Hey hey hey this seems political to me. I'm running to Mom, or is it Dad to whine like a little bitch.
The great resignation—where is the hired help?
- Thread starter AndyG
- Start date
I'm simply pointing out owning a home or renting an apartment to live alone isn't always practical for everyone.Is that what you call your wife?
True, I was lucky when I bought a house in 2013 with prices being low. My mortgage was equal to rent at the time. Then I moved in with my soon to be wife and rented that house. I rented it at market price, above my mortgage.
That's because I *am* a boomer, so there's that. I was raised by depression era parents who taught me the value of a dollar, and "A fool and his money are soon parted" - which applies to 95% of the people out there, smartphones being only one component of that.All things that add convenience aren't necessarily a luxury. It's unlikely you wash your clothes in a sink with a washboard. For being a male belly dancer, you're surprisingly Boomery
I seldom speak in absolutes - that's for monotheists - but you certainly could contact anybody you needed to without your luxury device. But be that as it may, I don't consider smartphones to be a convenience - I consider them to be a pain in the ass. "Convenience" means doing something better than what came before it - the smartphone doesn't meet that criteria. I could go on a tangent about convenience/luxury loving effete Americans, but I'll spare everyone the pain. This is what brought us fucking touch screens in our dashboards, which again, are anything BUT "convenient". A pox on Jobs and his invention!
CP/M running on my old IMSAI would be preferable to being saddled with one of those overpriced gadgets that do lots of things, but none of them particularly well (other than sucking money out of one's pocket).
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The one thing I consider a pain in the ass with smart phones is drivers who cannot put them down. Either at the traffic light or driving down the road. It just a plain nuisance. Otherwise I have no issues with them and consider smart phones a great convenience. Oh, I hate my work smart phone, corporate considers always available for communication.
Elyse8743
TJ Enthusiast
I mean, fwiw, I'm a single 28 year old millennial who started working at 13 when the minimum wage in my state was 7.25/hr and it's now up to 13.50 (on the way to $15/hr). I've essentially provided for myself since I was 16, moved out at 18 and now live comfortably with two vehicles, only a small amount of school debt and make great money, because I've hustled and worked through the shitty pay to push to be better.Anecdote is fun and all, but not necessarily representative of reality...
Study after study shows that the youngest of millennials (through Gen Z) are typically more creative, more patient, and more productive (there are various metrics used to make each assessment across the various studies), while working for the least amount of money, for the most amount of time, but acquiring the smallest amount of wealth in history. All this while the cost of real-estate and non-ordinary goods and services have exponentially grown.
So sure, call it "entitled", but most will probably call it "stop fucking it up so we can raise a family too!"
It could be a location thing as well, but most of the younger generation I see in local FB groups, my friend's lists, anywhere, are calling for even *higher* minimum wages than $15/hr (going so far as to say that $50/hour for miminum skill was more than reasonable and that wasn't a joke) and saying that 20 hours a week is too much work. I know two different people (both of whom lived with me for a short amount of time) that would call out from their <20 hour work week to stay home and sleep because it was too much work and the system is against them, or doing one school class and failing it because it was "too much work" to write a 2 page paper, all while refusing to help themselves progress no matter how many people tried to help them and make it as comfortable for them as possible.
I'm all for raising the minimum wage, I think it's LONG overdue, especially with housing/tuition/life costs exploding the way they have, but the minimum wage should not equal a living wage, and protesting wage rates when you're not willing to go out and get a semi-skilled job that requires 30-40 hour work weeks because it's too much and you need your time to sleep is BS to me.
That's an entirely different discussion - the societal cost of the damn things, the environmental costs, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Then there's the whole issue of companies who think they own you 24/7/365 which smartphones are only a small part of *that* problem. But I never needed a smartphone for after hours email - that's what I have a computer for!
The whole "living wage" thing is a joke. There is no such thing, no target income that would work for everyone everywhere.
That said there are very few zip codes where you literally could not exist on minimum wage. You just have to be realistic about what is a necessity and what is a luxury. And anyone in that boat qualifies for EBT so their food is free.
The true minimum wage is a couple bucks an hour more than you can make on welfare. Nobody but kids and retired people will work for less than that.
That said there are very few zip codes where you literally could not exist on minimum wage. You just have to be realistic about what is a necessity and what is a luxury. And anyone in that boat qualifies for EBT so their food is free.
The true minimum wage is a couple bucks an hour more than you can make on welfare. Nobody but kids and retired people will work for less than that.
How did we ever survive as a society before the advent of digital technology???
You make it sound as though without your smart phones you wouldn't be able to exist or function!
I get it they do make life easier, but what @Zorba said isn't untrue, smart phones are unnecessary luxuries for the majority of people today, especially those that can't afford to life without government assistance.
I have one but I don't NEED it to function, it makes some things that are work related easier for me and the people I contract for but it's not necessary.
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That's what just "gets me" - people act like these things are essential to life itself. They're not. Everything in these people's lives revolves around this sacred object - the "Holy Fetish". Nobody would ever even *think* about leaving their house without it, they spend hundreds to mount them to their dashboards, etc, etc, etc.How did we ever survive as a society before the advent of digital technology???
You make it sounds as though without your smart phones you wouldn't be able to exist or function!
I get it they do make life easier, but what @Zorba said isn't untrue, smart phones are unnecessary luxuries for the majority of people today, especially those that can't afford to life without government assistance.
I have one but I don't NEED it to function, it makes some things that are work related easier for me and the people I contract for but it's not necessary.
I don't get it...
I get it to a certain point. They do make life a little easier for me when I'm out on wild fires but there again it's a luxury that isn't always available, and yet the job still gets done when they can't be used. My life wouldn't come to the screeching halt that some make it seem like would happen if the tech world crashed...
When did the point of life simply be to "survive"??How did we ever survive as a society before the advent of digital technology???
You make it sounds as though without your smart phones you wouldn't be able to exist or function!
I get it they do make life easier, but what @Zorba said isn't untrue, smart phones are unnecessary luxuries for the majority of people today, especially those that can't afford to life without government assistance.
I have one but I don't NEED it to function, it makes some things that are work related easier for me and the people I contract for but it's not necessary.
Fuck that - I'm here to thrive and help those around me do the same. And I don't recall saying or suggesting I "NEED it to function" - I clearly stated it was pivotal to supporting the efficiencies in my life that affords me more time and opportunity to do the things I want to do. I teach the kids, do the things you "have to do" with 100% effort and take advantage of every efficiency you can (personally) gain.
Without my smartphone I'd have to make a lot of what I consider to be "unnecessary" workarounds and compromises (even if I don't factor in my occupation into the consideration). Spending more time doing what I want to do and with my family is not a "luxury" in any sense of the word. Let us not conflate the definition of "luxuries" to suit personal choices or preferences
I'm a little older but not by much. I started working at $2.85/hr at a local dinner (it was under the table) when I was 14, then quickly moved on up (I was always doing odd jobs before hand, but that was my first job with a schedule). My senior year of high-school, I made $14,200 - almost $1000 more than my mom did, from a combination of three part-time jobs (McD's, a country club dishwasher, and the Jolly Ol' Fat Man himself at the local mall). I also was in the 10% of my class, was an multi-sport athlete, and went to a D1 school on a football scholarship. I paid for everything I ever owned, including the first cell phone (a Nokia!) that my mom told me was "stupid" (but ended up using the day her Taurus blew a headgasket on the highway!).
Hard work is not new to me
Once again though - the new story you provided is anecdotal at best. I could find a dozen just like that but on the complete other end of the spectrum, where people worked 3+ jobs just to barely make ends meet. Life is a bell curve - looking at either side isn't very helpful or representative.
I will have to disagree about min wage. The min wage was absolutely meant to be a living and decent wage. FDR himself said those exact words back in 1933 when the FLSA was signed. Private sector lobbyists prevented the SCOTUS from ruling in favor of presidential-adjusted min wage back in 1936 for the same reasons they attempt to trick the lowest 50% of earners into thinking that the only thing holding them back from increased wages is pulling the bootstraps up a little higher. Min wages closely followed productivity and real-wages up until (you guessed it!) around 1971...
This I will agree with you 100% on - when a phone, or anything really, becomes a fetish, it's probably not healthy (sans Jeeps, those can stay!)
Facebook went down a few weeks back and I saw it mentioned on the nightly news. My wife told me about it and I was like "did it?... where's my phone?"
You seem to like telling everyone that their story is anecdotal, well the same applies to you. And it's really easy to defend your stance when you make my comment solely about you, which it wasn't.When did the point of life simply be to "survive"??
Fuck that - I'm here to thrive and help those around me do the same. And I don't recall saying or suggesting I "NEED it to function" - I clearly stated it was pivotal to supporting the efficiencies in my life that affords me more time and opportunity to do the things I want to do. I teach the kids, do the things you "have to do" with 100% effort and take advantage of every efficiency you can (personally) gain.
Without my smartphone I'd have to make a lot of what I consider to be "unnecessary" workarounds and compromises (even if I don't factor in my occupation into the consideration). Spending more time doing what I want to do and with my family is not a "luxury" in any sense of the word. Let us not conflate the definition of "luxuries" to suit personal choices or preferences
You're the one that used pivotal (adjective; of crucial importance in relation to the development or success of something else) to describe the role your smart phones play in your life. I suppose I should have clarified your life wouldn't exist "as it does now".
If you actually read what I said most of my comment was about the majority of people especially those that can't survive without government aid.
Unfortunately, it came back up. But it didn't matter to me one way or another as I have it blocked at my firewall.
The value of a dollar... for me, there is tremendous value in a smart phone, it allows me to work, live, and play more efficiently, and since time is money in many cases, there's value right there.
You might like to say you rarely talk in absolutes, but when you say things like "99% or 95% of people you are basically talking in absolutes, and at the same time taking numbers out of thin air that support your personal belief's but are not actually fact based.
My smart phone allows me to call, text, or conference (video or voice/both) with one or more (even up to 50) people at need. Something earlier cell phones did not do. And yes, I do it regularly for work so it is in fact necessary.
A smart phone can search for addresses globally, before you had a smart phone to carry around you just could not do that. Your phone book was local, physical maps could show you where an address was, but you coulnd't look up the address of a business in one unless you already knew it.k
A smart phone can communicate better than anything that came before it, text, sms, video, conference calls... you can search for a phone number for a tow company on your phone, and call them... then send them a pin that they can put in their smart phone and come straight to you.... again, stuff that is not only better but could not be done before.
a smart phone can store information we used to carry those day planners for, but you can search, organize, and share that data like you never could in a day planner.
So take your global (maybe 50 or so at least phone books) a stack of Thomas guide maps (as a trucker I used to have like 20 of them), your day planner, a cell phone, a pager, a gps, and a camera and put them all in your pocket and tell me the smart phone doesn't do anything better than it was before.
I had a cell phone in the 90's, it was huge lol, then I got a flip phone... and a pager for work, then a Blackberry in 2001 (not 2007), a Treo running Windows Mobile in 2006, then a string of smart phones. I've been at this game a long time and yes, it IS a requirement in my life. Fact is I would not be able to keep my job if I didn't carry a phone with me, especially when I'm on call.
I understand you don't like technology, and that's fine you can have your opinions. But don't conflate your opinions with facts or judgements about the rest of the world.
I would be out if a job and so would my employees. It is a necessity today. I fought it for years using just a flip phone. Now I’m more efficient at my work, I don’t have to leave the shop to go to the office to get things done, arranged, purchased, etc..
One problem I do have is how many people use it to create work. I don’t answer or respond to those. Don’t text me every week to do an inventory for you. Or ask again if your order is in progress. My first answer is solid.
If you're gonna quote me, at least use the full quote to maintain context and syntax:
First: "...are really pivotal to allowing us to function efficiently so that we are able to do more of what we want to do"
Then: "..pivotal to supporting the efficiencies in my life"
So yes, smartphones are indeed crucially important to the success of my efficiencies (personal and professional). If you're going go full Webster on a forum, at least do it with full-context and a thorough understanding of how modifiers works
I read that part of your comment, I just ignored it as I often do to notions or insinuations that a significant majority of folks walking around with smartphones are milking public assistance; this is the same Boomer bullshit, Fox News nonsense as "welfare queens" that we've been hearing about since Grandmaster Regan's time in office.
Very well said! I started traveling for work around ~2009 and let me say, traveling from site to site with all the items you mentioned was absolutely awful: laptop w/giant attached battery, backup battery (b/c they sucked back then!), Verizon hotspot, cell phone, Mapquest directions, most current "road atlas" book, work books, my planner/calendar/address book/contact list, MP3 player and a book or two (for plane), a smaller point-&-shoot camera with battery, charger, and backup SD card.
To say that a smartphone doesn't do anything "better than what came before it" is absolute nonsense...
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Yet this part of your post nullifies the rest. Apparently you have problems reading simple English? I made my living in "High tech" for 40 years! As I say, I was using, programming, building and even designing computers professionally (at the component level) long before most people had ever seen one or knew what one was. Now - go re-read and comprehend the previous sentence.
For the last time: I like technology - I just don't like poorly implemented and/or un-necessary tech. Its absolutely INSANE what's going on now with automobiles as exhibit "A". Smartphones are a pain in the ass - they're too damn small, too damn fragile, ridiculously overpriced, too damn limited with a piss poor UI by their very nature, "Apps" are mostly crippled, and their operating systems are braindead - "Windows Phone" possibly as an exception. There isn't anything they do that can't be done better - and virtually always cheaper - by something else.
Yet you come across as an idiot to me because you state that "I don't like technology" - the real problem is you apparently can't comprehend the Queen's English. I simply don't like your oh-so-sacred "fetish device" and I got your back up as a result. I'm tired of being called a "Luddite" because I state the obvious: The Emperor has no clothes!
I don't give a tinker's damn if people want to use these overpriced and crippled devices. Just don't insult my intelligence by telling me the world would stop turning but for their existence. They're a crescent wrench. Crescent wrenches have their place, but I reach for the right tool whenever possible. But even a crescent wrench doesn't carry an outrageous monthly fee, and are affordable to acquire for that matter.
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