You might not notice it in your peer group, when you are not their age, but my daughter showed me that many 20-30yr olds are switching to dumb phones, are cancelling their Facebook/tiktok/twitter accounts and are discovering libraries and printed books. As a conscious decision. Not all of them, but quite a lot and it's growing.
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They are not anti-technology. They have gaming PCs and quite some of them are picking up software development, 3D printing etc. But they have recognised how mobile devices are sucking up their time, energy and attention span. They also have lost trust in social media and are aware that every move is being analysed. In a world that needs us all to move around with open eyes and ears because we have real world problems to solve. I am learning from them, not the other way round. Good!
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It's not a coordinated movement. It's leaderless (for now, and I hope it stays that way) and very diverse. More a set of shared principles and desires that is continuously evolving in many directions. Mistakes are made. Discussed. Typically in person (and sober, alcohol consumption is not "cool" anymore ;) Oh, and saying "I asked ChatGPT" will not go over well :)
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@jwildeboer I'm a 29yo software developer.
- Switching to a dumb phone is not really an option for me, but I'm severly limiting the number of distractions on my phone.
- My only actively used social network is Mastodon. I have a Facebook account, but I only use Messenger.
- Having a semi-smart watch (Amazfit Neo) also helps a bit. To check the time or weather, I don't need to look at the phone.
- Libraries are cool (not just for books), but I usually like to own the books I read. I don't really care if it's a physical book ar an eBook. E-ink is absolutely fine and practical. Just don't buy the crap from Amazon. There are many better and cheaper alternatives, like PocketBook.
- When I need to buy a new piece of tech (only after I had done everything I could to repair the old one), I tend to look for the dumbest one, while still having the functions I need. No, my microwave really doesn't need to be connected to the internet. No, I don't want to see ads on my fridge, thank you very much.
And yeah, "I asked ChatGTP" makes me really mad. Especially because I know how LLMs work. 😄
Jan Wildeboer 😷
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