We know!

"....all they see them as are toys"

I think people see smartphones as really useful communication devices. The current generation of young people has grown up with mobile telephony, to them it's as natural a part of life as colour TV and digital photography - it's always been there as far as they are concerned.

My children (particularly my daughters), send text messages every day as a matter of routine, and use their smartphones to navigate their way around, book cinema tickets, shop online, manage appointments.... and make calls. None of them uses a landline, other than for a broadband connection.

These phones are not used as toys, they're an integral part of the lives of millions of people.

Managing without something is OK until you realise that you're in a minority. Then you get that teeny tiny inkling that perhaps,just perhaps you might be missing out on something.

We've all heard people say 'I didn't have an XYZ for years, but now I've got one I wonder how I ever managed without it'.

That must certainly be true of broadband connections - who would want to revert to the whistling and pinging of a 56k dial-up connection? Then there's the video recorder - how many people would want to do without that, once they've tasted the delights of time-shifting TV output?

Aitchbee

It's not really a question of being a Luddite - technology is there to be enjoyed, but not everyone wants (or can afford) to indulge in everything that comes over the hill. You seem pretty positive about the technology you have, and that's what matters most.

I watch my neighbours busily blowing the leaves from their lawns and driveways, and I know they wonder why I don't buy a blower and join in. I can't be bothered, is the answer, and somehow I get by. Not all that glisters is gold.

I really didn't understand the fuss about "smartphones" until I'd had one for a while, and realised just how many different jobs it was doing.

A few weeks ago I managed to get majorly lost in London, so I took out my phone, fired up the GPS and Google Maps and in less than a minute I had a route to where I wanted to be...