this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2023
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Technology

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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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[–] Skyler@kbin.social 4 points 2 years ago

they couldn’t simply text to flake out when you were already seated.

Yeah, but then they'd get stuck in traffic and you'd be sitting there increasingly uncomfortable, wondering if they stood you up, or worse, got into an accident.

[–] P1r4nha@feddit.de 3 points 2 years ago

A majority of Americans are over 50, so that's no surprise, but so many under 50 and 35 too? That's a surprise. Then why is the public so captivated by it? You don't need to use it for most things.

[–] MobBarley@beehaw.org 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

anyone who says that forgets how bad tv sucked back then
I mean you'd have to at least bring back video stores or something

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[–] Banzai51@midwest.social 3 points 2 years ago

I don't want to get rid of that stuff, but instead I uninstalled all work apps off my phone. They need me, they can page me and I'll login with my work laptop. When I'm out of work, I'm out.

[–] Repulsa@lemmy.fmhy.ml 3 points 2 years ago (6 children)

Tbf I think I'd like it more if we had online shopping, cell phones, instant messaging etc but we didn't have social media as we know it today. Like we stuck with phpbb, Usenet and IRC and didn't move much more beyond that into Myspace and Facebook

[–] kherge@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago

With the way social media companies are imploding, you may get your wish.

[–] vacuumflower@vlemmy.net 2 points 2 years ago

Same, only maybe that point for me is a bit later, ICQ and old Skype were nice as well ; I would rather fancy these, only replaced with more decentralized things like XMPP and something instead of Skype.

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[–] Taxxor@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago

Return to it and have my knowledge of all the positive and negative aspects erased would be something I’d consider. But having used all the technology for so long, I couldn’t imagine just don’t having it anymore tomorrow

[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago

Not a lot of meat to the story, and it conflates tech itself with the social expectations that have sprung up because of it and the way it's used. "Instagram's pedophile network" (which seems only to be brought up for shock value) is not "cell service."

I'd hazard a guess that what respondents really want to return to not being expected to be available to anyone at any time. And, crucially, they don't feel they can just ... do that.

[–] Bishma@readit.buzz 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

There are a few very specific things I miss from pre-2007. For instance, I weirdly miss conversations where a whole group of people are trying to remember an answer to a question. I still find my self ask a question to a group and when someone pulls out their phone I'm disappointed because I didn't just want the answer.

But that's not a reason to go back. That's just nostalgia.

[–] cassetti@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I miss the internet before iphones existed - 2008 seems to be a delineation when suddenly any idiot could easily access the "internet". Before that the net was a different place

[–] captdust@hachyderm.io 2 points 2 years ago

@cassetti @Los @Bishma Smartphones reaching the masses with unlimited data plans was like the sequel to eternal september

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