alt Hacker News> Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone.
millions of people would like a word…
> Most things will work but it takes one critical service that doesn't have a viable workaround, and you're forced to buy (and possibly carry) a "mainstream" phone just for that.
Absolutely not, if there is “critical service” that requires an iPhone or Android you call an attorney.
> Banking, government, authentication, postal service and public transit apps are just some of the common categories that will, in the end, force you to use one of those systems, unless governments mandate viable alternatives.
There are now and there always will be alternatives
> As an individual, it feels like my options are to either submit or try to live a hermit's life, bringing endless suffering and exclusion to myself.
As an individual you can and should fight any system that forces you into buying a smartphone. Alternatives must exist even if they might be “incovenient” (e.g. have to do it browser vs. via some “App”)
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Browser is great until it tells you that you need to use a mobile device.
This happens all the time on multiple KYC platforms in the US.
My laptop is an equally mobile device, they just don't recognize that.
> can and should fight
I disagree, because the impact on my quality of life from fighting the fight is just not a level of sacrifice that is sensible.
> There are now and there always will be alternatives
The problem is that those "alternatives" often come with serious downsides, from higher cost, to massive inconvenience, to having to work around simply not having a service. And while most of the time it's possible to work around it, most people quickly hit the limit where the cost isn't bearable.