I also have this thought but then I think that that’s a reactionary take and the true take is that phones are awesome and it’s addictive social media that’s bad
Part of the reason social media has gotten so addictive is that we all have little pocket sized computers that allow us to scroll social media literally at any time we want.
I’m pretty sure alcoholism would go up if some company made a magic flask that refills itself with bourbon.
I mean I’m sure that doesn’t help but I feel like if everyone was still on geocities we wouldn’t be compelled to scroll mindlessly the way we are now. There is an intentionality to browsing the old internet that doesn’t exist on modern infinite scroll websites.
True. But I also think there are other detrimental effects of having a tiny computer in your pocket 24/7. Lots of people are voluntarily restricting their phone use and finding it benefits them, the sexy Eddy Burback did a whole video on.
There’s a big conflation, but I think phones are bad in the same way I think the luddites were right -
I’m not saying phones inherently suck, I’m saying they’re so widely employed in a way that worsens peoples’ lives that we would all be collectively happier if they simply didn’t exist.
This is the correct take. Technology is not inherently bad, it is the way that it is implemented and handed by capitalism that is bad.
I liken it to food. Food isn’t bad, but if society made it so that the only thing available and socially acceptable to eat was McDonalds, you’re going to get sick.
A little nuance though, some technology does lend itself to more good or more ill. Like a combine harvestor can cause harm if the technology is used to prop up an exploitative empire and jealously guarded, but it’s much easier for a nuclear bomb to cause harm.
I’ve seen some reductionism taking your reasonable point (tech isn’t inherently one or the other) to mean the stronger and imho worse position “technology is morally neutral”.
Personaly I think smartphone are tech to be cautious around because while remote communication is obviously incredible, bundling it with general purpose computing comes with a lot of hazard. We ought to be able to heavily curtail the harm though by removing incentives for addictive design.
Tech oligarchs have effectively turned them into mind control machines with the way they closely resemble slot machines. As usual, the tech isn’t the problem
I’ve seen a lot of AI bros say the same shit. I’m no primitivist but I also do thing there is some technology that, even under ideal social conditions, have a lot more capacity for harm then good, not saying they should be totally banned but that society should be wary of how it’s implemented and how accessible it is to the public.
There’s some tech where I don’t really see it’s use outside of capitalism. Like what’s the usefulness of tech that’s primarily for making really shitty soda commercials without having to pay an actual production crew under socialism? Also under socialism I’m sure there will be plenty of people making cat girl hentai so I don’t need AI for that either.
I also have this thought but then I think that that’s a reactionary take and the true take is that phones are awesome and it’s addictive social media that’s bad
Part of the reason social media has gotten so addictive is that we all have little pocket sized computers that allow us to scroll social media literally at any time we want.
I’m pretty sure alcoholism would go up if some company made a magic flask that refills itself with bourbon.
I mean I’m sure that doesn’t help but I feel like if everyone was still on geocities we wouldn’t be compelled to scroll mindlessly the way we are now. There is an intentionality to browsing the old internet that doesn’t exist on modern infinite scroll websites.
True. But I also think there are other detrimental effects of having a tiny computer in your pocket 24/7. Lots of people are voluntarily restricting their phone use and finding it benefits them, the sexy Eddy Burback did a whole video on.
Ah yes, I watched that video on my phone
That’s a pretty long video to watch on a small phone screen.
There’s a big conflation, but I think phones are bad in the same way I think the luddites were right -
I’m not saying phones inherently suck, I’m saying they’re so widely employed in a way that worsens peoples’ lives that we would all be collectively happier if they simply didn’t exist.
This is the correct take. Technology is not inherently bad, it is the way that it is implemented and handed by capitalism that is bad.
I liken it to food. Food isn’t bad, but if society made it so that the only thing available and socially acceptable to eat was McDonalds, you’re going to get sick.
congrats, youre a luddite
Thank you!
A little nuance though, some technology does lend itself to more good or more ill. Like a combine harvestor can cause harm if the technology is used to prop up an exploitative empire and jealously guarded, but it’s much easier for a nuclear bomb to cause harm.
I’ve seen some reductionism taking your reasonable point (tech isn’t inherently one or the other) to mean the stronger and imho worse position “technology is morally neutral”.
Personaly I think smartphone are tech to be cautious around because while remote communication is obviously incredible, bundling it with general purpose computing comes with a lot of hazard. We ought to be able to heavily curtail the harm though by removing incentives for addictive design.
Absolutely, I agree 100%
Tech oligarchs have effectively turned them into mind control machines with the way they closely resemble slot machines. As usual, the tech isn’t the problem
I’ve seen a lot of AI bros say the same shit. I’m no primitivist but I also do thing there is some technology that, even under ideal social conditions, have a lot more capacity for harm then good, not saying they should be totally banned but that society should be wary of how it’s implemented and how accessible it is to the public.
Yeah but tech bros say that implying the economic system isn’t to blame
There’s some tech where I don’t really see it’s use outside of capitalism. Like what’s the usefulness of tech that’s primarily for making really shitty soda commercials without having to pay an actual production crew under socialism? Also under socialism I’m sure there will be plenty of people making cat girl hentai so I don’t need AI for that either.