> My wife has a smart phone which is great for when [I want to use a smartphone].
If you don't want to carry a smartphone around that's totally fine, but you definitely still use one. I carry a smartphone myself and only use internet-aware 'smartphone' features like maps, yelp and uber when I need to. I don't use social networks.
I think you're misreading the comment (or at least not acknowledging the degrees of use that the author seemed to intend to convey).
There's "using a smartphone", in the sense of using one to respond to messages quickly, having an entertainment device on hand for idle moments, and generally "[being] plugged in 24/7".
Then there's "using a smartphone", in the sense of being able to borrow one for a specific use, then giving it back to the owner. The difference in usage patterns us the distinction that was being made.
Using maps/yelp/fandango/uber covers a majority of the functionality that a smartphone provides.
What? That's a minority of my use.
Saying that the comment is dishonest or disingenuous implies that you think there was an intent to deceive, and I don't think there was any such intention. I'd say that you're taking an unusually and unnecessarily rigid interpretation of what was said and possibly ascribing deception where none exists.
Humans are imprecise. Natural language is imprecise. What ever happened to allowing some leeway for imprecision and even inaccuracy in a casually-written piece of text?
I said functionality, not usage.
If we're having a discussion and not caring about being imprecise or inaccurate then we should all just stop wasting our time on this discussion.
Cheers
And it's not like I'm a Luddite. I still consume my news and watch some HBO Now on my laptop, but I set boundaries. Relationships, life-long learning, and hobbies are all very important to me, and I see technology as something that has the strong potential to compete with these things.