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I hate the term "first-world problems". It seems like every time it's used, it's in the manner of "I don't think this is an issue so I'll dismiss it by comparin

by jbri 15y ago

I hate the term "first-world problems". It seems like every time it's used, it's in the manner of "I don't think this is an issue so I'll dismiss it by comparing it to starving children in Ethiopia". Corporations snooping on all your internet traffic? Talk about a first world problem. Internet passwords being stolen? That's a first-world problem if I every heard of one. Health insurance backrupting you if you actually need to use it? Puh-lease, just having health insurance means you've got it better than most other people in the world! Dismissing something as a "first-world problem" to imply that it shouldn't be worried about is intellectually dishonest.

sp332 15y ago
Agreed. I've usually heard it used by someone to deprecate their own problems, when they know they're whining about something that isn't really a big deal. https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23firstworldproblem https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23firstworldproblem
jcampbell1 15y ago
> I hate the term "first-world problems". It is not meant to be dismissive of arguments as much as self deprecating satire. Cheer up mate.
- prawn 15y ago
  Agree. In my circles, it's never dismissive but always a brief "If that's a significant problem for you, you have it pretty good" distraction that the group laughs about before returning to the discussion.
michael_dorfman 15y ago
I think in this case, the term was justified, for the reason Louis CK illustrates in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk Here we've got someone who has a magical device not much bigger than a wristwatch that holds 16 days worth of music, and he's complaining that it's not enough. For comparison, I was in college when Sony released the first Walkman, and we thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread-- a device the size of a paperback book that allowed you to listen to 90 minutes worth of music while walking around. So, yeah: 30GB capacity on an iPod is a first-world problem, in my book.

by jbri 15y ago

sp332 15y ago

Agreed. I've usually heard it used by someone to deprecate their own problems, when they know they're whining about something that isn't really a big deal. https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23firstworldproblem https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23firstworldproblem

jcampbell1 15y ago

> I hate the term "first-world problems". It is not meant to be dismissive of arguments as much as self deprecating satire. Cheer up mate.

prawn 15y ago
Agree. In my circles, it's never dismissive but always a brief "If that's a significant problem for you, you have it pretty good" distraction that the group laughs about before returning to the discussion.

michael_dorfman 15y ago

I think in this case, the term was justified, for the reason Louis CK illustrates in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk Here we've got someone who has a magical device not much bigger than a wristwatch that holds 16 days worth of music, and he's complaining that it's not enough. For comparison, I was in college when Sony released the first Walkman, and we thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread-- a device the size of a paperback book that allowed you to listen to 90 minutes worth of music while walking around. So, yeah: 30GB capacity on an iPod is a first-world problem, in my book.