this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2023
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It's me. It's my fault. I'm the people.
I'm not surprised though. The utility of a smartphone is absolutely unparalleled but also paramount lately. Lately it seems to be that in most of the world an internet connection is required to get a job. You'd need it to apply for work but you'd also need it to access email to see job offers and other responses. You'd also need a phone to often get phone calls about work. For those two functions alone a smartphone is a fantastic investment. When you add in every other service and utility you can get out of it...
Do you think applying to work for Hamas is as dumb as Walmart? Answer obnoxious questions about your behavior to ensure you act like the programmed soldier they want you to be so you can perfectly carry out their mission with brutal precision and zero regard for anyone else except just for the sole goals of their top leadership? I'm talking about Walmart of course.
Citation needed.
Most of the world includes Africa, India, China, South America. Places like Western Europe, Australia and the US only contribute a small amount to that world population. I doubt an Internet connection is needed to get a job in Nigeria, Peru or Sri Lanka.
Yeah... It's a tool of capitalism. Nothing you said is a positive reason for the increased ownership of a device that delivers sorrow and does little to enrich a person's life.
Depends on how you use it. You have access to the knowledge of the world at your fingertips, but if you only use it to shop and Facebook, that's on you.
No it isn't. These devices are specifically made to promote behaviors. You're talking like you're immune to it, but I assure you that isn't the case.
Like what? I don’t think Apple, Google or Samsung care about whether you download Facebook. It’s not like they’re making money off it.
Oh they aren't? Showing people having a good time, creating feelings of missing out, dopamine hits from cute videos and liking disliking content? Hmm why does Samsung have Facebook preinstalled? For fun? Google doesn't run ads through nearly everything done online?
I hope you're young.
Ok I did forget Samsung preinstalls Facebook but Google running ads has nothing to do with Facebook. All the major social media platforms have their own ads. It’s in Googles best interests for people to not use Facebook because it would devalue Facebook ads. Also the original comment was about whether phones are made specifically to “promote behaviors”. You seem to be conflating social media companies and phone manufacturers.
Oh right. Smartphones are only used for calling and texting. My bad. You guys are right. Phones are awesome.
Are you being obtuse on purpose? Phones (including smartphones) were not created to get people on social media. Everything you said is stuff social media companies do.
What's a smartphone's purpose?
To be a portable computer. They do so much more than open social media. You can learn new information on Wikipedia, read the weather predictions, organize you calendar, edit a spreadsheet, play games, etc. All from the palm of your hand. As someone who grew up in the time before smartphones, it's truly magnificent how fast we've progressed and where we are now.
You can modify your phone to undo a lot of that
It is simply a tool. A large percentage of people have benefits from owning a pocket computer with access to the internet, and this is immediately obvious to everyone.
The companies maintaining the operating systems used in smartphones care more about the mental health of people than social media companies, reason why both Google and Apple added functionality to limit time spent on certain apps, which for me is a huge thing.