Smartphones Aren't A Luxury, Says WIRED

[Guest Kloaked]

WELL, THEY SAID iPHONES BUT THEY MEAN SMARTPHONES =)

 

 

In certain contexts I would agree with the author, but I do not think that a smartphone is the only way to keep yourself relevant in today's society where just about everything is connected. You can still pursue an education without a smartphone, for example.

 

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TO MAKE IT in America, you have to hustle. Fast-food worker or CEO, Uber driver or student, you have to stay connected in an economy built on the assumption that anyone is always reachable anywhere. In 2017, that means you need a smartphone.

Immediately I disagree with the author. You don't need a smartphone*, but that comes with an asterisk - it depends on where you live and what the living conditions are. If you live in a major city like New York or something, then perhaps the argument could be made. If you live in a way less dense area in comparison, then maybe not.

 

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“I can show you young students who do their homework on smartphones in the parking lots of McDonalds. I can show you grandmas who haven’t talked to their grandkids in years, because they don’t have the internet,” says Chike Aguh, CEO of the nonprofit EveryoneOn, which works to close the digital divide by getting everyone online. Just having the internet at home improves a child’s chances of graduating from high school, Aguh says. “If you misunderstand that you misunderstand and trivialize a really big barrier to economic mobility and a source of economic inequality in this country.”

If true, they have a point in that context.

 

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For people with the least money, the smartphone takes on even greater importance. If you can’t afford a computer or an at-home broadband connection, the smartphone becomes your primary way of getting online. You can apply for jobs via your phone, arrange childcare, or trade shifts with your co-workers. For homeless people who use the internet to find beds at shelters or apply for jobs, a smartphone could be a literal lifesaver.

What's dumb about this point they're making is not the point itself, but that iPhones generally cost more than a cheap personal computer does.

 

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Ironically, access to the internet can actually have positive effects on people’s health. In 2014, the FCC and the University of Mississippi gave people suffering from chronic diabetes access to a mobile internet device that tracked their blood sugar. In just the first six months, the 85 people in the test program went to the hospital less and had gained more control over their disease. And the hospital had saved $339,184 in ER visits, according to Aguh, who can recite that number by heart. Elsewhere, cancer patients use mobile phones to manage their disease—an inexpensive way to start closing the gap in care between wealthy patients and everyone else.

I don't buy it, but my opinion doesn't matter.

 

 

Anyways, obviously the author is trying to make the point that computers in your pocket (smartphones) bring tons of benefits to one's lifestyle. That argument can be made in context, but overall it seems like the author is making leaps and bounds with some mental gymnastics to make the smartphone sound more important than it really is. Most of what I do on mine is browse /r/shittyaskscience while sitting on the toilet, and then it's back to posting clickbait tech news. =)

 

Thoughts?

[Bouzoo]

This can be understood in many ways. For instance 1 point of view:

There is a huge difference between a $50 smartphone and an $800 for instance. Because $750 is not a luxury.

[EunSoo]

I read an article from The Verge about this and they pointed out that they were specifically talking about iPhones mainly because they are high-end smartphones. There are plenty of smartphones that can be used say for that diabetes example just as well that cost significantly less than an iPhone or an equivelantly priced Android phone.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

WRONG!

 

They meant internet access, maybe even computers, but they don't know it.

 

No one needs an iPhone. Almost no one needs a smartphone. Many/most need or at least would substantially benefit from internet access and some form of computer or another.

They just confuse what they do with their phone with what needs to be done with a smartphone, as if there was no choice. The truth is, I could not have one (I actually didn't for a while, after the first one) and it wouldn't have any impact on my life, as computers at work and at home take care of any IT/internet need I may have. You may "need" your smartphone if that's your only computer just as much as you could "need" your netbook if that was your only computer. Or as you could need access to the library's or the school's computers if that was your only way to reach the internet.

At some level, they talk like the iPhone invented the internet or are the first thing to replace the abacus...

[VerticalDiscussions]

Were it not for like the author mentioned "Iphones", then this article is more than 90% relevant. I still dont see how homeless people would get a smartphone or a feature phone, unless they were being given away at some sort of homeless support group or ongoing campaign of distribution by different firms in the applicable context of assistance to the poorest.

[VerticalDiscussions]

1 minute ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

-snip-

The Iphone invented the internet .-.

 

[Bouzoo]

Quote

For homeless people who use the internet to find beds at shelters or apply for jobs, a smartphone could be a literal lifesaver.

I am sorry, what? 

[Urishima]

20 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

On phone so can't quote properly but this:

"For homeless people who use the internet to find beds at shelters or apply for jobs, a smartphone could be a literal lifesaver."

I am sorry, what? 

Surprising no one at all. Wired lost their connection with reality years ago.

 

Meanwhile, this bloke right here doesn't have and doesn't even want a smartphone and is doing just fine. I am glad to be disconnected for a few hours a day at the gym, the shitty button phone I have stays in the locker.

 

And before someone asks me how old I am: I am 29 years old.

[GeekJump]

While I do lean on the side that smartphones are necessity (phones in general a must, but it depends for smart features), they could be a luxury. Someone doesn't have to buy the newest flagship phone out of contract each year for +$800. There are plenty of decent smartphones for a fraction of the price. It's the same as a car. A car, in most places, is a must. You can buy a Corolla or a Civic...or get an Aston Martin. All 3 do the same thing, you're just paying a bit more for comforts.

 

If response to the political relevance of this argument - Chaffetz shot himself in the foot by trying to defend his argument by comparing it to smartphones.

[PlayStation 2]

Maybe it's because I'm not really a socially active person, but I could live just fine without a smartphone. Hell, I do live just fine without a smartphone. What would I even need one for? Just to suck up data watching 720p60 YouTube videos on the bus back home? I barely use my slide phone as it is. I wouldn't need a smartphone by any means.

[WMGroomAK]

I think that the ability to contact Emergency Services is the necessity, not the ability to access the internet or even use Google Maps...  With the loss of the public phone booths I can see basic feature phones as being a necessity, but not a full fledged smart phone.  Unfortunately, a lot of people end up confusing necessity with convenience, especially after having that convenience and then facing losing it.

[JoseGuya]

inb4 smartphones are a right

[zMeul]

1 hour ago, Bouzoo said:

I am sorry, what? 

who needs food wen you can have an iPhone 

clothes for winter? fuck that! 4G internet plan

shoes? fuck that! DBrand skin

[tlink]

24 minutes ago, zMeul said:

who needs food wen you can have an iPhone 

clothes for winter? fuck that! 4G internet plan

shoes? fuck that! DBrand skin

people who get improved can have had money once, or get donated a phone by a relative. a phone is really really really usefull to them because you need it for a lot of things, like government programs etc. how are they going to reach out to you for support if they can't reach you? people making fun of homeless people with a smartphone is like those people screaming fake at refugees having iphones. just because you have a phone doesn't mean that they can get out of their situation. if i became homeless than i would definitely sell my phone last, even after my shoes. shoes are not going to give you a chance to climb out of the hellhole poverty is.

[zMeul]

1 minute ago, tlink said:

people who get improved can have had money once, or get donated a phone by a relative. a phone is really really really usefull to them because you need it for a lot of things, like government programs etc. how are they going to reach out to you for support if they can't reach you? people making fun of homeless people with a smartphone is like those people screaming fake at refugees having iphones. just because you have a phone doesn't mean that they can get out of their situation. if i became homeless than i would definitely sell my phone last, even after my shoes. shoes are not going to give you a chance to climb out of the hellhole poverty is.

making fun of homeless people? mate, you missed the point entirely

I'm making fun of the imbeciles who think a homeless person's priority is a ~700$ smartphone

 

have you ever lived to the limit of subsistence?! try it, then tell me having a phone is a priority

[DarkBlade2117]

What fucking college kid is stupid enough to do homework on their phone in a McDonalds parking lot.. Does every College/Uni not give you access to a computer in 1 fashion or another?

 

[Dabombinable]

Considering my $50 smart phone is as good as most that cost $200 (or it was when I bought it towards the end of 2015), costs close to the price of a mobile phone and has reception as good as my old Ericson K750i and Nokia brick (one of the early digital phones)-above a certain price point they become a luxury (for some people the main point of a smart phone is the larger screen+on screen keypad since their eyesight isn't good)..

[dtaflorida]

It's a luxury when you have both a flagship android phone and a plus sized iphone in your pocket, just so noone can say you're a ______ user. 

[Okjoek]

So far I'd just be happy to see internet kept as a utility that can't be throttled based on what part of the internet you're using.

[SansVarnic]

A smart phone to any degree is a luxury. Apparently the author doesn't know the definition of Luxury.

[Mira Yurizaki]

2 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

Writer needs to go to Africa maybe he will understand what is a luxury

In Africa cell phones are their bloodline of communication.

[Misanthrope]

Like most progressive journalists, this seems like rich fucking snobs talking down to people trying to justify themselves.

[Mira Yurizaki]

Okay, here's another point.

 

A friend forgot his phone when we were going out of town for a convention. He still needed a phone so I gave him the idea of buying a pre-paid one from CVS or something.

 

$50 got him a decent Android smartphone. It was probably as good as the OG Motorola Droid I had if not a bit better internally.

 

Smartphones aren't a luxury anymore. Sure $600-$800 flagship phones are out of the realm of many people to buy outright, but if I can get a $50 smartphone (and that includes a month of minutes and some data), then I can't call it a luxury anymore. At least in the US.

[Yoinkerman]

internet access and something that can use the internet, sure.  necessarily a smartphone?  no.

[Magnetorheological]

Smartphones not being a luxury is starting to become true, a really decent one can be had for the price of a few skipped lunches, and it will do everything you might need a smartphone to do (except maybe gaming). However, an iPhone is most DEFINITELY a luxury product in the smartphone market.