti-social dummies out of everyone. Do young people know how to read maps anymore? & every fact is now literally at your fingertips (maybe) & no longer a subject of discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/31 "2020-05-22T09:04:31Z")
> [@Casparlatete](#): > > Do young people know how to read maps anymore? Wouldn’t smartphones mean that people use maps _more_ than they used to? They used to be these unwieldy folding things, or great big books; now they’re right there on your phone to use whenever you want. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/32 "2020-05-22T10:05:25Z")
> [@Casparlatete](#): > > I too was also born before cellphones, in fact I remember well my childhood in England in the 1940’s when even having a house-phone was way beyond the reach of most people. Of course there are advantages, but I think people are today withdrawing into remote interactions not directly with the people around them. What’s wrong with getting lost now & then & having to talk to people to get directions? Walk through a train compartment & almost everyone is staring at their phones whereas at one time there would have been more of meeting & talking to strangers. These things are making anti-social dummies out of everyone. Do young people know how to read maps anymore? & every fact is now literally at your fingertips (maybe) & no longer a subject of discussion. I was able to use my smartphone to determine that the quote you mentioned up thread was comeplete bullshit. I don’t have a ton of experience with commuter trains but I recall lots of people reading books and especially newspapers. ---
**Author:** ![Casparlatete](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/casparlatete/32/3377_2.png) [@Casparlatete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casparlatete)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/33 "2020-05-22T10:38:35Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I was able to use my smartphone to determine that the quote you mentioned up thread was comeplete bullshit. I don’t have a ton of experience with commuter trains but I recall lots of people reading books and especially newspapers. You didn’t prove anything with your smart phone, all you demonstrated is that you couldn’t find it. I entered it in a notebook some time ago, it was from a _Times Literary Supplement_ article, but I have no record of which one & I’m not sufficiently articulate to have made it up. Perhaps it sticks in your craw because it is near the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/34 "2020-05-22T11:57:36Z")
> [@Casparlatete](#): > > You didn’t prove anything with your smart phone, all you demonstrated is that you couldn’t find it. I entered it in a notebook some time ago, it was from a _Times Literary Supplement_ article, but I have no record of which one & I’m not sufficiently articulate to have made it up. Perhaps it sticks in your craw because it is near the truth. It doesn’t matter who said it and where because the statement is still false and asinine. Critics said the same of the radio 100 years ago, TV in the 50s, Home computers/video games in the 80s. Sure it’s not all positive, as with any new technology, there are some people that may overuse, or even become addicted and dependent on it. Where are all those “anti-social dummies” now? The smart phone is one on of the greatest inventions ever, after the internet and the printing press. Seriously, you’re talking about a tool that allows you to communicate to and from almost anywhere while having access to the sum of all human knowledge at your fingertips. Interestingly, from Wiki… [The need to communicate led to the creation of different communication devices – this is a prime example of the expression: Necessity is the mother of invention.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necessity_is_the_mother_of_invention) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/35 "2020-05-22T13:10:13Z")
> [@Casparlatete](#): > > Do young people know how to read maps anymore? Do you know how to use a slide rule? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/36 "2020-05-22T13:12:46Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Do you know how to use a slide rule? I have a slide rule app on my phone. Does that count? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Casparlatete](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/casparlatete/32/3377_2.png) [@Casparlatete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casparlatete)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/37 "2020-05-22T13:37:01Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > It doesn’t matter who said it and where because the statement is still false and asinine. > > Critics said the same of the radio 100 years ago, TV in the 50s, Home computers/video games in the 80s. Sure it’s not all positive, as with any new technology, there are some people that may overuse, or even become addicted and dependent on it. Where are all those “anti-social dummies” now? > > The smart phone is one on of the greatest inventions ever, after the internet and the printing press. Seriously, you’re talking about a tool that allows you to communicate to and from almost anywhere while having access to the sum of all human knowledge at your fingertips. > > Interestingly, from Wiki… > > [The need to communicate led to the creation of different communication devices – this is a prime example of the expression: Necessity is the mother of invention.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necessity_is_the_mother_of_invention) Errr… I know what they are & what they do - I’ve had several. The question is, are the societal & psychological costs worth the dependency? There’s a clear example above of someone who thinks that because something doesn’t appear on his smart phone it can’t exist! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/38 "2020-05-22T13:49:11Z")
> [@Casparlatete](#): > > You didn’t prove anything with your smart phone, all you demonstrated is that you couldn’t find it. I entered it in a notebook some time ago, it was from a _Times Literary Supplement_ article, but I have no record of which one & I’m not sufficiently articulate to have made it up. Perhaps it sticks in your craw because it is near the truth. Lol. Bullshit. It’s no where near the truth. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/39 "2020-05-22T13:52:24Z")
However, he did say it. I stand corrected on that. > **[In Brief: In Mid-Air by Adam Gopnik book review | The TLS](https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/essays-120/)** > > To maintain a tone of rueful comedy in a small space while still scoring a point or two and still keeping a shapely shape seems to me in its way as It’s from his new collection of essays “In Mid Air” ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144/40 "2020-05-22T13:53:43Z")
> [@Casparlatete](#): > > Errr… I know what they are & what they do - I’ve had several. The question is, are the societal & psychological costs worth the dependency? There’s a clear example above of someone who thinks that because something doesn’t appear on his smart phone it can’t exist! You’re moving the goal posts again. From your own OP… > [@](#): > > Have they been overall, an advantage or or a disadvantage to the well-being of humanity? The overwhelming response it that they isn’t much debate here, They ARE an advantage. The quote you provided is still moronic. Besides, this is still the Dope and the onus is on you to provide a cite or proof that it even exists. Otherwise, it’s bullshit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-cell-phones/854144.md?page=3)