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Yamato becomes Japan's first city to 'ban' use of phones while walking

japantimes.co.jp

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Re: Yamato becomes Japan's first city to 'ban' use of phones while walking

#31

Post by harlanji »

ghaff wrote: post #9
tomxor wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For smartphones!? I can only imagine that being more hazardous. Do you notice how we negotiate paths when we are walking? body language, with particular emphasis on the position of the head and eyes. Try this experiment: as you walk towards someone without a clear path to their left or right - walk with intent to go slightly one side with your eyes/head slightly to the other, usually your intent comes across far more…

I'm sure I'm showing my age when I say that I really don't like walking in cities (or anywhere really) with ear buds/headphones in. It's too much isolation from the environment and I'm just not comfortable with it. I imagine that's a minority option though and many will claim that the isolation really isn't a problem with the right earpieces. But I can only speak to how I personally feel.

I’m 35 and have mostly abandoned the idea of smartphones being better than a laptop. I travel with it as little as possible, and still study maps before I travel and carry papers with me.

I hate tech in the world, and meet younger people who feel similar. Personally I love the city, but if tech people take over I can be swayed to move to a fruit farm and never leave.

Re: Yamato becomes Japan's first city to 'ban' use of phones while walking

#32

Post by ghaff »

apsanz wrote: post #29
ghaff wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure I'm showing my age when I say that I really don't like walking in cities (or anywhere really) with ear buds/headphones in. It's too much isolation from the environment and I'm just not comfortable with it. I imagine that's a minority option though and many will claim that the isolation really isn't a problem with the right earpieces. But I can only speak to how I personally feel.

Transparency mode works well on Airpods pro but I never walk around busy streets with both earbuds in. I strongly recommend only using one and listening to audio books or podcasts

I've heard that about the Airpod Pros.

I guess part of it is that I don't really feel a need to always be listening to some kind of soundtrack. I actually do listen to podcasts when I drive, especially on the highway. But I don't even routinely have music on in my house and don't really like working with music in the background.

Re: Yamato becomes Japan's first city to 'ban' use of phones while walking

#33

Post by ravenstine »

Eventually more people will be moving out of cities after enough of them enforce one too many rules to appease some people. Obviously, not everyone will, but it rules like this seem counter to what the global system wants, which is to cram people into cities.

Re: Yamato becomes Japan's first city to 'ban' use of phones while walking

#34

Post by fiblye »

ghaff wrote: post #30
afarrell wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still remember getting my phone swiped on the sidewalk across from my favorite restaurant on Chapel Market. (There are many words I've adopted since moving here. "Pavement" is not one of them.")

Anecdotally, for some reason, random swiping and lifting of electronics, laptops, etc. seems more prevalent in Europe than in the US. Whenever I've heard of a colleague's laptop of whatever being lifted at dinner, it's always Barcelona, Amsterdam, Brussels, etc. rather than San Francisco or New York City. I'm sure it happens in those places too but it seems less common.

I’ve lived in some really crappy places in the US, but the only place I’ve often seen and experienced people committing obvious crimes in broad daylight was Europe. It was pretty weird having someone struggle to unzip my backpack while walking down the street. I bound the zippers with a lock and they couldn’t get in, but I guess they didn’t notice because they really fought to get it open.

Seeing obvious pickpockets and scammers operating 10 feet away from police officers while being directly observed was what really blew my mind though. I hear loads of people say they’re disappointed with Europe and the crime is overwhelming these days, but man, they’re not kidding. It’s insane what’s tolerated so openly there. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had valuables stolen randomly while in Western Europe for short periods.

Re: Yamato becomes Japan's first city to 'ban' use of phones while walking

#36

Post by ghaff »

fiblye wrote: post #34
ghaff wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally, for some reason, random swiping and lifting of electronics, laptops, etc. seems more prevalent in Europe than in the US. Whenever I've heard of a colleague's laptop of whatever being lifted at dinner, it's always Barcelona, Amsterdam, Brussels, etc. rather than San Francisco or New York City. I'm sure it happens in those places too but it seems less common.

I’ve lived in some really crappy places in the US, but the only place I’ve often seen and experienced people committing obvious crimes in broad daylight was Europe. It was pretty weird having someone struggle to unzip my backpack while walking down the street. I bound the zippers with a lock and they couldn’t get in, but I guess they didn’t notice because they really fought to get it open. Seeing obvious pickpockets…

I suppose it could be cultural in some way. One also wonders if it's a reflection of the situation with (especially) urban police departments and maybe gun ownership more broadly. If you know that snatching a laptop or handbag could leave you beaten, tased, or shot that's probably something of a disincentive even for not so bright petty thieves.

Re: Yamato becomes Japan's first city to 'ban' use of phones while walking

#37

Post by Macha »

ghaff wrote: post #30
afarrell wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still remember getting my phone swiped on the sidewalk across from my favorite restaurant on Chapel Market. (There are many words I've adopted since moving here. "Pavement" is not one of them.")

Anecdotally, for some reason, random swiping and lifting of electronics, laptops, etc. seems more prevalent in Europe than in the US. Whenever I've heard of a colleague's laptop of whatever being lifted at dinner, it's always Barcelona, Amsterdam, Brussels, etc. rather than San Francisco or New York City. I'm sure it happens in those places too but it seems less common.

My guess is that major european cities have a higher level of foot traffic which means you're more likely to have streets out of the way where a thief can make a quick escape but still find enough people walking along.

For what it's worth, I'm aware of one example of a coworker having headphones randomly swiped in Dublin (where we live), one person who got pickpocketed while on holiday in Madrid, and one person who got pickpocketed while on a work trip in San Francisco in recent years.

Re: Yamato becomes Japan's first city to 'ban' use of phones while walking

#38

Post by foolmeonce »

Macha wrote: post #37
ghaff wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally, for some reason, random swiping and lifting of electronics, laptops, etc. seems more prevalent in Europe than in the US. Whenever I've heard of a colleague's laptop of whatever being lifted at dinner, it's always Barcelona, Amsterdam, Brussels, etc. rather than San Francisco or New York City. I'm sure it happens in those places too but it seems less common.

My guess is that major european cities have a higher level of foot traffic which means you're more likely to have streets out of the way where a thief can make a quick escape but still find enough people walking along. For what it's worth, I'm aware of one example of a coworker having headphones randomly swiped in Dublin (where we live), one person who got pickpocketed while on holiday in Madrid, and one person who g…

I think in the US it is a better risk to break into cars and steal their contents since most people have cars and treat them as an extension of their home.

Re: Yamato becomes Japan's first city to 'ban' use of phones while walking

#39

Post by jrockway »

My dream is that one day, everyone will see the imaginary lines down the sidewalk that I do. Keep to the right, just like you're driving, and even someone texting while walking won't run into. Sadly, these lines are imaginary and while people tend to keep right, don't take it very seriously.

A deeper issue is how much of the space between buildings is dedicated to private vehicles. When the sidewalk is 6 feet wide and you're required to social distance by 6 feet past sidewalk cafes and garbage waiting to be picked up, there is no room for pedestrians -- texting or otherwise. Perhaps we should turn the two 8-foot free parking lanes into pedestrian lanes. Then you'd never even notice people walking while texting. Or running 2-abroad. Or kids playing with balls.

It will never happen, though. We need our cars, and more importantly, we need to park them near our high-density housing ;)

Re: Yamato becomes Japan's first city to 'ban' use of phones while walking

#40

Post by mdorazio »

fiblye wrote: post #34
ghaff wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally, for some reason, random swiping and lifting of electronics, laptops, etc. seems more prevalent in Europe than in the US. Whenever I've heard of a colleague's laptop of whatever being lifted at dinner, it's always Barcelona, Amsterdam, Brussels, etc. rather than San Francisco or New York City. I'm sure it happens in those places too but it seems less common.

I’ve lived in some really crappy places in the US, but the only place I’ve often seen and experienced people committing obvious crimes in broad daylight was Europe. It was pretty weird having someone struggle to unzip my backpack while walking down the street. I bound the zippers with a lock and they couldn’t get in, but I guess they didn’t notice because they really fought to get it open. Seeing obvious pickpockets…

I personally think it is influenced by differences in the types of organized crime we have. In the US, gangs and similar organizations generally don't bother with organizing petty crime like swiping electronics. They're more focused on drugs, prostitution, etc. In Europe, though, that's not the case [1].

[1] https://www.europol.europa.eu/crime-areas-and-trends/crime-a...

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