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This is presented mainly in a negative context but from my experience almost all change happens this way. You slowly get used to it. I still remember when peopl

This is presented mainly in a negative context but from my experience almost all change happens this way. You slowly get used to it. I still remember when people were saying that a mobile phone was a luxury item normal people don't need or that they would never do online banking.

jpindar 7y ago
Oh, there are still people who are indignant, or at least puzzled, that a poor person could possibly own such luxuries as a mobile phone or a flat screen TV.
- Aeolun 7y ago
  I was amazed when seeing this in India. Until I learned that a phone plan with unlimited data costs the equivalent of $3 a month there. Suddenly it becomes like the best investment ever. Even if you have nothing else, you can still be connected to the internet and all it’s joys.
  - bibyte 7y ago
    What ? The cheapest flat LCD TV plus cable service costs about 100 dollars. And the monthly subscription is about another 2 dollars. That's not enough to buy the cheapest smart phone. People in India certainly can afford that. In fact many teenagers these days buy $250-300 (average) smart phones. Also keep in mind I am talking about rural India.
    - onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
      This is what I don't get. If the median income is about ~$1600, how does almost everyone have a $200 phone? If you assume a phone gets replaced every 3 years -- with service -- that's about $110 per year, or close to 7% of a person's total income. In the US, median income is ~$32k -- $26k after taxes. If you make the same assumptions, a phone would cost about $580, or close to ~2% of a person's total income. So it seems like not so big of a deal, especially for something so valuable. But the teen part is what piqued my interest. India is MUCH younger than the US. Women participate in the workforce at a MUCH lower rate. And household size is MUCH larger. If you factor all of those things together, it means that for like 60% of families with children, you have a single earner with a spouse and 2.9 children. If everyone's got a phone, that's more than 40% of your household income. THAT seems insane.
      - ssivark 7y ago
        In Indian cities, for a lot of people involved in the service industry, being in touch with their clientele through phone (often WhatsApp) is a fantastic boon that increases earnings. They don't need the latest and greatest phone, but a smartphone with a data plan is almost surely worth it. On the topic of teens affording smartphones, either they come from relatively well to do families so their parents can spare the money, or they're older and make some money on the side by running errands, etc.
      - bibyte 7y ago
        Statistics are useful but they don't always show accurate information. India is one of the most diverse country in the world. Hell even the states are like little countries living together. I am an Indian but even I can't make assumption like that about another state. But still I don't think everyone replaces their phones in just 3 years. The younger generation does that (they replace their phones even faster). But the older generation who use a smart phone like a phone keeps their phones for lot more then 5 years. And these days due to population control awareness most couples limit themselves to only 2 children.
      - esotericn 7y ago
        Consider the amount Americans spend on cars. If I had to, I would spend 10% of my income on a smartphone / laptop / whatever without even thinking. It simply pays for itself.
        onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
        I CANNOT believe how much Americans spend on cars. As an American, I just do not get it. Whether you're rich or poor, people spend INSANE amounts of money commuting. I get it that our public transit is garbage. I just don't get how much people pay to commute instead of moving somewhere that makes better economic sense (even within the same metro, where you can keep all your roots -- your family and friends and eat at your favorite restaurants and all that).
- inflatableDodo 7y ago
  Many people still associate mobile phones with a 1980's luxury status symbol and think poorer people are trying to encroach on their class bracket. After all, how does one let others know that one is rich, if simply everyone has mobile phones, big televisions and habitable accommodation?
dgzl 7y ago
And what about extreme events? Creeping normality changes the five W's of extreme events. (Who, what, when, where, why)
Al-Khwarizmi 7y ago
This is true also for social changes. Homosexuality, at least in my country, is an example. When I was a kid at school, 20-30 years ago, it was frowned upon and used as an insult. Now it's totally normal and no one except fringe extremists would use it as an insult. And as far as I know, there wasn't any Rosa Parks-like event that triggered the change (factually or symbolically), it just creeped in.
- mikeash 7y ago
  It’s the same in the US (assuming “my country” is elsewhere). The triggering event is generally considered to be the Stonewall riots, which happened before I was born. Seems like a big event dislodged things, but then it took a long time for the change.
  - maxerickson 7y ago
    It's not really fringe to be homophobic in the US though. There's lots of people that are blatant about it, and then lots of people who know they are supposed to think something other than what they do think.

jpindar 7y ago

Oh, there are still people who are indignant, or at least puzzled, that a poor person could possibly own such luxuries as a mobile phone or a flat screen TV.

Aeolun 7y ago
I was amazed when seeing this in India. Until I learned that a phone plan with unlimited data costs the equivalent of $3 a month there. Suddenly it becomes like the best investment ever. Even if you have nothing else, you can still be connected to the internet and all it’s joys.
- bibyte 7y ago
  What ? The cheapest flat LCD TV plus cable service costs about 100 dollars. And the monthly subscription is about another 2 dollars. That's not enough to buy the cheapest smart phone. People in India certainly can afford that. In fact many teenagers these days buy $250-300 (average) smart phones. Also keep in mind I am talking about rural India.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
    This is what I don't get. If the median income is about ~$1600, how does almost everyone have a $200 phone? If you assume a phone gets replaced every 3 years -- with service -- that's about $110 per year, or close to 7% of a person's total income. In the US, median income is ~$32k -- $26k after taxes. If you make the same assumptions, a phone would cost about $580, or close to ~2% of a person's total income. So it seems like not so big of a deal, especially for something so valuable. But the teen part is what piqued my interest. India is MUCH younger than the US. Women participate in the workforce at a MUCH lower rate. And household size is MUCH larger. If you factor all of those things together, it means that for like 60% of families with children, you have a single earner with a spouse and 2.9 children. If everyone's got a phone, that's more than 40% of your household income. THAT seems insane.
    - ssivark 7y ago
      In Indian cities, for a lot of people involved in the service industry, being in touch with their clientele through phone (often WhatsApp) is a fantastic boon that increases earnings. They don't need the latest and greatest phone, but a smartphone with a data plan is almost surely worth it. On the topic of teens affording smartphones, either they come from relatively well to do families so their parents can spare the money, or they're older and make some money on the side by running errands, etc.
    - bibyte 7y ago
      Statistics are useful but they don't always show accurate information. India is one of the most diverse country in the world. Hell even the states are like little countries living together. I am an Indian but even I can't make assumption like that about another state. But still I don't think everyone replaces their phones in just 3 years. The younger generation does that (they replace their phones even faster). But the older generation who use a smart phone like a phone keeps their phones for lot more then 5 years. And these days due to population control awareness most couples limit themselves to only 2 children.
    - esotericn 7y ago
      Consider the amount Americans spend on cars. If I had to, I would spend 10% of my income on a smartphone / laptop / whatever without even thinking. It simply pays for itself.
      - onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
        I CANNOT believe how much Americans spend on cars. As an American, I just do not get it. Whether you're rich or poor, people spend INSANE amounts of money commuting. I get it that our public transit is garbage. I just don't get how much people pay to commute instead of moving somewhere that makes better economic sense (even within the same metro, where you can keep all your roots -- your family and friends and eat at your favorite restaurants and all that).
inflatableDodo 7y ago
Many people still associate mobile phones with a 1980's luxury status symbol and think poorer people are trying to encroach on their class bracket. After all, how does one let others know that one is rich, if simply everyone has mobile phones, big televisions and habitable accommodation?

dgzl 7y ago

And what about extreme events? Creeping normality changes the five W's of extreme events. (Who, what, when, where, why)

Al-Khwarizmi 7y ago

This is true also for social changes. Homosexuality, at least in my country, is an example. When I was a kid at school, 20-30 years ago, it was frowned upon and used as an insult. Now it's totally normal and no one except fringe extremists would use it as an insult. And as far as I know, there wasn't any Rosa Parks-like event that triggered the change (factually or symbolically), it just creeped in.

mikeash 7y ago
It’s the same in the US (assuming “my country” is elsewhere). The triggering event is generally considered to be the Stonewall riots, which happened before I was born. Seems like a big event dislodged things, but then it took a long time for the change.
- maxerickson 7y ago
  It's not really fringe to be homophobic in the US though. There's lots of people that are blatant about it, and then lots of people who know they are supposed to think something other than what they do think.