#114: Digital Divide
There used to be a time when people were not constantly looking into small glass rectangles, were not constantly distracted by notifications, and, y’know, actually looked up. Nowadays, you see “smombies” (Smartphone Zombies) everywhere.
Smartphones are the new video games, TV, newspapers, and books: Vilified for changing the behavior and habits of humans in significant ways that the older generations don’t really want to understand. If only we instead threw away our smartphones, allowed ourselves to experience the real world again, would our attention return to us.
There are at least two problems with this.
First: the distinction between the real and the digital world is a false one. Both are real. A conversation is no less real just because it happened over a messenger app. Bullying and harassment online is just as dangerous and harmful.
Second: The smartphone itself is not the problem. Yes, we’re dividing up our attention between more and more things, and the smartphone isn’t necessarily helping. But the problem is not new. Instead of taking the easy route and blaming smartphones, we should instead question the social norms and behaviors that enable and encourage these behaviors: why is it acceptable and even expected to read and answer work email outside of work hours? Why we are constantly in search of likes and subscribes?
Smartphones are tools, and just like any other tool, we need to know its strength and weaknesses, and how to use it in such a way we get what we want out of it. And the smartphone as a tool can serve a lot of useful functions. Perhaps most importantly, we can stay in touch with friends and family anywhere we are, socialize with more people regardless of where they are, and with people we might never meet.
So instead of blaming the smartphone, demand better controls over how it can interrupt you, stop checking work email outside work hours, and decide whether chasing likes is what you really want.
There’s no going back to the good old times before smartphones. Not just because smartphones are genuinely powerful and useful tools, but also because the old times weren’t all that great, anyway.
Privacy
As the old saying goes „I don’t need privacy, I have nothing to hide“. But as Facebook and the Cambridge Analytica scandal have demonstrated, this theory is put to the test now more than ever. It’s just that we no longer really know what privacy really feels like in this age of Silicon Valley giants. Which is how we ended up in a situation where ad companies know you better than your spouse does.
Eat It Up
Eating healthy should be an easy and straightforward task — but anyone who’s ever tried it knows it’s anything but. Everyone has an opinion on what you can, should, and should not eat, and never mind going to the Internet for recommendations. Part of the problem is that it’s really hard to figure out what effect food has on us.
Next-Day Delivery
order something on Amazon and chances are good you’re getting it delivered the next day.  but there’s a price to pay for this speedy delivery — and it’s not the Amazon prime membership. To get the goods to you Amazon relies on a network of sub-contracted delivery companies. This allows it to shirk responsibility for anything that happens during deliveries while also keeping costs to a minimum.
How many minutes in a day
Yes, you’re right, it’s a trick question, because it all depends on how you define “a day”: Why Some Days Aren’t 24 Hours (YouTube).