Our smartphones have replaced many things in our lives. At this point, I’ve stopped carrying around a camera, an mp3 player, a planner, and most of the time my handheld “travel” consoles are left at home in favor of mobile games already on my phone. Those are just a few of the things that my phone has replaced in my life, but as much as my phone helps out when it comes to reducing the amount of “stuff” I carry around, there are still some things that I prefer to do without my smartphone.
Take note taking, for instance. Although I often use my phone to remember little things here and there, I realized that I do a better job retaining information if I manually write it using a good old fashioned pen and paper rather than typing it on my phone or on a computer. I type a lot faster than I write, so I think that physically writing things down slowly helps the retaining of information.
In that same context, I also continue to write my grocery lists on paper as well. Occasionally I will use the newly updated Notes app on my iPhone (previously I would use Evernote, but I enjoy the updates made to iOS's Notes) but for the most part I would rather physically write the list down.
While my phone’s calendar continues to be useful in being a constant reminder of my schedule from day-to-day, I also still have a physical calendar up on my fridge. Again, this probably has something to do with manually having to write things down and retaining the information better, but in this case my phone is still useful when it comes to calendar activities due to alerts; I just also use a physical calendar as well.
Mobile pay is becoming an increasingly important part of smartphone culture. With Android, Apple, Samsung, and others constantly joining in on the mobile pay train, it’s hard not to think that this is the future when it comes to how we purchase things. Still, I haven’t completely adjusted to the idea of mobile pay and although I’m definitely interested and leaning that direction, my wallet and my multitude of cards are still very much in use.
Then we get to books. I started reading books on my phone several years ago when I downloaded the Kindle App on my Samsung Vibrant. I was thrilled at the fact that I could read books on the go and not worry about leaving it somewhere or lugging it around in my bag – just another thing that I didn’t have to worry about carrying, right? Eventually, though, I realized that I actually missed turning pages and reading on a piece of paper. Although my phone is great for reading due to the fact that it has a backlit display so I don’t need an extra light to read in the dark, there’s just something about reading a physical book that technology can’t replace. Even the Kindle isn’t as good in my opinion.
There are a lot of things, both physical and virtual, that our smartphones have replaced for us over time, and as time progresses I’m sure more will be added to that list; however, there will always be things that a smartphone can replace that they won’t end up replacing for some people.
Readers, what are some things that smartphones can replace, but haven’t replaced for you? Let us know in the comments below!