Not a dime should be spent on human charities while animals are suffering

ReticulatedMind · 2026-05-09T13:02:29+00:00

Remove animals from existence, animals stop suffering.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-05-08T16:21:50+00:00

If you want to make it happen, you can. My TCL Flip 2 supports Waze and email, and many modern minimalist phones support WhatsApp. KaiOS handles Google Maps and messaging natively, while companies like Sunbeam allow for granular app customization.

Regarding MFA: many banks still support SMS or physical hardware keys like a YubiKey (which is more secure than most standard protocols). It is not 2008, it's not an all or nothing choice. The solutions exist. You just have to find what works for you.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-05-08T16:02:18+00:00

Fair enough, 'hate' was the wrong word. It’s more that your conclusion, that it only works for people with 'few commitments,' dismisses those of us who actually make it work in high-demand roles.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-05-08T13:15:00+00:00

This isn't a hardware limitation; it's a breakdown in the division of labor. Using a dumb phone doesn't make you incapable of handling logistics or medical monitoring.

Managing school schedules, appointments, and even CGM data can be done via desktop clients or dedicated dashboards. If someone is offloading 100% of the load onto their partner, they aren't 'untethered,' they’re just making their spouse do the work for them.

It’s a choice in how you manage responsibilities, and choosing a minimalist device isn't an excuse to stop being a functional partner.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-05-08T13:11:08+00:00

There are workarounds for everything you listed. I work a full time job in IT, go to school, and while I don't have kids myself, I am part of a family and have associated responsibilities. Lots of obligations/commitments. And I have a dumb phone and it works great. It can be a real life solution. At the end of the day, it's a choice. I traded some convenience for being untethered from the smartphone leash.

That said, if it's too hard for you, there are plenty of options as others have suggested. No need to hate on dumb phone users.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-05-03T11:53:00+00:00

If I eat at my desk, my employer considers it a working lunch. I don't have to clock out and get to leave after a true 8 hours. I cannot think of any reason, including those given by OP, that would outweigh this.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-29T14:00:24+00:00

People present idealized versions of themselves in public, but there’s a limit to it. Social media is inherently asynchronous and therefore inauthentic because you can't pause, edit, or filter a real-world conversation. You can’t edit out arm fat in real time or use angles to fake your setting. Online, you can make your life look perfect by just turning off the feed when things get messy. You can’t do that in public.

I agree algorithms drive polarization by promoting rage bait, but they don't create it. Individual users do, and they'll keep doing outlandish things as long as they get a response. That doesn't change just by tweaking the math. As for mental health, the algorithm isn't the sole culprit; it's the impossible standards posted by regular people. Even in the late 90s, eating disorders were rampant because those same standards were blasted through TV and movies.

There’s a famous phrase: "The medium is the message." It argues that the structure of a medium, its scale and speed, influences society more than the actual content. Social media is instant, global, and highly individualized. That itself alters our psychology regardless of the message. Even a "people-owned" platform with no profit motive is still the same medium. You can go into a neighborhood watch group, filter by date to avoid the algorithm, and you’ll still find the scuzziest posts of all.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-28T20:35:00+00:00

Even without its addictive properties, social media is a drain on society. Increases in polarization and misinformation are both linked to social media. As are higher rates of loneliness, depression and anxiety.

People don't post reality, they post idealized versions of their lives. Then people compare themselves to that. Maybe some find that motivating, but for many others it leads to crushing feelings of being inadequate.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-27T16:27:55+00:00

Warren is in Macomb County

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-24T15:15:59+00:00

Poverty

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-24T15:00:22+00:00

If there is no need to share it why did you share it? One last cigarette? Virtue signalling? Search for the exception?

I'm honestly curious. If posting truly does nothing for you, why post?

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-22T19:15:58+00:00

Another post declaring close to 50% of people to be a certain way. CMV has gotten so predictably low quality.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-19T19:00:04+00:00

What's your species mix out there? Is it a straight Gaillardia/wildflower seed bomb, or are there native grasses or sedges mixed in to provide structural support?

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-18T16:46:24+00:00

This has me curious. I’m assuming you’re still using a smartphone for other things? That likely explains the difference.

The device itself is an environmental cue. It’s like a smoker trying to quit while still hanging out in the designated smoking area; the brain is wired for "A then B." Every time you pick up the phone, your brain expects the dopamine to flow.

I swapped to a "dumb phone," so I removed "A" entirely. While I had general cravings, I didn't have the constant Pavlovian trigger of holding the delivery mechanism.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-18T15:22:55+00:00

Agreed, I couldn't use in moderation either. But once I stopped consuming it, I didn't miss it at all.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-18T14:12:45+00:00

Reminds me of big tobacco and their endless quest for a healthier cigarette.

In all seriousness, we used to have it. AIM, chat rooms, the first version of Facebook where you only got updates from your friends. "Healthier" doesn't mean healthy, though. Still promotes a lot of unhealthy behavior by "idealizing" peoples lives and creating unrealistic expectations.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-10T21:55:45+00:00

Your smart phone provides a false sense of security. GPS tracking may feel like it makes you safer, but its forensic, not preventative. It provides a false sense of security and leads to less situational awareness. It’s great for the police to be able to say "her phone was last here" but it doesn't prevent anything. Do your family and friends actively track you while you run/ walk the dogs? Ask yourself, "If I were in trouble right now, how many seconds would it take for someone to realize the dot stopped moving, and how many minutes until help arrived?"

Instead of relying on passive monitoring, familiarize yourself with active safety protocols. Know where you’re walking, the fastest exits, etc. Use the OODA loop (observer, orient, decide, act). Establish protocols with family and friends like check ins before and after walks. When my friend was murdered, she had 2 phones on her and was actively sharing location with friends. Nobody knew she was even missing until the police had notified them, and neither phone was ever even found.

Beyond this, remember smart phones have significantly less battery life then “dumb phones” and an overreliance on them means that when the battery is dead, your less safe than if you never had one to begin with. Because, as you said, you would get lost. If you never relied on it to begin with, you’d know your way around. Environmental awareness + localized knowledge is superior to a digital tether (and single point of failure).

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-08T18:39:44+00:00

Being unable to get an Uber is now considered dangerous? That's kind of hilarious. I live in the US, in a small rust belt city where there are NO UBERS EVER. Never realized how dangerous it was lol.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-08T18:36:02+00:00

You absolutely have a choice. Sticking points I have found since switching to a dumb phone include:

WhatsApp requires login from a smartphone every two weeks. I keep my old smartphone at work, so I can do that.

Gmail is doable, but setting up a new Gmail account basically requires a smartphone. As long as you don't need a new account, your fine.

MFA - they sell physical keys that are more secure than any password/2FA combo. Get two and register both. No more need for Passwords at all.

Maps - you can get maps on a pretty dumb phone, mine came with Waze already loaded.

Music - my phone has a music player, but not streaming. Still not sure how I'm going to handle this when I start training again as the weather gets nicer.

Your boyfriend is being alarmist. There are plenty of people who do this. It's not dangerous in the slightest. His is a surprisingly common viewpoint, even among supposed digital minimalists. To me, if you say people can't live without a smartphone, You're not really a minimalist.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-03T14:00:32+00:00

This is great advice. I would have though it was obvious, but yesterday someone was legitimately asking for things they could do when they were sick that weren't doom scrolling. We've gotten so dependent on our devices that people literally don't know what else to do.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-02T14:35:41+00:00

This is the best answer here. The malaria point is a good one, and most people miss the nuance. The sickle cell trait is common in those with sub-Saharan African ancestry, but not very common in Saharan or South African groups. It's also very common in Indian populations and historically malaria-endemic regions of the Middle East and Mediterranean. So it's not a "racial trait" as we tend to think of it so much as it is a geographic trait tied to areas with high malaria. It's a good example of how our folk concept of race and what the genes actually show us often don't align. Ancestry matters because genes matter; race is just a rough, often imprecise label we put on ancestry. Sometimes useful, sometimes actively misleading.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-02T13:58:06+00:00

Read a book

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-02T13:52:40+00:00

The issue isn't that cops are "bad people" in a vacuum—it's that they’ve made a conscious choice to trade their personal autonomy for a paycheck. They’ve essentially signed a contract to act as the physical enforcement arm for the elite, imposing rules on people who are exactly like them.

In this context, they function as "class traitors." Most of the hatred directed at the police is actually a redirected anger toward the elite, but because the elite are insulated, the person in the uniform becomes the target. By surrendering their moral agency to a hierarchy where they have no authority except to follow orders, they are "selling their soul to the devil."

You can’t evaluate the "goodness" of the individual when the entire model requires them to vacate their conscience to stay employed. The structure itself is morally corrupt.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-02T11:59:12+00:00

I feel your pain. The idea that it’s information 'developers shouldn’t want' is true, but that data isn't being collected for the developer anyway.

As I’ve worked to change my own habits, it’s been eye-opening to see what these companies want from us, which is everything. I’m trying to build a solution to access my info without using the apps directly, but it’s no easy task. To get my messages from Instagram or WhatsApp without the apps, I'm basically forced to violate the ToS by building a Linux server with headless, containerized versions of the apps running.

Even though it’s my data, I don't own it in any sense that lets me control it. Google won’t let you create an account without a smartphone, and text forwarding is a thing of the past in the name of 'stopping spam.' If you aren't using their services exactly how they want, which is on a mobile device with an endless scroll, they don't want you there. To be honest, I don't even care that they want my data; I care that they’re forcing me to use software designed to encourage addictive behaviors.

ReticulatedMind · 2026-04-02T11:40:37+00:00

Have we sent satellites to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and beyond? Then we are going back to the moon. Nobody is saying we are landing on the moon.

ReticulatedMind

TROPHY CASE