> To be fair, when you say "we've allowed cars to become necessary," you're talking about "we" as a society allowing that to happen-- me ditching my car after it breaks down tomorrow wouldn't be feasible unless I'm also willing to move to a much different part of my metro, get a new job, and find all-new hobbies and friend groups. That's not a decision most individuals have the power to make because they feel like trying it.
What you describe here is exactly what I was thinking about; individuals in various societies that have either personally or consequently let so many facets of their life depend exclusively on the presence of the car that it feels like it would all come crumbling down in its absence. If we don't have the car, we'll literally lose our social circles, our hobbies, our job!? One would have to be crazy. Prior to me being more or less forced into that situation, I felt the same way, but it turned out that nothing like that happened at all, I'm saving money, I have closer relationships than ever with the people that matter and more of them, I conserve money more easily, I'm in better shape, and I literally never think about driving. The only downside is that some leisure activities take a bit more forethought, and it would be more difficult to have a job that's truly in random far-flung, unpredictable locations. When I was forced to sit with it, I did refuse to live in the city that didn't help me do that. Any friends that I had then and don't now turned out to either not be friends at all, or people I just see every once in a while when I rent a car and drive 8 hours to see them. At no time since getting rid of it has the thought of getting another one seemed appealing enough to pay even the tax on a low budget used car.
But to your analogous point, would I feel the same if I totally ditched the phone? I think ya probably, there's a decent chance of it.
> When I visited Japan for three weeks earlier this year and took public transportation everywhere, I was still using Google Maps on my cell phone to get just about everywhere, just like I do here at home in the US when I'm driving. So I think the "need" for a smartphone for navigation actually eclipses the societal need for cars to move people around.
Do you not feel like the only reason you do that is because it's what you've conditioned yourself to do? I also visited Japan for about the same length of stay for the first time last year, with my partner. While we did use maps somewhat, we only used it at the hostel for the first few days to get a vague sense of direction, and then used it only in the capacity that I would a static paper map or series of them, only in extremely rare travel circumstances have I ever purchased some temporary sim card or services, it's only rarely necessary and wildly detracts from my sense of adventure. Likewise, Tokyo is comically easy to navigate, it took a few days to get the hang of it and then I was good. Translation was pretty helpful (offline) but if I didn't have it I would have figured it out or bought a translation device. The amount of time I saved was incredible, and no I'm not being hyperbolic. If you frame it differently, would you not visit Japan if you didn't have a smartphone? Why?
Mapping apps are no-doubt super useful, but you don't need directions to everywhere you need to go, it's a convenience that we come to rely on, and I never use it day to day unless I'm comparing transit time to biking. Routes aren't that unpredictable most of the time, and there's signage, if my phone dies I'm not suddenly helpless, and that seems important.
Fwiw, I didn't read your comment as combative and I don't at all mean to be here, I just don't think we reconsider these things enough and let ourselves get too comfy with the conveniences of them, to such an extent that we no longer feel comfortable navigating the world, asking people for directions, talking to people on the street, making new friends, or diversifying our leisure. It's scary.
> and it would be more difficult to have a job that's truly in random far-flung, unpredictable locations. When I was forced to sit with it, I did refuse to live in the city that didn't help me do that.
I have a job that's a 30-minute drive from where I live (or a 7 hour walk, or a questionable 2 hour bike ride). My workplace is in a terrible part of town, and there's no way I'd live in the one (1) apartment complex within walking distance of it. Nobody takes public transportation to my workplace because no public transportation stops are within walking distance of it. On the other hand, I work at this company because I want to; I moved to this city to work at this company.
You're essentially saying people should just not care about where they work or where they live, and/or you're projecting your own privilege of being able to live and work wherever you want to onto everyone else.
> Do you not feel like the only reason you do that is because it's what you've conditioned yourself to do?
No, I did it because it was a foreign country that speaks a language I'm still not great at, and I didn't have any clue where anything was before I got there. I'm glad you and your partner had no actual schedule and had the luxury of just being able to bumble around wherever, whenever in order to fulfill whatever it is you think you got out of your trip.
I did not feel like taking hours in advance to look up and write down the same information that would've been needed to navigate the plethora of train and bus stops to go the places I wanted to go (which would then be rendered useless if I made a wrong turn en-route), or to be stuck within the immediate vicinity of my lodging in the various cities and towns where I stayed.
My earlier comment was not combative, but you're really coming off as a "just roll with it, maaaaan" hippy, which is not applicable to most people and not useful to discuss at a societal level. Do I wish normal people were more social and less tech-reliant? Sure. Me ditching my phone or throwing my career away to avoid driving is not going to fix the world, though. No functioning individual can or should be expected to do that.
(And for all your response, I don't think you strengthened your original case of comparing reliance on smartphones to reliance on cars, which is specifically what I objected to.)
What you describe here is exactly what I was thinking about; individuals in various societies that have either personally or consequently let so many facets of their life depend exclusively on the presence of the car that it feels like it would all come crumbling down in its absence. If we don't have the car, we'll literally lose our social circles, our hobbies, our job!? One would have to be crazy. Prior to me being more or less forced into that situation, I felt the same way, but it turned out that nothing like that happened at all, I'm saving money, I have closer relationships than ever with the people that matter and more of them, I conserve money more easily, I'm in better shape, and I literally never think about driving. The only downside is that some leisure activities take a bit more forethought, and it would be more difficult to have a job that's truly in random far-flung, unpredictable locations. When I was forced to sit with it, I did refuse to live in the city that didn't help me do that. Any friends that I had then and don't now turned out to either not be friends at all, or people I just see every once in a while when I rent a car and drive 8 hours to see them. At no time since getting rid of it has the thought of getting another one seemed appealing enough to pay even the tax on a low budget used car.
But to your analogous point, would I feel the same if I totally ditched the phone? I think ya probably, there's a decent chance of it.
> When I visited Japan for three weeks earlier this year and took public transportation everywhere, I was still using Google Maps on my cell phone to get just about everywhere, just like I do here at home in the US when I'm driving. So I think the "need" for a smartphone for navigation actually eclipses the societal need for cars to move people around.
Do you not feel like the only reason you do that is because it's what you've conditioned yourself to do? I also visited Japan for about the same length of stay for the first time last year, with my partner. While we did use maps somewhat, we only used it at the hostel for the first few days to get a vague sense of direction, and then used it only in the capacity that I would a static paper map or series of them, only in extremely rare travel circumstances have I ever purchased some temporary sim card or services, it's only rarely necessary and wildly detracts from my sense of adventure. Likewise, Tokyo is comically easy to navigate, it took a few days to get the hang of it and then I was good. Translation was pretty helpful (offline) but if I didn't have it I would have figured it out or bought a translation device. The amount of time I saved was incredible, and no I'm not being hyperbolic. If you frame it differently, would you not visit Japan if you didn't have a smartphone? Why?
Mapping apps are no-doubt super useful, but you don't need directions to everywhere you need to go, it's a convenience that we come to rely on, and I never use it day to day unless I'm comparing transit time to biking. Routes aren't that unpredictable most of the time, and there's signage, if my phone dies I'm not suddenly helpless, and that seems important.
Fwiw, I didn't read your comment as combative and I don't at all mean to be here, I just don't think we reconsider these things enough and let ourselves get too comfy with the conveniences of them, to such an extent that we no longer feel comfortable navigating the world, asking people for directions, talking to people on the street, making new friends, or diversifying our leisure. It's scary.