ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

In general, I'm very comfortable using technology. But when it comes to phones, I guess I'm a little old-fashioned.

I don't especially like smartphones. I am grateful that my phone, my camera, and my GPS have been merged into one device. But I really only want to be able to make phone calls and receive very short text messages.

I don't want to write emails on my phone. I don't want to read books or news on my phone. I don't want to shop on my phone. I don't want to watch TV on my phone. I don't want "an app for that."

But nowadays, smartphones have become a necessity. I got my first smartphone in 2017 because I had to drive to classes and the college would only accept payments for parking through an app. So I got the cheapest, most basic smartphone I could find. It cost $30 (~¥3000). And I did make an effort to try all the popular apps to find out what everyone was so excited about. Meh.

There is one app that I liked: Heart Star is a delightful little game.

As time passed my basic phone struggled to keep up. My map app took so long to load I was sometimes almost halfway to my destination before it figured out where I was. At my new job, I have to 'clock in' by email, and I was 'late to work' a few times because my keyboard was sluggish. The last straw was when my volunteering organization updated their app and it was no longer compatible with the Android version my phone.

Still, I put it off as long as possible. I don't want to be the kind of person who 'needs' a new phone. But finally I ordered a halfway-decent phone, just so I could keep doing the things I was supposed to be doing. It took a whole day to uninstall all the junk that comes preinstalled on new phones. No, thank you. No, thank you. No, thank you.


Yuck.


The funny thing is, on the day I ordered my new phone, my old phone started acting smoothly and quickly. "No! Please don't replace me! I promise I can be fast!" Too late, old phone. You had your chance.

Thanks for reading!