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Life before smartphones (2020)

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Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#291

Post by anigbrowl »

freshdonut wrote: post #214
harperlee wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have a look at this counterargument: https://www.sadanduseless.com/evil-iphones/

The principal purpose of a newspaper in the olden days was not to seize your attention, trap you into scrolling onto endless feeds, or relieve one from every moment of boredem with YouTube. These are two completely different things.

As a one-time sub-editor, that was exactly the purpose. The medium has changed, but the aim hasn't, much. Newspapers used to provide information, opinions, diversions, and a guide to the TV listings for when you were tired of reading your newspaper. I got in trouble occasionally for writing overly cynical descriptors of what was on TV that evening and generating upset letters to the editor.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#292

Post by lotsofpulp »

sylens wrote: post #224
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…

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

I feel like not replying is a simpler solution.

Text messaging is asynchronous communication, if someone is expecting an immediate response, they should be calling.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#293

Post by ghaff »

dwighttk wrote: post #285
hughrr wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My ex wife was like that. One reason she's an ex wife. I lost a job due to her once because she phoned the office after I didn't respond to an SMS while I was in a very tough meeting with a client. I now have my phone on do not disturb 24/7. I will choose when I participate in messaging. I also disable iMessage on my Mac. If someone comes up to me and talks to me, I may not even respond immediately. I took this to ex…

The only reason I take my phone with me on hikes is for the camera. One day I’d like to get a dumbcamera and leave my phone behind more. I don’t take a ton of pictures but do like to have the option.

I admit I use the GPS although I don't typically depend on it. (At least for anything serious.)

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#294

Post by karaterobot »

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…

> More than technological advancements or anything else, all of this nostalgia is really just about getting old.

The other side of this is that only people who are older can actually notice when things have changed. So, of course it's older people who talk about it the most.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#295

Post by travisr »

woko wrote: post #231
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a parent, I've been watching this play out in real time among other peoples' children. Most parents I know are deliberate about limiting screen time and ensuring their children don't substitute screen time for other activities. It's actually not that difficult to do so as kids are really good at finding entertainment in their environment even without electronics. However, some parents give their kids all the table…

I'd argue that I've been watching this play out in real time among other... parents. It is actually sad when you go outside and start noticing that people are glued to their phone screens, including parents who would rather look at their smartphones rather than their kids. I can tell you that little kids notice that they lost the attention war to their parents' smartphones.

I agree this is sad. However, as a child of the 90s, I lost the attention war to my parents' TV. Maybe I just had absent parents, but I feel like most parents haven't been interested in their children for a while now.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#296

Post by dan-robertson »

hughrr wrote: post #274
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…

My ex wife was like that. One reason she's an ex wife. I lost a job due to her once because she phoned the office after I didn't respond to an SMS while I was in a very tough meeting with a client. I now have my phone on do not disturb 24/7. I will choose when I participate in messaging. I also disable iMessage on my Mac. If someone comes up to me and talks to me, I may not even respond immediately. I took this to ex…

Once upon a time it was rude to look at your watch at certain events as it implied that you were bored or keen to get home.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#297

Post by megablast »

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…

> 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.

This is on you. Plenty of people manage it. Try turning your phone of.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#298

Post by kernoble »

Damogran6 wrote: post #36
kernoble wrote: post #14

The unmentioned thing here is why? Why does the world with a smartphone and today's hyper-connectivity seem so different now compared to what it used to? Did people feel the same way when the railroad and other forms of rapid transport showed up? What makes things feel so different? Is it more competition, and for what? Is it that things are just faster, and the certainties have changed? Has it fundamentally changed…

I still occasionally marvel that I can wake up at 4:30am in Denver and be in Very Rural Virginia by 5pm...and that's with stopping over in Atlanta first. It's not the travel, or the time, it's the 'it's more efficient to go thousands of miles out of the way due to logistics.' This has not been particularly new, but I can still marvel at it. Having fixed plumbing, I'm reminded that the current iteration is as a result…

Yeah, clearly old things were fine, or in many case quite good.

I think comparing the advances in mechanical precision to changes in society shaping technological advances is not a fair comparison. I would argue that it's exactly that mechanical precision that started with gauge blocks that has facilitated all our advancements.

I think it's just a different "system of measures" when talking about societal/social impact on our human interactions. People's minds and feelings don't fit into technical descriptions.

But, to agree with you, just like basic technology changes slowly, human nature barely seems to change at all.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#299

Post by kernoble »

mojuba wrote: post #31
kernoble wrote: post #14

The unmentioned thing here is why? Why does the world with a smartphone and today's hyper-connectivity seem so different now compared to what it used to? Did people feel the same way when the railroad and other forms of rapid transport showed up? What makes things feel so different? Is it more competition, and for what? Is it that things are just faster, and the certainties have changed? Has it fundamentally changed…

Something I've been wondering about lately: In the pre-Internet era, rumors, incidents, conspiracies, book and movie opinions were passed on verbally. I saw an article nobody else in my circle ever read; a friend watched a movie nobody else is going to see any time soon, etc. There were endless opportunities to get together and talk. We were each other's Internets. Do people talk less these days? I certainly do but t…

People talk online. Whether that's equivalent is up for debate.

There might be an argument that our new online/text based discussions have changed the dynamics (some could argue hindered, but I don't) of face to face communication.

Re: Life before smartphones (2020)

#300

Post by AlbertCory »

"I’d wait an entire week to watch the next episode." -- Try Ted Lasso or Shmigadoon on Apple TV! That world is back.

As for cameras: I wrote a book "Inventing the Future" about the Xerox Star (1977-1981). No one took pictures then! It's such a drag. I was sure we were on the 3rd floor of the A&E Building, and everyone told me no, it was the 1st floor.

Fortunately, people at Xerox did write documents and many, many of those are up on bitsavers.org.

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