Orwell couldn’t imagine such an effective propaganda device. We aren’t hiding in a corner of the room to avoid the telescreen, we are all too eager to hold it a good 8 inches from our eyes every time we have 5 seconds of free time. No time left to even freely think.
Huxley did, our world turned out to be more like Brave New World than 1984. Folks are too inundated with distractions to care what's going on around them.
Of course they are, many of the most wealthy companies to ever exist are dumping unimaginable amounts of money into R&D to maximize phone addiction. Many people here make a substantial living off of getting people addicted to their phones.
Mass addition... This isn't going to end well... The question is when it a tipping point reached where too many people can't take care of themselves or others and society starts to collapse? Basic services etc... Weird times ahead. We live in a world of abundance and yet so many can't function.
I switched to a CAT-S22 flip phone and haven't looked back.
It's android so it's good enough for calls, WhatsApp, maps, etc. But it's impossible to get sucked into "scrolling" on it. For everything else I have a tablet. It basically does all the things but unlike a phone, I have to be a little bit more intentional when I reach for it since it takes both hands, which is great way to prevent doom scrolling.
I think the next step might be to get a tablet that can work as a phone as my "base" and get a smartwatch for everything else.
I think self-control can only take you so far. Yeah you can use it to break a phone addiction, but it doesn't feel good. The way you feel when you don't have the option is way different.
