this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2023

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Majority of Americans Would Like to Return to Time Before Cell Phones, Internet, According to New Poll (www.thewrap.com)

submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (5 children)

The idea is very different than the reality. The freedom of information, communication, and variety are so much better now.

Need a job, get a newspaper for classified ads and take whatever you can get, or start calling friends and networking when you're lucky to get a voicemail.

Want to unwind and watch something? You can spend all evening flipping through channel after channel of garbage.

Need to learn something, prepare to spend days going to different public libraries to find anything useful. Most people don't learn anything. Most people's only adult social connection is though religion. It is a small dumb world where I grew up.

[–] BlameThePeacock 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I called my grandfather when I wanted to learn something. The library was the backup if he didn't know. He was a well educated engineer, and my grandmother also had a university education and an excellent knowledge of literature.

I wouldn't mind killing off social media, but I have offline copies of Wikipedia for a reason. That shit is important.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I used to send emails to libraries for information on a certain topic and got back lots of information

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

How do you get an email address for a library that is actually monitored by a human that would respond?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Libraries provide it as a free service. It’s called virtual reference. Here is one such service I found by searching.

https://askalibrarian.org/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

It was probably somewhat beneficial that we all had to go outside and do something through; but yeah in smaller places your only real option would be a church or bar. I miss being able to hang out at the mall, for example; where you’d bump into your friends etc and different groups where there. Was sometimes like a big party. Then again, I was also a kid, we still had arcades that weren’t just dirty ticket casinos.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

One thing I would not take for granted is the massive amount of information out there for repairing/ fixing things in your home. If you have an issue with your lawn mower, I guarantee that someone recorded a video of how to fix it step by step. It is absolutely mind boggling what we have at our finger tips.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

Same for things like learning music. Back in the day if you didn't know another good musician, you'd have to gradually piece together different techniques, chords, etc. yourself. Stuff that took me years to figure out you can learn in minutes now.___

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

Yes, the amount of time you spent just isolated and bored was unfathomable to people today.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I definitely feel like people are looking at things through research tinted glasses. I would be lying if I said I didn't think about that stuff.

But at the same time I just got my associates degree while working full time. I didn't have to go to classes because it was all online. I didn't need to go spend hours at the library. I was able to type up my papers.

If the majority of people don't want things like social media, they can always stop. They can find a basic phone. "But they need it for work." Sounds to me like work is only easier then. I'd rather have easier work.

Edit: I will say though, sometimes I do actually miss some things. Like I wouldn't mind renting a movie every now and then if I could afford it. It made getting a movie more special. But even then, the convenience of streaming is also hard to beat.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The quality of streaming subscription content is as bad as old cable now. I do without that one. The newer trend of credentialed science communicators sharing white paper summaries and science news takes is really wonderful IMO.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

Honestly with the quality of many YouTube creators, I don't even watch proper shows and movies. There's quality, in depth and long videos on basically every topic.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Ah, the good old romantization of the things you don't know.

If they're so eager about it, they can try taking their hands off the phone, for change.

Edit: typo

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

But that doesn't take away that other people will be on their phone when you're with them

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Doesn’t change expectations of others for you to respond to work emails or other shit at all hours. Doesn’t bring back the days of concert going paying attention instead of 800 phones being held up to record some shitty angle that will never be watched again, or people being rude while checking out, or distracted driving.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

Doesn’t change expectations of others for you to respond to work emails or other shit at all hours.

That was still a thing before the internet/cellphones. My dad would receive phone calls at home at all hours back in the 90s and he was just a low level manager. He just pretended to not be home. When work gave him a cell phone, he would just turn it off when he left work and pretend his phone died.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

No way, maps and GPS are far too useful.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

I wonder if 'majority of Americans' really means the guy who wrote this article.

Though in all seriousness I just cannot comprehend that there are people out there who really think the negatives of all this tech outweigh the positives.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Imagine going on a road trip and getting stuck somewhere 3 hours from home with no cell phone

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

As an elder millenial, I wonder if the only people they asked were elder millenials and boomers? Because I certainly wouldn't like to go back. Sure, I have a certain romanticism about the past (90s were the best, etc etc), I got to experience growing up both before and during the technological boom which gave a sort of "generational/technological whiplash" in a unique time in history. I remember using a corded button dial phone and the actual rotary phone my parents used to keep around for nostalgia.

But man, the internet, for better or worse, opened my eyes to so many things that I would've been oblivious to if not for that. So many social causes, injustices, climate and political issues, so many different communities. If it wasn't for the internet, I never would have met a great community in college that ended up gaining me a lot of friends and a job, and so many wonderful experiences. If not for cell phones, I'd have no way of calling for help when my car broke down (one of many times) in the middle of the expressway at night, or when making plans with friends or trying to find directions to some place.

No thanks, I would very much like to stay in the present.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I was just thinking this earlier today. Life just seemed more simple.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

most definitely. no expectation of being available 24/7.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Yeah that’s on you mate, you’ve made yourself available for 24/7.

Turn your phone off or put it on a restricted mode
so only approved people can contact you and don’t open work emails after hours.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Yeah, it was. But only because it was in the 80s and I was in my early teens back then. I don’t think the world was much simpler though. I was just looking at it through oblivious eyes of youth..

Cold War was in its heyday. Russia was at war, just like today. Ronald Regan came to power. There were bloody and terrible terrorist attacks. Chernobyl blew up etc etc.

It was a shitshow.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 years ago

lots of people died from not being able to contact help, though.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

AT THE TONE THE TIME WILL BE 12:49 AND 50 SECONDS. BEEP!

No thanks. I like my internet time sync and GPS navigation.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

What a stupid poll. I don't see what the article wants me to think, but it was probably a couched question, considering the article explicitly links the Internet to pedophiles, criminals, and people who advocate abolishing democracy.

No mention of the good things that the ability to instantly communicate around the world means. Or a reminder of how stupid things were before the Internet. Like vacuum tubes at Lowe's.

Even a 54 year old, the top age polled, has no idea what a world without Internet means, as they would have been in their early twenties as America Online was rolling out.

They probably expect it to be just a world where "Do Not Disturb" mode is enabled on their phones all the time while still having access to Netflix and credit card instant transactions and not balancing a checkbook.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

The problem with polls like this is that the Internet means something different to everyone. To some Facebook and the like is the entire internet.

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