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I talked about screen time a couple of days ago and most of that screen time is actually phone time. Yes many still use PC or laptop and T.V but the majority of screen time is on people's phones.
All you have to do to understand the gravity of phone addiction is to take a walk and start counting the number of people you come across with their head bowing down pressing their phones or watching something on it.
I will admit, I'm guilty of this too and it's primarily because most of the work I do is on the phone.
Being a phone addict is not only going to affect your eyeballs because of the screentime but your neck as well since you have to keep being in a posture where you bend the neck for so long.
But screen time is not the main topic of this particular blog. There was a time where phones didn't exist, we only had PC and they were big as hell.
The phone was one of the biggest innovation and I dare to say revolution of mankind. It came as a result of necessity. But do you think there's a time where the mobile phone becomes obsolete, out of date or something the future generation would call old tech.
This question is not new, the tech world is obsessed with disruption. Every few years, some grand declaration emerges about the death of a technology, yet here we are, still using smartphones.
Why do I bring this question up if I doubt smartphones will be a thing of the past?
I brought it up because now, it’s Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman and Bills Gates that are pushing the idea that smartphones will vanish, replaced by brain implants, electronic tattoos and AR glasses.
It's easy to agree with their claim but I still wouldn't and I'll tell you why.
Technology these days is not a matter of necessity but a matter of preference. Most of the tech that gets invented is merely another way to do the same thing. The solution already exists but the method changes.
Here's my point, not everyone will agree to a freaking implant just to use a tech, I know I wouldn't. Even if they rate it as the safest thing to do in the world, I doubt I would be comfortable with a chip in my brain. I prefer keeping what nature gave to me in the exact same way, thank you.
I am Not A Monkey, Mr Elon, lol.
Some suggested an electronic tattoo, where you can interact with the tattoo on your skin. Some tattoos are very cool to look at but that doesn't mean I'm a fan of writing on my body. I have no tattoo and have no intentions of getting one.
And with the AR glasses, yeah... I don't do glasses. I sometimes watch people that use the AR and think they're slowly turning into freaks, lol.
No offence there but I don't see myself using AR, maybe just have fun or play a cool AR game, but to replace my phone, no please.
I prefer a technology I can hold, use outside without looking like I want to be in the matrix or not having to alter my body just to use it. The perfect answer is the smart phone.
The phone will never be obsolete, it'll be an option amongst all the future technology to come. This is similar to self driving cars.
Some of the futurists and tech billionaires or even scientists have predicted that we'll have autonomous vehicles all over the place and that may be the only option. I seriously doubt that too.
What happens to the driving experience of a Bugatti and a Lamborghini?
People don't buy a Lambo to get driven, they want to feel the steering, the dynamics, control the car and move at top speed. That market will still be there and therefore autonomous vehicles will not completely replace traditional cars with steering.
A little about Neuralink.
Most of the tech billionaires are good at hyping a product. If you pay attention to the reality of things you would start questioning it.
Even if you get market for Neuralink, how many people are lining up to have their skulls drilled open just so they can check a text message using their brains? When it comes to the medical aspect I see it as a huge innovation. The medical conditions that can be handled or treated with Neuralink technology is what gives this project actual relevance.
All of this tech, is going to send privacy issues to a whole different level. So perhaps in a niche based market these billionaires will get sales but not enough to replace the smartphone entirely.
Also, something you should consider is that it's in the nature of most human beings to resist drastic change and most especially when what they already have works well enough for them. Nobody's having a serious compliant about smartphones to the level which makes these new technologies relevant enough.
Maybe one day, phones might get replaced with another cooler innovation but it won't happen just because some billionaires say so.