this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2022
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Late Stage Capitalism
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Fascinating. Question -- do you have a phone number? It sounds to me that a phone number linked to your legal ID is a MUST in most societies to allow you participate in everyday life (banking, taxation, schools etc)
I do, it's a landline.
My kneejerk reaction is to say "oh how inconvenient" but the more I think about it, the less I feel that way. The only major inconveniences I can think of are MFA and texting and I don't text that much anymore, I use messaging apps but not SMS. I would love to hear more about why you do this and what general impact it has had on your life. (not out of idle curiosity, but because I want to see how I can improve my approach to technology).
Multiple reasons. For one I don't feel comfortable having a device in my pocket that keeps pinging cell towers. The thought of it just makes me somewhat paranoid, especially in the current imperial sphere. But my main reason was I find it really irritating when I'm outside and suddenly my phone rings or vibrates, whatever. Also the knowledge that I have my phone in my pocket makes me want to check it all the time. Honestly I'd say it didn't have that much of an impact. Sure it was change which may not be fun at first, but I still feel like it was the right decision, at least for me. I'm way less stressed and distracted now while going grocery shopping for example or even just taking a walk. Because I know full well that I have peace for the moment and I can fully focus on what I want to do.
Also as a personal sidenote; I'm probably a minority but I just can't stand using touch screens.
Interesting! P.S. I thought I was the only one who was annoyed by touch touch screens.
Aha. Never thought of landlines that accept text messages (some MFAs require a text setup) but if this was to work, it would be a practical solution to this cellular leash.
This was exactly my thought as well, but I think some MFA can call you instead of texting, no?
There are hardware keys for 2fa. I know there's one called YubiKey and you can use it for OTPs.
The issue is largely the authentication source -- a bank may not support hardware keys, even when you have one, insisting on SMS.
Which is insane because SMS for 2fa isn't the better choice