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Majority of Americans Would Like to Return to Time Before Cell Phones, Internet, According to New Poll (www.thewrap.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/technology@beehaw.org
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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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[–] 4 points 3 years ago (2 children)

A key difference is that nothing was being shoved at you as soon as you got up from the computer.

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  • [–] 9 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    You can always put your phone down. I also get the pressure to return a text/dm right away, but as far as I can tell no one that I actually want to talk to expects that immediate response.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago

    That was a key thing to finally learn. I'd removed all the people who expected I was on call for them from my life for other reasons, which wasn't an easy process, so everyone left is a reasonable person who texts for non-business reasons with a 1-2 day response expectation, though it's usually much faster. If it's more important, it's a phone call. If they just want to chat, they text to see if I'm available before calling.

    I set my phone to not ring unless the number's in my contacts. If someone needs to get a hold of me, they can leave a message ... but never do. I get notifications for weather alerts, text messages, my transit app and when a new xkcd gets posted. I certainly check my email and other apps on occasion, but I don't need notifications.

    Other than surrounding yourself with the right people, the whole thing takes minutes once you've hit that mindset.

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