Comment by uhtred | Hacker News Reader

Comment by uhtred | Hacker News Reader

It's interesting that I was at an itunes free gig in London back in 2010 at the Camden Roundhouse (band was Bombay Bicycle Club and they were very good), and Stephen Fry made a pre gig speech (obviously paid by Apple) to say how marvellous the iphone was and how although some people criticise social media , it is a marvellous thing that helps people feel less lonely, amongst other things (and the iphone helps people stay connected to this social media when on the go). I wonder if he truly believed that then, or was just saying so for Apple's sake. Either way, let's assume he believed it; and so I guess in 2010 it was all still rather new. Now he, like many of us, have grown very tired and cynical of it all. I agree with a lot he is saying in this post. The internet has been hijacked by big money and corporations. I personally am utterly fed up with waiting for web pages to load, unable to read the content because it keeps shifting around the page while another shitty targeted ad gets inserted. And then I realise the content was trash anyway; just more shallow, "read this in 2 minutes" bullshit that gets churned out because the authors know we have lost our ability to stay focused on one thing long enough to read anything substantial and genuinely informative.

I'd say he's just changed his opinion on it and the internet itself has evolved. I know my enthusiasm for the internet and technology has rapidly faded in the recent 2-3 years. Mostly that's just due to fatigue. We can do amazing things on the internet but spending 90% of your waking day on it and doing the same few things instead of taking advantage of everything it has to offer can become unhealthy. You don't necessarily have to go 'off the grid' to fix the problem but going cold turkey could be easier. Take for example my recent experience with Twitter. I decided I was just wasting my time on it (and the actual value I get from it I could just get logged out through search) so I deactivated my account. They give you a 30 day period to log in and reactivate it. I've done this three times now. Very smart move by Twitter but it just goes to show how addictive a lot of this stuff can be.

Stephen Fry has been an early adopter of technology for many years.

He and Douglas Adams were the first people in the UK to get Apple Macs, for example. He was the first person to apply for a .uk domain name

> He was the first person to apply for a .uk domain name

Is a little misleading. He was the first person to use the modern, nonprefixed uk domain but not the first person to apply for a .uk domain back in the day.

He was (is?) a shopping addict. https://youtu.be/p7tLn57pf-8?t=41m20s "I have 12 computers. I must have something between 12 and 14 iPods."

Watch the 2 parts if you have the time, it's really good.

Is he bipolar (or on the spectrum) because it constantly sounds that way. I still value his opinion and he is a great entertainer.

Yes

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/10104138/Stephen-Fry-...

I don't think that's necessarily inconsistent with this essay.

Social technology (Facebook, iPhones, etc.) are, in my view, absolutely great at helping us to feel less lonely. I've traveled all over the world but can still stay in touch with close friends from back home. They effectively add a multiplier to Dunbar's number.

That being said, there is still the attraction of slowing down occasionally. I spend my life connected but also try to go on a hike for a week or two every year.

"Either way, let's assume he believed it..."

Sure. We all go thru phases, cycles. So do relationships, hobbies, habits.

I now help admin an org's web presence. It's fun, for now. In a few years I'll go back to being a hermit.

It's also possible that like many intelligent people he doesn't operate from fixed, rigid positions, but enjoys kicking mental footballs around that test out all sorts of contrary positions,

I don't think that such a speech from 2010 contradicts this blog in any way. Social media is still awesome, and it still provides tremendous value. And yes, it's been overtaken by big money and corporations — which earn their big monet by providing value to a lot of people. Thos two positions don't necessarily contradict each other.

I always wondered if the Apple Watch was made because Apple feels guilty about distracting everyone with smartphones.

After owning an Apple Watch I would say it just makes the distractions worse. Somehow it's much easier to ignore a vibration from the phone in your pocket than it is to ignore one on your wrist.

I have turned all vibrations and sounds off except for phone calls. It has been fantastic, I highly recommend it.

I did try things like that but at the end of the day I had a very expensive device that I used for very little so I sold it. For me the only thing I miss about it is the health tracking. Once they build in a lot more of that the costs will be worth the benefit for me because I just looked back on that data and during my time with the Apple Watch I lost quite a lot of weight just following the activity tracker.

Oh, definitely agreed. I bought a moto 360 and, as someone who doesn't want notifications, it's almost useless. I only like the navigation mode, but that updates too infrequently to be useful.

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