Is it just me or is it super annoying that you can't travel, eat out, or do anything anymore without a smartphone and a credit card?
Concerts and sporting events, no longer use paper tickets. Everything HAS to be on your phone now.
We recently visited a park in Portland, it took us 30 minutes to pay for parking, because you could ONLY do it through an App. In Park City, we couldn't park at all, because it was the same.
We were transiting through Texas and couldn't even order food, because you could only order by scanning a QR code.
I was watching a vlog on Norway. You need an app to be able to rent a fucking bicycle.
Extra documents and forms for international travel, must be stored on your phone.
You now NEED to have Whatsapp, if you wanna communicate with a local tour operator.
We had to get scammed by a street taxi in Georgia, because we couldn't order an Uber without the fucking app.
Then we have countries like Norway and Estonia that have gone virtually cashless. Some national parks and sports/concert venues have also gone cashless. Even on some airplanes now, you can't purchase items if you don't have Apple Pay.
Not everyone feel comfortable using their credit/debit card. Also, not everyone uses a smartphone or has an international data plan. Even if they do, technology often malfunctions. I've had many ocassions where people couldn't come into the park, because or CC machines were down and they didn't have cash.
I see how it can be easier if you're the one recieving payment. But if you're the CUSTOMER, it's a pain in the ass honestly. And if you don't have a smartphone or international data plan, you're pretty much fucked. Like my mom for instance, her phone is simple and she's too old to learn all this fancy stuff, so I always have to keep her stuff on MY phone.
This stuff should be optional. If you wanna do it, great! But people who still wanna go oldschool, should be able to.