A Price I Have to Pay

Your smartphone can't do everything. Its map programs can still point users to the wrong location. Service in the mountains can be non-existent, as hikers in extremis have found to their detriment.

Left: Phone ID No.   Right: Physical ID Yes. (Chron photo)

And smartphones with photo IDs won't get young adults into nightclubs. [bold added]

Bars across the Bay Area are reporting an uptick in these attempted entries during the last three years, and it’s left their owners scratching their heads in disbelief. “It’s a ridiculous concept,” said Michael Valladares, co-owner of the Hotsy Totsy Club in Albany.

People attempting to show a photo of their ID, he said, might as well “just draw a picture of your face and write your name next to it.”

Valladares’ theory is that the early-pandemic practice of showing vaccination cards on phones instilled bad habits in bargoers — especially younger people who may have turned 21 during the pandemic and never knew differently. It has “definitely been happening more, and quite honestly it’s really annoying,” said Alicia Walton, co-owner of the Sea Star in Dogpatch.

We're not at the point where the cellphone can completely eliminate the need for identification documents, cash, and old-fashioned credit cards.

This boomer still treats the smartphone as a device that enhances but is not essential to the ability to perform tasks. The too-thick wallet that I always carry in the pants pocket ruins my sleek silhouette, but that is a price I have to pay.