- Bad reviews of AI Pin point out that AI Pin does not replace your phone.
- But I don't want to buy a new phone. I love staring at my iPhone.
- My only regret is that I can't stare at my phone for hours all day.
I was really excited about the AI pins. When a wearable device to replace a phone was announced this fall, I was a little nervous about how the average person would use it, but I was intrigued by the idea of a strange new category of gadgets, something creative and ambitious and new. I was excited.
Unfortunately, the reviews for AI Pins so far have been terrible. They point out that the overarching goal of being a replacement for phones that simply don't work half the time, overheats, and has no screen has generally failed.
All the issues with AI pins aside (if you're interested in more, I recommend this review from The Verge), I like the central theme of the device: you need a way to avoid looking at your phone. I keep coming back to this theme. my head. Who said you don't want to look at your phone screen? I love looking at my phone!
There are two arguments here. A practical debate and an existential debate.
The practical argument for a non-phone device that can do things like a phone is that it allows you to perform simple tasks without being distracted by the phone's other notifications and temptations. I agree. That's good. Setting a timer, composing a text while driving, getting a quick weather forecast in the morning are all great use cases when you're not using your phone. Fortunately, voice assistants like Alexa and Siri have been around for more than a decade and are already making that happen.
There are also Meta Ray-Ban glasses that allow you to take videos and photos. Perfect for hands-free situations like riding a roller coaster, dancing, or attending a concert. These are objectively neat gadgets, cool for some uses, and the AI elements will make them even more useful. But I doubt they're trying to replace your phone.
The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern used the AI Ping with Meta Ray-Bans on a recent family trip and found the side of the wearable camera to be perfect for capturing small moments with the kids. She was glad she didn't have to take out her cell phone. “You know the dance: you pull out your phone, take a photo, and then get distracted by a message or notification. I was comfortable leaving my phone in my backpack most of the time. “These vacation excursions,'' she wrote.
The practical reason why your phone is a distraction when all you want to do is take a photo is very reasonable and relatable.
But there's also another, more existential argument against phones. We spend all of our free time with screens pressed to our faces, scrolling mindlessly in search of dopamine and ignoring the world around us. Time spent on mobile phones is not good. Time spent doing other things is good.
I don't agree with this argument at all. I love scrolling without thinking. I think it's a lot of fun. I love flipping through TikTok, browsing tweets, and peeking on Reddit. I'll try joining the group chat. If I have a little more time, I'll go to some fun places and watch movie trailers on YouTube.
I firmly disagree with the idea that spending time away from your phone is somehow more virtuous. What do you do when you go for a walk and look at the trees? Do you know how many articles I haven't read?
I also disagree with the idea that, as a parent, you should ignore your cell phone in order to be more “with” your family. I give each child my undivided attention for a certain amount of time during the day. I'm not a monster. But I don't think it's necessary to focus all your time on young children. They should be ignored a little lightly – it will build independence.
To be honest, I'm not worried about not being there. You can multitask. I can process many attentional inputs at the same time. I'm running tens of teraflops. My momcompute is very rich Sam Altman wants him to invest in UAE. Just glancing at my writing doesn't take me out of being in the now.I I never have Not now. And I think that applies to you too.
I agree that how parents use cell phones with their children is important. Holding your phone up to your face all day and trying to convince your child to put down her iPad isn't ideal. There is a happy and healthy medium here. I'm not saying you should miss your child's first steps just because you're tweeting, but there's no guilt in checking your email while watching Frozen 20 times. I don't feel it.
There are currently many concerns about how mobile phones affect young people. Although the correlation between cell phones and teens' mental health is debatable, the idea of limiting social media and screen time for teens and children is very legitimate.
However, I am not a teenager. I'm an adult. Don't confuse the argument that cell phones are bad for her 15-year-old child with the argument that cell phones are bad for adults.
The simplest part of the argument that cell phones are bad for kids is that screen time is far better spent doing other things, like socializing in person or sleeping. This is very true for teenagers, but maybe a little bit more true for adults as well. (Sure, I'd be better off getting an extra 20 minutes of sleep.) But I'm an adult with a fully formed frontal lobe, and I've already formed social skills during my formative years.
One of the benefits of being older this year is that my cell phone doesn't hurt me. Looking at your friends on Instagram and seeing them having fun can simply make you feel happy. You can watch as much TikTok as you want, but the only thing that happens is that you get to know teenager slang and learn about the lives of people you'll never meet in real life. Ahaha! Mindlessly scrolling only increases my power.
I don't want to be rude, so I try to maintain proper phone etiquette. I don't stare at my phone while at a restaurant, movie theater, or talking to someone. Here's why I love Apple Watch: This allows you to put your phone away in social situations without worrying about missing important messages or calls. I would appreciate it if there were useful functions and situations other than phone calls.
But I don't want to buy a new mobile phone. I don't want to be downgraded to a dumb phone as an act to get my attention back from greedy tech companies. I don't think my consciousness would rise to a higher plane if I could only tear myself away from the 2,000 nits of light on my iPhone 14 Pro Max. As far as I'm concerned, smartphones are the pinnacle of human achievement. I value it, respect it, and appreciate it. I don't look at this amazing gift of human technology and think, “I'd be better off without it.''
If anything, my only wish is that I could stare at my phone more.
