8 hours ago, Luis Hernandez said:

If one of them is a Latina, the sound of a cheap motorbike will make her put her phone back into her pocket ASAP. Trust me 😂

lol. Thats why latin american countries have people reading books while walking....

This trend of excessive use of smartphones is destroying the essence of people's relationships. There is a clear tendency to abuse text messages and other means such as WhatsApp or Telegram to replace face-to-face communications. You can understand the tendency when communicating with people who live far away or in a different country, but unfortunately this also happens very often with people who live in the same city and neighborhood.

29 minutes ago, edpatino said:

this also happens very often with people who live in the same city and neighborhood.

Sometimes between people who live in the same house!!!  😱

12 hours ago, charliearon said:

When I was working in downtown San Francisco, I saw several women and men staring at their cellphones and walking into
a sidewalk cargo elevator.  People do the stupidest things!

 

I loved SFO in 1967 and 68. Much fun.😅

 

13 hours ago, charliearon said:

When I was working in downtown San Francisco, I saw several women and men staring at their cellphones and walking into
a sidewalk cargo elevator.  People do the stupidest things!

 

I’m visiting San Francisco right now, and it’s stunning how many people walk around blindly, while staring at their phones. It’s like a disease.

Cheers, Pete

I can walk while sliding phone on sidewalk just fine.

It's called situational awareness and interment scanning pattern, I learned from sim

And ofc when in high stake condition like when crossing a street, I'll put the phone down.

4 hours ago, PilotPete99 said:

It’s like a disease.

 

A global disease it would seem, an electronic pandemic. 😮 

Maybe we need an electronic lockdown. Klatu and Gort could shut down all electronics. Wait... then we'd have no flightsim, so that's not a good idea. Just mobile phones in the hands of ladies in the street then? 

 

Just moved my daughters car for her about a 10 minute walk back, and in that mere 10 minutes, yep, you guessed it, young girl marching along at high speed with face clamped to her phone. 

 

Edited July 23, 20241 yr by martin-w

15 hours ago, beechcaptain said:

I would be willing to bet that 75% of auto accidents are caused by the driver being under the influence or texting/using their smart phone!

 

 

22 killed and 674 injured in road traffic collisions where a driver using a phone was a factor, in the UK, in 2022. And that's despite a 200 quid fine and 6 penalty points on the licence. 

 

 

 

'Phone addiction is real.....  

https://www.addictioncenter.com/behavioral-addictions/phone-addiction/#:~:text=What Is Phone Addiction%3F,unable to use their smartphone.

On 7/22/2024 at 5:37 PM, Penzoil3 said:

Need a tin foil hat

I don't have an actual tinfoil hat, Sue, but the inside of my baseball cap is lined with aluminum foil.

I have the walls and ceiling of my apartment lined with aluminum foil and stainless steel Venetian blinds on my windows.

Noel

On 7/22/2024 at 11:23 AM, dave2013 said:

Little do they realize that these neat little technological marvels are being used to surveil and control them.  Their every search, message, and movement is tracked and logged to a massive server farm run by the NSA.

These amazing little devices have made it possible for the wealthy "elites" to attain the total control over the population that they've always craved.

It's a brave new world.

Given the stunning displays of competence we've witnessed on the news recently, I wouldn't worry TOO much. 😄 

Hook

It's nothing new, but recently I've been getting the situation a lot where I'll be driving, pull up to an intersection, and a pedestrian is standing at the crosswalk  staring at their phone. I'll wait a few seconds, lose patience, try and drive, and at that very moment they'll suddenly step in front of my car causing me to slam on my brakes. And of course pulling up behind even a single car waiting at a red light. Almost a 50/50 chance of missing the light nowadays, as the driver in front will keep staring at their phone when the light turns green and then speed off just as it turns yellow. 

I recently moved back to the UK where I had a land line and my Verizon USA number forwarded from the US for old contacts.

I was somewhat disgusted to find you can't do the following without a working UK cell number (phone plan)

Get car insurance

Open a bank account

Access your medical records from NHS.

I made an appointment at a bank to help me open account as I didn't have a UK phone.

At my appointment the guy in my booth was texting his gf and laughing for 5 mins before noticing me.

Do you have your phone with you he asked finally? Eh? I said I booked this because I don't have one.

He said sorry, come back when you have one.

2nd apt me with phone.

Me - ok I have the phone your required please help with my application

Him: oh, you do that yourself. Just download the app.

Me: You're kidding right? WHAT app?

Him: Our bank of course ( major UK bank for decades)

Me: I can't find the app? Where is it? It's not on google play?

Him: Do you have a UK google account?

Me: wait what?! I can't open a B****** account without giving google my info?!? I have 2 USA ones can I use them?

Nope - uk only

ME: creates uk google account with yet another email/gets app/fills in most of application while he sends selfies to his gf or wife.

Him: sorry I have another apt you need to go finish elsewhere.

ME: walks downstairs to busy lobby NO cashiers only 7 machines in a semi circle.

Finish app. App says you need make a deposit. 

ME excuse me how do I pay in this £1000 check?
Official lady in room: use a machine please.

ME: its a new account I can't activate without making a deposit and I can't make a deposit because it's not activated!

Lady: You need to ask a team member

Me: like you?

Her: no one of those at that desk

Me: it says  desk closed

Meanwhile dude from my original apt comes down (skilfully walking down circular staircase while taking a selfie)

Dude: why did you leave the apt sir?

Me: excuse me you TOLD me to!

Dude: no, I told you to wait until I was finished and I would help

Me: You haven't been doing anything but using your phone since I walked downstairs, I can see from down here

Dude: I was working with another customer

Me: did they have an apt like me? Can  I PLEASE give you my money and go home?

Lady: follow me sir

Lady walks me to back of line of 10 people waiting for machines

Tells me to call for her when I reach front of line

ME gets to front of line

NO sign of lady

Hello? HELLO? HELLLLLOOOOO?!?

Another lady comes: sir, please don't shout can I help?

Me that last lady said she'd help me pay this check in.

New lady: she went home sir. Let me assist. Oh your account will take a few hours to process/activate. I must ask you to finish with the machine as people are waiting and we are closing soon.

Me: I'm not coming back tomorrow. 

new lady: you can pay checks in with your phone sir

Me: Ahh so THAT's why you've closed branches in the 3 local towns I tried earlier?

New lady: This one is closing next month sir.

Sir? SIR? thank you for choosing B****** Bank!

.....

Well I could write a book filled with episodes like this

My (almost)last comment on those soul stealers is that their are children in the ground who would be alive today if their parents had not given them access to every weirdo and their dark intentions in the WORLD at the age of 6-8. Yet they sue META. Do you let your kids play alone in the park at midnight? NO. If you DID would you sue the city parks dept if something happened to them? People would call you irresponsible. Like they SHOULD when you give a smart phone ( not flip phone) to your kids.

Rebuttal to the last part: I have personally received a phone call from a 14yos cell phone when she was locked terrified in her bedroom while her drunken/high father was trying to break the door down to beat on her. I got there after he'd punched her in the neck twice , he said take her BEFORE I do something I regret.

I operated an official safe house. Took her back the next day when he'd sobered up. He explained he'd got her the phone in case he 'lost it' after partying. 

I think people will have chips soon anyway at birth. Black Mirror has it all covered!

 

1 hour ago, sloppysmusic said:

I was somewhat disgusted to find you can't do the following without a working UK cell number (phone plan)

This is all part of the plan.  Eventually, one will not be able to function in society without a smartphone.

Moreover, you can turn off the tracking, but that doesn't stop the communication companies from logging which cell towers your phone uses, so they can track you that way.

Eventually, the powers that be, that is, the corporate and govt. partnership, will know everywhere you go, everything you say and write, everything you are interested in, and everything you purchase.

Just wait until the digital currencies come online...

Dave

4 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

This is all part of the plan.  Eventually, one will not be able to function in society without a smartphone.

It's definitely further down the line in the UK than the USA. Cell phone wise. But the US has no problem tracking its citizens openly. I arrived on 9/9/01 via Newark. My new 'free' country lasted 2 days.. Once the Patriot Act ( the US has such Orwellian naming conventions!) was introduced it was game over privacy wise.

I spent the last 2 days with a media pass roaming the exhibitions of the Farnborough Airshow (after taking all the plane footage I needed). MASSIVE drone presence there. So many 'surveillance' banners. One video showed some guy using a tablet to view a drone footage of a US highway (us plates) and video said 'criminal interception". Guy taped on this semi and the plate came up then the drivers face then click/tap his cell phone messaging history and who he was talking to now and NOTHING looked criminal to me! What about probable cause? RIP I guess.

I still have ALL my notifications turned off. Everything locked down as much as possible. I tell people I check messages when it suits me. Individually I think we can still hold out and 'resist' but 'they' don't care about us. Get the 99% on board and we'll be the die-hards in our shacks no-one takes seriously until we're extinct. I'm no tin foil hat wearer but I know this century will be the last for individual freedoms as commonly understood.