Could you survive with a regular mobile phone rather than a smartphone?

I'm thinking of getting a regular mobile phone rather than having a smartphone. I don't really use many apps on my smartphone and I'm concerned about privacy and my data being stolen. There's a few things I'll miss but I'll manage.

What about you though? If you had to, would you be able to make do with a regular mobile phone? What are the main things you would miss about a smartphone?

Voting Results
79% Normal
Based on 24 votes (19 yes)
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Comments ( 24 )
  • olderdude-xx

    About the only app I use on my smartphone other than Texting is the mapping function.

    Yet, I detest the 3 letters per button of the simple normal phones. I was an early user of Blackberries as they had a keyboard for texting. I believe they also took basic pictures as well, and you could send them.

    The model I had (world phone) would work in virtually any country in the world.

    I think someone should come out with a limited smartphone that does maybe 4 or 5 things, allows you to download no more than 2 other apps... and keeps the cost down. Nice and simple.

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    • JellyBeanBandit

      Yeah I'd really miss the qwerty keyboard touchscreen typing. Probably the thing I use my phone most for on-the-go is just for writing notes, so that'd be a pain doing that with the numbered buttons. But I could just try to write more concisely.

      I'd also miss the camera, but other people always take pictures of social events anyway so I could just ask them to email them on to me.

      Other than that I'd also miss Dropbox and the maps, but I could live without them really.

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    • NotWeirdGuyFromTheSouth

      As a truck driver I use google maps everyday. Its the best app ever created.

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  • thepuppet

    im only addicted to laptop so i wouldnt mind at all tbh, i got a phone later than most people my age so i never really liked it as much

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  • raisinbran

    Absolute minimum I need is a phone for emergencies.

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  • DeletThis

    I have in the past. But I gotta admit it’s become an addiction for me, I would miss the instant escapism

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  • mafioso

    It could be beneficial to do that. I could actually try it for the month or something and then decide if I want to switch. The main thing I would miss is the ability to take photos almost anytime. And then communication channels as Instagram, Messenger, iMessage, WhatsApp, etc.

    If you feel threatened about privacy, go for it, but also do not use any social media and stuff like that :D

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  • Schizotravestie

    if I no longer have a Smartphone, I no longer have internet. I like the internet: it's useful.
    I also find it useful to have a timer on me to think about doing this or that.

    if I could afford a computer with an internet subscription I would leave the smartphone.

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  • Somenormie

    You can survive without a smartphone. It is possible to survive without one.

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    • LloydAsher

      Kids these days, being bored is an normal part of life.

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  • kelili

    Yes, we can survive without one. That's what we've been doing before it was invented.

    I like my smartphone though. It changes a lot that you can get access to your mail almost anywhere.

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  • Goomats

    I still have a flip phone and my life is fine! I am not tempted to play with my phone while driving and I have no risk of being a phone zombie.

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  • BleedingPain

    Without my phone, I wouldnt have access to Discord on the go. I could do without it, but my circle of communication would greatly diminish.

    I also love being able to google anything on my mind instantly and have an answer. How did people survive not being able to google who “that actor in a vaguely familiar movie” was, while having family dinner?

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    • JellyBeanBandit

      You could just write down whatever it is you want to google in a note on your phone and then look it up when you get home.

      And I have heard someone actually complain that just googling something like an actor at dinner can take the fun out of everyone guessing and arguing over who it is, giving clues like "Oh, he was in that film with Morgan Freeman", and that it was more satisfying to finally get the name if you had no guarantee to get it simply by looking it up.

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  • YE

    I'd definitely miss the functions of a free messaging app (if it didn't exist on a regular mobile phone), unconstrained internet use, and a smart music player app that allows me to easily manage and listen to my music files as I wish... I like orderliness, but again I dislike monotony.

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  • Tommythecaty

    Lol watching a high schooler try to use a brick phone would be funny. I think the effort required to use the buttons would fuck them a bit.

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  • SmokeEverything

    I have a 3g phone and plan to connect 3g unlocked phones to the no-data plan I have til 3g runs out. I did the same thing with 2g, they keep trying to get me off this phone plan cause Im granfathered into something they havent offered since 2005.

    I don't miss internet on my phone at all. Its a communication device, not a propaganda device. I can use the computer at the library or the laundromat if I need internet.

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  • SwickDinging

    I have too many children so I heavily rely on my calendar function, and especially the fact that I can share that calendar with my husband. The same goes for my list keeping apps. People always ask me how I manage with so many kids... the answer is always the same - smart phone calendar and list apps. It's how I run the household.

    The only other things I think I would really miss in a practical sense would be my banking app and my emails. My lifestyle has adapted to me being able to access those things at any time. I never used to need them so urgently so I'm sure I could adapt to only using my home computer for those things.

    I think I'd find it really tough to adapt, but it's definitely possible. I could make it work.

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  • GeekyGold

    I survived all the way to high school without a smart phone, I’ll live. But I will be sad too. I would have to wait to I get home to go on my laptop to access YouTube or other stuff. And I can’t take nice pictures of my dog anymore! Or face time my friends.

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  • megadriver

    I could, but smartphones are useful. Having the internet and google maps with you everywhere is nice.

    I don't do much social media anyway, sometimes I browse through my feed on facebook on my phone, but that's it.
    I mostly use my phone to look up important stuff on the move, or stream online radio via bluetooth when driving.

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  • ellnell

    I dont see the point in having one for me then.
    I dont use the text-feature, everyone texts through apps nowadays.
    I mostly use my phone for apps, taking pictures, listening to music outside and playing games when i'm bored somewhere or can't sleep at night.
    If I had an oldschool cellphone again it'd just be used for calls and I hate talking on the phone so it wouldn't get used much.

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  • SomethingChevy

    Id probably be much happier

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  • nopurpose

    I'm using both. Old-school for calls, and the smartphone for everything else. Some days in thr morning hurry I happen to forget my smartphone at home. These days are very long and boring but at least in suxh cases I usually tick off some of the piled up assignments on my desk.

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  • RoseIsabella

    I love my smartphone!

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