Nope. I love my smartphone. It's in my hands 24/7. Dunno what I ever did before I had one.

Yes, ill take that thing and throw it in the ocean

Sometimes.

Having everything available at our fingertips seems to have gotten me to a point where I get frustrated at having to wait for something. For example, my significant other has a smartphone, and I know that he can access his e-mail from it. There are times when I will e-mail him in the morning and find myself irritated by the fact that I haven't received an e-mail back within a few hours. I tend to have to remind myself now that, just because the email is accessible, does not always mean that people have the time to respond as instantly as technology might allow them to.

I need to update my phone but I'm scared to update to a smartphone. They have way to many technical difficulties. I could barely handle my iPod touch, I always end up getting irritated by it. Now, I can only imagine a smartphone.

Neither of us has a smartphone, so we don't really have that issue. I do get tired of hanging out with friends and just seeing them glued to their phones rather than actually talking to me or something.

Neither My Man or myself nor any of our children have SmartPhones. We just can't afford them. In part, due to aforementioned, unplanned disasters in our bathroom and kitchen that are costing us an arm an a leg, in part because I don't want to be that accessible.

I think First World Life is stating to move at not only an unprecedented fast pace, but that everyone who is wrapped up in this high speed lifestyle gets frustrated that everyone else they know doesn't have the access or the desire to join this lifestyle.

In the long run, I think it's dangerous to live so plugged in and so quickly.

I CAN wait until I get home to check my email etc. I have people freak out, because not only do I not have a Smartphone and can't constantly check my mail, but I can't be reached while I am working, because what I do requires *gasp* hands on, empathetic connections to other human beings, with eye contact and touching and talking face to face that cannot be interrupted because someone sent me an email.

On a date? Shit, I know I don't want to be bothered by someone's email or even phone calls when I'm with My Man, either when we are out together or just home hanging out or especially in bed.

If someone can't wait a couple of hours or even a day or two for me to get back to them, (aside from real emergencies) then, IMO, their lifestyle and mine simply don't mesh. It's too much that everyone who shelled out for a Smart Phone wants everyone they know to be just as obsessed with constant screen time as they are and these people always seem to want you to respond to them immediately no matter how trivial their interruptions are. No thanks.


Maybe I'm just getting old, but I think we're going to pay and pay heavily for this constantly "plugged in" lifestyle.

We had a new neighbor over for dinner and she just wouldn't put it down. She spent more time checking her messages and yelling into her phone than she did talking to us.

2 years ago I would have said no it was not rude and would not be a date killer. I had my iphone and was always connected to it. I bought the Iphone4 when it came out and anytime I had a free second I would check email, facebook, whatever. I was that person playing on my phone on dates.

Then a few months ago I realized that I was spending way too much time on facebook and my phone in general.I saw that I was just plugged in and not spending time with ppl when we were hanging out and it just seemed dumb. So I sold my iphone and got a dumb phone. The first couple of weeks I would check email and facebook as soon as I walked in the door. Now I walk the dogs, clean house, work out and then check email and facebook. I now see how many of my friends are connected to their phone when we hang out and it makes me sad. I see our society being way too reliant on technology and people expecting you to be accessible all hours of the day. I also see ppl losing the art of communication. So yeah at this point in my life it would be a date killer.

Doesn't matter what kind of phone - if you're stuck on it, you're not getting to know me, and there's no point on being on a date if you're talking to other people. I don't really understand why they bother to go out with anyone if they'd rather be communicating with someone else.

Has this been declared an addiction yet? It has every single earmark of being one.

We all know it's not the smartphones that are the problem, it's how people use them. While I can understand (up to a point) that people that have grown up with cellphone technology at their fingertips may be fuzzy on phone etiquette when in company, that doesn't explain or excuse their rude behavior. What really baffles me are the people my age, who grew up before cellphones were so accessible and affordable, constantly checking for texts, email, using the internet, making and answering calls instead of interacting with the people around them.

My husband and I got our first smartphones just over a year ago - we use them all the time and we love them! We can look things up on the spot instead of driving ourselves crazy trying to remember such-and-such. We can find places without having to stop for directions. But, owning a smartphone didn't magically change my social behavior; the etiquette that applied to my old cellphone use still applies today. If my phone rings while I'm out socializing, I'll reach into my purse (because I keep it in my purse, not on the table) and switch it to vibrate to avoid further interruptions. Unless I'm waiting for or expecting a call, I usually don't bother to look at the caller's name because what does it matter? It's not as though I'm going to take the call.

If you have children, keeping your phone on the table and glancing at incoming texts and calls to see if it was one of them or the babysitter with an *emergency* makes sense. A text to locate fill-in-the-blank, while you're out on a date or with friends, does not warrant a response. Even better, teach your kids that it's not ok to constantly interrupt you with trivial things - especially when you're out socializing.

I get that a quick call or text to ask a question can save time - at least for the person doing the asking - but no so much for the person being interrupted on the other end. I was at an out of state event last week and the seventeen year old daughter of a friend texted her to ask where a certain piece of clothing was. My friend responded, "I washed it, isn't it in your closet?" Yup, it was hanging in her closet right where it belonged.

My friends and coworkers complain all the time about the constant interruptions, how they can't get anything done, etc. You should see their faces when I tell ask, with a straight face, "you do know that you don't have to answer the phone or read texts or check email unless you want to, right?"

Hey, you can look to see who's calling and read texts but you don't have to immediately respond. What a concept!

But, checking email, posting on Facebook and other internet use instead of paying attention to your surroundings - that's all on you. You're not being interrupted by others, you're choosing to be rude.

Smartphones have their uses, but it is crucial that as adults we have the ability to put them aside. I'm very understanding of anyone on-call or worried about a sick family member, but checking the game score or their facebook wall? No. I've literally turned and walked away from people for doing that because it's disrespectful. They're not engaging with me, they're engaging with their phone. I have better things to do with my time.