

Cellphones, just like Alchohol, need to be regulated. - jasonadriaan
http://jasonadriaan.com/post/84816960865/cellphones-just-like-alchohol-need-to-be-regulated

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servowire
Ever since the first iPaqs came out I was hooked to mobile computing. First
(2001) an iPaq HX series, some Windows mobile phones, and in 2005 the HTC
phones came etc. Traveled by train a lot and remember being the smug hipster
MSN/IRC chatting away in the train while everybody was still reading
newspapers and using T9 SMS etc.

Then in 2007 the iPhone came out, and more, and more. By 2013 I started to get
tired of it. It started feeling like an addiction, never enjoying the
countryside when traveling always glued to the screen that got bigger and
bigger and brighter. After the 8th iPhone (5) I stopped. Got a "dumb" phone
with HSDPA tether option only so I can pair to my Macbook when I need to get
some work done on a proper platform.

Now I really notice late-adopters like my grandmother grabbing their
smartphones the whole time. It's a rude practice, it's actually pretty anti-
social.

I feel saturated by smartphones.

~~~
tekalon
I can guess that your grandmother is grabbing her phone since it is the best
way she can communicate with her older friends (which may or may not be home
bound or far away).

I don't think it so much as being anti-social, but a more visual way of people
showing that they have higher social priorities than the current situation. If
they really enjoyed the conversation/activity/ or even the people they are
with, they would ignore the phone.

While I'm not addicted to my phone (I often leave it at home ) I do use it on
occasion as a way to 'escape' social situations that are not interesting. Dull
conversation, lack of activity, or a situation where I've been dragged into
some social obligation. Would do the same thing with books before cell phones.

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joesmo
All the use cases the author provides at the bottom for disabling /
downgrading cellphone functionality could be captured in one app. The phone
can even detect the bluetooth connection to a car and render itself useless
during that time. If the author wants this, he should go ahead and pursue it,
but forcing it on others is inappropriate. There are a myriad of much more
dangerous tools to others than a cellphone. Cars come to mind immediately. Not
only that, some people really do need to stay in constant communication.
Perhaps that ringtone that the author wants to get rid of would have been
heard by the doctor waiting for a page.

The whole article reads like a holier-than-though rant with no support or
logic other than the author's clear intent of forcing his opinions and way of
being upon others. Others people's phone screens really bother him? That's
absurd. Other than driving while using the phone--the only valid complaint in
the whole article--the rest are at best annoyances.

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32bitkid
Since practically the beginning of human history, mankind has fantasized about
instantanious long-distance communication -- telepathy, mind-stones, oracles.
And now that we are on the precipice of realizing that fantasy for all --
young and old, rich and poor -- you want to _regulate_ it? So that you can
have a better conversation over a cup of coffee?

Sorry, I'm busy talking to someone more interesting on the other side of the
planet. Deal with it.

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mef
The author asserts cellphones are harmful but doesn't give any compelling
evidence. A woman crashed her car while on her cellphone? Apps depress you?
Noise pollution from ringtones? Brightness hurts our eyes? These reasons seem
spurious when you consider all the other items one can own which are not
cellphones but which have these same qualities.

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cema
Or, just like alcohol, need not.

The author talks about what effectively are his feelings. Original teetotalers
spoke about what were they feelings, often enhanced by religion. (At least
there is nothing against cell phones in the scriptures, I presume?)

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hvidgaard
Excessive phone usage is bad. But regulating it is a bit invasive. I can
understand regulating using a phone while operating heavy (and dangerous)
machinery, much in the same way you are not allowed to drive while operating a
phone. But leave me alone in my spare time. I can put the phone away, but
sometimes I want to use it all day. In much the same way, I have no trouble
limiting my childrens usage and teach them that computers and the like are not
something that should consume you.

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pjc50
Flagged as "get off my lawn" clickbait.

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dscrd
If this is the argument, also computer usage should be regulated.

While it sounds like a tempting choice, I believe the better way is more
freedom (also for drugs & alcohol) coupled with more serious punitive measures
whenever others get hurt.

