4 ms·

Are smartphones the new 'opium of the people'?

10 points by jfk13 7y ago

panpanna 7y ago
Can you wait for the bus without taking our your phone? Next time, look around and count how many are NOT taking out their phones 10-20 seconds after arriving.
- pteraspidomorph 7y ago
  It's an efficient use of that otherwise dead period of time. I don't use any mainstream social networks (or take the bus) but if I'm made to wait like that, I will still take out my phone and... read HN.
  - kranner 7y ago
    IMHO there are no really dead periods of time. We used to use that time to relax, to observe the clouds, to daydream, to wonder about problems or curiosities. It was a space for creativity and inspiration.
- kome 7y ago
  yes, i don't have a phone :)
marczellm 7y ago
Emphatically yes
dukoid 7y ago
Is Science a Religion? No. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/excellent-beauty/201710/is-science-religion https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/excellent-beauty/201...
quxbar 7y ago
https://imgur.com/gallery/vdsHl8y https://imgur.com/gallery/vdsHl8y "Before phones, people used to talk to each other"
RickJWagner 7y ago
Yes, absolutely. A smart phone with wifi provides entertainment, communication, endless information, maps, weather, etc. etc. Just a phone can provide for a lot of needs.
drewcoo 7y ago
More like the new cigarette. 50 years ago you'd look around and see adults everywhere smoking to waste time or to because it was the thing to do or just out of habit/addiction. This happened at train stations, waiting in lines, shopping in stores, everywhere. It was often one of the first things people did (in bed!) on waking up and the last thing before falling asleep.
- marcusverus 7y ago
  And if you think you’re not addicted, just leave your phone at home for a day and count the number of times you catch yourself patting your pockets, looking for a quick hit of dopamine. It’ll gross you out.
- a3n 7y ago
  When I was in Navy boot camp, 44 years ago, "smoke breaks" were all but institutional. If you smoked, you got extra breaks. To smoke.
HNLurker2 7y ago
>One of his most quoted, but least understood sentences concluded that religion is "the opium of the people". Look at your teenager this evening, glued to social media. Better still, look at yourself, twitching if you don't have your smartphone to hand. What is it stored in there, amid the circuitry, data, addictive material and astonishing engineering - if not the opium of the people? Atleast religion could solve my existential dread :(

10 points by jfk13 7y ago

Can you wait for the bus without taking our your phone? Next time, look around and count how many are NOT taking out their phones 10-20 seconds after arriving.

pteraspidomorph 7y ago
It's an efficient use of that otherwise dead period of time. I don't use any mainstream social networks (or take the bus) but if I'm made to wait like that, I will still take out my phone and... read HN.
- kranner 7y ago
  IMHO there are no really dead periods of time. We used to use that time to relax, to observe the clouds, to daydream, to wonder about problems or curiosities. It was a space for creativity and inspiration.
kome 7y ago
yes, i don't have a phone :)

marczellm 7y ago

Emphatically yes

dukoid 7y ago

Is Science a Religion? No. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/excellent-beauty/201710/is-science-religion https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/excellent-beauty/201...

quxbar 7y ago

https://imgur.com/gallery/vdsHl8y https://imgur.com/gallery/vdsHl8y "Before phones, people used to talk to each other"

RickJWagner 7y ago

Yes, absolutely. A smart phone with wifi provides entertainment, communication, endless information, maps, weather, etc. etc. Just a phone can provide for a lot of needs.

drewcoo 7y ago

More like the new cigarette. 50 years ago you'd look around and see adults everywhere smoking to waste time or to because it was the thing to do or just out of habit/addiction. This happened at train stations, waiting in lines, shopping in stores, everywhere. It was often one of the first things people did (in bed!) on waking up and the last thing before falling asleep.

marcusverus 7y ago
And if you think you’re not addicted, just leave your phone at home for a day and count the number of times you catch yourself patting your pockets, looking for a quick hit of dopamine. It’ll gross you out.
a3n 7y ago
When I was in Navy boot camp, 44 years ago, "smoke breaks" were all but institutional. If you smoked, you got extra breaks. To smoke.

HNLurker2 7y ago

>One of his most quoted, but least understood sentences concluded that religion is "the opium of the people". Look at your teenager this evening, glued to social media. Better still, look at yourself, twitching if you don't have your smartphone to hand. What is it stored in there, amid the circuitry, data, addictive material and astonishing engineering - if not the opium of the people? Atleast religion could solve my existential dread :(