alt Hacker NewsYes I think the smartphone is an instance of "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.", when tech had higher constraints there was more thought put into determining what was essential.
When I want to put on headphones to do chores around the house I pick up my 2006-era iPod. No wireless pairing to screw with, no distracting notifications, just a library of music I've already listened to a hundred times so I can just think, which of these albums am I in the mood for, and choose. The interface is simple to navigate because there's just not much to navigate, and IMO that goes a long way to have a predictable experience that never introduces frustration.
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In the west I guess there's some truth to that but I think phones have been emancipatory in the poorer parts of the world.
The irony is that, the iphone era was somehow everything I wanted to see. But indeed this unified (incredible) device, ends up being a sink in itself that sucks so much of your thoughts to provide very few on average (there's some fun stuff given by having a pocket computer to be fair).
But the universality of phones also made them great tools. Maps, calls, messages all can be enormously beneficial.
The problem comes when they are both a tool and an entertainment device, as they are inseparably linked together.