
Apple needs to tackle the issue of smartphone addiction - sus_007
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/tony-fadell-apple-iphone-addiction-control-design
======
agitator
I don't get why people think that this is apple's problem.

Do a better job of parenting. Have some self discipline.

There are so many products in this world that take advantage of our biology.
The iPhone is just one. And it's currently being obsessed over by media
outlets. What about all the processed foods making people fat and unhealthy?
What about Starbucks selling addictive drugs on every corner and getting away
with it? Same with Coca-Cola, why is adding addictive chemicals to a soda that
is sold to everyone including children okay? What about television? All of
these TV shows coming out are designed to hook you in. Walking my dog every
night, I can see everyone just sitting in front of their televisions, wasting
time.

If you are going to force a company to help people ween themselves from
addiction, don't be a hypocrite. You have your own addictions and vices, what
makes yours more valid than someone else's. If we are going to make products
provide tools to limit their own use, lets do that with all of the addictive
products out there, and not single out one company because it's trendy to not
be on your phone.

~~~
egypturnash
One day, an old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands
of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked he came
upon a young boy who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean,
one by one.

Puzzled, the man looked at the boy and asked what he was doing. Without
looking up from his task, the boy simply replied, “I’m saving these starfish,
Sir”.

The old man chuckled aloud, “Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one
of you. What difference can you make?”

The boy picked up a starfish, gently tossed it into the water and turning to
the man, said, “I made a difference to that one!”

~~~
lainga
The old man then went home and penned an article titled "The sea needs to
tackle the issue of washed-up starfish"; the Moon was blown up, and the tides
ceased.

------
DonaldPShimoda
Something that I don't know if they've mentioned specifically in public was
that the Apple Watch was partly designed to deal with smartphone addiction.

I don't have a citable source handy here, so it's just my word, but when I
interned with Apple last year there were a few "town hall" events where
interns could ask questions of senior management (Cook, Ahrendts, Cue,
Maestri, etc). At one of them (I think the Tim Cook one but I'm not 100%
certain) someone asked about smartphone addiction. He pointed out that the
Apple Watch actually plays a role. It gives you a tap when you get a
notification, but the tap isn't too intense and doesn't go for more than a
moment. In user studies, they found that people were much more likely to
simply dismiss notifications from the Watch than if they weren't wearing one.

The effect of this was that people weren't unlocking their phones as often,
and by merely avoiding unlocking the phone people were not as tied to using
it. It used to be the case for me that I would get a notification, unlock my
phone and attend to the notification, and then immediately afterwards open
Reddit or Facebook or something because, well, I was already on my phone so
why not?

Since getting an Apple Watch, I've noticed I do this much less. Maybe part of
it is that I'm more cognizant of the problem, but another part is that it's
much easier to simply disregard the notifications since they're more fleeting
now.

I'm sure this sounds like a sales pitch for the Watch to some people, but I
don't mean it that way. I just thought it was very interesting when Cook (I
think) pointed out that this was a deliberate consideration with the Watch and
then I was able to anecdotally confirm its effectiveness myself. I wish I had
an actual source to cite for this, but notes are forbidden in the town hall
events.

~~~
whytaka
I purchased the Apple Watch when the cellular version came out. You can bet
that my smartphone usage has gone down since I've stopped carrying it around.

I get my messages, my calls, and my emails. I can get directions if necessary.
I even get my wallet, my weather, my reminders/schedule AND my music. What
else do I need?

EDIT: Did I mention it also tells time?

~~~
rangibaby
Fuji X series have the IQ of a "real" camera but a very portable form factor.

I currently carry a Nikon FE film camera around when I want a camera small
enough to forget about, but I am itching to get an X100F in particular.

~~~
agitator
I got the fuji x-pro2 for this reason. I used to carry a bunch of canon
gear... till I stopped bringing it anywhere because it was too heavy.

I traded it all in for a fuji, and 2 small primes, and I bring that camera
everywhere.

~~~
dingaling
Unfortunately one can't beat physics.

If you need reach and magnification, for example at an airshow, then you need
a long lens with a lot of glass. At that point the weight of the camera
becomes irrelevant.

If you just need a couple of primes for street shooting then just about any
camera manufacturer will sell you something small and lightweight. Fuji don't
have any particular light-attracting or gravity-defeating magic.

------
flyGuyOnTheSly
I've been struggling with addiction in various forms for my entire adult life,
so I have a decent understanding of it imho.

When I first learned what a smartphone was, I knew immediately that I would
become addicted to it if I let myself.

I simply chose not to get addicted to smartphones by never purchasing one, and
it's working out quite well so far.

I know they're awesome little nuggets of technology, but I just don't want to
be that connected... so I don't own one.

For the same reasons that I choose not to continually purchase the latest
gaming console.

Spending $1,000 on something every 6 months (amortized cost of the smartphone
+ connectivity charges) that eventually becomes worthless isn't far off from a
serious drug or alcohol addiction financially speaking...

And now all of my "straight laced" friends can hardly even carry on a casual
conversation without looking at their smartphones every few minutes has only
reinforced my way of thinking.

They use smartphones as passive babysitters for their children when they're on
short car rides without hesitation.

The look on a 3 year old's mesmerized face as they stare into a tablet
disgusts me to no end.

I now choose to never own a smartphone.

I know they're a detriment to society.

Perhaps when I am old, dying, and actually in desperate need of "contact",
I'll splurge on one.

But until then, I'm perfectly content receiving and composing emails from a
full-blown computer with a keyboard... and sending the odd text message
through my dumbphone.

I work in the tech industry, and refusing to own a smartphone hasn't slowed me
down yet!

~~~
rdiddly
Kind of funny that they finally found something to hook the rest of 'em - all
the strait-laced people as you say. Many people would never be caught by any
of the typical addictions -- Smoking is socially stigmatized, drugs are
illegal, alcohol addiction is kinda sorta alittlebit mostly "hereditary" in
the loosest sense of the word, gambling for most people requires a long car
trip. But a smartphone has none of those limitations.

EDIT: I suppose the most widespread addiction is coffee. Still king.

~~~
collyw
I think it helps to have been addicted (maybe "dependent" is a better word) on
something that has been socially stigmatised to see it for what it is. Friends
will quite happily point and label it an "addiction" it out to while ignoring
their own "habits".

(I think I would draw the line between dependence and addiction when it starts
affecting your normal life, but again that description is pretty subjective).

------
dayjah
In general, I agree strongly with this sentiment:

> What does a healthy, moderate digital life look like? I think that
> manufacturers and app developers need to take on this responsibility, before
> government regulators decide to step in

As a bicyclist and driver I believe one of the best ways to enact this would
be add a feature that allows investigators / insurers to answer the question
of “whether the device was I use at the time of an accident”.

I’ve taken to yelling “get of your effing phone” at drivers obviously looking
down at devices while I’m driving, walking or cycling around; I think the
phone doing that would be more efficient.

~~~
francisofascii
I agree. Additionally, the rule against using a phone while driving should
actually be enforced. It is very much like speeding. Enforcement is
practically non-existent so of course everyone continue to do it.

~~~
dayjah
Agree, outdoor magazine has a detailed piece about this [0], somewhat
ironically the author, a friend of mine, was killed recently by a vehicle (an
accident; the truck hydroplaned into him while he was fixing a flat) [1].

[0] [https://www.outsideonline.com/1930211/bikes-vs-cars-
deadly-w...](https://www.outsideonline.com/1930211/bikes-vs-cars-deadly-war-
nobodys-winning)

[1] [https://www.outsideonline.com/2282551/author-and-cyclist-
and...](https://www.outsideonline.com/2282551/author-and-cyclist-andrew-tilin-
dies-in-collision)

------
whitepoplar
I think smartphone use has split into two paths: utility and "discovery."
Utilities are the tools we use every day, the tools we want to be stable,
fast, and (relatively) unchanging. E.g. sms, maps, browser, phone, camera,
email. "Discovery" is all the new, unstable, changing stuff. I think there's
an enormous market for a utility smartphone...and it doesn't even have to be a
smartphone. Something between an old Nokia and an iPhone, but still a
precision-crafted, luxury device.

~~~
chadash
This. I have thought a lot about switching to a "dumb phone" recently. There
were two things that I use regularly that would make this switch tough though:

1) Google maps. This is so much better than using a built-in or dashboard-
mount GPS that it would be hard to go back. 2) Podcasts. I listen to these in
the car and having a good app for them is nice.

Ultimately, I decided to delete the apps on my phone that were sucking up my
time, but it takes a good amount of self control not to install some of the
new ones, and I still succumb to checking my notifications more than I'd like.

I would love the product you are describing though. In particular, I remember
my old Nokia had like a week of battery life and I'd be willing to give up a
bunch of functionality for that alone.

~~~
jmgregory
I made the switch a few years ago. (Got disgusted with myself for neglecting
my kids to check work emails). It was much easier than I thought it would be.
To your points:

1) Maps - I try to look at an online map before I leave for a place. If the
directions are just too complicated I'll print the last leg or so. This has
gotten me temporarily lost before, but figuring it out on my own makes for an
adventure (definitely not for everybody) and significantly increases my
retention of the geography of the area. I do miss real-time traffic-informed
routing, though (i.e., Waze).

2) Podcasts - My dumb-phone has an MP3 player, but the UI was so bad
(especially for longer tracks like podcasts) that I ended up buying a used
iPod Nano. Works great for me.

Downside is the phone is thick ("is that a flip-phone in your pocket, or...")
and the UI is clunky, and sometimes it crashes when family send me large files
over MMS. I'm seriously considering that Light Phone 2 someone linked above.
Seems about perfect.

------
brandon272
I have to wonder - what is staring at our phones all day doing to our necks?
And are we going to have an epidemic of debilitating cervical spine issues pop
up 10 or 20 years from now?

~~~
majormajor
I don't really know that I stare at my phone any more than I used to stare at
books/magazines/newspapers.

So I'm screwed either way.

------
soulnothing
Is this shifting the blame? It seems people are addicted to smartphones
because it's what they want. Or put another way what else draws interest in
their life. Which goes to a quality of life aspect.

The onus should not be on the manufacturer to address addiction. But instead,
provide means to combat addiction. Apple has that notification toggle. What
more do we want, auto lock after X hours of usage. This will probably be harsh
but how about learn some self-discipline. If a stepping program is needed,
then implement that. Like to ween people off. But it shouldn't be a constant.
Why are you checking your phone so much? Why aren't you out doing something,
or talking to someone? If you don't want to do that, why are you complaining
about checking your phone so much.

That is to say some people are introverts. They don't want to talk much. The
smartphone allows them to better socialize, and keep to their habits.

I've noticed since I upgraded to a pixel. I find myself subconsciously
pressing the fingerprint authentication while it's in my pocket. Not looking
at it, but just pressing it feeling it unlock. I came to this realization the
other day. I was reminded of some of my other addictive behaviors. I'm looking
at dumber phones now actually.

I've recently downgraded in a way. My biggest use of my phone was for music. I
grabbed an old iPod nano and put Rockbox on it. Largely leaving my phone in my
backpack. I've also eyed the recent Nokia phones.

~~~
malloryerik
Subconsciously pressing the fingerprint authentication in your pocket is
reminiscent of... the One Ring...

I can relate to your iPod story. For me, smartphone has been mostly for
reading. I used Kindle among other apps on my phone. Having recently bought a
Kindle my iPhone sits untouched in my pocket.

------
LeicaLatte
Legitimizing smartphone addiction is the main reason why Apple will never put
a dark mode in iOS. Atleast I hope they don't. It has never been a personal
problem (I am carrying my own bunch of bad habits) but I hate watching
friends, partners constantly checking their phones in the night.

~~~
ghostbrainalpha
What do you mean by 'dark mode'?

I turned my screen black and white, which supposedly lessens the
addictiveness. You can also invert the colors for cool matrix like effect...
if you are into 90's Winamp Themes.

~~~
giggles_giggles
Modern Android has a f.lux-like effect where it changes the colors on your
screen to be warmer so they don't affect your sleep as much. I assume that's
what he means by 'dark mode' (it's 'night mode').

~~~
bethling
iOS has something similar - called 'Night Shift'. I think he's talking about
having a theme that is a dark background rather than a light/white one,
though.

~~~
LeicaLatte
Yes a lot of apps provide a night/dark mode as an in app purchase. Convenient,
yes. Addicting, yes++.

You mentioned Night Shift and I think it actually is a great compromise.

------
lkrubner
The Cali Cartel needs to tackle the issue of cocaine addiction —- but don’t
hold your breath.

~~~
thirduncle
Exactly.

The addictiveness of smartphones isn't a "byproduct" of these devices. It _is_
the product.

~~~
asfgionio
Bear in mind that Apple keeps 30% of App Store revenue, which is tens of
billions of dollars a year. If they just sold the hardware they wouldn't care
at all how much users use it, but if users are on their phones for hours on
end it's more likely they'll spend money on apps.

------
jf
With the Apple Watch with LTE, Apple _is_ tackling the issue of smartphone
addiction.

I've been using my Apple Watch as my sole form of communication for 3 months
now, it's great.

~~~
graeme
Does Siri understand you well, or do you have any cases where you have to
scribble, send typos, etc?

What do you do for taking notes? Do you have a system for processing later on
a phone or a computer?

Any apps like whatsapp where you can't initiate a message? How do you get
around it?

Do you carry a phone? If not, do you carry a camera?

I'm interested in doing the same myself.

~~~
jf
> Does Siri understand you well, or do you have any cases where you have to
> scribble, send typos, etc?

Siri works pretty well in most situations. It doesn't work great when I'm in
locations with spotty WiFi and LTE. Siri also doesn't work well when I'm in
meetings or on the bus, so I scribble in those situations. I really wish I
could use Palm's "Graffiti" instead of writing out the letters, it would be so
much faster! I also do send typos sometimes.

> What do you do for taking notes? Do you have a system for processing later
> on a phone or a computer?

I do not have a system for taking notes on my phone or watch. I use org-mode
for my notes so I carry my computer around with me at work as a portable org-
mode system.

> Any apps like whatsapp where you can't initiate a message? How do you get
> around it?

I don't use Whatsapp, but I do use Signal and not being able to initiate a
message is very frustrating. I end up using iMessage in those situations,
which isn't ideal. I hope that Signal makes an Apple Watch app.

> Do you carry a phone? If not, do you carry a camera?

I don't carry a phone for 5-6 days out of the week. At this point, I only take
my phone with me if I want to have a "GPS" or a camera. I do miss having a
camera, but it's a small price to pay for being free from the constant
distraction of a phone.

------
exabrial
I think I disagree, but in a good way. Apple needs to protect privacy. Google,
FB, et all are pushing devices that upload as much information about users as
possible. The most recent Apple update resounded with me in that it said
'privacy is a fundamental right'. What Apple needs to tackle is the issue of
becoming an advertisement agency.

------
exodust
This article.... where to begin. Firstly this isn't an "Apple problem". Their
smartphone product is one of many. We also see plenty of non-smartphone
digital addictions. It's not about smartphones either.

And then this:

 _" You should be able to see exactly how you spend your time and, if you
wish, moderate your behaviour accordingly."_

If anyone needs to use an app to check whether they're spending too much time
looking at apps, then it's game over. If we need to regularly consult a
computer to determine how to live our lives without consulting the computer
too much, it's game over.

Is society really in this much trouble, that people are writing articles
asking for tech giants to save us from tech products? In so many ways that is
like giving up as a thoughtful being, formerly in control of your own life and
decisions, but now admitting you are merely a fish. Worse than a fish because
of what you've lost. You once had organic direction and intuition, but now
have an app for that.

------
cryptoz
Tony Fadell says,

> I think that manufacturers and app developers need to take on this
> responsibility, before government regulators decide to step in.

Tim Cook recently said, "I think the best regulation is no regulation, is
self-regulation". And Tony Fadell expresses a similar idea here. That no
regulation is the best idea and that companies should "behave" so that the
status quo of no regulation continues.

But how do they keep these opinions in the face of all the enormous evidence
that companies are very specifically designed to be unable to self-regulate?
The very structure of a corporation today means it is incentivized to sneak by
and almost break as many laws as possible to be short-term profitable. This is
incongruent with long-term health, growth, capitalism, and everything else,
because it is a strong forcing factor towards _very bad corporate behaviour_.
Constantly lobbying for "no regulation" or to act quickly before those big-
bad-regulators come in to protect consumers from poison and addiction makes no
sense.

Companies will behave badly as long as the law allows it. Suggesting that the
companies should behave better while suggesting that there should be
absolutely no consequence for bad behaviour legally is a bizarre doubethink. I
don't get it.

~~~
DonaldPShimoda
> Tim Cook recently said, "I think the best regulation is no regulation, is
> self-regulation".

This quote was made with regard specifically to Facebook's recent problems
with privacy, and Cook then immediately said: “However, I think we’re beyond
that here.” Clearly he thinks regulation can be necessary sometimes, and
specifically he has been an advocate for user privacy. I don't know that he
intended these words to be applied generally to all companies for all issues.

> But how do they keep these opinions in the face of all the enormous evidence
> that companies are very specifically designed to be unable to self-regulate?

1\. I don't think companies are "specifically designed to be unable to self-
regulate." Where did you get that from? While it may be true that this is
often the case, it seems odd to suggest that this is a specific part of the
design of a corporation.

2\. Apple has self-regulated with regards to user privacy and security, in
ways that other companies have not. They have deliberately made themselves
known for not selling user data, and have drawn direct comparisons between
themselves and other companies for not collecting significant amounts of user
data to be used for any purpose.

I dunno, your points don't really seem very well researched. You said
"Companies will behave badly as long as the law allows it" and I certainly
agree with this to an extent (and this seems to be your main point), but your
overly strong statements ("corporations ... break as many laws as possible")
reduce the effectiveness of your thesis.

~~~
cryptoz
> Cook then immediately said: “However, I think we’re beyond that here.”
> Clearly he thinks regulation can be necessary sometimes

If there is even a slightest chance of a hundred-billion dollar corporation
ignoring morals and helping foreign powers install a dictator and destroy
truth in publishing and trust in America, then it should be clear that
_Regulation was required from the start_. There is no "oops now we get it we
should have had regulation for this particular instance". You can't do that,
it's too late. Regulation was required from the beginning. It always is.

> 1\. I don't think companies are "specifically designed to be unable to self-
> regulate." Where did you get that from? While it may be true that this is
> often the case, it seems odd to suggest that this is a specific part of the
> design of a corporation.

There's another reply to me asking this, but I'm not sure how to respond. It
just seems obvious to me that the tragedy of the commons situation that
results from raw competition (and enshrined in corporate structure, tax law,
etc) results in corporations being incentivized to find ways "around the
rules" to get a competitive "advantage" over others.

> Apple has self-regulated with regards to user privacy and security, in ways
> that other companies have not.

You don't know this, though. You can't know, because you can by definition
never know what "self-regulation" a company might be doing. From the outside,
all Apple is doing here is marketing material. You can't know what their self-
regulation means.

~~~
twblalock
The problem with ex-ante regulation is that you can kill really good ideas
before they take off. Government regulations should target known problems
rather than problems that people imagine will happen. That does mean we need
to let some problems happen, but that's a tradeoff worth making in a society
that cares about making innovation possible.

By the way, when Facebook was new nobody would have guessed that it might be
involved in a Russian plot to influence a presidential election more than a
decade in the future, so regulation would not have been proposed anyway.

And back in the 90s, the Justice Department claimed Microsoft was a monopoly
that could only be stopped by government action. And then over the next few
decades, Microsoft was knocked off its pedestal by companies and market trends
that nobody anticipated. If it really had been a monopoly, that wouldn't have
been possible.

Governments have a pretty bad track record of predicting the future,
especially regarding the interaction between technology and culture.

> You can't know what their self-regulation means.

You also can't know what internal steps a company like Facebook has taken to
deal with government regulations like GDPR. But you can measure outcomes.
Given that regulations are intended to produce outcomes, that's what you ought
to be measuring anyway.

------
chrischen
I hope Apple does provide the tools to help users control their usage. If they
do, it'll be a prime example of the difference in philosophies (or marketing,
if you will) between Facebook and Apple. Facebook would never help you curtail
usage or take control of usage. They would want users to be oblivious to
what's harming them and enable them, in the name of "engagement".

~~~
collyw
I wish there was an open source alternative to either of those two corporate
monsters. I had the Ubuntu phone, but it wasn't great and as many of the apps
were web based it was fairly useless when I travelled.

------
perseusprime11
If we can hold Facebook accountable for our data, there is no reason why we
can't make Apple responsible for our behavior. Apple blames others for
addiction, but I think it is time they recognize the damage they are doing to
people's minds. In another decade, I am sure there will be sizeable
longitudinal survey's pointing to smartphones and people's psychological
problems.

------
himom
Have a switch that reduces motion effects and dulls the colors... smartphone
dramamine.

Otherwise, society is likely to devolve further into ground-lighted sidewalk
crossings with distracted people hunched over, oblivious to everyone else and
missing life. Tinder: nuf said.

[Insert Banksy smartphone lovers gaze pic]

------
marpstar
iOS' "Do Not Disturb While Driving" is a good example of how they're trying.
Sure it's touted as a "safety" feature, but it's doing what they need to do:
encourage the user not to use their phone all the time.

------
awad
Shouldn't the onus be on the developers of the applications sitting on top of
the smartphones? We don't chide PC manufacturers for video game addicted kids,
do we?

------
studycity
Three years ago I posted this... Any suggestions how to tie iPad entertainment
time to Khan academy progress? Does anything like this already exist?
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9299697](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9299697)

A few days ago Apple approved my app that does exactly that. Currently it is
free. Search the iOS store for StudyCity. I am very grateful to Apple for
approving my app. When you make a "unique" app, there is no guarantee that
Apple will approve it. FYI, my project email is support@dnslearning.org The
website is StudyCity.org

------
j45
A tool like RescueTime helps segment one's use of devices and services - it's
pretty insightful in terms of measuring one's "Digital Weight"

------
otabdeveloper2
> "Pain killer manufacturers need to tackle the issue of opiate addiction"

Looks like they already have, lol (all the way to the bank).

------
gxs
I'm such a cynic these days.

When I see an article like this, all I can think of is that this is the angle
the FBs and Googles of the world will use to give Apple it's own share of
social responsibility problems.

Hey, yes, we collect all data, but Apple, you really should be doing something
about phone addiction. Especially since you, Apple, have "system-level control
across devices".

Definitely understand how that comes across as conspiracy theoryish, but the
timing is too inviting.

------
gldev3
Why does this has to be an issue with the companies ? It's the same thing with
videogames after some time you'll get a message like " You have been playing
for XX Hours, we reommend that you take a break. " and it's understandable but
if it's not smartphones people will get addicted to something else.

This is more of a culture issue that should be addressed in schools from an
early age ( at least in my opinion ).

------
tdaltonc
I know HN is big on personal responsibility, so here are two tools to help you
deal with phone addiction.

I made Space [http://youjustneedspace.com](http://youjustneedspace.com) which
help with individual apps.

An Android launcher called Siempo
[http://www.getsiempo.com/](http://www.getsiempo.com/) is a more complete app
control system.

------
doggydogs94
Worldwide, Google has a much larger market share. Let Google take the lead.

------
sxcurry
Actually, Apple doesn't "need" to do anything.

------
mrharrison
Why are we so eager to blame companies on HN. I wish people would take
ownership for their own actions instead of blaming companies. I can't wait for
the article, "Take ownership of yourself, stop blaming others".

------
olivermarks
[http://www.wired.co.uk/article/tony-fadell-apple-iphone-
addi...](http://www.wired.co.uk/article/tony-fadell-apple-iphone-addiction-
control-design)

The actual UK article TechCrunch is basing its summary on

~~~
sctb
Thanks! We've updated the link from [https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/16/tony-
fadell-is-worried-abo...](https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/16/tony-fadell-is-
worried-about-smartphone-addiction/).

------
olivermarks
An Apple cash cow is financializing your personal data via a vast sprawling
ecosystem [http://www.visualcapitalist.com/personal-data-
ecosystem/](http://www.visualcapitalist.com/personal-data-ecosystem/)

To pick Up Faddell's analogy, this is like letting big sugar regulate itself.
It doesn't and has spent millions pushing red herrings like 'low fat' to
protect its profit machine.

In a parallel universe 'How to take on Big Sugar and win' 'Camilla Cavendish,
the initiator of the UK’s tax on sugar, says it’s time to start treating it as
nicotine'
[https://www.ft.com/content/6be1a340-3e3d-11e8-b9f9-de94fa33a...](https://www.ft.com/content/6be1a340-3e3d-11e8-b9f9-de94fa33a81e)

Money is the only language the tech platform barons speak too, despite all the
posturing...

~~~
mattkrause
This seems more like a criticism of Facebook or Google.

------
shahbaby
The majority of the population has been brain washed into believing that they
need a computer that's physically attached to them 24/7.

I believe that there is immense value in not having a _smart_ phone.

It's a value that can't be packaged into a box and sold for the sticker price.

It's the value of being more engaged with your own life and the things that
actually matter to you.

~~~
zimpenfish
> It's the value of being more engaged with your own life and the things that
> actually matter to you.

My mother uses her smartphone to connect with family who are far away. Pray
tell how that's not being "engaged with her own life and things that actually
matter to her"?

