According to R. van Putten it is very simple: “A smartphone is useful if you also use it smart. It is useful that you are available and can reach others if it is really necessary. It is also useful if you need to know something and can look it up right away.” But also: “For the rest, they are things that turn people into true zombies.”
That is mainly due to the users and not to the devices, argues Pieter-2018: „They are ideal devices, complete computer systems in your pocket. But just like with other things: you have to learn to deal with it and it must not become an addiction.”
Many commenters say they are quite independent of the mobile. It does not go into the bedroom, it is actually only used for phone calls and social media is not followed with it. Adaottehundreds“We still have to learn to deal with it. I choose to leave him at home most of the time and he doesn’t go to bed with me either. Horrible to have to be available day and night.”
That urge to always be reachable is Jack Pot hugely against: “It is Big Brother squared: making people pay a lot for handing in his/her privacy. I predict that there will come a time when the people (and not just the initiates) will realize how horribly tricked they have been. They will start to feel like a prisoner of the digital world.”
dull
Ts39 sees society dulled before his eyes: “Like the PC, it is a disaster that has hit society. We have a dull society. Commerce has taken advantage of it by creating a world that has made itself dependent on devices. People and service have given way to tame sheep with a level of education that is far below par.”
Renatus_Hamelers is a bit more nuanced about this: “The smartphone can be called a ‘curse and success’. It could almost be a Dutch compromise product.”
The biggest complaint is that all mobile contact is at the expense of ‘real’ contact. keubke sees that very clearly: “The social contact has disappeared. Real conversations and real contact have given way to chatting via smartphone. Sometimes even when sitting next to each other!” there can Gerdanlia also not with the cap on: “When I see in a restaurant that young couples no longer talk to each other and are only busy with their smartphones, it is a curse for me.”
pickles
How about some comparison? grumbler has the last word: “It strikes me that many sourpuss react. It’s like they live in the 50’s and are against everything. These people are also against anything and everything. Live your life and move with the times. Those smartphones are just a blessing.”