If phones didn’t have the ability to use the internet. Would outside events like concerts, clubs, networking coms, parks, etc. benefit from that?
As others have said, it comes down to people not enforced on/off switches. You can’t (well you can, but should you) stop people living their lives.
I was out with 3 friends tonight (all middle aged), meeting first for coffee, moving elsewhere for dinner and drinks, and ending with tabletop games (the place we eat/drink is happy with it). One of our group couldn’t stop looking at his phone throughout the time we were together, and the rest of us didn’t pull our phones out of our pockets once. (None of us were on call, contacted by family, or anything like that).
Just as some people have their phone ping them for every notification (often loudly, every few minutes), some feel they can’t live without the dopamine hit of a meaningless social media interaction from a stranger. 🤷♂️
I’m old enough that my early adulthood did not include cell phones (unless you count the brick phones), and certainly no Internet access. I enjoyed it more.
Are you sure it’s not because you were in better shape with fewer responsibilities?
I’m in the same boat as OP, and while I think you’re probably right, I do also think that were I in better shape with fewer responsibilities now, I’d still prefer the experience of being at a gig/club night without phones.
Only a personal preference of course, not saying people are wrong if they prefer how things are now.
Same. Fully agree. We can’t go out to eat without checking our phone now.
I can. :)
Same. I can drive there, eat dinner, and drive home, all without checking my phone once.
This really says a lot about mankind.
We all know that we would enjoy the moment more if the phones were put away, but most of us can’t do it unless the ability is taken away completely.
It’s more that we’d enjoy it more if everyone put theirs away, but since we can’t ensure coöperation there’s no reason not to also defect.
This is a “Be the change you want to see” kind of thing, for me
Agreed, but it’s an uphill battle in today’s society.
Tool (and APC and Pucifer) have a no phone policy for their concerts. The concert staff will kick you out if you’re caught using it.
That experience was orders of magnitude better than watching a concert above a sea of cellphone screens.
My main beef with concerts now is that people will not shut the fuck up. I’m not referring to cheering or singing along. People have full blown conversations, even during the main act. If the band plays louder, they talk louder. It’s not just one loud couple. It’s the overall din of side conversations coming from all around you.
Motherfuckers, you could have talked at home for free.
This happens in virtual music events too. I didn’t know it had become common IRL.
People can choose. It is even better when they choose.
It’s fairly well established that experiencing the moment does more to promote one’s mental health than not.
Yes. Was at a holiday party having an engaging and funny conversation with some of my coworkers and an asshole manager just had to walk up and take photos of us “having fun at the office party”. Completely killed the nice vibe we had going.
Why they have to kill the vibe like that? 😂
Why are you inventing some kind of signal jammer?
🤫, just need a few more components
A night out with dinner would be way better if the in-laws put away their phones instead of getting up and taking pictures of everyone eating around the table like it’s some fucking holiday catalog for Costco. The good mood’s gone and nobody wants to see those pics later anyway.
Yeah, I feel like we all need to self train ourselves to minimize time on our phones when we go out. I think a lot of people who lack social skills will benefit from this.
We’re on a limited data plan to save money so I already keep it turned off for everything except messaging. I don’t think we could afford a full-fat data plan! That crap adds up quick.
You don’t have unlimited data? You automatically get +10 charisma just from that 😂.
