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Feeling uncomfortable when leaving phone at home shouldn't be normal

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Re: Feeling uncomfortable when leaving phone at home shouldn't be normal

#351

Post by akira2501 »

beefield wrote: post #91
akira2501 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a radio I can use to summon help. Why would I _ever_ want to be without that? Turn the notifications off, or get something like Tasker that can turn them off and on for you on a schedule. Otherwise, keep it in your pocket. This device has no control over you that you don't allow it to have.

> It's a radio I can use to summon help. Why would I _ever_ want to be without that? I think it's good for you to occasionally to know that you are on your own. Completely responsible on what you do. Be it on the nearby forest or in some more extreme situation. I am not sure the direction of (illusion of) ultrasafety where our society has been going is all good. Occasionally it's good to have the red pill instead of…

You are always on your own. We know from evidence that even in a city, if an extreme situation develops, you will almost certainly have to fend for yourself. Police have been known to turn their backs before putting themselves in certain danger and the ratio of police officers to citizens is something to actually ponder.

If you really thirst for that feeling of _onus_, then I can honestly suggest skydiving. You are extremely responsible for every little thing you do. Still, though, take your phone with you... you never know what might go wrong.

Re: Feeling uncomfortable when leaving phone at home shouldn't be normal

#352

Post by golergka »

nojvek wrote: post #332
golergka wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to leave my country a couple of months ago because of the war. If not for the modern technology, I would become a poor refugee, locked out of my money, without any income and social connections and would be relying on finding benevolent strangers. But with it, I almost painfully transitioned to digital nomad lifestyle. My remote job didn't suffer except for a single week long absence, I have access to all of my…

I’m assuming “my country” = Ukraine. I’d love to hear more about your experience. Do you feel you want be able to go back in near future? Or is this the new lifestyle the way you want things to be?

No, it's Russia, and I can't compare my hosted evacuation right after the start of the war with what Ukrainians are going through.

But unlike them, I don't see myself ever coming back. Ukraine will be rebuilt after this war, and will be stronger than ever. But Russia is completely done after this moral catastrophe regardless of how the war ends.

Re: Feeling uncomfortable when leaving phone at home shouldn't be normal

#353

Post by littlecranky67 »

tester756 wrote: post #221
isoprophlex wrote: post #6

My phone screen was cracked, I had to leave it with the repair place for an hour or two. It was glorious. I leisurely strolled past shops, sat down to eat something without being distracted, and generally enjoyed being outside. I had to ask someone for the time. I resolved to go without phones more often, as it made me feel connected to me environment more, with less stress and reduced absentmindedness. Of course I n…

I'll provide counter example I didn't use smartphone till very late 2021 now I enjoy going for 1-2h walks waaay more cuz I can just listen to music and disconnect myself from the people around and focus on thinking about various stuff Sure sitting at train and thinking about your life instead of spamming on HN is likely a good thing, but sometimes it's just awkward - depends who you sit with

You know we had ways to listen to music on the go in the pre-smartphone era, right? From Walkman, Discman over to mobile MP3 players etc.

I have feature phone I use to disconnect, it can play music plus I have a list of 10 close contacts that I can call in case of emergency (or 911 of course). There is no need for a smartphone to cover basic security needs.

Re: Feeling uncomfortable when leaving phone at home shouldn't be normal

#354

Post by varjag »

seattle_spring wrote: post #286
varjag wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Freak attacks are a thing too. Dumb to go out without concealed gun.

That's about as relevant as claiming you should carry rattlesnake antivenom because you might come across someone recently bit.

Well exactly. Same goes for cellphones, with a slightly better probability.

Re: Feeling uncomfortable when leaving phone at home shouldn't be normal

#356

Post by neverminder »

dale_glass wrote: post #155

Personally I find modern technology to be very liberating. When I was a child, even going around my own city was a stressful thing. What if I get lost? What if I run out of money for the train? How do I know I got the bus in the right direction? (the darn things didn't announce stops at all). The first times I traveled involved printing a stack of papers including names, addresses, and maps. Getting to a hotel in a c…

Yeah, I remember having to drive alone across Europe before consumer GPS was a thing. I had a pile of maps and had to stop regularly to study them. But driving in cities like Berlin and Frankfurt was a nightmare - most of the time stopping wasn't an option, I had a map on my steering wheel at all times, trying to read street names and signs in a language I didn't understand.

The smartphone generation will never understand.

Re: Feeling uncomfortable when leaving phone at home shouldn't be normal

#357

Post by b112 »

fao_ wrote: post #248
b112 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not really blaming you here, this attidue is very normal these days, but a mere 25 years ago, most people had no cell phone, no mobile phone, and never, ever suffered mishap as a result. (Inconvenience is not what I call a mishap) I grew up in the country, and a few times had to walk 20 miles home, due to a dead car. Being a rural area, after 10pm, I might see 1 or 2 cars the entire walk home (4 hours and a bit).…

> most people had no cell phone, no mobile phone, and never, ever suffered mishap as a result. never??? How do you possibly have enough information to know that?!

Because I said "most people" not "all people".

Re: Feeling uncomfortable when leaving phone at home shouldn't be normal

#358

Post by d1lanka »

dale_glass wrote: post #155

Personally I find modern technology to be very liberating. When I was a child, even going around my own city was a stressful thing. What if I get lost? What if I run out of money for the train? How do I know I got the bus in the right direction? (the darn things didn't announce stops at all). The first times I traveled involved printing a stack of papers including names, addresses, and maps. Getting to a hotel in a c…

Those are all excellent points, but fail to address the addictive downsides OP mentioned.

The business model of the internet has always been surveillance and modern smartphones + tech companies have taken that to the extreme.

Brilliant engineers / behavioral scientists using supercomputers to manipulate humans at scale guarantees that the average individual (and teenagers etc) has absolutely no fighting chance.

The thing about addiction at this scale is that... no one things they're addicted because our entire world/society is addicted - so we all justify it and move on.

I went on a silent meditation retreat for 10+ days (with no technology, talking, or smartphones etc) and it was awesome for my mind, but then, turning my phone on after 10+ days of it being off brought back the dread 2x as more.

Re: Feeling uncomfortable when leaving phone at home shouldn't be normal

#360

Post by thenerdhead »

ativzzz wrote: post #334
thenerdhead wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I said the same thing as someone who just turned 30 and was one of the first generations born with the internet. Although I don’t mean to discourage your obsession with it, one of the most beautiful things in the world you can do is learn to think for yourself. Unplugging yourself from others opinions, thoughts, and picking up a book or two can help you start that journey.

You do counter yourself there by telling them to think for themselves and then pick up a book. Reading a book is the opposite of thinking for yourself

I think better inputs (books)mean better outputs (thoughts). Most people understood what I meant.
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