Perhaps shallow ressentiment, but ressentiment none the less.

I don't own a smartphone. I used to have three of them at different times; two of which were dropped to death, and one that got wet. I can no longer afford to get another, but between ownership of the last one and now; I've taken on this attitude about smartphones, and maybe even the people who have them.

When I had my droid, I: (i) spent several hours a day geeking out on it when no one was around. (ii) Would take it out of my pocket and use it when others were around, either paying them marginal-attention, or completely shutting them out altogether. (iii) never valued ergonomic considerations like repetitive movement of the thumbs; eye strain; neck muscle strain; et al. (iv) never considered that perhaps it's a dick move to ignore people around me in favor of this toy that I always have at my disposal.

I keep telling myself that it's for these reasons I won't buy another smartphone. I'll even take it a step or two further, and take some moral stance about others who exhibit the same behaviors with their devices as I have when it was available to me. I'll make assertions that they're completely disconnected from what's happening around them, and shame on them for that.

But I wonder if this is just a set of premises that I'm using to disguise the fact that I'm really not buying another smartphone because I can't afford one, and if I could afford it there is a good chance I would buy one. In other words I wonder if this is some candy-ass twenty first century slave morality I've made for myself so that I can have it both ways.

Does this make sense to anyone?

What reason do you have not to buy one? Financial considerations are not really real - you can get one for like $100 nowadays.

If financial restrictions are a real problem, however, then you might be creating moral reasons to justify not having one (until you can afford one, at which time you'll create new moral reasons to validate it!)

I think I'd maintain those four premises to support not buying one if I could.

Can you?

Yes, I think it would be quite easy. I've divorced myself from the idea of ever getting one again.

Are we the only two people who post here? It seems like the majority of threads here were started when Bush was in office.

I like my windows smartphone because it's a portable music player, phone, video player, and note taker for like $150 bucks. It's certainly not a smartphone to me - it's a mobile, mini computer/speaker system.

I dunno, but I like hearing my own echo.

I never had a smartphone until this past Christmas when my husband surprised me with one. Up to then, I had been using a simple, slim, very cost effective and perfectly usable for my needs phone. I had had that one for several years and bought it when I lived abroad and traveled a lot more.

I kind of suspected that he'd get me one and I wasn't too excited about it. I felt like the money could be used for better things or to go toward a trip together or something.

In the 5 plus months of having it, I carry it everywhere. I look at it all the time, read stupid articles, chat with friends, etc. I don't think it has made my life any better. I pretty much use my phone now to take the place of going home and using my laptop to talk to friends around the world or catch up on news, etc.

The reason why I never got a smartphone before was because 1) I traveled often and just needed something to make contact with people in those countries 2) getting data plans can be tricky and really expensive in other countries 3) i didn't want to feel like I needed one so I just didn't even try to get one 4) I have my computer when I'm at home, I can do all my online reading then.

I'm still mixed on my smartphone. I find that I have become one of those people who looks out the window less and less on bus rides home. After a few months of enjoying my phone, I'm making a conscious effort to put it down and see things. When my husband and I go out, I hate when he constantly looks at his phone instead of allowing us to hang out and just talk. Same with friends. I'm working on using it less and seeing things more. it's a work in progress.