What is a technology/gadget you refuse to use and why?

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LLMs. Despite how absurdly useful they are, I can recall a time when I had the skills of remembering phone numbers naturally and being able to easily navigate with no maps of any kind.
These skills have deteriorated significantly in the past 10 years, and they're not the only ones. The common thread they all have is my smartphone replaced them.
I fear losing a skill that is less innocuous, from the new tech effectively replacing my need to practice it.
- Try not having a smartphone with you when you leave the house. Actually many starting returning back to basic phones just for calls and SMS.
  
  Kid who doesn't remember a time without a phone, using a "dumb" phone is impossible despite a want for it. So many things are qr based or require a phone at my college. I learned this the hard way when my phone broke and I didn't replace it for 2 weeks. Couldn't even access my accounts cause of 2fa.
  I would love to use a "dumb" phone for text only but the most random shit will require a "smart" feature.
  
  As an EV owner, I can't charge at half the places near me without my phone.
  
  For sure not having a smartphone mean also living without the comfort and the easy access. Try to achieve something that seems impossible without tech I think is the mean cure of the lack of skills you mean before.
  
  No I mean it's actually not possible to do some of the stuff I needed for school. The only way to access financial aid is joining a queue from online. While at the the office. Nobody is in it to ask.
  Similarly I couldn't access my accounts on campus since I did not have the app that's on my phone.
- You don't think you've used the freed-up brain capacity on other skills that are still useful?
  
  No, I don't think the brain really works that way, except in the very broadest sense.

248 comments