this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2024

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192

What do normal people look at on their phones? (lemmy.world)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

119 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've been on Reddit for over a decade. But I'm done with that site and want to do something else. What do normal people look at on their phones? Is it all social media? Streaming?

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I feel like any time anyone is using their phones in public they're scrolling Instagram.

If you want to give an appearance of normalcy while maintaining a living soul, just get a Pixelfed account, follow a bunch of photographers, and scroll endlessly.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

there's nothing normal about mindlessly scrolling your phone in public...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Normal? Very much so.

Commonplace, absolutely.

A result of supernormal stimuli? Assuredly.

Unhealthy? Maybe, but you'd need some good science to indicate so. (More than anecdotal examples) We have a lot of people who will make a moral panic over anything they don't like, and we've grown skeptical.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I mean, the main place i observe this is people commuting on the metro. If they didn't have phones they'd be reading tabloid newspapers.

I don't really see anything wrong with using your phone on the metro. Some will look up art and crafts, some bird photography, others makeup tutorials or video game content. If they can explore their interests rather than just waste their time completely that's fine by me.

Of course it's also a dopamine trap, and Instagram use trends to get a bit out of hand. Still, it seems to me some Lemmy users are a bit too quick to write off "normal" people as broken down zombies.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

My experience on public transit is seeing people texting or chatting with their loved ones. The frequency with which someone smiles over a text exchange (whether it's from funny exchanges or affirming sentiments) showed me that we're still social on the bus, only now with those we associate with rather than strangers on the same transit line.

I'd say it's a win, though yes, the degree to which mobile games have microtransactions and revenue enhancers, and with which the end-user contract destabilizes with updates is problematic. My susceptability to motion sickness served in allowing me to dodge that bullet on public transit, only to discover it later in waiting rooms.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Mobile applications are meticulously engineered to capture user attention and foster engagement [3]. Features like real-time notifications, endless scrolling, and gamification elements are quintessential in ensuring sustained user interaction [4]. Renowned platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and mobile games like Candy Crush have been discerned to instigate addictive behaviors [5, 6]. For instance, the incessant checking of social media apps or the relentless pursuit of advancing game levels transpires despite the apparent adverse repercussions on users’ sleep, productivity, or even mental health [7]. The propensity for these behaviors underpins the ubiquitous nature of mobile app addiction. Owing to the omnipresence of mobile devices, the line between moderate and excessive use has become increasingly blurred, thereby escalating the necessity to delve into the factors contributing to such addiction. The ubiquitous nature of mobile app addiction is underscored by emerging research, which delineates the cognitive and behavioral tendencies driving this phenomenon [8, 9]. As the ramifications of mobile app addiction seep into various facets of daily life, the exigency of investigating the underlying factors and promoting healthier digital consumption patterns is accentuated.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10662456/ (peer reviewed article)

A majority of the public is addicted to scrolling their phones or other "apps". This is beyond all doubt an unhealthy addiction, both on an individual and society wide scale.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Our government is not interested in curbing the common need to cope. I submit that scrolling is safer than alcohol, tobacco and white supremacy activist meetings, or any frisbee park in Los Angeles.

Were going to cope somehow, and so it's a matter of harm caused on contrast to other means that are accepted and expected by society.

Considering the same government asserted tabletop RPGs, rock and roll, and video games are dangerous, I question the veracity of the source.