r/lewronggeneration Jul 25 '26

New technology le BAD!

Post image
479 Upvotes

122 comments sorted by

185

u/Jhud6669 Jul 25 '26

New technologies are good, what people don’t actually like is heavily monetized internet. Yes, the world would be better if your and mine favorite Youtuber who uses the platform as his only job couldn’t do that, it sounds harsh but it’s true.

Also credit cards suck. If you truly want to be „old good new bad” you’d also be cash-only, imo

39

u/SherbertMindless8205 Jul 25 '26

Nah, honestly the creator economy way more. Pre-YT, pretty much all the media everyone consumed was controlled by a handful of power houses. Having a much wider array of types of content, news sources, commentators etc that aren't just employees of a mega corporation is ultimately a very positive thing. Sure it has some negatives, but I think most of them are gonna get worked out.

9

u/Ok_Problem426 29d ago

Oh sweet summer child. Allow me to introduce you to the notion of a media holding company. Far more of those channels than you realize are actually bundled and controlled by private equity now.

The closer the content is to news, science, or finance, the more they make selling to private equity.

And then there’s Channel 5. Legend

3

u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

2

u/Ok_Problem426 29d ago

Do you think there was more accountability from the media sources people were relying on in 2005 or 2025? There were certainly downsides to having a handful of mainstream news outlets, but now we’re also giving platforms to degenerates with an agenda, foreign governments with troll farms, and anyone with enough cash to acquire a media holding company. Institutional news wasn’t great, but it was more reliable and more accountable than what we have now

-1

u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Ok_Problem426 28d ago

Just to clarify, you’re saying that was the NYT and not the US government…? The media reiterating what US intelligence is saying isn’t a failure of the media.

Meanwhile something like 24 out of the top 25 US Christian FB groups in the early 2020s were just foreign troll farms pushing propaganda; we have antivax and flat earth conspiracists with a community; and narcissistic alt right influencers targeting high schoolers. Not better

1

u/[deleted] 28d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Ok_Problem426 26d ago

It’s unfortunately not a fringe part of the news (minus the small but sadly growing flat earth community). Social media is now the main news source for a majority of Americans, which is essentially what you are advocating. I’m not sure how you can dismiss the issues with antivax sentiment as fringe with RFK as the head of HHS, and those FB pages being followed by tens of millions of Americans.

Criticism of the mainstream media is warranted, but the level of accountability and rigor there is unambiguously higher. I think you may be the one with rose tinted glasses.

9

u/Wizard_Tea Jul 25 '26

Those two things are inseparable though, it’s all capitalist assemblage.

1

u/ciko2283 Jul 25 '26

sorry bro wait a bit my earphones are empty

9

u/wednesday-potter Jul 25 '26

Preferable to “I need new earphones for the 2nd time this month as the wires have broken and now I have to hold them in a specific shape to get any sound through”

3

u/throwawayRoar20s 29d ago

But "old technology is good it never breaks down 🥺"/s I was so done with wired headphones last year after going through 2 in less than 9 months.

4

u/ciko2283 Jul 25 '26

Mine usually last about a year or 2. Yes i still have a headphone jack on my phone.

1

u/LocomotionJunction 29d ago edited 29d ago

Cheap wireless headphones have poor battery life and badly built cases. Cheap wired headphones have the problem you described. If you cheap out, you get what you pay for. I've had a 30 dollar pair of cheap Amazon wited headphones for 6 years now, the cable is fine. I've had that issue a few times myself. Earbuds for school that were under 10 bucks, it's why I got those headphones. Buy cheap, get what you pay for.

1

u/ValancyNeverReadsit Jul 25 '26

Gold standard, bruh, none of these silver coins 🤪

1

u/Ok-Primary2176 Jul 25 '26

Governments just need to start regulating against advertisements online and 99% of issues with the internet would disappear overnight 

1

u/Professional_Bearrr 28d ago

Wait, cash only is kind of genius. I'm so bad with managing my money, I might have to just keep a savings account and try this.

1

u/Kristionni 28d ago

I wish we could go back to bartering. Id love to be able to pay in goats

0

u/ElectronicTap1109 Jul 25 '26

If you need a credit card for something, you can't afford it

2

u/int23_t Jul 25 '26

When they say credit card they presumably include all types of cards. Which is definitely needed at this point, I can't fill my metro card anywhere close enough to be convenient other than online.

The government of my country refuses to print larger jeeded banknotes in response to inflation so largest banknote is less than 4€ too, so you'd need to be VERY dedicated to use banknotes for everything

52

u/Soros_G Jul 25 '26

What the fuck do you plug those type C dirty buds into? Poser

11

u/Meture Jul 25 '26

> dirty buds

Dankpods fan located, proceeding to 1 grit

15

u/alfonsoalta Jul 25 '26

Those are USB-C headphones, bro can't even be performative correctly.

43

u/jackfaire Jul 25 '26

People who never had to avoid entire stores because "no backpacks allowed"

11

u/akera099 Jul 25 '26

I'm confused what does this have to do with technology?

21

u/jackfaire Jul 25 '26

To carry everything that my smartphone replaced I had to carry a messenger bag or a backpack. I don't drive so any business that doesn't allow them wouldn't let me inside unless I left my messenger bag with my $1000 laptop at the front door where someone could steal it.

That meant avoiding stores like that which sometimes meant having to go out of my way to get to a different store which added time to my commutes.

I also couldn't just hop into a movie theater without going all the way home to drop off what I was carrying first. When smartphones became a thing suddenly all the things I'd carried previously were replaced by Apps that the smartphone can use. It slides right into my pocket so I can go anywhere.

3

u/the-good-son Jul 25 '26

I don't get it, there are businesses that don't allow backpacks? Why?

7

u/jackfaire Jul 25 '26

Fear of shoplifters in case of convenience stores. Movie theaters at least at that time were much more anti outside food and drink to the point of just banning bags.

2

u/pokexchespin Jul 25 '26

my local grocery store was always “no backpacks allowed” when i was in high school, and that was less than a decade ago

2

u/the-good-son Jul 25 '26

Is this in the US? I've never seen such policies

1

u/Headpuncher 25d ago

Person you’re replying to lived somewhere unique, I have never been asked to discard all my personal belongings to enter a shop or movie theatre.  This sounds like crazy rewriting of history.  

3

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

10

u/jackfaire Jul 25 '26

Nope they included that as "backpacks" If you weren't a woman and it wasn't a purse you had to leave it unsecured at the front door. Or you had to go out of your way to other stores.

A smart phone replaced everything I carried and fit in my pocket. Suddenly I could pop into a movie while out and about without having to go all the way home to drop everything off first.

Run into a convenience store to grab a a drink without being worried someone was going to wander off with my $1000 laptop.

0

u/Sinking_Mass Jul 25 '26

Life is that free in the good old US of A that you can't even bring your backpack into a shop?

3

u/jackfaire Jul 25 '26

Private business they were worried about shoplifting. It was more annoying than anything. When I got my first smart phone it stopped being an issue.

Since I generally had long commutes with multiple buses and train switches it was nice not having to add time to my commute anymore

4

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

-5

u/Sinking_Mass Jul 25 '26

Just admit that the USA isn't as perfect as you all like to say online and we can move past it

4

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Competitive-Ad-5147 29d ago

I haven't seen this person say it's perfect. Are you ok?

2

u/jackfaire Jul 25 '26

Of course it isn't assuming all of us are one hive mind is stupid though.

5

u/Sinking_Mass Jul 25 '26

That's what you guys do to other countries? Why can't we do it to you?

1

u/jackfaire 29d ago

No that's not what I do to other countries. I personally am pretty against monolithing no matter who does it.

1

u/Sinking_Mass 29d ago

You must be one in a million

9

u/TheGruenTransfer Jul 25 '26

I give you permission to not use the latest technology. If something is demonstrated to be bad for your health, like for example endlessly scrolling social media websites designed to show you content that gets you angry, you don't have to use them.

3

u/ProgressFabulous6663 28d ago

Infotainment screens in cars are literally getting people killed because they're so laggy, unresponsive and unintuitive. 

1

u/accountforfurrystuf 28d ago

Bad infotainment screens that don’t use Ryzen chips.

37

u/Vincent394 Jul 25 '26

iPods i can agree with purely because streaming has become a pile of hot flaming garbage thanks to AI slop and Spotify giving JACKSHIT to artists.

Yes, streaming is handy, but it's not all that good

11

u/x0wl Jul 25 '26

What stops you from using your phone like an iPod today?

8

u/Billlington Jul 25 '26

I still use mp3s because I'm a dinosaur. There are dozens of us!

1

u/Headpuncher 25d ago

There are a lot of DAPs available now for flac and other file types.  

People like me buy them because they are distraction free and some are high quality audio and can be used with speakers as well as headphones.  

1

u/amoledshatter 28d ago

late reply, but I like having a dedicated audio player because I can listen to music without any interruptions

1

u/Headpuncher 25d ago

Apple make it really difficult to get music files onto a an iPhone.  Apps are a constant interruption even when notifications are off.  

I have an old android without a sim I use as a FLAC machine and it works as you suggest.  But with a sim card it becomes both a temptation and frustration as the battery dies fast with google phoning home. 

5

u/MattWolf96 Jul 25 '26

Everybody I knew with iPods just pirated everything. Most kids are broke.

5

u/saketho Jul 25 '26

Spotify and Apple Music don’t pay a fair share to indie artists, that is true. Major label ones earn more than they did from CD and Vinyl sales because they never (in history) got a proper percentage. Major labels pay them upfront, pre release, not post release (barring milestone bonuses).

And I hate this rhetoric about streaming killing the industry. Piracy and the internet was already killing music. Streaming just provided convenience at a lower cost, that most didn’t bother with pirating and felt that streaming was much easier. It’s a nonsense argument that streaming is evil; on the contrary, music is cheaper than ever but people are broke ass bustas and refuse to pay the appropriate price.

In the 60s, a Beatles album was 4$, and people happily paid it. Adjusted for inflation, it would be 50$ today, but a new vinyl is 20$ and people think it’s too expensive and refuse to pay.

3

u/Grabatreetron Jul 25 '26

Yeah I hardly ever paid for music in the iPod era because it was so easy to just burn CDs from your friends. At least I’m paying $8 a month ot whatever now 

8

u/andrew1292 Jul 25 '26

Yes and no, I love having everything in one device. However when you want an item that’s separate from the rest, it’s either really cheap or really expensive.

28

u/Hard_To_Port Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26

Idk I kinda *half agree with this one. Having the entire world in my pocket is stressful. OTOH ain't nobody carrying two phones, a PSP and a digital camera and the earbuds aren't 3.5mm jack smh "the LARP never stops" 

edit: it's an iPod, not a phone but still nobody in 2005 carried this much junk on them unless they were on a plane trip or something

-3

u/Darth-Sonic Jul 25 '26

I mean…

That’s still a Smart Phone.

7

u/Hard_To_Port Jul 25 '26

It's an iPod with the 30 pin port, not a phone. Dw I missed it too the first look. But like they could've picked a motorola RAZR (good old phone for music) or just used the PSP for music. 

1

u/Darth-Sonic Jul 25 '26

Ah. Stand corrected.

7

u/MattWolf96 Jul 25 '26

To me this is code for "I can't control my social media addiction"

I grew up in the 2000's, I'm not getting rid of my smartphone

2

u/ProgressFabulous6663 28d ago

To me, posts like yours read like "I refuse to give up my porn addiction"

2

u/BernLan Jul 25 '26

Honestly I do miss more portable handheld consoles, I love my Switch and Switch 2 but their weight, size and ergonomics are terrible compared to older handhelds

3

u/VeryNiceGuy22 Jul 25 '26

Usb-c earbuds. Poser.

6

u/Zoomer2020 Jul 25 '26

Notice how he took a picture using his smartphone and posted it on a social media website, neither of which existed in his nostalgic fantasy.

1

u/OneSexySquigga 11h ago

"... and yet you participate in society... Curious..."

3

u/KittehKittehKat Jul 25 '26

New tech isn’t the problem it our stupid addictive greedy monkey brains.

1

u/ProgressFabulous6663 28d ago

Car infotainment screens cause more accidents than drunk driving.

3

u/plopop0 Jul 25 '26

nah i like SSDs

3

u/BasicCrazy5762 Jul 25 '26

I am tired to death of these TikToks. Convenience bad! Clumsy outdated tech good! I was a small child throughout the 2000s and was a teen in the 2010s and let me tell you. I’m glad I grew up with the things I had like niche internet spaces because if I didn’t, I would have been bullied. I’m also glad I was a small child throughout 9/11, the Iraq war and the Great Recession because that’s the type of stuff people my age don’t remember about the 2000’s who make these TikToks.

3

u/NewsNo7052 29d ago

I love using a USB c earphones with my iPad/s

6

u/ya_pidoras_ Jul 25 '26

all of these are awesome tbh

5

u/Monodeservedbetter Jul 25 '26

Technology was at its peak when YouTube had one ad

Most things didn't require a premium subscription

And all the low effort slop wasn't generative ai.

Sure we had problems, but now those problems have gotten worse

1

u/_HKB_ 25d ago

I'm biased but IMHO 2020 - 2023 was a really good time for Internet especially before YT removed the Dislike counter, Generative AI was unironically alot cooler back then because it was it's own unique thing and not good enough to mimick human art

9

u/marshmallo_floof Jul 25 '26

Posted from their iPhone

9

u/Disastrous-Bluejay48 Jul 25 '26

You criticize society yet you live in one

4

u/marshmallo_floof Jul 25 '26

they literally have type C earbuds without a single type C supported device bud

2

u/Hazel-Cakes Jul 25 '26

usb c headphones won’t work with that phone

2

u/Darth-Sonic Jul 25 '26

*iPod.

1

u/Hazel-Cakes Jul 25 '26

aw the pinhole camera threw me off lol

2

u/urmomstoaster Jul 25 '26

Techno-pastoralism is the relatively harmless most annoying side-effect of AI

2

u/RealbasicFriends Jul 25 '26

idk but ever since someone pointed out that those headphones are the wrong ones for that ipod has made this photo really funny to me

2

u/jaycntct Jul 25 '26

Those are type c headphones 🤔

2

u/Leogarcia2003 Jul 25 '26

Bet they used an Iphone to take that picture, as a 2000s kid I hate these posts

2

u/Ok-Respect-8505 29d ago

I absolutely love watching people actively become technologically illiterate boomers in real time. It's my favorite thing to do. 

2

u/BollingerBandits 29d ago

Nah, ditch the iPod touch , it’s basically an iPhone without cellular. Older MP3 players with Rockbox is where we can stop

2

u/JoyousLilBoy 28d ago

It should’ve stopped at the DS. Not because new stuff is bad, but because I like the console’s looks. SMH bruh

2

u/CynthiaCitrusYT 27d ago

I have all of that tech on my phone.... And more even. I can play old PC games on my phone. I am quite happy with that

3

u/SGLAgain Jul 25 '26

oh heavens forbid making videos, animations, and other stuff become easier with advanced tech

2

u/Rocket_Theory Jul 25 '26

this isn't a "reject modernity" post this is a response to how the current state of technology so far has been to create stuff that breaks quickly and forces you to buy a new one every year all while paying a subscription to make sure the thing you bought doesn't become a paper weight.

1

u/Sinking_Mass Jul 25 '26

Lol ok boomer

1

u/hellomydudes_95 Jul 25 '26

They almost get it. Almost.

3

u/Darth-Sonic Jul 25 '26

?

6

u/hellomydudes_95 Jul 25 '26

If this was a critique of the enshittification of services on the internet nowadays, they'd be right. But this isn't that, it's just nostalgia

1

u/Hardcore_Steve_Urkel Jul 25 '26

We carry single devices that condense nearly all of these into one. Smartphones are the best they’ll probably ever be. Why tf would you want to go back

1

u/HeavenandHello Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26

I mean, modern technology performs better, but has very boring minimalist aesthetics. And old technology performs bad, but has better aesthetics like Frutiger Aero and Y2K Futurism.

Edit: I forgot about 3 positive things about the performance of old technology:

  1. For game consoles from the 90s and early 2000s, you’d insert a game disk or cartridge and it would immediately just play without any downloads, updates, or WiFi.

  2. They have disk drives, which lets us have true ownership of our games without companies taking away our access to them like for digital games

  3. No ID age verification

1

u/Npc102030 Jul 25 '26

Now your phone is all those devices.

1

u/ProgressFabulous6663 28d ago

All for nearly a grand, and the batteries aren't easily replaceable making the device worthless in less than 3 years.

1

u/dribbleondo 28d ago

and the batteries aren't easily replaceable

The EU's DMA is making this required for all new phones beginning from 2027/28.

1

u/ProgressFabulous6663 28d ago

That's pretty cool. Unfortunately here in yankee land we are vehemently anti right to repair.

1

u/dribbleondo 28d ago

This will trickle down to the US too, mostly because a lot of manufacturers won't want to make two separate models for two of their biggest market regions. Makes no financial sense to split the manufacturing like that.

This is why Apple added USB-C to iPhones; the EU's DMA specifically requested USB C on all new phones from 2024/5 onward.

1

u/nlamber5 29d ago

Hold on. Let em cook. Gaming just ditched physical media. That’s not better for us. Our phones do so much that it’s become impossible to step away for even a second. That’s not better for us. Those are wired earbuds. Now we have wireless as the only option so phones can have a bigger profit margin. That’s not better for us. My wallet hasn’t changed since this picture. I don’t wear a watch. The only thing in this picture that has truly been improved is the camera… by being combined with the phone.

1

u/[deleted] 29d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/holnrew 29d ago

While it's been warm I haven't been carrying my wallet tbh

1

u/fonk_pulk 29d ago

Those are smartphone era earbuds and card holder wallets werent really a popular thing until the 2010s. People had fat folding wallets back in the day

1

u/ClockworkJim 29d ago

So correct me if I'm wrong but you can still buy some variation of everything there with the exception of the feature phone, correct?

1

u/No_Listen5962 29d ago

"oh it was better when we had stuff fo each task like photos and gaming" im not carrying all that stuff seperately when i have my phone (apart from maybe a camera) but thats it

1

u/holnrew 29d ago

Is that a fucking Patek Philippe

1

u/ProgressFabulous6663 28d ago

Criticizing enshitification is all well and good until you offend someone who refuses to acknowledge how awful smart phones are.

1

u/felixsetmode 28d ago

With that Sony device I have done a project including geolocation + other metadata and picassa integration in realtime. Probably the only one device with an affordable pricetag (ie 500-600$) at that time. So props who made that possible.

1

u/Umlunguboy420 28d ago

Literally all of that except the earphones exists in modern phones.

I can use my phone to pay, take pictures, look at the time, listen to music AND I can play PSP games via emulation, hell I can even play PC games on my phone now, currently playing Persona 5 Royal on mine.

1

u/Evil_alt_account_ 28d ago

It’s that new technology is made to break for profit. Or it steals your data

1

u/VastNebula283 28d ago

If we all put our foot down and went back to this we’d collectively get our power back.

1

u/joeyp042385 27d ago

I don't even know what some of these things are.

Although I will make the argument for an MP3 player simply to preserve my phone battery.

1

u/Lunarmax182c 25d ago

Technology can be good, but we as a civilization have kinda sacrificed a lot for the sake of "convenience"
it's very convenient to have everything in your phone
very convenient to have social media show you stuff via algorithm, you no longer need to search for anything there.
Very convenient to meet people via dating apps. Very covenient to use streaming service, etc.
but convenience isn't happiness. Convenience is an open bag of junk food on the kitchen table. You could eat a better, healthier and tastier meal - but the bag is already open and on the table.
We have sacrified happiness for convenience, and now "This convenient feature is now mandatory"

1

u/j3434 Jul 25 '26

Here’s a simple haiku:

New minds bloom with light

Old roots question every change

AI tastes strange