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by donw 675 days ago
Depends.

In my culture, there's a strong push against being constantly online.

Phones must be kept in a backpack or otherwise stowed during social occasions, unless absolutely necessary.

Ideally, you turn them off, stuff them in a Faraday bag, and leave them in your car. Or just leave the phone at home.

Correlated to this is a focus on rebuilding some atrophied skills: getting around without Google Maps, being alone without needing the constant distraction of Youtube, etc.

The idea is that humans are not meant to live a life constantly mediated by an electronic nanny, and that you also need to maintain the skills to get along without one.

Related to this is a preference for physical media, or at least digital media over which you can exercise some control.

2 comments

Out of curiosity, what culture are you referring to? I've known a few individuals trying to do such changes, but no wider culture.
Why are they turning the phones off then placing them in a Faraday bag? I've only heard this before when someone is trying to subvert surveillance.
There is no way to turn a phone truly "off", but you can isolate it from both listening in on conversations -- which modern phones do regardless of how they are configured -- and preventing it from connecting to a network.

You're never going to escape government surveillance, but you can take steps to prevent advertisers from hoovering up every last bit of personal data that they can.

I dont have an issue with it, I just didnt see the tie between disconnecting to be present for a social event and not being tracked.