4 ms·

I just spent several months helping someone who got released after 40 years. He got used to smartphones very quickly. He'd seen them in movies and TV, and they

I just spent several months helping someone who got released after 40 years. He got used to smartphones very quickly. He'd seen them in movies and TV, and they have tablets in most prisons these days to download music and movies and do texting. Had to teach him how to pay with a debit card and PIN for everything as that wasn't a thing before he went in. Humans are very adaptable.

idoubtit 2y ago
Indeed, while still in jail, this man surely knew smartphones existed. And, of course, basic usage of a smartphone is easy; it wouldn't be addictive if it was hard. The point of this (low quality) article was that, after 30 years far from the usual life, the man points out juste 2 changes during the period: "Everybody is looking at their phones" and a 2023 wildfire. He knew people had smartphones, but I guess he didn't not know to what extent. It's a/the most important part of the life for many people. Last week, I saw a couple riveted to their screens while walking their dog on the river's edge. The woman didn't raise her eyes when she caught and threw the stick the dog had brought. I wondered how the dog could be so obviously excited, despite the lack of attention.
- kflgkans 2y ago
  stick is life
- mingus88 2y ago
  Yeah that’s true. Movies and TV would not be very engaging if the characters were doing real life stuff like walking around face down barely aware of anyone around them. So we depict this romantic view where the phone can do everything we need but nobody is addicted to it
- andrewinardeer 2y ago
  > I wondered how the dog could be so obviously excited, despite the lack of attention. I don't know how strong your prey drive is, but for me, chasing a thrown stick and returning it to the boss is good fun.
- IIAOPSW 2y ago
  The dog fully understands that the phone is the humans stick.
mingus88 2y ago
The UI for smartphones was also designed for the lowest common denominator. It’s so intuitive that we laughed at my toddler as she tried to swipe on a physical picture frame to see the next photo. I would imagine it would be much harder to adapt to T9 input. My boomer parent stubbornly refused to adopt cell phones early on and that mindset crippled them as the world pivoted to apps and touchscreens.
- qingcharles 2y ago
  Even I, who spent 10 years using T9 at a very speedy clip on a daily basis, has trouble with T9 now when I occasionally have to use it. We forget how tricky some of these things actually were until we got used to them.

idoubtit 2y ago

Indeed, while still in jail, this man surely knew smartphones existed. And, of course, basic usage of a smartphone is easy; it wouldn't be addictive if it was hard. The point of this (low quality) article was that, after 30 years far from the usual life, the man points out juste 2 changes during the period: "Everybody is looking at their phones" and a 2023 wildfire. He knew people had smartphones, but I guess he didn't not know to what extent. It's a/the most important part of the life for many people. Last week, I saw a couple riveted to their screens while walking their dog on the river's edge. The woman didn't raise her eyes when she caught and threw the stick the dog had brought. I wondered how the dog could be so obviously excited, despite the lack of attention.

kflgkans 2y ago
stick is life
mingus88 2y ago
Yeah that’s true. Movies and TV would not be very engaging if the characters were doing real life stuff like walking around face down barely aware of anyone around them. So we depict this romantic view where the phone can do everything we need but nobody is addicted to it
andrewinardeer 2y ago
> I wondered how the dog could be so obviously excited, despite the lack of attention. I don't know how strong your prey drive is, but for me, chasing a thrown stick and returning it to the boss is good fun.
IIAOPSW 2y ago
The dog fully understands that the phone is the humans stick.

mingus88 2y ago

The UI for smartphones was also designed for the lowest common denominator. It’s so intuitive that we laughed at my toddler as she tried to swipe on a physical picture frame to see the next photo. I would imagine it would be much harder to adapt to T9 input. My boomer parent stubbornly refused to adopt cell phones early on and that mindset crippled them as the world pivoted to apps and touchscreens.

qingcharles 2y ago
Even I, who spent 10 years using T9 at a very speedy clip on a daily basis, has trouble with T9 now when I occasionally have to use it. We forget how tricky some of these things actually were until we got used to them.