Technology

Xennial here. I got rid of most social media years ago (FB, twitter, etc.) and never signed up for a lot of others. I'm replacing my google pixel watch with a pebble. I'm open to ditching my android google phone as well once something works properly with all the Japanese government and banking services. Thinking about how to degoogle.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows back in the '80s and '90s, but I definitely feel like we should take back some of our balance, security, and comfort (though streaming and recording video can stay).

I really don't think that specific emotion is isolated to gen z.

I remember all the promise and excitement that tech had back in the late 00's and early 10's. Things were unique and fun. That's just not true anymore. Every new software update adds shit that you didn't ask for and don't want (AI, ads, removal of user freedom). New hardware releases are either an underwhelming iteration of specs from the previous version, or an unimaginative device that has the same basic look and feel as every other device it's competing with.

Tech used to be fun and exploratory, now it's just companies pushing to see how much they can be allowed to exploit you for the least cost.

Tech in the 1980's - 2010's was hopeful, beneficial, and fairly consumer oriented. Tech today is mostly some sort of scheme for recurring billing while openly assisting the modern surveillance state. It's no wonder modern tech feels icky.

Tech used to promise a better life. Now it requires a subscription and wants your biometrics just to lie about pizza toppings to you. Sounds like gen z is on the right path.

Is it "discomfort", or a full rejection of the values represented by the enshittified tech companies and their LLM-cronies?