Welcome to General Chat - GAW Community Area
This General Chat area started off as a place for people to talk about things that are off topic, however it has quickly evolved into a community and has become an integral part of the GAW experience for many of us.
Based on its evolving needs and plenty of user feedback, we are trying to bring some order and institute some rules. Please make sure you read these rules and participate in the spirit of this community.
Rules for General Chat
-
Be respectful to each other. This is of utmost importance, and comments may be removed if deemed not respectful.
-
Avoid long drawn out arguments. This should be a place to relax, not to waste your time needlessly.
-
Personal anecdotes, puzzles, cute pics/clips - everything welcome
-
Please do not spam at the top level. If you have a lot to post each day, try and post them all together in one top level comment
-
Try keep things light. If you are bringing in deep stuff, try not to go overboard.
-
Things that are clearly on-topic for this board should be posted as a separate post and not here (except if you are new and still getting the feel of this place)
-
If you find people violating these rules, deport them rather than start a argument here.
-
Feel free to give feedback as these rules are expected to keep evoloving
In short, imagine this thread to be a local community hall where we all gather and chat daily. Please be respectful to others in the same way
I went to Tokyo over the weekend. I hadn't been there in many years. I haven't ridden a train in just as long. Pretty much everyone had their eyes glued to their smartphones, swiping their fingers across the screens like Gollum stroking his Precious. And there I was, just reading a SF paperback, "Fall of Hyperion" by Dan Simmons. I just have a flip phone. When I first came to Japan in '98, people were reading books and manga on trains. Now everyone is addicted to their smartphones.
This is why I don't want a smartphone. Even ignoring the whole aspect of those things able to listen to you and such, I don't want to end up like these people, dependent on an electronic device to pass my time. Addicted. Kids especially can't understand why I do not want a smartphone.
Going out into the wider world, especially into another country as a guest, and protecting ones ego by tabulating and quantifying the ways one is morally superior to the locals is pretty dope shit.
I said nothing about being morally superior, nor anything about people who use smartphones being somehow immoral. I just refuse to fall into the temptation of having instant access to the internet at my fingertips wherever I go. It's just sad that people get dependent on this and knowing myself, I know that I would get sucked into that as well. It's not about ego.
When we believe our time spent is better than others time spent, we are making a morality judgement.
Also, I agree with you. About addiction etc. But I loathe to hear the guy on the internet that does internet better or at the right time, or somehow correctly, compared to people on The street.
Feel free to loathe me then. DILLIGAF?