While we're at it, can we *please* stop making these stupid distraction rectangles so essential to everyday life that we can't function without them?

I'd love nothing more than to ditch my smartphone and replace it with a dumbphone, a notebook and an mp3 player - my weeks with a broken smartphone were great, barring no messaging friends whilst outside - but too many essential things outside of my control in my life /need/ a smartphone, and I hate that I can't choose what I know makes happier

@zackwhittaker
Growing up with Romanian family, I remember constantly hearing stories about everyone living in fear during communism knowing the walls were always bugged and every word was being taped by the secret police.

Was nobody else paying attention to the creepy things that intelligence agencies (and now private companies) have been doing for the past 80 years? How does anyone hear this and think "yes, I'd love to have everything I do recorded KGB style, that's totally normal"

@_scottd @zackwhittaker

I'm trying to have some hope that the anarchist tech wizards of the web will surface in this time of need to offer us jamming devices - adversarial noise attacks on voice assistant tech like alexa or siri is already a thing. I'd obviously rather these creepy pieces of ewaste never be built, but I guess if you can't beat em, brick em with command injections xD