4 ms·
YES To the extent that I need the functionality of any of those (and I don't have a use for all of them) then I would rather buy something that does one thing
by gspencley 4y ago
YES
To the extent that I need the functionality of any of those (and I don't have a use for all of them) then I would rather buy something that does one thing and one thing well rather than carrying something around with me that
- can interrupt / distract me at any time
- that is a single point of failure
- that is expensive and a target for getting stolen
- that spies on me
- that enables the manufacturer to push updates to it remotely without my consent
- and has planned obsolescence built in
- seems to have enabled this mass migration to "software as a service" where I don't own my data or my software any more
I've worked in tech for nearly 25 years. I used to be a very "high-tech" person, compared to my peers in the 90s and early 00s. These days my smart phone consists of a Pixel 6 with GrapheneOS installed, very few apps (the ones that are installed are open source) and I actually hardly touch the damned thing. I often forget it at home. And I like it that way.
For those who make judicious use of their smart phone, great. Live and love your life. To each their own. What I resent about smart phones is that they left me and those like me behind. The above bullet points are all deal breakers for me. I don't like the things. I don't have a need for them. I want a smart phone free life and that seems to get harder and harder as everything, including some government services, are starting to require apps. I don't like to be a black and white thinker who thinks something is all good or all bad ... sure there are a couple of conveniences that I can point to with smart phones. But the bad so far outweighs the good to me that I'm practically a luddite now even though I've dedicated my life to developing technology.
- nonrandomstring 4y agoWe've one or two things in common. I see no contradiction between being intellectually at the leading edge of technology, and not owning a smartphone. You can read about how that came about in Digital Vegan [1]. For many of the same reasons I now feel alienated from "smartphone culture", occasionally use a Nokia flip-phone and buy individual gadgets that I love and repair. They've done a great deal of good, of course, but at least an equal amount of harm, psychologically and socially. [1] https://digitalvegan.net https://digitalvegan.net