5 ms·

On the off chance that that was true--I don't believe it to be, and you didn't list those "positive aspects", so I can't comment on them--, I think the harm the

by Funes- 6y ago

On the off chance that that was true--I don't believe it to be, and you didn't list those "positive aspects", so I can't comment on them--, I think the harm they do outweighs any benefit that could come out of using them.

aixi 6y ago
Maps, for starters. Sometimes I wonder how I would have fared if I had started international travel before smartphones were a thing. Hell, my daily life would be straight up impossible.
- AstralStorm 6y ago
  There were, and still are, standalone GPS mapping and navigation devices. And also paper maps. That said smartphones being multifunction are very useful, and somewhat a security nightmare.
  - oblio 6y ago
    Paper maps suck. They're bulky, unwieldy, tend to break at the seams, they only cover one specific place and you need to buy good quality ones, which isn't always easy. Ah, and it's annoying to write things down on them, since you're basically breaking them/obscuring parts of the map. GPS devices are ok, but then again, they have most of the same security (and especially privacy) issues.
  - aixi 6y ago
    I remember the time when I needed a paper map to actually know where the buses went back in my home country. They would sell you guides that would routinely get updated, so you had to purchase a new one every six months or so. It was not convenient at all!
newbie578 6y ago
I hope that you are joking, since this is a classical "first world" problem. Smartphones are behind the Internet the greatest innovation in the last 2 centuries. Never before have we as a species become more connected, and never in the human history has been so much abundance and opportunities for people of all sorts of backgrounds. I don't want to write an essay, but you should read Industries of the Future by Alec Ross ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25111341-the-industries-of-the-future https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25111341-the-industries-... ). He gives you a complete story and background behind the smartphone revolution. One of the examples is the smartphone penetration in Africa, more people in Congo have smartphones than they have canalization, and for good reason. People are using their devices as a bank account (since a lot of banks refuse to service these areas), farmers are using their devices to compete in more marketplaces. There are so many positives by technology and smartphones, that I cannot fathom that someone would go around and spread opinions that the harm outweighs the benefits. Privacy and "social media disease" are unimportant compared to the benefits they give, you think my mother would rather give up social media because of Facebook tracking than be able to talk to her own twin brother who lives 3 countries away and sees her 2 times a year?
- oblio 6y ago
  I think their point is that people should use some alternatives, instead. What those alternatives are, who will be making and maintaining them for the entire world, and what their way of financing their business is, nobody knows, though. As I say this as someone who doesn't like Facebook. Basically, it's either Facebook or something Facebook-alike. Unfortunately, There Is No (Good) Alternative. It has to be something commercial and most commercial stuff at this scale will always pervert our way of life and many other things around it. Necessary evils and all that.
0-_-0 6y ago
On the off chance that that was true--I don't believe it to be, and you didn't list that "harm", so I can't comment on it--, I think their positive aspects outweigh any harm that could come out of using them.
- Funes- 6y ago
  I knew somebody would make that exact comment. Congrats, that's you! The thing is, I don't think it's reasonable to write a long and detailed reply to somebody who is trying to start a discussion without providing any arguments. He tried to start it, not me. I was inviting him to do so and justifying my lack of arguments ("you didn't provide arguments so I can't/won't comment on them") in my reply. Yeah, the one that you just copied and you modified in a manner that you thought was sarcastic or witty.
  - oblio 6y ago
    Are we honestly having this conversation? You're making the outrageous claim, the benefits of smartphones are widely known and well documented. There is a reason multiple billion (billion with a b) people are buying them and keep replacing them every 1-3 years, at quite hefty prices. You should be the one having to make a non-terse statement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagan_standard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagan_standard On most forums your comment would be classified as a trolling attempt. In case you're not trolling, off the top of my head, what's made possible by mobile internet access, as offered by smartphones: * easily accessible shared calendars, everywhere you go, including getting reminders/notifications (instead of having an actual physical agenda + having to set actual reminders on a dumb phone) * GPS navigation everywhere in the world, for free (instead of having to get a separate GPS device) * instant translation services anywhere in the world, for free (this is a life saver in many situations); this can't be realistically be made available on any other kind of comparable smart device, except for ones you'd probably object, too (smartwatches, smart glasses, smart rings, whatever; laptops and tablets are too bulky and impractical, they don't count) * apps for various specialized uses (for example to track time schedules for public transport, check availability for public bike services, etc.) * easy note taking on the go, with instant backup and sharing with a group of people (you'd need the agenda previously mentioned but that wouldn't have backups or sharing) * things which replace a bunch of physical stuff you'd have to carry around: credit cars, car keys, discount cards, paper airline tickets, agenda/notebook, GPS device, games device, etc. Anyway, I've worked far more than your terse snarky comment ever deserved.

by Funes- 6y ago

aixi 6y ago

Maps, for starters. Sometimes I wonder how I would have fared if I had started international travel before smartphones were a thing. Hell, my daily life would be straight up impossible.

AstralStorm 6y ago
There were, and still are, standalone GPS mapping and navigation devices. And also paper maps. That said smartphones being multifunction are very useful, and somewhat a security nightmare.
- oblio 6y ago
  Paper maps suck. They're bulky, unwieldy, tend to break at the seams, they only cover one specific place and you need to buy good quality ones, which isn't always easy. Ah, and it's annoying to write things down on them, since you're basically breaking them/obscuring parts of the map. GPS devices are ok, but then again, they have most of the same security (and especially privacy) issues.
- aixi 6y ago
  I remember the time when I needed a paper map to actually know where the buses went back in my home country. They would sell you guides that would routinely get updated, so you had to purchase a new one every six months or so. It was not convenient at all!

newbie578 6y ago

I hope that you are joking, since this is a classical "first world" problem. Smartphones are behind the Internet the greatest innovation in the last 2 centuries. Never before have we as a species become more connected, and never in the human history has been so much abundance and opportunities for people of all sorts of backgrounds. I don't want to write an essay, but you should read Industries of the Future by Alec Ross ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25111341-the-industries-of-the-future https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25111341-the-industries-... ). He gives you a complete story and background behind the smartphone revolution. One of the examples is the smartphone penetration in Africa, more people in Congo have smartphones than they have canalization, and for good reason. People are using their devices as a bank account (since a lot of banks refuse to service these areas), farmers are using their devices to compete in more marketplaces. There are so many positives by technology and smartphones, that I cannot fathom that someone would go around and spread opinions that the harm outweighs the benefits. Privacy and "social media disease" are unimportant compared to the benefits they give, you think my mother would rather give up social media because of Facebook tracking than be able to talk to her own twin brother who lives 3 countries away and sees her 2 times a year?

oblio 6y ago
I think their point is that people should use some alternatives, instead. What those alternatives are, who will be making and maintaining them for the entire world, and what their way of financing their business is, nobody knows, though. As I say this as someone who doesn't like Facebook. Basically, it's either Facebook or something Facebook-alike. Unfortunately, There Is No (Good) Alternative. It has to be something commercial and most commercial stuff at this scale will always pervert our way of life and many other things around it. Necessary evils and all that.

0-_-0 6y ago

On the off chance that that was true--I don't believe it to be, and you didn't list that "harm", so I can't comment on it--, I think their positive aspects outweigh any harm that could come out of using them.

Funes- 6y ago
I knew somebody would make that exact comment. Congrats, that's you! The thing is, I don't think it's reasonable to write a long and detailed reply to somebody who is trying to start a discussion without providing any arguments. He tried to start it, not me. I was inviting him to do so and justifying my lack of arguments ("you didn't provide arguments so I can't/won't comment on them") in my reply. Yeah, the one that you just copied and you modified in a manner that you thought was sarcastic or witty.
- oblio 6y ago
  Are we honestly having this conversation? You're making the outrageous claim, the benefits of smartphones are widely known and well documented. There is a reason multiple billion (billion with a b) people are buying them and keep replacing them every 1-3 years, at quite hefty prices. You should be the one having to make a non-terse statement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagan_standard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagan_standard On most forums your comment would be classified as a trolling attempt. In case you're not trolling, off the top of my head, what's made possible by mobile internet access, as offered by smartphones: * easily accessible shared calendars, everywhere you go, including getting reminders/notifications (instead of having an actual physical agenda + having to set actual reminders on a dumb phone) * GPS navigation everywhere in the world, for free (instead of having to get a separate GPS device) * instant translation services anywhere in the world, for free (this is a life saver in many situations); this can't be realistically be made available on any other kind of comparable smart device, except for ones you'd probably object, too (smartwatches, smart glasses, smart rings, whatever; laptops and tablets are too bulky and impractical, they don't count) * apps for various specialized uses (for example to track time schedules for public transport, check availability for public bike services, etc.) * easy note taking on the go, with instant backup and sharing with a group of people (you'd need the agenda previously mentioned but that wouldn't have backups or sharing) * things which replace a bunch of physical stuff you'd have to carry around: credit cars, car keys, discount cards, paper airline tickets, agenda/notebook, GPS device, games device, etc. Anyway, I've worked far more than your terse snarky comment ever deserved.