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Turning away from smartphones: 'We need to go places and touch things'

theguardian.com

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Re: Turning away from smartphones: 'We need to go places and touch things'

#2
At this rate of headlines, The Grauniad will be shutting their app and web servers down shortly and moving back to movable type and newspaper boys covered in soot.

My phone helps gets me to places I can go and touch things. And take photos with it. It's just a tool. Encourage those uses. It's not the device, it's the users' choice in how they use it.

Re: Turning away from smartphones: 'We need to go places and touch things'

#3
Glad to see there's some traction on moving away from smartphones. While the devices themselves are ostensibly neutral, so many of their apps and features are designed to maximize engagement with myriad dark patterns.

Then again, maybe it's better if everyone spends 100% of their free time repeatedly checking for new Reels™ on Instagram. You never know, there might be a good one this time.

Re: Turning away from smartphones: 'We need to go places and touch things'

#4
post #2

At this rate of headlines, The Grauniad will be shutting their app and web servers down shortly and moving back to movable type and newspaper boys covered in soot. My phone helps gets me to places I can go and touch things. And take photos with it. It's just a tool. Encourage those uses. It's not the device, it's the users' choice in how they use it.

Cocaine is a tool too.

Re: Turning away from smartphones: 'We need to go places and touch things'

#5
post #2

At this rate of headlines, The Grauniad will be shutting their app and web servers down shortly and moving back to movable type and newspaper boys covered in soot. My phone helps gets me to places I can go and touch things. And take photos with it. It's just a tool. Encourage those uses. It's not the device, it's the users' choice in how they use it.

Technology enters because it's useful. Stays because it's addictive.

You can praise all good usages of technology. Then you make a pie chart of real usages and the biggest piece of the cake will be porn, violent content, etc.

Re: Turning away from smartphones: 'We need to go places and touch things'

#6
post #2

At this rate of headlines, The Grauniad will be shutting their app and web servers down shortly and moving back to movable type and newspaper boys covered in soot. My phone helps gets me to places I can go and touch things. And take photos with it. It's just a tool. Encourage those uses. It's not the device, it's the users' choice in how they use it.

If you've never picked up your phone to do one thing and half an hour later found yourself trawling through Instagram, having forgotten what you originally meant to do with your "just a tool", you are in a tiny minority of incredibly focused people.

The majority of us, through no fault of our own, find these 'tools' regularly sucking us into a vortex of distractions and time-wasting. The struggle against cheap dopamine hits is real.

Re: Turning away from smartphones: 'We need to go places and touch things'

#8
post #2

At this rate of headlines, The Grauniad will be shutting their app and web servers down shortly and moving back to movable type and newspaper boys covered in soot. My phone helps gets me to places I can go and touch things. And take photos with it. It's just a tool. Encourage those uses. It's not the device, it's the users' choice in how they use it.

Not acknowledging the dark patterns and the addictive economics of free apps and the advertisement economy is disingenuous.

I'm glad your iron will isn't affected but pretending like there isn't a huge societal problem because it doesn't affect you is just arrogant.

Re: Turning away from smartphones: 'We need to go places and touch things'

#9
post #6
post #2

At this rate of headlines, The Grauniad will be shutting their app and web servers down shortly and moving back to movable type and newspaper boys covered in soot. My phone helps gets me to places I can go and touch things. And take photos with it. It's just a tool. Encourage those uses. It's not the device, it's the users' choice in how they use it.

If you've never picked up your phone to do one thing and half an hour later found yourself trawling through Instagram, having forgotten what you originally meant to do with your "just a tool", you are in a tiny minority of incredibly focused people. The majority of us, through no fault of our own, find these 'tools' regularly sucking us into a vortex of distractions and time-wasting. The struggle against cheap dopami…

> you are in a tiny minority of incredibly focused people.

oh please...

> The majority of us, through no fault of our own

it is called "personal accountability", I know its very hated on in the modern world, but please...

> The struggle against cheap dopamine hits is real

Yeah.. try go back 500 years or 1000 years and explain your struggles to the people there.

Re: Turning away from smartphones: 'We need to go places and touch things'

#10
post #8
post #2

At this rate of headlines, The Grauniad will be shutting their app and web servers down shortly and moving back to movable type and newspaper boys covered in soot. My phone helps gets me to places I can go and touch things. And take photos with it. It's just a tool. Encourage those uses. It's not the device, it's the users' choice in how they use it.

Not acknowledging the dark patterns and the addictive economics of free apps and the advertisement economy is disingenuous. I'm glad your iron will isn't affected but pretending like there isn't a huge societal problem because it doesn't affect you is just arrogant.

theres a problem because people have been raised to be idiots in front of the pictocube.
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