Ignoring the very real American nightmare is why we are still in the very real American nightmare.

Maybe that is the purpose of these phones?

I don't think staring at a bus stop is a meaningful step towards changing the American nightmare. We have a lot of problems due to poor leadership in this country and in the world, and people understandably struggle to take meaningful action to replace that leadership (i.e. vote in their best interest, and vote based on meaningful things that most people don't consider at all when voting). Instead we bicker about DEI and what genitals someone has under their clothes when they use certain restrooms instead of, you know, a voting and election process that is more representative and accountable. Until there is greater class consciousness and people have more emotional bandwidth to consider things outside what is immediately placed in front of them with instagram/tiktok/corporate news/advertising, I don't think it's going to change much. This is a weird tangent.

> I don't think staring at a bus stop is a meaningful step towards changing the American nightmare.

That is not even close to what I was speaking to. It is just part of the process of waking up and becoming unattached and less dependent and more aware of your surroundings and feeling the suffering so you create the will to change things.

> Instead we bicker about DEI and what genitals someone has under their clothes when they use certain restrooms instead of, you know, a voting and election process that is more representative and accountable.

All of this was brought to you by the internet by the people you complain about below.

> Until there is greater class consciousness and people have more emotional bandwidth to consider things outside what is immediately placed in front of them with instagram/tiktok/corporate news/advertising, I don't think it's going to change much.

Class consciousness starts off line, by helping the poor in your local area. Take a look at what the Black Panthers did and you will get an idea. If people are staring at TikTok it is highly unlikely that are running into this information.

https://rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/how-the-black-panthers-p...

Though commonly associated with the sensational, the Black Panthers conceived of and implemented a wide array of meaningful social programs. The Panthers started free breakfast for school children, with party members cooking every morning for the poor and undernourished kids in their communities. They established the Oakland Community School, which offered adult education and childcare, as well as free medical clinics staffed by well-regarded academic physicians who volunteered a portion of their time. Mary Bassett, former commissioner of health of the city of New York, writes that the Panthers initiated medical research into sickle cell anemia, which was largely ignored prior to their work. They provided plumbing, home maintenance, and even pest control services.

> It is just part of the process of waking up and becoming unattached and less dependent and more aware of your surroundings and feeling the suffering so you create the will to change things.

Unless there is already the seed of making change and recognizing what change needs to be made, the idle time isn't really going to help. I suffer plenty in life, I don't need to artificially increase that as some sort of motivation to vote differently or interact with my community differently.

> All of this was brought to you by the internet by the people you complain about below.

Disagreement on social issues has always existed and would also exist even without the internet. I'm not sure what your point is with this comment.

I agree local efforts are great and meaningful. But for large systemic change we need different voting habits.

Yeah 90% of the time when you’re sitting around waiting you’re not really anywhere interesting.

That's true. But that only brings me back to my point about boredom being a good thing. Maybe you disagree though. That's fair.

I doubt you spend every second of your non-work time staring into space though. I like to read, for example; just because I do it on my phone in public sometimes doesn't mean I'm not finding other times for quiet contemplation.

> I doubt you spend every second of your non-work time staring into space though.

Do you really think that's what was being suggested? I assumed they were merely suggesting to not reflexively reach for your phone any time you have a moment of downtime.

The example used doesn't seem like a good indication of reflexively reaching for a phone, as doing things while waiting at a bus stop is pretty reasonable and has been around long before smartphones.

You're right though, that's likely what was meant, which I agree with. The hyperbole was unnecessary.

Embrace boredom.

This is the trap they have you in. Of course there is always something "more interesting" on the internet. The interesting creates the adrenaline rush, the adrenaline rush gets you addicted by changing adrenaline receptor density which leads you looking for something even more exciting.

Even when you are just looking around IRL, one view will be more interesting than the other, right? But now that got you all doped up on "super interesting" through this teleportation device to all things interesting, everything around you look extremely boring in comparison.

As your adrenaline receptors come back to life you will find that everything around you is really actually quite interesting.

I don't know where you're from, but in the US, the average spot I'd be killing time in is surrounded by acres of parking lots and a busy stroad or two. A Tamagotchi or 1980s pocket calculator is more engaging.

Nothing to do with adrenaline, addiction, doom-scrolling, dopamine or chemical receptors. Millions of people are surrounded by a wasteland of asphalt and machines going 60mph with nothing interesting within sight.

I have sold photographs of some of the most boring things in the world. For exampke, a playing card in a gutter on the street.

I was also homeless for five years and had to spend times in some of the worst places in the US.

You do not see it because you are desensitized.

I’m sorry you had such difficult things to overcome in your life and I applaud you for your skilled eye as a photographer, but you’re coming on pretty strong and I think you could do with being a little less aggressive when trying to make your points. For the record, I am a cinematographer. I’m not sure why that’s relevant but apparently it is.

You also know nothing about our relationship with phones and such. You just sound like somebody who has an ax to grind.

This feels really wise. Thanks

My friend it doesn’t have to be my phone. If I’ve got something to read nearby I’ll pick that up if I think to grab it before leaving.

I am as much of a dopamine junkie as anyone here, but I am perfectly comfortable leaving my phone behind for long stretches and sometimes I’m just sitting at a public transit stop around ads and concrete. Unfortunately people watching, while romanticized as the ultimate fun activity by interesting indie folks in movies, does get old eventually.