Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by _qulr 2104 days ago
I'm afraid you're missing the point. When I say people don't acknowledge each other's existence, I mean people literally within a few feet/meters of each other, who could easily see and/or speak with each other if they made even the bare minimum of effort.

When another person is in your physical presence, it's almost like you're deliberately ignoring them when your eyes are glued down on the smartphone. It's personal rudeness, a diss. "You're not even worth raising my head and saying hi."
1 comments
shawnz 2104 days ago
The people on the phone are effectively only a few centimetres away, nevermind feet. So shouldn't it be even more rude to ignore internet messages?

The internet isn't some kind of fake virtual reality... it is just a communication tool. The draw to use it is created by real people sharing real ideas. I think this idea that people who are physically closer to you deserve more of your attention is misguided.

link
_qulr 2104 days ago
> shouldn't it be even more rude to ignore internet messages?

Who says you have to ignore internet messages? It took you a half hour to reply to my comment, and that's fine. That leaves plenty of time to acknowledge a person IRL.

The internet will still be there when we get home from being outside. That's one of the advantages of the internet.

link
shawnz 2104 days ago
Unfortunately no notifications on here, and also I had to think about what I was going to say :)

> The internet will still be there when we get home from being outside

And won't the physical space outside still be there after you decide you're done talking on the internet?

link