4 ms·

I’d posit it’s quickly getting easier to live without a car than without a smartphone in the US. Plus, even if you live in an area where a car is required you

I’d posit it’s quickly getting easier to live without a car than without a smartphone in the US. Plus, even if you live in an area where a car is required you have the option to opt out and move (housing crisis aside), which isn’t an option to avoid smartphone requirements.

chrsig 4y ago
well, you could always move somewhere very rural with poor cellphone reception.
hinkley 4y ago
The people complaining about smart phones and the people who created the car-obsessed society are substantially the same people.
- cafard 4y ago
  There must be few people still alive who created the car-obsessed society.
  - hinkley 4y ago
    I don’t think I could argue with the assertion that it was created for them and not by them, but there are plenty of Boomers around. The Ford Mustang was introduced 18 years after the end of World War 2.
    - alephxyz 4y ago
      If you think it's only boomers who like car-centric infrastructure, I have bad news for you.
      - Spivak 4y ago
        Yeah, this sentiment covers for sure all of Gen X and Elder Millennials. If the back half of Millennials all turn 30 and it’s the same story we can pretty confidently say that it’s not really a generational thing. I would love to ditch my car but it’s impossible in my city and I have no power to change it. I could move I guess but choosing lack of car over my friends and family feels a bit drastic.
        hinkley 4y ago
        That doesn’t cover all of GenX. But yes, getting old sucks and walking takes some discipline.
        throwaway4aday 4y ago
        > walking takes some discipline and it also requires you to fully buy in to the city-centric lifestyle. Whether you like it or not there will always be a lot of people that don't want to live in an urban center or even a small town. For them, personal transportation is non-negotiable. Even people who live within walkable towns or cities will often prefer to have a car so that they can access other locations and services whenever they feel like it without having to rent or limit themselves to places accessible by mass transit. Cars just aren't going away, nor should we wish them to. I'm all for building more walkable and human scale environments, I enjoy them as much as the next person but I also want those places connected by good roads so that I can access, or leave, any of them freely.
  - Guthur 4y ago
    And then someone before, the bicycle, and horse and mule, wait i don't think you're point is coherent.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- ls15 4y ago
  Some of the most bicycle-obsessed people that I know are clearly boomers
- LtWorf 4y ago
  Do you have a source on this made up factoid that just shows you are prone to age discrimination?
  - hinkley 4y ago
    1960's and early 70's car culture (prior to the oil shock), the early 80's identity crisis as (automotive) manufacturing moved overseas.
    - autoexec 4y ago
      I honestly doubt anyone who complains today about needing to carry a cell phone was in any way directly responsible for the decisions of automobile manufacturers, lobbyists, and marketing firms that brought us the car-obsessed culture we have.
    - LtWorf 4y ago
      That's not a source.
- Tangurena2 4y ago
  The people who created the car-obsessed society died long ago. These people would be my parents' & grand-parents' generations. I'm in my 60s. And before you ask, I hate having to have a smartphone. It is required to VPN into work, or to do so many things. I changed grocery stores rather than let them use my cellphone for the "loyalty" card. I also hate living in a state where public transit is useless. TL;DR - something about "get off my lawn" and "old man yells at cloud".
- JohnClark1337 4y ago

chrsig 4y ago

well, you could always move somewhere very rural with poor cellphone reception.

hinkley 4y ago

The people complaining about smart phones and the people who created the car-obsessed society are substantially the same people.

cafard 4y ago
There must be few people still alive who created the car-obsessed society.
- hinkley 4y ago
  I don’t think I could argue with the assertion that it was created for them and not by them, but there are plenty of Boomers around. The Ford Mustang was introduced 18 years after the end of World War 2.
  - alephxyz 4y ago
    If you think it's only boomers who like car-centric infrastructure, I have bad news for you.
    - Spivak 4y ago
      Yeah, this sentiment covers for sure all of Gen X and Elder Millennials. If the back half of Millennials all turn 30 and it’s the same story we can pretty confidently say that it’s not really a generational thing. I would love to ditch my car but it’s impossible in my city and I have no power to change it. I could move I guess but choosing lack of car over my friends and family feels a bit drastic.
      - hinkley 4y ago
        That doesn’t cover all of GenX. But yes, getting old sucks and walking takes some discipline.
        throwaway4aday 4y ago
        > walking takes some discipline and it also requires you to fully buy in to the city-centric lifestyle. Whether you like it or not there will always be a lot of people that don't want to live in an urban center or even a small town. For them, personal transportation is non-negotiable. Even people who live within walkable towns or cities will often prefer to have a car so that they can access other locations and services whenever they feel like it without having to rent or limit themselves to places accessible by mass transit. Cars just aren't going away, nor should we wish them to. I'm all for building more walkable and human scale environments, I enjoy them as much as the next person but I also want those places connected by good roads so that I can access, or leave, any of them freely.
- Guthur 4y ago
  And then someone before, the bicycle, and horse and mule, wait i don't think you're point is coherent.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
ls15 4y ago
Some of the most bicycle-obsessed people that I know are clearly boomers
LtWorf 4y ago
Do you have a source on this made up factoid that just shows you are prone to age discrimination?
- hinkley 4y ago
  1960's and early 70's car culture (prior to the oil shock), the early 80's identity crisis as (automotive) manufacturing moved overseas.
  - autoexec 4y ago
    I honestly doubt anyone who complains today about needing to carry a cell phone was in any way directly responsible for the decisions of automobile manufacturers, lobbyists, and marketing firms that brought us the car-obsessed culture we have.
  - LtWorf 4y ago
    That's not a source.
Tangurena2 4y ago
The people who created the car-obsessed society died long ago. These people would be my parents' & grand-parents' generations. I'm in my 60s. And before you ask, I hate having to have a smartphone. It is required to VPN into work, or to do so many things. I changed grocery stores rather than let them use my cellphone for the "loyalty" card. I also hate living in a state where public transit is useless. TL;DR - something about "get off my lawn" and "old man yells at cloud".
JohnClark1337 4y ago