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Most of the important battles in consumer tech have been fought and won - there's now very little to pick over other than the consequences of the big companies

Most of the important battles in consumer tech have been fought and won - there's now very little to pick over other than the consequences of the big companies getting really big, and what it means for society for people to be 'extremely online'. Both have been done to death and there's now very little new to say about either. The screen time one isn't even backed by science.

maxxxxx 8y ago
Very true. As far as the view from the consumer goes there isn't really much interesting or innovative new stuff going on.
g6nhe9twPd66 8y ago
"640K ought to be enough for anybody"
goldcd 8y ago
Even to the casual observer/thinker "screen time" being a concern is quite clearly "bollocks" For as long as I can remember "society worries about every change" - but at least previously we focused on the content, rather than the conduit. Online radicalization, porn addiction, violent videogames, video-nasties, metal music played backwards, Elvis's hips, fictional novels, .. , gnostic gospels, .. , overly-optimistic portrayals of mammoth attack on cave walls etc etc My concern with "screen time" is that we seem to have taken a step back and have got even lazier in our "ill-conceived collective concerns about 'others'". It blows my mind that a child today, anywhere on the planet, with a $100 phone can access pretty much every thought or concept humanity has ever produced - whether a thousand years ago, or 30 minutes ago. I'm 42 and what's happened in my lifetime utterly blows away previous milestones like "writing", "printing" or "recording". What really, really pisses me off is that this isn't celebrated - despite only happening "because of screens" Now is everything on a screen good? No - of course not. But maybe a better target would be "asymmetric engagement" or "prevalence of uncited facts" or "Kardashians" "Too much screen-time" should be taken as the equivalent of "Reads too much" or "Discusses over a beer excessively"
- malvosenior 8y ago
  You are not wrong, this is in part good old fashioned moral panic. It's more than that though... Old media likes to attack "screens" because they are an existential threat to their business model and monopoly on narrative creation. They certainly are using the "think of the children" angle but the reason they're attacking the medium and not the message is because the medium itself levels the playing field and takes the power from their hands.
- lucasmullens 8y ago
  Who are you quoting?
  - goldcd 8y ago
    a fair point - but if it wasn't clear, all opinions expressed were anecdotally happening between a single pair of my ears. My apologies if you'd adjusted your personal realization of the world around you, based upon my post (although, I can't pretend my ego wouldn't have fluttered a bit)
sonnyblarney 8y ago
"Most of the important battles in consumer tech have been fought and won" The 'most important battles' relate to surveillance, identity and privacy - and those battles are just beginning.
- _emacsomancer_ 8y ago
  And we've lost many of the early skirmishes....

maxxxxx 8y ago

Very true. As far as the view from the consumer goes there isn't really much interesting or innovative new stuff going on.

g6nhe9twPd66 8y ago

"640K ought to be enough for anybody"

goldcd 8y ago

Even to the casual observer/thinker "screen time" being a concern is quite clearly "bollocks" For as long as I can remember "society worries about every change" - but at least previously we focused on the content, rather than the conduit. Online radicalization, porn addiction, violent videogames, video-nasties, metal music played backwards, Elvis's hips, fictional novels, .. , gnostic gospels, .. , overly-optimistic portrayals of mammoth attack on cave walls etc etc My concern with "screen time" is that we seem to have taken a step back and have got even lazier in our "ill-conceived collective concerns about 'others'". It blows my mind that a child today, anywhere on the planet, with a $100 phone can access pretty much every thought or concept humanity has ever produced - whether a thousand years ago, or 30 minutes ago. I'm 42 and what's happened in my lifetime utterly blows away previous milestones like "writing", "printing" or "recording". What really, really pisses me off is that this isn't celebrated - despite only happening "because of screens" Now is everything on a screen good? No - of course not. But maybe a better target would be "asymmetric engagement" or "prevalence of uncited facts" or "Kardashians" "Too much screen-time" should be taken as the equivalent of "Reads too much" or "Discusses over a beer excessively"

malvosenior 8y ago
You are not wrong, this is in part good old fashioned moral panic. It's more than that though... Old media likes to attack "screens" because they are an existential threat to their business model and monopoly on narrative creation. They certainly are using the "think of the children" angle but the reason they're attacking the medium and not the message is because the medium itself levels the playing field and takes the power from their hands.
lucasmullens 8y ago
Who are you quoting?
- goldcd 8y ago
  a fair point - but if it wasn't clear, all opinions expressed were anecdotally happening between a single pair of my ears. My apologies if you'd adjusted your personal realization of the world around you, based upon my post (although, I can't pretend my ego wouldn't have fluttered a bit)

sonnyblarney 8y ago

"Most of the important battles in consumer tech have been fought and won" The 'most important battles' relate to surveillance, identity and privacy - and those battles are just beginning.

_emacsomancer_ 8y ago
And we've lost many of the early skirmishes....