Teenagers????

[Alan 45]

a few months back my eldest son asked me for a smart watch for Christmas, I refused saying it was a useless piece off technology and everything it does can be done on his phone


Well he brought one himself fair play and it came today and he's all chuffed and he's telling me what it does and I'm winding him up saying like your phone to everything he's saying


Well I just picked him up from work and on the way he's mentioned that he's put a SIM card in it and tells me he has to top it up , I burst out laughing and say so you have a contract phone that costs money and does all the thing that does and now it's going to cost you double to do the same things in fact your phone does more


He has now stopped bragging about his watch and has got a little annoyed with me


I've just said to him maybe he should think about things before he goes and does it because he's the one who's going to be out of pocket at the end of the day


When will kids learn that the shiny shiny is not always worth it

[eddiesolo]

They will never learn...did we at age? Of course for me it was a new shiny morse code key.

[PaulTRose]

its always want want want....but dont think about the pay bit......eldest grandsons the same


turned 18, passed his car test and wanted a car........wouldnt wait for me (im work in QA in automotive industy for last 15 years, ive built several kit cars and owned classic cars, helped build race cars.....so i do know a bit)....wouldnt wait, went and bought a shed of a corsa.....told him he should wait but he had to have a car as soon as possible lol

[Alan 45]

Ha TBH I was never into little gadgets I've always gone for the get more for your money , I would rather have a rasterblaster than a Walkman


I think the only shiny things I had were my loafers lol

[takeslousyphotos]

a few months back my eldest son asked me for a smart watch for Christmas, I refused saying it was a useless piece off technology and everything it does can be done on his phone
Well he brought one himself fair play and it came today and he's all chuffed and he's telling me what it does and I'm winding him up saying like your phone to everything he's saying


Well I just picked him up from work and on the way he's mentioned that he's put a SIM card in it and tells me he has to top it up , I burst out laughing and say so you have a contract phone that costs money and does all the thing that does and now it's going to cost you double to do the same things in fact your phone does more


He has now stopped bragging about his watch and has got a little annoyed with me


I've just said to him maybe he should think about things before he goes and does it because he's the one who's going to be out of pocket at the end of the day


When will kids learn that the shiny shiny is not always worth it

That's what they do Alan.... We all did daft stuff when we were growing up...... Then we ended up with responsibilities...... I know which I enjoyed more

[Guest]

My son 27 yrs old has bought one (its not confined to teenagers )

[Guest]

I firmly believe that young people learn best by their own mistakes. The info gets nailed in rather than glancing off if advice is given. There was a load of teenagers in a school party at a garden. It was raining and they had paper carrier bags full of goodies. We and several other people watching in the tea room saw them putting their bags on the ground while they waited. We exchanged eyebrow-raising. Eventually, on the off signal, up came the bags, leaving the contents in the puddles. Much scurrying about. Chuckle chuckle.

[spanner570]

Best if we all look back to our own teen years...Did we ever do anything sensible or listen to grown ups - who were at least 30?!


Alan, I have a mobile phone, I've had it donkeys years. It sends and receives calls, full stop. That's all I want - when I remember to switch it on of course!


It's a pay as you go. I put £10 in it 12 months ago and last week I asked my wife how do I find out how much is left on it. "7 8 9." came the reply. I pressed the buttons. A sweet voiced young thing told me "You have £7.82 left."......not bad for 12 months use!!


On the other side of the coin, my good mate showed me his watch he got for Christmas. He plays golf (a good walk spoilt in my opinion) and this thing has a built in satnav loaded with all U.K.golf courses. He just presses a button and the watch shows him which hole he's on and how far his next shot needs to be. The world has gone nuts....


Head back down in the sand I go....

[Guest]

We all, well most of us, like shiny new toys, I certainly do. I did consider a smart watch until I realised they are just wrist worn repeaters for the phone. My contract on phone and iPad are up this summer, as is my contract of employment making me officially a poor pensioner. The contracts will not be renewed as I won't have the £60 per month they cost me now and, I will no longer need them.


What does worry me though is that I still love shiny toys and I know something will catch my eye that I cannot live without. Can someone tell me at what point I will grow up and stop this childish wanting?

[Alan 45]

Best if we all look back to our own teen years...Did we ever do anything sensible or listen to grown ups - who were at least 30?!
Alan, I have a mobile phone, I've had it donkeys years. It sends and receives calls, full stop. That's all I want - when I remember to switch it on of course!


It's a pay as you go. I put £10 in it 12 months ago and last week I asked my wife how do I find out how much is left on it. "7 8 9." came the reply. I pressed the buttons. A sweet voiced young thing told me "You have £7.82 left."......not bad for 12 months use!!


On the other side of the coin, my good mate showed me his watch he got for Christmas. He plays golf (a good walk spoilt in my opinion) and this thing has a built in satnav loaded with all U.K.golf courses. He just presses a button and the watch shows him which hole he's on and how far his next shot needs to be. The world has gone nuts....


Head back down in the sand I go....

Mate I must be the only one who listened to their parents lol , I think I've only really wanted what I've needed ( if the wife heard me say that , it would be " so you need a 55" tv , blu Ray surround system , more model kits thank Rick has got in his shop and so many paints I could put Dulux over the door and sell it people to paint their houses with ") anyway what I'm saying is that I was brought up with common sense I kid you not it was drilled into as a kid and if you aply common sense to these things no bugger would buy one as there is no real need for it as a phone will do more and it fits nicely in your pocket ( apart from those stupid ones that are the size of an iPad)


I personally think this technocrap is removing out thinking power

[Alan 45]

We all, well most of us, like shiny new toys, I certainly do. I did consider a smart watch until I realised they are just wrist worn repeaters for the phone. My contract on phone and iPad are up this summer, as is my contract of employment making me officially a poor pensioner. The contracts will not be renewed as I won't have the £60 per month they cost me now and, I will no longer need them.
What does worry me though is that I still love shiny toys and I know something will catch my eye that I cannot live without. Can someone tell me at what point I will grow up and stop this childish wanting?

There's no hope for you sorry Graham

[spanner570]

Can someone tell me at what point I will grow up and stop this childish wanting?

Like us all, when your toes go up...and even then you will probably ask St. Peter where the nearest model shop and Car Phone Warehouse can be found ( Other outlets probably will be available)


No such thing as a poor pensioner....The position comes highly recommended.

[spanner570]

I personally think this technocrap is removing out thinking power

Not to mention removing the ability to speak and write with a pen!


In the summer hols, my son get youngsters coming into our modest shop asking for some w/end work. He asks them questions and gets grunts in reply, then he asks them to write something down by way of what they've been doing - sport etc. Some of the stuff I see beggars belief, a spider could do better. It's so sad.


But there is an upside...They're reflexes are usually superb, through constantly sitting in front of a screen playing games. Yes, I have still kept all the Playstation consoles, 1 to 4 and still enjoy my gaming, in moderation..

[John]

My son 27 yrs old has bought one (its not confined to teenagers )

I'm 47 and bought one, the wife said they are a waste of time (no pun intended) and couldn't see a need for one, it soon changed she has one now

[Guest]

I have a sneaking suspicion that in ten years time, all over the world, there'll be man-drawers and cupboards with at least 3 of these now outdated things, to go with the countless old mobile phones and adaptors, long separated from their devices! It wouldn't matter so much if they had a throw away price, but they don't, far from it, my faithful old Tag Heuer F1 watch cost less than an Apple watch, and has been going for 20 years now. battery lasts, on average 7 years and its accurate to 5 seconds a month. we have such a short attention span!