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   Dragonjion (njion@bark.lgbt)'s status on Monday, 18-Mar-2024 18:24:53 JST Dragonjion

   Most of the problems folding phones "solve" could be fixed by simply producing smaller smartphones that come with none of the drawbacks of folding phones. But of course we can't have a simple solution that allows for cheaper phones that use more common materials and don't break down over time. Expensive, over-engineered products that break from just being used and can't easily be repaired are obviously much better! ..For the companies selling them..

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     pettter (pettter@mastodon.acc.umu.se)'s status on Monday, 18-Mar-2024 18:24:51 JST pettter

     in reply to

     @njion I think most people agree with this.

     I also think most people are rightly aware that their individual consumer action has very limited impact.

     What's needed is government action, and organized political pressure to accomplish it. Unfortunately, our Democratically Elected Leaders are less than inclined to both listen and act in our long-term interest when there's short-term elections to win and capital to suck up to.

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     Dragonjion (njion@bark.lgbt)'s status on Monday, 18-Mar-2024 18:24:52 JST Dragonjion

     in reply to

     Seriously, we can't keep enthusiastically buying into products that are more harmful to the environment and consumers just because they're ever so slightly more convenient than the alternative. This attitude of convenience over everything else is a large factor in how we ended up with a global climate crisis and a dystopian capitalist system.

     You do not need same day delivery. You do not need a gimmick phone that you'll need to replace as soon as the soft plastic screen gets scratched a little too deep. You do not need a home AI assistant that collects data about everything going on in your "smart home".

     What you do need is a world in which current and future generations can not only survive but also thrive. I think we can all sacrifice a bit of convenience for that.

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     pettter (pettter@mastodon.acc.umu.se)'s status on Monday, 18-Mar-2024 18:34:22 JST pettter

     in reply to

     @njion Well that's going to be different in different contexts. I think most people would be OK with a (common, fairly distributed) reduction in living standards to save the future, if they were informed. The media environment matters a lot.

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     Dragonjion (njion@bark.lgbt)'s status on Monday, 18-Mar-2024 18:34:23 JST Dragonjion

     in reply to

     • pettter

     @pettter Individual impact might not matter much but I don't think most people even think about these things. Most people I see in my day to day life happily go along with whatever corporations try to impose on us without giving it a second thought, going as far as to mock me for speaking out against it. The reason there's little political pressure is that most people simply don't care or are more than happy to take even the slightest conveniences.

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     pettter (pettter@mastodon.acc.umu.se)'s status on Monday, 18-Mar-2024 18:44:38 JST pettter

     in reply to

     @njion No that's true. Ideally, either journalists should recognise and use their labour power to improve that, or politicians should act to limit it.

     I realise that this is unlikely though, and so it's almost certainly necessary to build organized labour power and alternative power structures in order to force change.

     Which is also hard in the imperial center, so, y'know..

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     Dragonjion (njion@bark.lgbt)'s status on Monday, 18-Mar-2024 18:44:39 JST Dragonjion

     in reply to

     • pettter

     @pettter I absolutely agree. But it certainly doesn't help that some of the world's richest and most awful corporations also happen to own and control the most mainstream media platforms. And they intentionally make those platforms promote mindless entertainment and pointless outrage first and foremost.