I remember when the iPhone first came out. I was at a bar, at a table with a few people I didn't really know. This was a pretty common occurrence.

You usually got a drank, talked. This was a kind of gothic-theme bar, all done up with spooky decorations, a good dj, interesting drinks. We'd host arts/culture slide show jams before the place really would get going for the night. The art was curated and swapped out monthly. There was a lot going on! The place did a lot to charge the space with energy and excitement, bringing a lot of different people together.

Then this guy at the table whipped out his phone and just ignored us all sitting there.

I knew right then and there that this was the beginning of the end.

▲

FractalParadigm a day ago | parent | next [-]

Even before the iPhone it started happening with the Blackberry, Palm, et. al. I distinctly remember the early-mid '00's when my aunt got her first BB, a 7250(?) and it quickly became more important than anything else. Family get-togethers started to consist of her sitting by herself on her phone while the rest of us enjoyed each other's company.

▲

justinator a day ago | parent | next [-]

My memory is that my phone was always on me, and I texted a lot on the go, but most of the texts were about meeting up, getting directions, or coordinating. After that, if a phone was brought out it was to do more of that in the group setting "Hey Sally is going to be here in 15 brining Jake"), then put back.

Now we're all dopamine seeking doom scrollers.

I've been out with a group of friends -- some I just met -- once this year. It also doesn't help that meals and drinks seem hard to justify for the price. I'm waxing nostalgia, but $30 of tacos used to be maybe $8; my $10 beer today was $3.

	▲	bluefirebrand 13 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The costs of a night out have definitely increased way faster than our salaries have.

▲

Cthulhu_ 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

In secondary school, the first kids got phones and some of them were already spending a ton of time and money texting others. Wasn't for me because every text message had a fixed cost, but I followed not long after through ICQ, MSN and the like. But that wasn't on phones yet at the time, so at least it wasn't a constant possible activity.

My online social activity has declined a lot since then though, there was just so much unnecessary drama, oversharing, and vying for attention, emotional support, etc and the people that gave it burned out and left, leaving just emotionally needy people yelling into the void while the others moved on with their lives.

▲

lasky 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

crackberry we called it

▲

m463 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

it happened with books, and before that papyrus. :)

	▲	amanaplanacanal an hour ago \| parent [-]
		You had to be literate to use those, which wasn't that common in ye olden days.

▲

HPsquared a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Thinking back to when I got my first smartphone 15 years ago, it occupied just so much of my attention and I figured it was some kind of honeymoon phase with a new gadget. But it never got less, if anything it's increased since then.

▲

chneu a day ago | parent [-]

Now it's not just phones. It's video games, it's that new TV show people watch in the background, it's X and Y.

The baseline keeps dropping.

	▲	Cthulhu_ 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I'm not convinced. I (and I'm sure many others) quit trying to keep up (I think Game of Thrones burned a generation of TV viewers, lol). Video games are cool but the most popular / played ones are 10 years old now, more comfort than trying to keep up.

▲

mihaaly 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Then this guy at the table whipped out his phone and just ignored us all sitting there.

Sounds like the real gothic-guy in the place. ; )

Also a similar story: This was a kind of normal bar, all done up with fine photos for decorations, good music, good drinks. We'd host performances and jams before the place really would get going for the night. The art was curated and swapped out monthly. There was a lot going on! The place did a lot to charge the space with energy and excitement, bringing a lot of different people together. Then one day a guy got bored and went home alone early. I knew then and there, that place was finished!

▲

lotsofpulp 14 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I was out in NYC when the iphone 2007 came out, without an app store and without 3G broadband, and I don’t think it was that entertaining to the people I saw with it. It was still mostly just for text communications.

It wasn’t until iphone 3G in 2008 that you had a full fledged browser with unlimited broadband capable of streaming audio, maps, and visiting websites with graphics. And, of course, new apps coming out everyday.

The battery was also not good enough to use long for a long time.