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Majority of Americans Would Like to Return to Time Before Cell Phones, Internet, According to New Poll (www.thewrap.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Seventy-seven percent of middle-age Americans (35-54 years old) say they want to return to a time before society was “plugged in,” meaning a time before there was widespread internet and cell phone usage. As told by a new Harris Poll (via Fast Company), 63% of younger folks (18-34 years old) were also keen on returning to a pre-plugged-in world, despite that being a world they largely never had a chance to occupy.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Or you just stood around waiting for a person for 2 hours with no way to learn if they were running late or blowing you off or dead.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Honestly, people committed to plans in a way they don’t now. I rarely had last minute cancellations when I was younger. Time might have been cut short or something, but people showed up. Changes of plans happened well in advance. Occasionally, I got stood up, but it was rare.

Now, I’d say probably 20-30% of the time, plans get changed last minute or more rarely, somebody bails.

Otherwise, yeah, having a mobile computer/phone in my pocket is indispensable and I’d never fully give it up.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

My family is like this and my wife still does not understand it. We make plans, they are the plans until they change.

"Did you call your mom and see if we're still going?" Why would I do that? We made the plans. If we say we're all meeting at the grand canyon at noon on September 1st 2037 then we'll be there, those are the plans.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

So, Beehaw meetup at the Grand Canyon at noon on September 1st, 2037 is what I’m hearing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

All the people who know will be there.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Mobile phones were widespread well before smartphones were invented.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I mean it is a pretty brief time period to be nostalgic over. In USA, any cellphone ownership passed 80% in 2010. That is an overall number. Depending on who and where you are it might have been before or after. I think 80% is "widespread". Smartphones passed 80% in 2019. So you are talking about 9 years.

Source: pew Mobile phone ownership over time

Tbh i do not know if relevant to making/breaking plans because my experience was that as soon as both parties have any kind of mobile device, plans started being more fragile. Not sure if smart/dumb has any impact. Maybe i misunderstood your point...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That's what cigarettes and books are for. Or booze, drugs. Origami.
Plus you usually met up at someone's house or work.
What you are talking about wasn't a big problem.