Unfortunately it does become a must. Like, I can only access my bank account through the official app which absolutely need to be connected to a phone number. It wouldn't bother me so much if I lived in the same country my bank is but I don't and if there's a problem one day it's gonna be a mess.

My ex-dentist too required taking appointments through an app. Same if I wanted to travel out of the country, I'd need three apps to be allowed to even come back home.

I find the whole thing totally ridiculous and unfair on top of it.

Oh, my, and I thought we were going the wrong path when administrations forced us to start making online appointments and some tasks.

I'm fine with doing things online as long as there is another way to do it. Like, asking my mom to do something online is like asking her to kill someone, it's just not gonna happen. Ever. It's a miracle she even can write emails.
I don't know what those people are thinking sometimes. I'm all for security and all but it's just not accessible for some people.

I just want both analog and digital ways to do things. And not through an app because phones get stolen/broken.

Exactly!

I like online. I'm ok with apps.
I just want to have the choice to use them or go to whatever administration/company and do my inquires in person.

I think of eldest people, who never got used to computers or smartphones, and this must be a nightmare for them!
Some still have problems with ATM...

My mom still doesn't have a debit card and has never used an ATM in her life XD
She always went to the bank to get cash and stored it at home.

I find a debit/credit card extremely useful.
But I don't see why banks should force their costumers to use them if they don't want it!

At least here banks are being quite aggresive with this kind of stuff, they attend less and less client requests in their offices.

Yeah which is why when people look at me like I’m crazy for not having a cell phone at my age in this time period, I just laugh and brush it off.

You're one of the last of your kind!
An endangered species

Definitely.

Then again husband's cellphone is nearly 20 years old (and works). He gets it out of his pocket whenever people ask him to install an app for something. It's hilarious.
He has a tablet for games but that's about it.

Oh definitely!
I spend a crazy amount of time trying to do digital workarounds for my family elders, which is frustrating because I'm not a techie myself either, it's just that compared to them.... at least I know that a hard drive can mean more than just an off-road camping trip.

I used to not have a cellphone but lately I've been thinking about caving, because ever since they changed the landlines so it's hooked up to the internet instead of on a separate system, it has been giving me fits. And if the landline doesn't work and there's an emergency, how exactly am I going to know?

But I really, really, really don't want to.
There are far too many people who would view it as an everyday tool instead of 'emergencies ONLY'.
And then there are the ones who genuinely think everyday things are emergencies.
Landlines are super helpful for them because it goes to an answering machine automatically, first (doesn't even ring, just goes straight to answering machine). Then if I'm home and it's actually an emergency I can pick up, but if it's someone being ridiculous I can pretend I'm not home until they calm down because, no, your neighbor telling you her daughter can't take her to the hairdresser after all is *not* an emergency, not even for her, and definitely not for you, and certainly not for me.

I can't tell what's going on with them.

Did they truly live such sheltered lives that they view every little setback as a terrible calamity? Or are they just oddly overdramatic and fall prey to emotions too easily?