I'm worried that in the future we will be forced to use smartphones just like in China

ULTIMATEDEAD@lemmy.ml to Technology@lemmy.world – 124 points –

In China, you can't exist without a smartphone, because for all existential things you have to do (paying bills, buying tickets etc.) , you are forced to use the almighty wechat app. Smartphones are a tool to manipulate and to spy on the population. It is a tool utilized by the ruling class, to control the masses. I hate the future and I hate "progress".

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Take it from the lens of the average Chinese person, and they will tell you it's awesome, simple and convenient. Pros and cons basically.

You are talking to people who some refuse to download Facebook, Instagram, tiktok, and some being degoogled and running GrapheneOS. And some who opt for self hosting over trusting companies with cloud.

When those people don't even see eye to eye with the average person from their country I sure don't think they are going to care about people overseas not caring about privacy. Especially if they are not pro government surveillance to begin with, and some even hating their government and being suspicious of them.

The average Chinese person has no concept of protecting their personal privacy from the government. They accept the government to invade their privacy (being brainwashed by propaganda since birth).

Or too afraid to speak up about issues

They'll speak up about a bunch of issues when it's on an individual level - but organising is risky. Funnily enough Americans and other westerners are individualistic even without an all powerful state leaning over them.

The lens of the average person is currently under 6 feet of mud and water after having been victimised by an authoritarian government and system that prioritised fast progress over safe progress. It's hard to even find news about this because the machine systematically cuts internet access of people who try to bring light on the floods.