That's what they all say.Originally Posted by devoidapop
You're concerned about people not being gullible enough? Seriously?
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss
There is! http://yourkarma.com ... and if they do manage to get through, the device leads them to their own account, no charge to you.
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Exactly! When "camping" is used together with "KOA" you know Orwell's doublethink is alive and well.
But when they misfire and malfunction on a long trip this is what happens---
My dang sangean radio went haywire on a 20 day trip in 2012 and I did field repair with a rock after spreading it out for a review pic on my tent stuff sack before bashing it.
Last edited by Tipi Walter; 04-18-2017 at 10:37.
looks like the transmixer lost its equalizer pegs.Exactly! When "camping" is used together with "KOA" you know Orwell's doublethink is alive and well.
But when they misfire and malfunction on a long trip this is what happens---
My dang sangean radio went haywire on a 20 day trip in 2012 and I did field repair with a rock after spreading it out for a review pic on my tent stuff sack before bashing it.
This has already been done - picture from Davenport Gap Shelter, Fall 2012
75664_10102507959216504_456665799_n.jpg
It's all good in the woods.
I saw a commercial today in which it says that the "average person" spends 282 minutes on their smart phone every day. I sure am glad I'm not average.
Blackheart
Yet another good reason NOT to get a smart phone! Flip phone works just fine for making phone calls!
Everything has its place.
Smartphone technology brings with it an extraordinary number of services. News feeds, the ability to stream videos and films, books, social media, and games. Though these things add to the daily minutes used by the average user, there is a corresponding subtraction of minutes from watching TV, writing letters/calling friends to stay current, and reading periodicals or books, which are often not considered.
The primary beneficiary of smartphone technology is business. Smartphone technology is not only handy but like the desktop computer has become essential to maintain the speed of most businesses today. For a lot of people the smartphone is their primary business tool for resource management, correspondence, phone contact, document generation, and a variety of other applications from remote desktop and/or web based software. The time savings realized with these devices and boost in productivity is significant, which prior to the late 1990s was not possible when away from a desk or office.
My guess is if the smartphone were not invented, people would be spending close to that same 4.7 hours typing letters to mail, talking on the phone with friends to get caught up, watching television, and reading newspapers/books.
Oh I know that that smartphone technology is very helpful in business today. It has helped me find car valuations while trying to buy cars and lets my shop keep in touch with me when ever I am away from it. But it amazed me when I hired an 18 year old receptionist who asked me for my cell phone number so she could text me when someone came to see me. I told her, with a smile, that if someone wants to see me, she should come and get me.
Blackheart
This is nothing new. I always found it a little humorous to watch a couple people 2 cubicles away from each other communicating by phone...
Sure, everything has its place. When I'm at home and indoors I spend time, obviously, on the laptop---either discussing crap on forums or ordering items needed for my next trip. When I'm outside backpacking and camping I do not and/or never want to be online, period.
For those stuck indoors or in a car, sure, a smartphone brings with it a number of services. Just look at all the lemmings glued face down in the things. On a backpacking trip---and yes this is a backpacking forum---a smartphone doesn't get me across a creek or help me to posthole up a mountain in the snow or keep me warm or fill my belly or plan my route---paper maps, remember? The last thing I want to be on a trip is CONNECTED . . . in any way. Except to Miss Nature, the queen of the green and blue and brown.
My guess is if the smartphone were not invented, people COULD BE spending more time outside backpacking.
Last edited by Tipi Walter; 07-13-2017 at 08:05.
Sounds reasonable to assume but that's not what's entirely happening. We're not simply exchanging an equal amount of time to get the same thing just using a SmartPhone to get it done - type/hand write a letter, talk on the phone, read a book, etc at previous cultural standards. With the invention of hand held devices like SmartPhone tech electronic addiction is actually on the rise. We expect to be digitally always connected and entertained even when we don't have our SmartPhones. TV use is still on the rise for example.
SmartPhones are changing not just how people do things but what people do and how they spend their time perhaps differently/more positively OR negatively, including spending MORE TIME connected to electronics doing some rather often mundane things like social media, mindlessly surfing the Net, talking, texting, etc. Attention spans are down(for some things), personal face to face communication skills can suffer, impatience and anxiety while being demanding and harshly openly judgmental seems like it's growing(easy to develop when the pattern is initiated and promoted from being behind a keyboard), ... These consequences fueled by electronics are beginning to get noticed by psychologists and MD's but it's not given the attention it deserves.
Books are not really being fully read, they are bought but not read(too much time to reading a book entirely). This makes more people mistakenly assume their grasp of information contained in a topic is greater than it actually is.
Personal face to face communication/conversation is rushed, curt, often awkward, abrupt, socially inept,... It's becoming increasingly likened to an illicit street drug addiction where the addict anxiously wants to close themselves off so to entertain their drug use.
Conversations(give and takes) where one listens and deeply considers for a longer duration than a soundbite before opining is increasingly ignored resulting in fragmented learning behavior and incorrectly assumed "I know it all" attitudes. Holding an educational class' attention for teachers is perhaps more challenging than ever.
This has profound impacts in relationships with our spouse, children, employers, authorities, potential clients, the workforce/biz associates, driving habits, working face to face in groups, how we relate to/recognize cultural habits(consumption, comfort standards, earning a wage,..), Nature...*It can have profound mental and emotional impacts to those on trail!
This is considered long winded and preachy by some. Maybe it is. BUT MAYBE that conclusion involves some of what was discussed?
My guess is if the smartphone were not invented, people COULD BE spending more time outside backpacking.
^^^....
A smartphone can be an extremely useful tool when back packing. You can take pictures, check the weather forecast, contact help in an emergency, call ahead for shuttle service or a hostel reservation, keep a trail journal, use it to store maps and other trail information, pay bills if you're out for an extended period of time, read books, etc. The list is endless. You can hike without it, but it sure makes a lot of things easier, just as all the other modern materials used today make hiking easier. I don't want to do without my smart phone any more than I want to go back to canvas tents, heavy leather boots, etc.
Last edited by gpburdelljr; 07-12-2017 at 14:12.
Everything you say is true. The only problem is you are putting all your eggs in one basket. Pictures, probably no big deal if you miss a few, but I carry a camera that is waterproof to 33 feet, dustproof, shockproof from 5 foot drop and freezeproof to 14*, not too many phones can say this. An extra battery can be carried for about a 1 oz penalty. Another 1/2 oz penalty for a charging cord. Weather can be check while in town for the next 7-10 days. Knowledge in how to read clouds and other signs in nature can give you more immediate weather predictions. Contacting help can only be done if you have a signal, but a small signal fire/mirror works even in the rain. Shuttles and hostel reservations can be made the same time you are checking the weather. Trail journal, paper and pen/pencil. Maps are made of paper and can get wet if necessary. Paying your bills can be delegated to a person at home as they come in. Now gain what you say is true, but if your battery dies (Not replaceable in Iphones), you drop and break your phone or lose it (Pretty expensive to replace), or you're out of range, you have lost all the "easy things" until the situation resolves itself. Just like hiking, you need to have a backup plan. Just my two cents worth.
Blackheart
I disagree that it is putting all your eggs in one basket. If I lose or damage my smart phone I have enough outdoor skills that it isn't a disaster. It sure does make things a lot simpler, though.
That's more an argument against relying on an expensive iPhone than relying on a smartphone in general. Some phones are more Trail-ready than others, or can be made more Trail-ready with a rugged case. Let's take a look at my Android phone as an example. My Moto G4 cost me $219 (plus $17 a month for use). I'd be upset if the battery died, but I could replace it (though I'd have it done rather than do it myself, as I'm not going to be carrying the necessary Torx screwdriver on the AT). I'd be more upset if the phone itself died, but I could buy another one and probably recover all the data from the removable storage (microSD card). An iPhone costs more, doesn't have a user-replaceable battery, and has all storage built in rather than removable. You can get cheaper phones than mine, too: around $50 if you're willing to have advertisements.
Now, I understand the consequences of phone failure if I'm using it for many purposes. Lost pictures, but then my amateur photography isn't anything special. Lost reading material, but that's recoverable through Amazon eventually, and the phone itself matches the weight of a single book (guidebook or paperback novel). Lost GPS and guidebook means I'd have to actually look for the white blazes and talk to fellow hikers about the Trail environs. Lost voice connectivity means I'd need to reassure my Mom that I haven't come to misadventure; everybody else would just assume that I'm enjoying the Trail more than conversation with friends and family.
A phone is a great way to save weight on the Trail. It can be a distraction from the Trail itself, and sometimes a crutch so you don't need to pay attention to your surroundings as much as you ought. However, that's a matter of choice rather than an issue with the device itself. I'm going to have AWOL's guide on my phone to save weight. Right now I'm thinking I'll forgo Guthook's app so I'm not going to constantly look at my screen as opposed to the Trail itself. I'll only use WiFi data, so there won't be any e-mails or web browsing except in towns. Mostly I'll take pictures as I go, and read at lunchtime or if I'm not sleepy immediately at "hiker midnight". I apply the "hike your own hike" maxim to phone use as much as every other aspect of the AT. If I take a rainy zero day in my tent, I'll be glad to have plenty of books stored on my phone. Most days in the green tunnel I might not even check to see if the thing still has charge left.
Oh no doubt it is much easier. I really didn't mean anything directed at you, I just used your post to point out a few common beliefs. As you say "You" have enough outdoor skills to continue on. I was generally speaking to those who rely too much on their phones for such information and "Don't" possess those outdoor skills. No slam towards you at all. Relying too much on technology can be a game ender for some.
Blackheart
I wasn't taking your comment as a personal slam, nor was I trying to slam you, I was addressing the bias of many against smart phones when hiking that I think is unwarranted. Actually I think that any typical hiker would only be inconvenienced, but not in serious trouble, if they lost of use of their smart phone on a hike. Like any other piece of equipment, a hiker should have a back up plan if it fails. The type of hiker that would be in serious trouble if they lost use of their smart phone, would have eventually gotten into serious trouble hiking before the invention of smart phones because they don't have the necessary basic skills. A smart phone is just a piece of equipment, no different than any other pieces of equipment used when hiking. Hiking equipment has improved over time, making hiking a more enjoyable experience. My point is that a smart phone can be an extremely useful piece of equipment, and I don't understand why some people are so dead set against them when hiking. Rather than focus on the frivolous way many people use smart phones, I tend to focus on all the things they can do to make a hike more enjoyable.
Last edited by gpburdelljr; 07-13-2017 at 12:06.
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