586
‘The tyranny of apps’: those without smartphones are unfairly penalised, say campaigners
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2025
586 points (98.2% liked)
Technology
63082 readers
3508 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related content.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Get out of the stone age.
this comment makes me wish for a Carrington Event in the 21st century
I'm probably gonna get clowned for feeding the troll, but - this comment comes off a lot more harsh if you've ever experienced not having access to the Internet and a smartphone or computer.
I spent the better part of 16 years of my life with no TV, MP3 player, phone, Internet, or computer - and it has negatively impacted me in immeasurable ways. I couldn't find work, because I couldn't apply for jobs but also I didn't know you could do that on the Internet - I also didn't know YouTube existed, so I missed out on learning the things I liked, and I didn't know I was being abused because I had no way of knowing that it wasn't normal until I got access to help, via the Internet.
I wasn't in the stone age - if I'd had options to do any of the above without a phone or the Internet, I'd be a different person today. Shut up, mate - not everyone can afford or has the opportunity to own a smartphone and data plan (which are rare and expensive in abusive situations like my past). Making services available in places like libraries and community centers without requiring smartphones and Internet would help so many people who have no ability to use them - those people are just as human as you.
and by the way while we're at it: if we're effectively paywalling access to basic human rights behind an IP address and cellular radio, those should be enshrined as human rights too.
I was raised in the boondocks. You couldn't get reception there back in the 90's, and there weren't any kids or neighbors that I could visit without having to be driven. My parents didn't have any community at all, so I in turn never learned how to socialize properly. To say the least, I never became comfortable with phones, even after moving into civilization. It just wasn't part of me.
Isolation from people is a huge disadvantage in life, you don't get to make friends, network, or learn what it means to be part of society. Here's hoping that cellphones and whatnot become rights, as you have said.
However, some states might provide SSI recipients a LifeConnect program. You get a free smartphone and low-end plan.
Someone make a smartphone that isn't a steaming pile of shit then. The pinephone was so close but struggled with SMS when I tried it.