How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

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Loner
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Loner »

Of course you're correct. But you still have to pay for the data, and for me, it's to much money for something that's useless. There's not one single time in my life when I thought "Jeez, wish I had data!" I never got lost, never wish I'd need to access Facebook, etc. If I'm going to a meeting, I just write down the # in the phone in case the car/metro breaks down, and picture the map on the PC if I want to have a backup map. I do understand that different people have different ways of proceeding. Some friends, now, just can't believe that I can get to places without the app dictating my way. It's like they believe I have a superpower. "Normality" is changing fast.

5ts
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by 5ts »

+1 to Alphaville

@Loner
I completely support and agree with your right to complain and resist, but at least we know that nothing will change anything. Barring a total breakdown of society, technology will progress. I don't really like it either, but "progress" marches on nevertheless. Lately I've decided to minimize the intrusions but accept the progression. I'm not resisting.

Loner
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Loner »

Yeah, agree, well put. I guess my own personal attitude can also be somewhat described as grumpy resignation.

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Alphaville
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Alphaville »

Loner wrote:
Mon Aug 03, 2020 4:28 pm
Of course you're correct. But you still have to pay for the data, and for me, it's to much money for something that's useless.
you don’t have to buy data either

7Wannabe5
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

I’m with Alphaville. I used PDAs (one of which I used to refer to as my “pink brain”) for many years before I had a smartphone. I have often gone without home internet and functioned just with cellular. I don’t use any social media and rarely talk on phone.

5ts
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by 5ts »

@Loner
I was grumpy and resistant for years. Watching people walk in public staring at those phones was just jarring. It turned my world upside down. And not that I go out to eat much, but when I did seeing people sitting around a meal table staring at their phones was just as bad. But the truth is that's more those people than the technology. It just allows them to be social virtually while being antisocial in reality. So then I went to grumpy and resigned, and now I'm just resigned and neutral. It's happening, so don't want to actively make myself miserable. The struggle is real my friend!

Loner
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Loner »

Well, if I'm home, I'd rather use my computer, and if you rely on it (e.g. for navigation), then you just can't be sure you'll have wifi. (Anyhow, not where I live. And it's becoming more rare given that everyone now has data - they removed it from some parks, here, that used to have free wifi.) Am I missing something?

I'm reminded of a part of Smith's Wealth of Nations where he shows his suspicion with certain new technologies of the time:
The sole use of watches however, is to tell us what o'clock it is, and to hinder us from breaking any engagement, or suffering any other inconveniency by our ignorance in that particular point. But the person so nice with regard to this machine, will not always be found either more scrupulously punctual than other men, or more anxiously concerned upon any other account, to know precisely what time of day it is. What interests him is not so much the attainment of this piece of knowledge, as the perfection of the machine which serves to attain it.
Funny enough, from my perspective, phones are the same thing. People can get access 24/7 to their schedule, they can get directions from wherever to wherever, and still manage to arrive late. Some guy here died also last year after he followed some (wrong) directions from Google Maps, found himself in a dead end (it was an unplowed forestry road) in the bitter cold of the winter, and died there. I think these technologies make us more fragile. But yeah, they could come in handy I guess. I just haven't figured out how (for me).

Loner
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Loner »

Well, I looked down on those people big time, those who have their face glued on their phone. But the truth is that those machines are built to be addictive. They are human skinner boxes, and by conditioning you ruthlessly, they do encroach on your autonomy. So I'm not sure it's always the people who are at fault. Same for people with a consumerist mindset. The US Ad spending will apparently be $G 390 this year. With such an assault on people, can they be blamed for buying useless crap? I feel a mix of compassion and anger when I see that.

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Alphaville
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Alphaville »

well yes, fetishism has always been a feature of human life, whether it’s projected onto a cellphone, a tv, a radio, a car, a buggy, a sword, a cup of coffee, a hat, jewelry, tools, tattoos, seashells, etc.

this one is just the latest incarnation. but don’t worry—there will be new ones! :lol:

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Alphaville
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Alphaville »

Loner wrote:
Mon Aug 03, 2020 4:52 pm
Well, I looked down on those people big time, those who have their face glued on their phone.
and were trained by a generation who had their faces glued to the tv, don’t forget

before them, they had the radio on all the time. the portable transistor radio was probably the devil to some.
Last edited by Alphaville on Mon Aug 03, 2020 4:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

flying_pan
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by flying_pan »

I am #4. If you want a dumbphone, get an older iPhone SE and don't use any features of a smartphone.

But smartphone is very helpful for me. You can take pictures with it, check something on the internet, continue to read stuff while book is too big/heavy/inconvenient at the moment, you can check maps (maps work without internet + they work showing the map itself, without your position, even without GPS). 2FA through phone is annoying, to be honest.

I don't really share my phone number, I never pick up calls from unknown numbers (if they need me, they will write an email or send a real mail), it is always on mute and all notifications are turned off.

Is it a spy device (especially in the US, where you have to "active" a SIM card with a new phone)? Yes, definitely. But I am too lazy to fight with it, and it is convenient.

flying_pan
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by flying_pan »

Alphaville wrote:
Mon Aug 03, 2020 4:57 pm
and were trained by a generation who had their faces glued to the tv, don’t forget

before them, they had the radio on all the time. the portable transistor radio was probably the devil to some.
Don't forget newspapers before. People are really good at finding distractions!
Last edited by flying_pan on Mon Aug 03, 2020 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Frita
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Frita »

We have super high speed internet for my spouse’s consulting gig though he hasn’t done a lick of work since April. We all have smartphones. I have an iPhone 6S. My spouse and son have the $15/month plans. I used to have T-Mobile for the free internet and texting abroad. When the contract ran out, I discovered that using WiFi and a Google Voice number is all I need.

How I use it:
• Ringer is always off
• Calls go straight to voicemail
• Communication preference order: in person, text, email, call (People who know me know this.)
• Use calculator, maps, fitness tracker, reader, podcasts, new recipes
• Facebook: don’t really post, just use for community events and FreeCycle
Overall, it’s a handy tool but not a mandatory piece of personal wear, like a bra or my glasses.

5ts
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by 5ts »

I would do home internet alone if I really wanted to be tech lean. You can do whatever you need from there. One step more, adding the mini idiot box, so home internet + smartphone with wifi only, no cell plan. Might make things in public better assuming wifi is around.

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Alphaville
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Alphaville »

5ts wrote:
Mon Aug 03, 2020 5:48 pm
I would do home internet alone if I really wanted to be tech lean.
and never leave home—easily done these days, but things will get back to normal some day, and then you need internet while on the move.

so the other option would be to use LTE only, which could easily run on solar, and without the need for utility hookups. could get pricey with heavy usage, but with low consumption could be the best of both worlds. hotspot can be set to run on low data mode.

many low income households lack home isp and rely on cell networks for connectivity, for example.

Kriegsspiel
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Something to consider is using a smartphone on a dumb phone plan, like Airvoice's. Smartphones are awesome as music players, cameras, notepads, calendars. And if you get lost, you can stop somewhere with free wifi and look up directions. You can pick up a smartphone capable of all of that for very cheap nowadays.

You could also go without home internet, especially if you have a smartphone with a data plan. Do most of your internet stuff somewhere with internet. That's been my situation for almost half my adult life, it's not bad. You definitely waste less time fucking around on the internet, so if you're concerned about social media addiction that might be a consideration for you.

Loner
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Loner »

Alphaville wrote:
Mon Aug 03, 2020 4:57 pm
and were trained by a generation who had their faces glued to the tv, don’t forget

before them, they had the radio on all the time. the portable transistor radio was probably the devil to some.
My point was not that people with the nose to their phones are distracted. My point is that their device is, to some point, controlling them. A newspaper, a radio and a TV don't do that. The TV doesn't decide when you turn it on. Your device does, through conditioning you with notifications, etc. People didn't use to spend a christmas dinner with their newspaper half-opened on the table just in case the newspaper sent it a breaking news. Mobile devices are (made) addictive in a way that old tech didn't. Hence why I say that I now can't blame those people.

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Alphaville
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Alphaville »

Loner wrote:
Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:02 pm
People didn't use to spend a christmas dinner with their newspaper half-opened on the table just in case the newspaper sent it a breaking news. Mobile devices are (made) addictive in a way that old tech didn't. Hence why I say that I now can't blame those people.
i’ve seen people use the newspaper as a wall to keep others out and i’ve seen people with tv on at all hours, then spend the holidays glued to the tv—thanksgiving football, christmas specials, new year’s ball drops... tv is plenty addictive too and it bred generations of couch potatoes. before vhs and dvrs and the internet you had to be in front of the tv at a certain hour or else— FOMO before FOMO. and the internet had many addicts long before it became mobile

yes, portable computers are potentially worse than those things because they are built on those things. but the real deathtrap is the social aspect and the need for attention, which preexisted all of that.

gus van zant* saw it coming before it was invented: https://youtu.be/yPlrhDLZp1w?t=4599 (attn: spoilers if you’ve never seen “to die for”)

*screenplay by buck henry, based on a joyce maynard book, actually
Last edited by Alphaville on Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Loner
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Loner »

I must agree to most points, yes. Hunter-gatherers were probably distracted by bird watching or whatever. One thing I disagree would be that people aren't on their devices all the time only because of social media/reasons. Your phone will push you all sorts of notifications that have nothing to do with the social aspects: news, rebates on ACME shoes because you're beside an ACME shoe store, weather, etc. All/most apps will try to bother you and get some of your attention. All of those things combine to make the device much more addictive than previous tech, as you mention. We might differ on how much we're concerned by that. I'm not concerned by technology in general, but mobile phones are just useless to me. To each his own ;)

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Jean
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Re: How much and which telecommunications technology to use? (Home internet, home phone, smartphone, etc)

Post by Jean »

I have internet at home, and the cheapest (20.-) smartphone, with the smallest (1gb/month) plan.
It allows me to function within society (pay bills, contact friends, buy train ticket and look up timetable), without allowing me to do anything but reading on my phone, thus leaving enough of my attention for imediate world while i'm not in front of my computer.
Sometimes i wish i could get rid of the home computer as it would free up a lot of time and option, but i'de miss diging up music and exploring the galaxy too much. I'de probably go back to playing music and exploring the forest. It actually sounds like fun.

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