[Havoc]

>people would rather buy expensive smartphones than better food. [...] This technology matters to people.

I wish. They buy the smartphone as a status symbol not because tech matters to them.

Certainly tech brings wide ranging benefits, but much like Maslow's hierarchy of needs you need to fulfill the basics first. Jumping straight to the top doesn't make the rest magically appear.

It might differ by country but here tech in general favours the middle class. The really poor are just too far behind to leverage it. What good is access to the internet if the guy can't read?

>They can chase away the dictators this way. So who are you to say that clean water is definitely more important to them than technology?

What good is chasing away dictators if you die from dehydration on day 3 of the protest? Unlike drinkable water, iphones are optional to survival.