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Life before smartphones (2020)

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Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#221

Post by drorco »

lordnacho wrote: post #76
krylon wrote: post #57

Now I feel old. I remember vividly running around with my first camera, looking for objects worthy of being photographed. The film cost money, so did developing it into pictures. I really had to weigh the pros and cons of taking a particular picture. And in a class of ~25 kids, I was one of three who owned a camera. Not that it was such a luxury item, but most people weren't into that. These days, (nearly) everyone c…

Regarding photos: People our age only have a few childhood pictures, and they are warped by time on analog media. Those pictures of us as a kid look really old because they are naturally filtered. Soon people will wonder WTF old-pic filters are for, and some historian will have to explain why it's blurred and the colors are faded. Also why did people have clothes for each decade? Our kids, by contrast, have had pictu…

> "Our kids, by contrast, have had pictures taken of them every week at least. With metadata so you know where you were. And they're digital images that won't fade"

They might still wonder "Why only 8K resolution?! Why aren't they in 3D and interactive?!"

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#222

Post by jbluepolarbear »

lordnacho wrote: post #76
krylon wrote: post #57

Now I feel old. I remember vividly running around with my first camera, looking for objects worthy of being photographed. The film cost money, so did developing it into pictures. I really had to weigh the pros and cons of taking a particular picture. And in a class of ~25 kids, I was one of three who owned a camera. Not that it was such a luxury item, but most people weren't into that. These days, (nearly) everyone c…

Regarding photos: People our age only have a few childhood pictures, and they are warped by time on analog media. Those pictures of us as a kid look really old because they are naturally filtered. Soon people will wonder WTF old-pic filters are for, and some historian will have to explain why it's blurred and the colors are faded. Also why did people have clothes for each decade? Our kids, by contrast, have had pictu…

This is so true for me, only had yearlies and occasional family events. It’s really cool to be able to look back through the years of pics I’ve taken of my kids.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#223

Post by tqi »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #153
maerF0x0 wrote: post #143

> had conversations with taxi drivers, talked to random people at bars, Returning to these kinds of adhoc social interactions has be instrumental in helping breaking my isolation and depression. Friendly chit chat with a barista, say hello to anyone who isn't obviously avoidant, asking to pet their dog etc. Not wearing headphones has also been an important thing because it means I'm instantly available for interactio…

Curiously, almost everybody on the hiking trail I bike has the telltale white lozenges in their ears now. Pre-Covid it was something like 25%. So trail talk has been reduced to nearly zero. I call out "On your left!" as I pass, but still folks can be startled as I drift past. And forget saying "Good morning!" and getting a response. It will take years to undo the changes done by this past year.

Strangers don't owe you a response, and not being expected to give one is not a regression.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#224

Post by sylens »

oceanghost wrote: post #192
rapnie wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And he doesn't even mention that you could just be outside, and be unreachable and not able to reach other people too. As a kid I used to play outside a lot, and my mother had no clue where I was, nor could she easily find out. I could be outside all day without her worrying that I'd be abducted or involved in an accident. Now that all has completely changed, and my mother has too. Some years ago when I walked into t…

I wanted to say this. I hate how small the world has become and how we're supposed to be "reachable" all the time. Some of my friends will freak out if I don't text back in as little as 5 minutes. A particular needy friend once tried to get me to "promise" that I would always return her texts within 10 minutes. I said "hard no" explaining that it meant that it meant that I could never watch a movie uninterrupted, rea…

I am optimistic that I can use the upcoming Focus mode in iOS 15 to start broadcasting my unavailability to my contacts

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#225

Post by 90ee0bde-06d1 »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #130
beamatronic wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference is that we spend all of our waking hours in front of screens of differing sizes

Not all of us. I too grew up when screen time meant a few hours of TV a week, tops. And having a connection to another world of opinions or clubs or virtual activities is better than the past without them. My kids have limited screen time, not unlike my parents pushing me outside to play. Until they have mature impulse control and a variety of experience I'll continue to guide them. But without all the judgemental 'l…

There isn't any evidence that screen time negatively impacts teen's well being: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0506-1

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#226

Post by p_j_w »

paxys wrote: post #171

The second paragraph is funny to me: > I memorized phone numbers, jotted things down in notebooks, had conversations with taxi drivers, talked to random people at bars, wrote checks, went to the bank, and daydreamed. I did all of these (except the phone number one) in the last week. More than technological advancements or anything else, all of this nostalgia is really just about getting old. "The human civilization p…

I don't get the sense that the author is trying to say that the past was better. Although I could be misreading you and you're not intending to say that he is. I suppose this is another consequence of getting old.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#227

Post by Sebb767 »

cryptoz wrote: post #138
rapnie wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And he doesn't even mention that you could just be outside, and be unreachable and not able to reach other people too. As a kid I used to play outside a lot, and my mother had no clue where I was, nor could she easily find out. I could be outside all day without her worrying that I'd be abducted or involved in an accident. Now that all has completely changed, and my mother has too. Some years ago when I walked into t…

That's terrifying, I'm sorry that happened to you. Something I have done (accidentally at first, now on purpose) is to not respond to messages (personal) quickly, most of the time. People adjust to that rather fast and stop worrying so much. People in my circles know now that I am rarely going to answer within a few hours and expectations are adjusted. So then going outside for a few hours with no phone is no longer…

Seconded. I made the step a few months ago, too; I turned off all "last seen" and "read"-notifications as well as uninstall my mail client from my phone [0]. I also intentionally did not respond as fast (at least on cold conversation starts). Once people get used to the fact that you might not respond in a few hours, they stop worrying so much about it when it happens.

[0] I know I still have IMs, but mails tend to be things I need to do at a computer and seeing them only stresses me with things to do for later.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#229

Post by Sebb767 »

swayvil wrote: post #202
oceanghost wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wanted to say this. I hate how small the world has become and how we're supposed to be "reachable" all the time. Some of my friends will freak out if I don't text back in as little as 5 minutes. A particular needy friend once tried to get me to "promise" that I would always return her texts within 10 minutes. I said "hard no" explaining that it meant that it meant that I could never watch a movie uninterrupted, rea…

Soon they will replace the "phone ring" with an electric shock. Mark my words. Like in 1984. People who want to "spend time alone" are deviant, diseased and antisocial. And must be stopped.

You're missing the tree in the forest. No one is forced to look at their phone, the reality is that people have trained themselves to want it.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#230

Post by qwertox »

collinvandyck76 wrote: post #199
collaborative wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apologies for asking the obvious, but then why are you here? :-P

Haha good question. I wouldn't consider HN social media, as it's more nuanced discussion around topics, although the lines are somewhat blurry. I think of social media more like Twitter and Facebook.

Do you visit Reddit?
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