New Phone?

Okay, the time may have arrived for dad to get a new phone. I know I've been saying this for some time now, but with each passing week I feel the tug of tech's seductive pull. How much longer can I resist? Not much, I think. There are several factors that make this increasingly difficult.

First off, there's peer pressure (PP), and I'm an absolute sucker for PP. Almost everyone around me has a smartphone, and I've been pretty good about not really caring about having an old phone. If anything it's become a small source of pride having an old junker phone, which for the record cost me $5.00. You couldn't give this thing away, though I am surprised by how many people I meet who still have old school flip phones. The reality is that I only use my phone to make phone calls, and I don't need an expensive phone for that.

One of the biggest draws for me to have a more modern phone is texting. I don't text much, partly because I think it's sort of a joke, but also because with my phone being so old it makes it very impractical, dare I say impossible, to text. The problem I run into is that most people today, especially young people, text. They don't take phone calls, and almost never return messages. Everything is done by texting. Now that A is connected to the modern digital age, texting is the preferred mode of contact, so I need to get onto that bandwagon.

I've also found that having a smartphone can come in handy when traveling, mainly to get directions or information when a laptop computer is not very practical. There was a moment recently when we were out and about and I needed to know something and thought, “Wow, I could sure use a smartphone right now.” Then again, this is something our kids are continually reminding us about.

Finally, there are now cheap smartphone options. I know people go crazy over the newest iPhones and are willing to pay through the nose for them, but not me. I couldn't care less about current technology, I just need some basic functions. This may change with time, or as I get sucked into the irresistible vacuum of technology, but for now, I can't really see that happening. And as I mentioned, with tech changing so rapidly, phones that are a year or two old are now obsolete; a fact I find completely ludicrous, but might be able to use to my advantage. I've found that you can get reasonably decent smartphones through my current pay-as-you-go program. I am talking around $25-40. More than my $5 phone, for sure, but not too shabby. I can simply transfer my plan over and suddenly I'll be in the 21^st century. Scary thought.

This is all conjecture at this time, but I'm thinking it's going to be a reality sooner than you think. Once that happens I'll have to grow a goatee and start eating avocado toast at Starbucks.

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Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to afontd for the pic.