10 ms·

I'm a well off software developer. I've been using a $50 Nokia Lumia 520 for the past 3 years or so. When this one dies I'll likely "splurge" and buy a Nokia 2

by umvi 8y ago

I'm a well off software developer. I've been using a $50 Nokia Lumia 520 for the past 3 years or so. When this one dies I'll likely "splurge" and buy a Nokia 2 ($100). That our I'll buy a Blu phone ($50). I would consider my neighbors poor. They have state-subsidized rent, for example. They use food stamps. They also smoke a pack a day each. All they need to do to buy a new phone is not smoke for 5 days. Not that it matters, they all have iPhones inexplicably. It's just a viscous self-feeding cycle and I don't know how to help them break out of it.

gammateam 8y ago
Being able to send the same emojis to communicate effectively and having blue bubbles is a lot more valuable than you might think If you are part of any professional membership or subscription to get you through life, then there are some similarities The point being that maybe they overspend on conspicuous consumption, using an iphone alone isnt an indicator in isolation. Who knows where the price limit is, but low interest low velocity on phone payments with easy upgrades makes this practical
- loco5niner 8y ago
  >Being able to send the same emojis to communicate effectively and having blue bubbles is a lot more valuable than you might think That's pretty hard to believe.
  - reidjs 8y ago
    I thought so too for a long time, but I have met a woman who confused in me that she will not date men if they have an Android phone. I doubt she’s the only one.
    - ams6110 8y ago
      Hope you didn't ask her for a second date.
    - loco5niner 8y ago
      Ah, so pretty much the same thing as spending money on a car you can't afford, but on a lower scale. Seems pretty not-valuable to me.
  - gniv 8y ago
    Oh, it's a thing. Random article about it: https://gizmodo.com/im-buying-an-iphone-because-im-ashamed-of-my-green-bubb-1787965756 https://gizmodo.com/im-buying-an-iphone-because-im-ashamed-o...
    - loco5niner 8y ago
      Doesn't mean it brings value.
- duck 8y ago
  What is a "blue bubble"?
  - post_break 8y ago
    He's referring to imessage vs sms. People put weight into if you have an iPhone or not. If you're not a blue bubble, you're a lesser class in america (TO SOME PEOPLE).
    - beatgammit 8y ago
      That sounds like a great way to avoid people I won't like. If someone will judge me because of the things I own or don't own, I don't want to associate with them either. In fact, I think this is a fantastic reason to avoid iPhones. I'm super excited about the Librem 5[1], and I'll be extra happy to be even that less desirable to these types of people. - [1] https://shop.puri.sm/shop/librem-5/ https://shop.puri.sm/shop/librem-5/
      - toasterlovin 8y ago
        It’s a very crude method. But it’s also very effective. We just bought a house and have been doing a lot of work on it. So I post a lot of stuff on Craigslist for free. Lots of green bubbles (Android users) respond. They are the flakiest fucking people I have ever dealt with. We’re talking comical levels of flakiness. Shit that belongs in a sitcom. Blue bubble people, on the other hand, respond quickly and show up when they say they will.
segmondy 8y ago
For some people, their phone is their everything, not just a phone, but their computer, they use it for email, net browsing, watching movies on youtube, listening to music. They don't have desktop, nor laptop or cable.
forapurpose 8y ago
I wonder what they would say if they were posting on HN. Here, people who lack money are usually the 'other' about whom we talk, often in stereotypes. But these are a large number of individuals, each with their own widely varying needs and situations; the only way to learn about someone is to ask. Certainly, to understand me, I would not want anyone to rely on what my neighbors say. The parent comment presumes knowing about these people, what they need, what they should do, and that it's your business to change them. That's a lot of judgment and on very little information. I also am not a fan of the idea that people in poverty should spend no money on pleasures, that they must live as aesthetes their whole lives - almost as a sort of penance or to prove their dedication. These are people's lives; I hope they enjoy them and I'm certainly not the one to judge them for it.
- bittercynic 8y ago
  I didn't read so much judgement in that comment, but trying to understand why neighbors are engaging in seemingly self-destructive behavior. It really is hard to understand if you haven't been through it yourself, or at least been very close to someone who is going through it.
  - lazyasciiart 8y ago
    Or at least attempted to educate yourself by reading a fraction of the widely available literature on the topic, ranging from personal histories to neurological studies.
michaelchisari 8y ago
Having an iPhone isn't inexplicable. You can finance or lease a phone for $30-$40 a month. And given the extraordinary advantages having a smartphone provides, it would be inexplicable if they did not do so. Also, cigarettes are an appetite suppressant and in many places are cheaper than food. Food stamps are hardly comprehensive. Cheaper, that is, until it all catches up to you medically. One thing I've learned in my years is how much cheaper life is when you make good money. I can buy healthy food. I can go to the doctor. I can buy shoes and jeans that last. I can properly fix things right when they break. And so on and so on. I pay more upfront to save a ton down the line.
- umvi 8y ago
  > Having an iPhone isn't inexplicable. You can finance or lease a phone for $30-$40 a month. And given the extraordinary advantages having a smartphone provides, it would be inexplicable if they did not do so. It's inexplicable when there are alternative phones available for 1/10 the cost. Why would you choose to take on a $40/mo expense when you could buy an entire fully functioning low end Android phone for $40? > And so on and so on. I pay more upfront to save a ton down the line. But my example is that I'm paying less upfront than my neighbors. They are the ones buying iPhones and name brand cereal with SNAP while I'm over here using cheap phones and eating generic brand cereal. It just seems paradoxical is all I'm saying.
  - michaelchisari 8y ago
    But my example is that I'm paying less upfront than my neighbors. Not if their phone is their only computing device. name brand cereal Sometimes when you're struggling, affording yourself some basic pleasures keeps you from giving up entirely.
  - 2bitencryption 8y ago
    What if the iPhones make them happy, and your Nokia 520 would not? What if they're just pursuing their happiness? What if the value of that happiness is more than the value they could have saved with a budget junker phone? What if their lives are not very happy, but this one thing makes them happy? Is it worth it then? I would argue yes. This reminds me of that infamous Fox News talking point: "Look at these people, living in poverty, and yet they still have microwaves in their kitchen! Maybe if they weren't living beyond their means, they wouldn't be in the slums!"
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

by umvi 8y ago

gammateam 8y ago

Being able to send the same emojis to communicate effectively and having blue bubbles is a lot more valuable than you might think If you are part of any professional membership or subscription to get you through life, then there are some similarities The point being that maybe they overspend on conspicuous consumption, using an iphone alone isnt an indicator in isolation. Who knows where the price limit is, but low interest low velocity on phone payments with easy upgrades makes this practical

loco5niner 8y ago
>Being able to send the same emojis to communicate effectively and having blue bubbles is a lot more valuable than you might think That's pretty hard to believe.
- reidjs 8y ago
  I thought so too for a long time, but I have met a woman who confused in me that she will not date men if they have an Android phone. I doubt she’s the only one.
  - ams6110 8y ago
    Hope you didn't ask her for a second date.
  - loco5niner 8y ago
    Ah, so pretty much the same thing as spending money on a car you can't afford, but on a lower scale. Seems pretty not-valuable to me.
- gniv 8y ago
  Oh, it's a thing. Random article about it: https://gizmodo.com/im-buying-an-iphone-because-im-ashamed-of-my-green-bubb-1787965756 https://gizmodo.com/im-buying-an-iphone-because-im-ashamed-o...
  - loco5niner 8y ago
    Doesn't mean it brings value.
duck 8y ago
What is a "blue bubble"?
- post_break 8y ago
  He's referring to imessage vs sms. People put weight into if you have an iPhone or not. If you're not a blue bubble, you're a lesser class in america (TO SOME PEOPLE).
  - beatgammit 8y ago
    That sounds like a great way to avoid people I won't like. If someone will judge me because of the things I own or don't own, I don't want to associate with them either. In fact, I think this is a fantastic reason to avoid iPhones. I'm super excited about the Librem 5[1], and I'll be extra happy to be even that less desirable to these types of people. - [1] https://shop.puri.sm/shop/librem-5/ https://shop.puri.sm/shop/librem-5/
    - toasterlovin 8y ago
      It’s a very crude method. But it’s also very effective. We just bought a house and have been doing a lot of work on it. So I post a lot of stuff on Craigslist for free. Lots of green bubbles (Android users) respond. They are the flakiest fucking people I have ever dealt with. We’re talking comical levels of flakiness. Shit that belongs in a sitcom. Blue bubble people, on the other hand, respond quickly and show up when they say they will.

segmondy 8y ago

For some people, their phone is their everything, not just a phone, but their computer, they use it for email, net browsing, watching movies on youtube, listening to music. They don't have desktop, nor laptop or cable.

forapurpose 8y ago

I wonder what they would say if they were posting on HN. Here, people who lack money are usually the 'other' about whom we talk, often in stereotypes. But these are a large number of individuals, each with their own widely varying needs and situations; the only way to learn about someone is to ask. Certainly, to understand me, I would not want anyone to rely on what my neighbors say. The parent comment presumes knowing about these people, what they need, what they should do, and that it's your business to change them. That's a lot of judgment and on very little information. I also am not a fan of the idea that people in poverty should spend no money on pleasures, that they must live as aesthetes their whole lives - almost as a sort of penance or to prove their dedication. These are people's lives; I hope they enjoy them and I'm certainly not the one to judge them for it.

bittercynic 8y ago
I didn't read so much judgement in that comment, but trying to understand why neighbors are engaging in seemingly self-destructive behavior. It really is hard to understand if you haven't been through it yourself, or at least been very close to someone who is going through it.
- lazyasciiart 8y ago
  Or at least attempted to educate yourself by reading a fraction of the widely available literature on the topic, ranging from personal histories to neurological studies.

michaelchisari 8y ago

Having an iPhone isn't inexplicable. You can finance or lease a phone for $30-$40 a month. And given the extraordinary advantages having a smartphone provides, it would be inexplicable if they did not do so. Also, cigarettes are an appetite suppressant and in many places are cheaper than food. Food stamps are hardly comprehensive. Cheaper, that is, until it all catches up to you medically. One thing I've learned in my years is how much cheaper life is when you make good money. I can buy healthy food. I can go to the doctor. I can buy shoes and jeans that last. I can properly fix things right when they break. And so on and so on. I pay more upfront to save a ton down the line.

umvi 8y ago
> Having an iPhone isn't inexplicable. You can finance or lease a phone for $30-$40 a month. And given the extraordinary advantages having a smartphone provides, it would be inexplicable if they did not do so. It's inexplicable when there are alternative phones available for 1/10 the cost. Why would you choose to take on a $40/mo expense when you could buy an entire fully functioning low end Android phone for $40? > And so on and so on. I pay more upfront to save a ton down the line. But my example is that I'm paying less upfront than my neighbors. They are the ones buying iPhones and name brand cereal with SNAP while I'm over here using cheap phones and eating generic brand cereal. It just seems paradoxical is all I'm saying.
- michaelchisari 8y ago
  But my example is that I'm paying less upfront than my neighbors. Not if their phone is their only computing device. name brand cereal Sometimes when you're struggling, affording yourself some basic pleasures keeps you from giving up entirely.
- 2bitencryption 8y ago
  What if the iPhones make them happy, and your Nokia 520 would not? What if they're just pursuing their happiness? What if the value of that happiness is more than the value they could have saved with a budget junker phone? What if their lives are not very happy, but this one thing makes them happy? Is it worth it then? I would argue yes. This reminds me of that infamous Fox News talking point: "Look at these people, living in poverty, and yet they still have microwaves in their kitchen! Maybe if they weren't living beyond their means, they wouldn't be in the slums!"

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]