Tech Nerd Dad Created An App That Would Stop His Son's Phone From Working Until He Replies To Texts ... BONUS: Power Rankings Of Pre-Smartphone Phones
[Source] - A FRUSTRATED dad has invented a mobile app to stop his son’s smartphone from working because the youngster kept ignoring his texts. Nick Herbert, 45, decided enough was enough after never hearing back from Ben, 13, because the lad was forever playing games on his smartphone.
He spent eight months creating the ReplyASAP app which is designed to take over Ben’s phone until he responds. An alarm sounds and the screen is blocked with a message so Ben will not be able to use his mobile until he replies. Nick gets a notification if Ben has seen the message. If the phone is turned off, a message pending sign shows on Nick’s phone
However, Nick has one problem to overcome.
His app only works with Android mobiles.
His son has an iPhone so Nick needs to fine tune his Apple version.
Listen, I get wanting to look after your kids and make sure everything is good. I get that as a dad to a 1-year old son. But read the room, Nick. Your kid is 13! You know what kids at 13 love doing? Not talking to their parents. Who the shit tries to force that to happen? You become the weird dad thus you have the weird kid when you create an app that locks his phone just so you can get a response back.
But here's where I give credit to Ben, the son. The dude is rocking an iPhone because he's smart and likes having friends. His nerd dad created an app that only works for an Android. That's so perfect. What teenager is rolling around with an Android? I'll say this teenagers today simply don't understand life pre iPhone, which is why we're doing this.
THE DEFINITIVE RANKINGS OF CELL PHONES PRE iPHONE (blackberry not included)
5. Chocolate
Bruce Adams. Shutterstock Images.4. Samsung U740
3. Peanut phone
2. Nokia with Snake
Fiona Graham. Shutterstock Images.1. Motorola RAZR
Masatoshi Okauchi. Shutterstock Images.
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Yeah, I'm not a Sidekick guy, sue me. But these were the good ole days. The days when you'd be in a basement for a party and all phones would be up by the window to try and get service. The days when you had a phone that would blink only when you had a text and you'd come into the room and see it and there was a rush like none other. The days where you could use a phone for 3 days before you had to charge it. The days where we had predictive text and T9. Good luck creating an app during these days to try and get me to respond to you, dad. Nope. Not gonna happen.
I still remember getting a cell phone with a camera for the first time. You could only have so many pictures at a time so it was real picky. Not to mention the beauty of finding a site to create your own ring tone. Pretty sure I had Jay-Z for the longest time. For sure had One Shining Moment for a year or two. There was nothing like being able to assign ring tones for certain people so you knew whether to pick up or not.
I hope Nick's app never makes it to an iPhone. That's part of being a parent. Trying to find different ways to get to talk to your kid. You can't force them to respond to you. You're supposed to be ignored. Nope, it's all about trying to make sure you didn't snap a flip phone in half. I still remember when I did that for the first time - shout out Kentucky beating Georgia in 2006 and rushing the field.