Me and My Phone - Graeme Abbot

We all love our smartphones and nearly 95% of adults in New Zealand own one. But they’re very personal. We load them up with our favourite apps and use them in different ways. In this new series we ask North Canterbury people to share how they use their phones with us.

Graeme Abbot is a father and grandfather and General Manager at Hanmer Springs Hot Pools. He loves his work and has been at the pools for twenty years. In his downtime he likes to get out on his mountain bike, do long-distance swimming or the occasional bit of surfing.

What are your most used apps?

I use my phone for emails and make calls from the car [using hands free]. All my contacts and my calendar are on my phone. I wouldn’t know 1% of the emails and phone numbers on there. Everything has to go into my calendar and I put in reminders – with my memory I use them all the time. I check the news on my phone with the Stuff app and the One News app. I also check the weather. I have a windy weather app and it’s quite sophisticated and shows you wind direction and that sort of thing. I have two step-daughters who row so that’s a useful app when we’re heading to Twizel. What’s App is one I use with family too. I have a daughter and grandchildren in Hamilton and a son who’s often in the Northern Hemisphere, so it’s a great way to keep in touch with extended family.

What social media channels do you use most and how do you use them?

None. I just can’t be bothered with them and I don’t think my life is that interesting that I need to post what I am doing all the time.

How long do you spend on your phone each day?

It’s not beside the bed at night, that’s a conscious decision and I don’t tend to check texts or emails until after breakfast. So I’m going to say probably an hour or so a day but if it was actually counted it would probably be a lot more. And, of course, it was a lot more than that during Covid time. I tend to always have it with me because I manage a seven-day week business so if I’m needed I am available . It’s really a work tool but I would struggle without it. In a funny way it’s almost like a sort of security blanket.