alt Hacker NewsThe problem is not smartphones per se. They are very handy. They eliminate the need to carry a thick wallet full of physical ID cards, credit cards, membership/discount cards, etc. They help you if you are lost (who even gets lost anymore, with navigation and maps in your pocket). They let you access information and entertainment wherever you are.
The problem is the tracking and invasion of privacy, and that all traces back to ads.
Ads are at the root of all the problems with the modern internet and mobile tech.
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100% agree on the ad angle. Ads normalised using digital products/services by paying with data and attention.
That is one of the reasons why I would love to see - reasonably priced - paid services, or even have governments offer them (as in: Source is open, hosting is being paid by the government). Given the role social media, the internet and so on plays today, it might make sense to treat this as a common good.
But that side track aside; I think that privacy respecting, ad free products can be offered for cheap, if their goal is only to finance themselves, development and gain a small margin. And true, network effects / buyin is real, but I also think that the market for ad-free digital spaces/services will continue to grow, as hopefully people become more and more aware of how precious and limited their attention really is.
I don’t carry a smartphone, and I also carry a minimalist wallet (extremely thin). I replaced my couple of “discount” cards, which have barcodes, with laminated photocopies.
I don’t get lost because I am familiar with my city.
I can access entertainment at home. Why do you need to distract yourself constantly?
Smartphones just aren’t necessary if you live life intentionally. (We should get rid of targeted ads though.)
> Ads are at the root of all the problems with the modern internet and mobile tech.
Ads aren't the problem. It's really the tracking and invasion of privacy which are the problem. Ads are just the publicly acceptable justification companies will use for invading your privacy. People don't care about giving up their privacy if they think it's just for ads because nobody really cares about which ad they get served. Some people have even been tricked into thinking that personalized ads are for their benefit.
Companies use the data they collect on us for a whole lot more than just advertising though and companies don't want you thinking about that. Even if all advertising were outlawed they'd still be collecting just as much of your data. Information is power and the information they have on you can become power they have over you. Companies are perfectly happy to use that data to set the prices they charge you, to tailor the company policies they apply to you, to deny paying out insurance/healthcare claims, and to make hiring decisions.
They'll use it for everything and anything they can if they think it'll give them an advantage. They've been seen using it for things as trivial as deciding how long to leave you on hold when you call them. The many ways they use your personal data against you is only going to increase as AI makes it easier for them to process their horde of data points in real time.
All the tracking and invasion of privacy is what really needs to be regulated and pushed back against because that data is just going to used against you one way or another.