Were smartphones a mistake?

[Felya]

They've made us less attentive, less focused, more sad due to social media and so on. Smartphones more like dumbphones. We should have stuck with nokias and stationary computers plus laptops.

Ooh... a laptop that can fit in my pocket! Wouldn’t that be cool?!

[Shadowferal]

Really? Addicts fruitlessly waste their time trying to explains something, when the right thing to do was simply say... Okay, boomer...

Thank you for reinforcing the point.

[Relapses]

Agreed. And what's the deal with those motorized buggies. What do the whippersnappers call them again? "Automobiles" or something. Ugh. Disgusting. Horses do everything we need them to, what a useless inventon.

[Felya]

That you're talking out your ass?

It’s just projecting... what are the odds that everything he typed was on a smartphone?

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Agreed. And what's the deal with those motorized buggies. What do the whippersnappers call them again? "Automobiles" or something. Ugh. Disgusting. Horses do everything we need them to, what a useless inventon.

Spot on! Do people think it’s a coincidence that we have such a problem with obesity, after the invention of cars? What happened to walking? We are devolving... pretty soon we won’t be able to walk at all... 5... 10 years max... we either evolve to have tires for feet or devolve to not walk...

[Nihilist74]

Smartphones are great. They are like tricorders from star trek. The people who are addicted to their phones and social media would be addicted to something else shallow anyway. The internet is great too. All that information with easy access. The internet did not make more wacko people. It just exposed them which is a good thing for everyone. Gullible people would be falling for scams in other ways if not the internet.

[NED funded]

Smartphones are fine as they are, the internet connection is the issue. It seriously enabled and promoted the worst behaviours out there, and we are now seeing the results with the "first generation" to grow on the internet

[Doctor Amadeus]

More what Einstein warned against which is our technology outpacing our humanity. That is the bigger problem and smart phones are just one symptom.

[lagiacrux]

Like most addictive things in life its great for those who can use them with moderation. The mistake is that everyone is free to use them. Kinda like how not everyone should be allowed to have kids but rather does.

yikes, 2 posts in and we are at forced sterilization. this can only go well

[Shadowferal]

More what Einstein warned against which is our technology outpacing our humanity. That is the bigger problem and smart phones are just one symptom.

Well, I do agree.
We've a manchild president that is so addicted to his phone that it's likely torture for him to be separated from it for length of time it takes for him to get a good night's sleep. (Quite the example of intelligence there)
We've an electorate that wonders "wtf happened" on every side of the equation.
A rising death toll that is the result of "Darwin award" winners? Not likely.

[Felya]

Well, I do agree.
We've a manchild president that is so addicted to his phone that it's likely torture for him to be separated from it for length of time it takes for him to get a good night's sleep. (Quite the example of intelligence there)
We've an electorate that wonders "wtf happened" on every side of the equation.
A rising death toll that is the result of "Darwin award" winners? Not likely.

That same president was calling up NYC sports writers, to tell them how awesome Trump was in the 80s. A man that would literally pretend to be someone else, to gain publicity... not just in business or politics... but, in NYC sports magazines. The issue isn’t the smartphone...

[Pony Soldier]

Smartphones? No. Social media? Hell yes.

I don't think the problem lies with Smartphone technology but social media apps on them are the biggest mistake in the history of mankind.

[Felya]

Smartphones? No. Social media? Hell yes.

I don't think the problem lies with Smartphone technology but social media apps on them are the biggest mistake in the history of mankind.

I don’t even know about blaming social media, in the abstract it’s an incredible tool. As a 90s kid and pirate radio, social media is just an unbelievable advancement.

The issue is anonymity in a public setting.

[kamuimac]

Smartphones are fine as they are, the internet connection is the issue. It seriously enabled and promoted the worst behaviours out there, and we are now seeing the results with the "first generation" to grow on the internet

define worst behaviours ?

is it in you mind bad behaviour that people track stars on instagram ? or that they scroll fb ?

its not like those people would start reading books if internet magically dissapeared. or its not like they would suddenly start learning something .

more likely they would just sit in front of tv and watch stupid tv shows or drink more / endugde themselves other way .

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I don’t even know about blaming social media, in the abstract it’s an incredible tool. As a 90s kid and pirate radio, social media is just an unbelievable advancement.

The issue is anonymity in a public setting.

is it though really ? i mean do you think that your average joe spends a lot of time on forums where people write under aliases ? or that your average karen spends her life reading comments on fb ?

i would bet that most people only scroll their wall and maaaybe read article / watch short movies there while ignoring comment section.

besides anonimity is so overrated for your average joe . what does he have to hide ? what porn he likes ? the fact that he lives in small apartment/old house and drives 10 year old car ? people are imo way iverestimating the impact that they have on others and world - most live boring ordinary lives that nobody is interested in .

[Nnyco]

Dont blame smartphones when you are addicted to social media.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Social media and it's propensity for sharing fake news were a mistake. Smartphones were just a logical continuation of IT development itself. The biggest issue is that legislative bodies have failed to do their job and regulate many of the negative sides of technological development, like preventing predatory business practices from flourishing unhindered or making IT companies accountable.