Do phones take up too much of our lives?

[bostjan]

I can't answer this now; I'm too busy chatting with the interwebs via electronic mails.

 

[Jonathan20022]

There's a lot of time wasting people take part in, but the fact remains that the tools to not use your phone as much are all there. Nearly every manufacturer is setting up statistics to show you literally how many hours a day you use your phone and if you're up or down from your previous week's number.

I just don't really get it, I used Instagram before you could use videos and it was a chronological timeline of your friends. Any form of scrolling social media is just a well of politics/advertisement/pointless thoughts from people I don't speak to anymore Nowadays waking up and using the google news app for a quick survey of the current events keeps me up to date as much as I want to be, and I personally don't text at all.

Everything is pretty much designed to take up as much of your time as possible too, I stopped playing time sink games like MMO's and Battle Royale shooters. It's not that they're not fun, but what's the point of growing a game catalog every time there is a sale but play a repetitive game at the same time, actually making progress through the backlog is satisfying overall.

 

[nightflameauto]

I pretty much have hit the point where my phone is a tool for me, and I ignore most notices. Drives my wife absolutely insane when I have a buzz on my phone and I don't instantly drop whatever I'm doing to check it. I just don't see it as that important.

I was in on early technology and never really felt like deep diving into the "it's my everything" thing like some folks do. Sure, I get into a game here or there, but notices? Pfffffffffft.

 

[DiezelMonster]

My contract has been up with my phone carrier and I cancelled it, trying to figure out what to do and who to go with in my area, but on Sunday we had a thunderstorm and it knocked my home internet out, so no wifi.

It has been terribly liberating to so and read magazines and watch DVD/blue ray instead of deathgripping my phone to keep up with complete strangers.

LOL

 

[nightflameauto]

My contract has been up with my phone carrier and I cancelled it, trying to figure out what to do and who to go with in my area, but on Sunday we had a thunderstorm and it knocked my home internet out, so no wifi.

It has been terribly liberating to so and read magazines and watch DVD/blue ray instead of deathgripping my phone to keep up with complete strangers.

LOL

You know, back when I was a kid (OK Boomer) we used to have "old time" nights. Those were nights where we used no modern conveniences save plumbing. Candles, gas or kerosene lamps, the old crank-up turntables, books, and talking. That was it.

I expect the modern version would be TV, DVD player and no phones, streaming, or computer. God damn I'm old.

 

[jaxadam]

You know, back when I was a kid (OK Boomer) we used to have "old time" nights. Those were nights where we used no modern conveniences save plumbing. Candles, gas or kerosene lamps, the old crank-up turntables, books, and talking. That was it.

We used to have those once every couple of months too, but that was when my parents didn’t pay the electric bill!

 

[Riff the Road Dog]

Of course most are on them way too much. It would require personal responsibility, common sense or self-awareness or some other quality in short supply nowadays. Situational awareness, paying attention to surroundings, what's that?

I remember when we just had to ignore a phone call. Then it was the messages on the answering machine. Then it was an expectation that you have caller ID and people would get pissed you didn't call back even when they didn't bother to leave a message. Now I am expected to not only answer the phone and check messages, monitor and respond to emails and texts, but also MSTeams and Zoom. I have to do it to get a paycheck and to manage anything in my off hours, too. And the damn phone isn't even good at its primary purpose anymore, you know, using the phone. Always dropping the call inadvertently, butt-dialing or something.

Where does it end? Yeah, I know, but I'm not even a boomer!

 

[MASS DEFECT]

Yes. At one point during the height of the lockdowns, getting distracted became too unproductive that I had to resort to actually using the "FOCUS" feature on my phone. It's much better now. I just had to take control of things and set screen time boundaries.

 

[Ralyks]

Yes.

 

[Lemonbaby]

Obviously speaking from a personal experience, I was curious if phones are taking too much of your lives and those around you?

I honestly wish we could go back to the days where we could just use the Motorola Razr and not have all these expectations to always be connected. Any thoughts?

Isn't it you who decides
a) how much time of your life the phone's taking up and
b) if you're always connected?

I have my private phone set to silent mode permanently and respond to calls/messages when I feel like it. No Facebook, no Snapchat, no Instagram, no Pinterest, no TikTok. Wondering what that stuff's for anyway?

 

[TedEH]

A thought that I just had:
When someone says "I wish we could go back to not being connected all the time", it reads to me like saying "I wish we had less access to the rest of the world and less information". Yes, life would be "simpler" - but only because we're choosing to be ignorant of the details.

 

[c7spheres]

Is it true we're basically all supporting slavery or unethical labor by owning Tv, Computers, and phones because of those minerals needed and the mining (colbat, tungsten) ?

Isn't it you who decides
a) how much time of your life the phone's taking up and
b) if you're always connected?

I have my private phone set to silent mode permanently and respond to calls/messages when I feel like it. No Facebook, no Snapchat, no Instagram, no Pinterest, no TikTok. Wondering what that stuff's for anyway?

I'm like that. All this shit is my tool not the other way around. When people try to force me to use it or even to speak come to think of it I resist. I don't even like to talk. All this typing on sso is important work we're doing here for later generations. Leave a message. Maybe I'll call. haha.

A thought that I just had:
When someone says "I wish we could go back to not being connected all the time", it reads to me like saying "I wish we had less access to the rest of the world and less information". Yes, life would be "simpler" - but only because we're choosing to be ignorant of the details.

It'd only work if everyone lost the technology. Smaller groups of people and slowing things down sounds good. It's not gonna happen until it's force by man or nature, but it's gonan happen. Not wanting it is just ahead of your time. It is better without it, or with it only being a tool and one not being it's tool. I firmly believe it, but I also believe in supernatural beings for full disclosure, lol.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Is it true we're basically all supporting slavery or unethical labor by owning Tv, Computers, and phones because of those minerals needed and the mining (colbat, tungsten) ?

Yes, but also, that's just capitalism. Everything we consume from fuzz pedals to gasoline to percocet to coffee to quinoa has its price subsidized by human suffering in one form or another. Electric cars will likewise require massive amounts of the same minerals that come from strip mines largely located in third-world countries with lax labor and environmental protections.

 

[tedtan]

A thought that I just had:
When someone says "I wish we could go back to not being connected all the time", it reads to me like saying "I wish we had less access to the rest of the world and less information". Yes, life would be "simpler" - but only because we're choosing to be ignorant of the details.

There’s also the other angle where your employer gives you the work phone to keep you connected (e.g., on their leash) 24/7 so you are effectively always on call through phone, email, text and whatever conferencing apps they use (e.g., Teams, WebEx, Zoom, etc.).

 

[TedEH]

Sure, but there's a big distinction between "I can always be reached" and "I am always compulsively looking at this rectangle that delivers the worlds information to me".

 

[tedtan]

Yes, but also, that's just capitalism. Everything we consume from fuzz pedals to gasoline to percocet to coffee to quinoa has its price subsidized by human suffering in one form or another. Electric cars will likewise require massive amounts of the same minerals that come from strip mines largely located in third-world countries with lax labor and environmental protections.

Those goods would still exist outside of a capitalist economy, the ownership and profits would just be distributed differently. So this isn’t related to capitalism in my mind, it’s more a case of the human condition and our drive to create new technology.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Those goods would still exist outside of a capitalist economy, the ownership and profits would just be distributed differently. So this isn’t related to capitalism in my mind, it’s more a case of the human condition and our drive to create new technology.

They could be produced differently, too. They just aren't, and the motivation behind that is definitely linked to capitalism and the drive for profit.

 

[Ralyks]

Yes.

 

[wankerness]

Phones are bad for us. It definitely gives people ADD and despite your OP suggesting they're making us "too connected," it is making people get even more disconnected from one another than before, since generally now if you're out in public you're going to be glued to your phone to avoid having to actually talk to anyone. I see this a lot with the under 25 crowd, a lot of them will go to ANY length necessary to avoid having to talk to people even over the phone (hence the rise of apps like Doordash where you can pay extra fees to get deliveries where you don't have to call the restaurant or interact with the delivery person). It's kind of nuts. I certainly am guilty of it, but fortunately grew up in the era where cell phones were an emergency tool and thus was heavily social in the old-school sense in high school. Us old millennials were probably the last generation of that.

Still, this all pales in comparison to what's coming. The thing we should worry about is that employers are now talking about implementing literal brain control chips (they scan for emotions and "mind wandering" and can administer zaps if AI detects something that isn't considered a good thought by whatever filters are set up by the employer). This is already a thing with some China-run jobs, mainly stuff like factory work (though they've been doing this since 2018 and allegedly it doesn't work very well yet). I feel bad for us US citizens since we know OUR government won't ban them (unlike probably all of Europe) since our government is completely in the pocket of corporations. Check out the recent Davos conference.

Companies Already Have the Ability to Decode Your Brainwaves

It won’t be long before your boss knows exactly what you’re thinking.

www.popularmechanics.com

I like how she talks about it like it could be a good thing and then uses examples like "shocking your employee for having sexual thoughts about a coworker."

 

[c7spheres]

Yes, but also, that's just capitalism. Everything we consume from fuzz pedals to gasoline to percocet to coffee to quinoa has its price subsidized by human suffering in one form or another. Electric cars will likewise require massive amounts of the same minerals that come from strip mines largely located in third-world countries with lax labor and environmental protections.

Yeah, but guitar gear doesn't count. Only what I like doens't count. It's ok for slaves to make those things. You just gotta say you're helping them get an education and everything is good again. lol. I don't count it as being responsible though when it's forced.

There’s also the other angle where your employer gives you the work phone to keep you connected (e.g., on their leash) 24/7 so you are effectively always on call through phone, email, text and whatever conferencing apps they use (e.g., Teams, WebEx, Zoom, etc.).

This is shit I will not do without the proper pay. If I'm on call, you're paying me. If you say if I want my job I'll do it then I will but the pay will reflect that. If the pay don't reflect it it's a no go. For me it's all about the initial deal. The problem comes when employers keeping piling 'one more thing' on top. Maybe a couple things but once the line is crossed it's renegotiation time. If it's a no go then I just revert back to original deal before the addon's If they don't like it they can go shove it. If they get in my face I'll leave and come back with a stuffed animal for them to cuddle.