SMS feature phones like the sidekick, with physical keyboards, ruled the day and many of my classmates actually disliked smartphones because of the lack of physical keys!
You all had it made. I'm sure any younger person can vouch for the social issues that come along with every teenager having a smartphone, but your cohort also missed out on family-shared landlines and all of the issues attendant with them. Calling your date and finding yourself forced to make small talk with her dad the phone bouncer, for example.
And if the bell rung, well, you were out of luck
It's great. Engage with others more authentically, more meaningfully, and more consistently.
It may be hard for some people, but if you really want to do it, keep at it and don't give up. Seven generations from now, do you think smartphones will still have this hold on humanity? We just can't continue this way; it's an unsustainable form of society. Even movies made in 2021 do not depict smartphone usage anywhere close to the frequency and intensity they are used now. People will wake up from this collective dream one day; I'd rather wake up now and get started early on building something that works, wouldn't you?
> That last sentence is the most confusing thing I’ve read today, and I still don’t know what you mean by it.
I think ahofmann is referring to people who have a smartphone but not a desktop / laptop or similar.
A dumb phone does less for you now than it did in 2005, just like a horse does less for you now than it did in 1895. Even if you really like horses, you can't ride them on the same streets you once could.
There was a culture of nudging people along to the right place. Even as a kid you would be asked for directions from time to time and have to sort out how many blocks to go before the next turn and all that, often without ever having seen an actual map of your own town.
Some people conflate authenticity for interactions with others who are willing to go way out of their way to spend time with you.