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> but if you can't afford to have a roof over your head I'd argue the smartphone is irrelevant. I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of homeless people would

by brazzy 6y ago

> but if you can't afford to have a roof over your head I'd argue the smartphone is irrelevant. I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of homeless people would disagree vehemently. Not only does smartphone make it much easier to find a job and get back to the point where you can afford a roof over your head, it allows you to stay in touch with people you care about, people who may help you out now and then. And it gives you access to lots of useful information that can improve your life, like sources of free food.

Leparamour 6y ago
Can homeless people afford data plans? Luckily I haven't been homeless yet, but there were times when I was too poor to have enough phone credit for internet or even regular calls. Granted, there are places that offer free wifi but only with an order if you are a paying customer, which I think most homeless people aren't.
- brazzy 6y ago
  The availability of cheap data plans and free Wifi varies radically between different places. And most homeless people absolutely can afford to be a paying customer somewhere - a low-cost gym membership for access to showers is fairly common. A homeless person is just someone who can't afford a home. They're not all your stereotypical pan-handling drug addict in torn, dirty clothes.
- michaelt 6y ago
  A data plan's a heck of a lot cheaper than rent.
cambalache 6y ago
I dont know what homeless people you do know (I guess the number is zero) but here on planet earth 99.99% of poor/homeless people would prefer a roof over their heads than a smart-phone. Well, everybody with a working brain would choose the house.
- brazzy 6y ago
  I don't know what gave you the silly idea that I was saying people would prefert a smartphone over a permanent home. That is not the choice people have to make. A smartphone does not cost hundreds of dollars per month. And I'm pretty sure that you don't know any homeless people either if you think they'd give up their phone for a few nights of shelter (which is what it might realistically buy). I was disagreeing with the statement "if you can't afford to have a roof over your head I'd argue the smartphone is irrelevant". Contrary to that, if you do not have a home, a smartphone is extremely useful and valuable. In the hypothetical sitation that you find yourself homeless with nothing except clothes and $100, a cheap smartphone is absolutely the best possible use of that money.
  - rhines 6y ago
    I think there's maybe a bit too much vested in the term "irrelevant" and the context around this. I suspect the OP meant the conditional to read something like: IF shelter is unaffordable THEN smartphones being cheap is irrelevant ASSUMING opportunities from the smartphone don't make housing affordable. Like if someone says if you're starving, being a millionaire is irrelevant - the assumption would be that that money cannot be used to buy food. Of course I 100% agree that a phone can be used to improve your situation, and I'm sure the OP agrees as well. But a phone isn't enough to be able to go find housing for most people. While it can help you find cheaper shelter, or maybe over time allow you to learn skills that lead to better paying job opportunities that allow you to afford housing, you wouldn't need any of that if housing was simply affordable in the first place. Ultimately OP isn't saying phones suck and homeless people should sell their phones for a couple nights in a shelter. What they're saying is that phones being cheap does not make up for housing being expensive - no matter how useful the phone is, ultimately the end goal is to have shelter, and if you can't afford shelter then it doesn't matter how cheap anything else is.
    - brazzy 6y ago
      > What they're saying is that phones being cheap does not make up for housing being expensive - no matter how useful the phone is, ultimately the end goal is to have shelter, and if you can't afford shelter then it doesn't matter how cheap anything else is. I can't agree with that either. Housing is not everything. Even if you are homeless with no prospects of getting out of that situation, it still matters a lot how cheap many other things (food, clothes, access to showers, communication with friends and family, even entertainment) are. A phone with internet access is not just important as a tool to get out of homelessness, it also represents a significant improvement in your quality of life. Admittedly, this may look somewhat different in climates where a lack of shelter can be fatal.

by brazzy 6y ago

Leparamour 6y ago

Can homeless people afford data plans? Luckily I haven't been homeless yet, but there were times when I was too poor to have enough phone credit for internet or even regular calls. Granted, there are places that offer free wifi but only with an order if you are a paying customer, which I think most homeless people aren't.

brazzy 6y ago
The availability of cheap data plans and free Wifi varies radically between different places. And most homeless people absolutely can afford to be a paying customer somewhere - a low-cost gym membership for access to showers is fairly common. A homeless person is just someone who can't afford a home. They're not all your stereotypical pan-handling drug addict in torn, dirty clothes.
michaelt 6y ago
A data plan's a heck of a lot cheaper than rent.

cambalache 6y ago

I dont know what homeless people you do know (I guess the number is zero) but here on planet earth 99.99% of poor/homeless people would prefer a roof over their heads than a smart-phone. Well, everybody with a working brain would choose the house.

brazzy 6y ago
I don't know what gave you the silly idea that I was saying people would prefert a smartphone over a permanent home. That is not the choice people have to make. A smartphone does not cost hundreds of dollars per month. And I'm pretty sure that you don't know any homeless people either if you think they'd give up their phone for a few nights of shelter (which is what it might realistically buy). I was disagreeing with the statement "if you can't afford to have a roof over your head I'd argue the smartphone is irrelevant". Contrary to that, if you do not have a home, a smartphone is extremely useful and valuable. In the hypothetical sitation that you find yourself homeless with nothing except clothes and $100, a cheap smartphone is absolutely the best possible use of that money.
- rhines 6y ago
  I think there's maybe a bit too much vested in the term "irrelevant" and the context around this. I suspect the OP meant the conditional to read something like: IF shelter is unaffordable THEN smartphones being cheap is irrelevant ASSUMING opportunities from the smartphone don't make housing affordable. Like if someone says if you're starving, being a millionaire is irrelevant - the assumption would be that that money cannot be used to buy food. Of course I 100% agree that a phone can be used to improve your situation, and I'm sure the OP agrees as well. But a phone isn't enough to be able to go find housing for most people. While it can help you find cheaper shelter, or maybe over time allow you to learn skills that lead to better paying job opportunities that allow you to afford housing, you wouldn't need any of that if housing was simply affordable in the first place. Ultimately OP isn't saying phones suck and homeless people should sell their phones for a couple nights in a shelter. What they're saying is that phones being cheap does not make up for housing being expensive - no matter how useful the phone is, ultimately the end goal is to have shelter, and if you can't afford shelter then it doesn't matter how cheap anything else is.
  - brazzy 6y ago
    > What they're saying is that phones being cheap does not make up for housing being expensive - no matter how useful the phone is, ultimately the end goal is to have shelter, and if you can't afford shelter then it doesn't matter how cheap anything else is. I can't agree with that either. Housing is not everything. Even if you are homeless with no prospects of getting out of that situation, it still matters a lot how cheap many other things (food, clothes, access to showers, communication with friends and family, even entertainment) are. A phone with internet access is not just important as a tool to get out of homelessness, it also represents a significant improvement in your quality of life. Admittedly, this may look somewhat different in climates where a lack of shelter can be fatal.