Well said.

As someone who grew up before the negative effects of computer/internet technology became apparent, and who was excited and impatient for it to develop, I agree with the points made in the article. It didn’t have to be this way; in a different kind of society it could have been a boon to everyone. But in our society all the benefits of good things are appropriated by the powerful so they can more readily exploit the less powerful for profit.

So many wonderful possible benefits that might have come from these technological advancements, to help people lead better lives, to address many of society’s issues (hunger, climate change, disabilities, education, etc) simply never happened, because in our society money must be invested to develop them, so only things that would make more profits for the greedy were able to be developed. Yes, some things did get funded by governments or foundations, but they’re only a drop in the bucket to what could be done.

I have a flip phone with a touchscreen so I can type via the onscreen keyboard. When I bought it I wondered how well it would work since the screen is so small, but it works great! So much easier than using the keypad. BTW it also has maps with voice navigation.

Walmart doesn’t let you use contactless pay unless you use their app.

By “contactless pay” I assume you’re talking about paying by using a smartphone app? Obviously I don’t care about that because the whole point of my post is that I’m not using a smartphone, so obviously I have no apps of any kind.

But if by “contactless pay” you meant paying with your debit card by tapping it or holding it near the card reader, yes they do have that like everyone else.

yes

It’s called “Active Listening”

https://www.404media.co/heres-the-pitch-deck-for-active-listening-ad-targeting/

I use a dumbphone. I’m not buying a smartphone just so I can play these stupid games, and I’m not installing an app for every fucking business I interact with. I realize there will one day be a point where I won’t be able to do things I need to do without one, but until then I have no desire for one. Fortunately they haven’t made the parking meters here require a smartphone yet.

My grocery store still uses loyalty cards for most discounts (which is irritating enough), but also has “digital coupons” that require an app so I can’t get that. Theoretically I could go to their website and print them off but that’s not worth the effort. I have to pay close attention to the price signs they put up because some of them say “with digital coupon” in small print, meaning “not for you, bitch”. You know who doesn’t pull this kind of shit? Walmart. So I wind up getting a lot of my groceries there so as not to be discriminated against.

They don’t blink except for the red one when it’s charging and stops when it’s full. The notification ones are solid. Yes, they are really nice to have!

That’s good. Some of the comments were making me wonder!

I think some people may not realize how detrimental it can be to their quality of life or stress level, to have something constantly interrupting their attention or that it’s something that can be controlled without having to completely cut themselves off.

Seems a lot of comments are arguing about this as if it’s an all-or-nothing. I use a dumbphone (for many reasons), but even it allows me to configure DND settings to allow certain phone numbers to audibly ring or vibrate. Surely smartphones can do the same? I find being with someone whose phone is constantly making noises to be very irritating–and more so if they interrupt our conversation to check it every time.

My not-so-dumb flip phone also has 3 indicator lights on the closed cover – red if battery is low, a green envelope if I have a message or other notification, and a blue phone if I’ve had a call (even those can be disabled). So I don’t have to touch it or do anything other than glance in its direction to know I have a message. “Smart” phones can do such simple things as this, can’t they?

I doubt they even know there’s anything other than gmail.

😄

Whenever I see Gulf of America mentioned, in my head it sounds like “This is America” in the Childish Gambino song.

That’s exactly what I did, lol. Kbin seemed intriguing but didn’t last. I did try to look and get an idea about different lemmy instances but found very little info about any of them except for the 2 or 3 “infamous” ones, so I just went with .world, which seems fine to me.

Sorry, that’s more than one sentence.

person you’re saying that to: “So much words, very explaining!” runs away

Has software usage really gotten to the point where the average person can’t handle being given a choice about anything? Where it’s just too much effort to do anything more than mindlessly click on whatever is presented to them? 🤦

Imagine pulling up to a red light, checking your GPS for directions, and suddenly, the entire screen is hijacked by an ad. That’s the reality for some Stellantis owners. Instead of seamless functionality, drivers are now forced to manually close out of ads just to access basic vehicle functions.

Oh HELLLLL no. I hope my 2012 Subaru will last until I’m either dead or too old to drive. I don’t even want to have these damn screens for the usual shit you have to do on them. I want to be able to do everything with physical controls, no eavesdropping, and no dependence on a fucking app or touchscreen to operate anything in my car! I will drive my car while wearing mittens! shakes fist

They’ve been talking about this for years, wake me up when they actually do it. Or don’t, whatever.

I also think DEI is awful: Don Jr, Eric, and Ivanka, yuck! The worst of his spawn.

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