Comment by igleria
2 days ago
> Great for parties where you rather be home tinkering.
I know this is probably in jest, but when someone invites you to a party it's not because they just want your atoms in the same room as them.
In regards to doom coding: I would chop off my arms before coding/prompting on a phone. Also, think about your cervical, neck etc! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!
I host weekly friend-of-friend open events where some people show up most weeks, find a nice comfortable spot to doom scroll in for a couple hours, maybe take a nap, leave, sit in their car for a bit, scroll some more, then go home.
I am just hoping they actually took a break from doom scrolling while driving as then at least I can say I had some non zero positive impact on their lives.
5 years phone-free and I do not miss it. People use them as security blankets to avoid having to be present for more than 5 minutes at a time with other people or even just exist in their own heads. I now find this behavior immature and gross but avoiding it would mean not having friends.
A smartphone is like toilet paper. No one wants to watch you use it.
Maybe host your event in a cave if you can, no cell coverage, no Wi-Fi.
There is a bar like that where I go sometimes, it is in a cave, some people got Wi-Fi from the staff, and you have some reception if you stand near the front door, but it is mostly a network-free zone and it is great.
Another thing we did from time to time at the restaurant is to put all our phones stacked in the middle of the table, anyone who picks up his phone before the end of the meal for any reason pays the bill for everyone. So far, no one did.
Suddenly the one good use case for lead paint becomes clear.
Get better friends! Not everybody does this.
Very curious to hear how you went phone-free and what your setup looks like
I have a mini PC hooked to screens in every room other than the bedroom and bathroom, and remote controls with built in air-mouse and keyboard (pepper jobs remotes). This way anyone can pick up a controller in any room and look something up on a shared communal screen as needed, which discourages use of private screens.
When I leave home for less than a day I pack no electronics of any kind and enjoy the peace in my own head to think about the next problems I want to solve in my universe.
I pay with cash exclusively in public so tap and pay is not an issue. If I ever need to be reachable for emergencies I can carry a pager but so far this has not been worth it.
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I'm with you... just with gesture input as it is, I hate using my phone for much beyond a quick comment or two. I can't imagine trying to do anything technical with a phone's onscreen keyboard. Even through an AI prompt... nope, just nope.
At worst, put your ideas into a notes app and then go back to where you are... this is just anti-social and borderline psychotic imo.
Yes to the last two 100% - hence the "doom" in doom coding! I wrote the post more as a replacement to TikTok scrolling - it feels like a worse evil, but it's still not healthy.
The UI isn't as good as a laptop but maybe it's all my years of swiping, liking, and navigating between apps. In a very sad and concerning way, phone time feels like home.