4 ms·

Let me try to strawman a little: I personally accept this on my phone because I honestly don't consider my phone to be a computer, and I don't really care about

Let me try to strawman a little: I personally accept this on my phone because I honestly don't consider my phone to be a computer, and I don't really care about "computing" on it. My phone is not really that important to me. It is a toy/appliance that I goof around with. What it's running and how "free" and "open" it is, is about as important to me as how free the firmware in my car is, or the software on my gaming console. I care about the free-ness and open-ness of my computer, because that's where I do all my work, my E-mail, my finances, and all my "serious computing." I feel that a different standard applies on a Real Computer because they are totally different devices, used for totally different purposes. So what I accept on phones, cars, and gaming consoles, I don't accept on my computer.

amelius 1y ago
I suppose the reason for this is that this is how it has always been with mobile computing. People don't even bother to think about their smartphone as a computer anymore.
lejalv 1y ago
While this is fine for you, I worry about a sociocultural divide. I believe the likelihood of a smartphone being the only form of computing (and access to the internet in particular) grows with diminishing income / cultural means. This is based on anecdotal observation, does anybody here know of relevant survey data?
- realityfactchex 1y ago
  > relevant survey data Based on a cursory look, keywords can include "smartphone-only internet users" and "large-screen computer ownership". The American Community Survey asks questions related to that (income, computing devices). Comparing states, the poorer the residents of a state, the smaller the percent of households with regular computers ("large-screen computer ownership"), per "Computer Ownership and the Digital Divide" (Mihaylova and Whitacre, 2025) [0, 1, 2]. Also, Pew runs surveys on income and device usage ("smartphone-only"). Again, the lower the income, the higher the proportion that is smartphone-only [3, 4]. [0] Chart: https://files.catbox.moe/emdada.png https://files.catbox.moe/emdada.png [1] Paper, "Census Data with Brian Whitacre.pdf": https://files.catbox.moe/1ttgee.pdf https://files.catbox.moe/1ttgee.pdf [2] Web: https://www.benton.org/blog/computer-ownership-and-digital-divide https://www.benton.org/blog/computer-ownership-and-digital-d... [3] Pew chart: https://files.catbox.moe/fs62tf.png https://files.catbox.moe/fs62tf.png [4] Pew web: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/ https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/
  - EvanAnderson 1y ago
    It sounds like lower income people aren't Real People and don't need Real Computers. The idea that smartphones aren't computers and their users aren't deserving of software freedom is frustratingly entitled.
deleted 1y ago
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buyucu 1y ago
You have nothing to fear, if you have nothing to hide. Right?
- deleted 1y ago
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amelius 1y ago

I suppose the reason for this is that this is how it has always been with mobile computing. People don't even bother to think about their smartphone as a computer anymore.

lejalv 1y ago

While this is fine for you, I worry about a sociocultural divide. I believe the likelihood of a smartphone being the only form of computing (and access to the internet in particular) grows with diminishing income / cultural means. This is based on anecdotal observation, does anybody here know of relevant survey data?

realityfactchex 1y ago
> relevant survey data Based on a cursory look, keywords can include "smartphone-only internet users" and "large-screen computer ownership". The American Community Survey asks questions related to that (income, computing devices). Comparing states, the poorer the residents of a state, the smaller the percent of households with regular computers ("large-screen computer ownership"), per "Computer Ownership and the Digital Divide" (Mihaylova and Whitacre, 2025) [0, 1, 2]. Also, Pew runs surveys on income and device usage ("smartphone-only"). Again, the lower the income, the higher the proportion that is smartphone-only [3, 4]. [0] Chart: https://files.catbox.moe/emdada.png https://files.catbox.moe/emdada.png [1] Paper, "Census Data with Brian Whitacre.pdf": https://files.catbox.moe/1ttgee.pdf https://files.catbox.moe/1ttgee.pdf [2] Web: https://www.benton.org/blog/computer-ownership-and-digital-divide https://www.benton.org/blog/computer-ownership-and-digital-d... [3] Pew chart: https://files.catbox.moe/fs62tf.png https://files.catbox.moe/fs62tf.png [4] Pew web: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/ https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/
- EvanAnderson 1y ago
  It sounds like lower income people aren't Real People and don't need Real Computers. The idea that smartphones aren't computers and their users aren't deserving of software freedom is frustratingly entitled.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

buyucu 1y ago

You have nothing to fear, if you have nothing to hide. Right?

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]