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diff --git a/content/entry/why-i-dont-have-a-smartphone.md b/content/entry/why-i-dont-have-a-smartphone.md index 17bc343..dd0dec8 100644 --- a/content/entry/why-i-dont-have-a-smartphone.md +++ b/content/entry/why-i-dont-have-a-smartphone.md @@ -54,21 +54,21 @@ Even if I didn't have a phone to borrow, I could use the PinePhone as a home pho Regular readers of this journal are probably wondering when I'm going to mention privacy. It's widely understood that smartphones are tracking and surveillance devices, so surely that's another objection, right? ## Smartphones Are Surveillance Devices -Well actually no. It's possible to have a smartphone that isn't a mass surveillance device. When I had the Google Pixel, I enabled airplane mode and MAC randomization. I used free software from Fdroid exclusively. Traffic was onion-routed via Tor. Bluetooth was disabled and wifi as well when I wasn't using it. I taped both front and rear cameras.[2] So privacy wasn't an issue for me. +Well actually no. It's possible to have a smartphone that isn't a mass surveillance device. When I had the Google Pixel, I enabled airplane mode and MAC randomization. I used free software from F-droid exclusively. Traffic was onion-routed via Tor. Bluetooth was disabled and wifi as well when I wasn't using it. I taped both front and rear cameras.[2] So privacy wasn't an issue for me. The average person's smartphone is a surveillance device with dozens of proprietary apps tracking them every which way and a crippled, vendor-locked excuse for the latest version of Android. As for iPhones, there's no excuse for having that trash. They're even worse for your freedom than vendor-locked Androids. Non-techies don't know how to protect themselves from mass surveillance, so surveillance still counts as a reason for others not to have a phone. # On The Benefits of Having a Smartphone -While I'm talking about all the bad things about smartphones, don't think I'm oblivious to all the good things. I've had a smartphone for most of my life. I know the good. They make irreplaceable multitools. You can quickly contact others. If you ignore all the bad, smartphones augment human beings. +While I'm talking about all the bad things about smartphones, don't think I'm oblivious to all the good things. I've had a smartphone for most of my life. I know the good. They make irreplaceable multi-tools. You can quickly contact others. If you ignore all the bad, smartphones augment human beings. Is there some way we can have the good without the bad? # Can We Have The Good Without The Bad? The vast majority have nonfree surveillance phones dependent on big tech. This can be remedied by using free software. -Solving smartphone addiction isn't as straightforward. While plenty of people can use their smartphones without becoming addicted, staggering numbers of people still self-report as being addicted. Young people are highly addicted to their smartphones, unable to have simple get togethers with friends and family without staring at their screens. +Solving smartphone addiction isn't as straightforward. While plenty of people can use their smartphones without becoming addicted, staggering numbers of people still self-report as being addicted. Young people are highly addicted to their smartphones, unable to have simple get-togethers with friends and family without staring at their screens. Given all the kids addicted to smartphones and tablets, I'm not hopeful young people can use them without developing an addiction. So I'm not sure whether we can have the good without the bad. Maybe a new, non-addictive mobile operating system would help. Or maybe new technology isn't the solution. |