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An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#61

Post by jfoutz »

oakpond wrote: post #56
skrebbel wrote: post #14

I think this is a good message, but by making the phone the problem I fear the author misses a fundamental connection to the youth he addresses. The issue is what you do on a phone, not the phone itself. In fact, phones make it a lot easier to create and not just consume, than televisions did back in the author's youth. And I bet there were similar anti-TV op-eds in newspapers in those days that the author would have…

Create what exactly? I'm under the impression that you can hardly create anything on a phone except for cat movies and shopping lists.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_phone_novel

I think some indie movies as well, but don’t have a handy reference on my phone.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#62

Post by aldanor »

oakpond wrote: post #56
skrebbel wrote: post #14

I think this is a good message, but by making the phone the problem I fear the author misses a fundamental connection to the youth he addresses. The issue is what you do on a phone, not the phone itself. In fact, phones make it a lot easier to create and not just consume, than televisions did back in the author's youth. And I bet there were similar anti-TV op-eds in newspapers in those days that the author would have…

Create what exactly? I'm under the impression that you can hardly create anything on a phone except for cat movies and shopping lists.

You can create your base of knowledge by watching courses and reading articles and books instead of hanging on tiktok all day long, I guess.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#63

Post by Icyphox »

Aeolun wrote: post #28

Yeaaaah, no. I think the reason most of india’s youth is on their phones is because they just have no real prospects in life and the phone is an escape mechanism.

Woah. That's a huge generalization. Why do you think all Indian youth have no prospects?

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#64

Post by hnarn »

altitudinous wrote: post #58

An interesting experiment is to leave your phone at home when you go out. Try it. I don't mean take your phone anyway but don't use it. That is not the same thing. The value in this experiment is not to have your phone to fall back on. Initially you feel anxiety, but it soon becomes quite liberating. Having to look at road signs to navigate, relying on personal interaction or reading notices to find things out etc et…

This whole idea that being without a phone is somehow liberating — and just not using it is definitely not as pure and wholly amazing as being completely without it — is to me a silly and predictable response to the very real drawbacks of high tech modern life.

Phones have value. That’s why people use them. Pretending they don’t and that we’re all brainwashed doesn’t change that reality.

Here’s an example: I want to take public transport to a grocery store. I walk out the door. I don’t have my phone.

First of all, if I don’t check the opening hours of the store before leaving, I now have no idea. The whole trip may be for nothing.

Secondly, when planning my trip, my phone would help me suggest what line and where to switch, if necessary. It would alert me in real time of any issues, again with alternate suggestions. When traveling: no music. No audio books. Just the organic, wonderful and inspiring sounds of the city. Not to mention all the wonderful people on public transport you’re aching to know better.

When I get to the store, I may have forgotten my shopping list. And even if I brought it, I have no way of getting in contact with someone that may want to add something to it. If I find a new product I don’t recognize and I’m unsure of whether it’s overpriced, I can’t compare to any other vendor. I also can’t check reviews from other people.

I’m sorry if I sound cynical, but sometimes I feel like the spread (but not necessarily the preaching) of this whole luddite idea of smartphones ruining us is mainly fueled by people young enough to have grown up with them being everywhere, because I’m in my mid 30s and I remember what life was like without smartphones, and for the most part, it sucked.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#65

Post by dkdk8283 »

sbmthakur wrote: post #51
jhbadger wrote: post #27

I'm old enough to remember when it was TV that was supposedly wasting the time and destroying the youth. Before that, it was comic books. And movies. And even in the 19th century people were complaining about novels. Yes, in theory it is better if people do something constructive rather than just enjoy entertainment. But people can't be 100% in productive mode 100% of the time.

The amount of toxicity is also a factor. Novels, Comics and Movies are much less toxic than Media.

Politics are creeping into movies and TV and becoming quite toxic as well.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#66

Post by ffpip »

Icyphox wrote: post #63
Aeolun wrote: post #28

Yeaaaah, no. I think the reason most of india’s youth is on their phones is because they just have no real prospects in life and the phone is an escape mechanism.

Woah. That's a huge generalization. Why do you think all Indian youth have no prospects?

It's true.

Too much population, too little work. Everyone has just stared coming online. They are discovering infinite porn, TikTok and youtube.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#67

Post by throwaway9870 »

skrebbel wrote: post #14

I think this is a good message, but by making the phone the problem I fear the author misses a fundamental connection to the youth he addresses. The issue is what you do on a phone, not the phone itself. In fact, phones make it a lot easier to create and not just consume, than televisions did back in the author's youth. And I bet there were similar anti-TV op-eds in newspapers in those days that the author would have…

The phone as a device appears to definitely be biased towards consumption rather than production. Another message to add about creativity: don't forget about building real physical things. It is great to have digital wealth, but we also need physical stuff and society seems more and more detached from the creation of this physical stuff, which strikes me as a worrying trend.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#68

Post by coldtea »

hnarn wrote: post #64
altitudinous wrote: post #58

An interesting experiment is to leave your phone at home when you go out. Try it. I don't mean take your phone anyway but don't use it. That is not the same thing. The value in this experiment is not to have your phone to fall back on. Initially you feel anxiety, but it soon becomes quite liberating. Having to look at road signs to navigate, relying on personal interaction or reading notices to find things out etc et…

This whole idea that being without a phone is somehow liberating — and just not using it is definitely not as pure and wholly amazing as being completely without it — is to me a silly and predictable response to the very real drawbacks of high tech modern life. Phones have value. That’s why people use them. Pretending they don’t and that we’re all brainwashed doesn’t change that reality. Here’s an example: I want to…

>Phones have value. That’s why people use them

Now try the same line but with heroin, or fast food, or whatever people use to their detriment...

Besides, anything that has value also has an opportunity cost, which can be much more important than the value inherent in the thing...

>Here’s an example: I want to take public transport to a grocery store. I walk out the door. I don’t have my phone. First of all, if I don’t check the opening hours of the store before leaving, I now have no idea. The whole trip may be for nothing.

Yeah, it's a wonder how people managed to live and visit the grocery store in the dark ages of the 90s and early 00s... All these people going out of their homes at 02:00am only to find the grocery store closed...

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#69

Post by crumbshot »

oakpond wrote: post #56
skrebbel wrote: post #14

I think this is a good message, but by making the phone the problem I fear the author misses a fundamental connection to the youth he addresses. The issue is what you do on a phone, not the phone itself. In fact, phones make it a lot easier to create and not just consume, than televisions did back in the author's youth. And I bet there were similar anti-TV op-eds in newspapers in those days that the author would have…

Create what exactly? I'm under the impression that you can hardly create anything on a phone except for cat movies and shopping lists.

One example: there are phone apps which simulate a piano keyboard, so you can create and record music (or at least jot down chord/melody ideas) while out and about.

Re: An open letter to India’s youth: Get off that smartphone. It can destroy you

#70

Post by altitudinous »

hnarn wrote: post #64
altitudinous wrote: post #58

An interesting experiment is to leave your phone at home when you go out. Try it. I don't mean take your phone anyway but don't use it. That is not the same thing. The value in this experiment is not to have your phone to fall back on. Initially you feel anxiety, but it soon becomes quite liberating. Having to look at road signs to navigate, relying on personal interaction or reading notices to find things out etc et…

This whole idea that being without a phone is somehow liberating — and just not using it is definitely not as pure and wholly amazing as being completely without it — is to me a silly and predictable response to the very real drawbacks of high tech modern life. Phones have value. That’s why people use them. Pretending they don’t and that we’re all brainwashed doesn’t change that reality. Here’s an example: I want to…

You don't need a phone for any of the activities you described.

Stores are pretty much open business hours, or 24 hours, they follow the same pattern. Or just show up and it is closed. Go somewhere else.

Public transport runs to a schedule. Just show up and transport will show up within n minutes anyway, whether you know the time or nor. Or just use the timetable at the station.

Yes, no music, just your thoughts. but take a book if you want.

Write down your shopping list on paper.

All I have just described is why it is so liberating.

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