Over-reliance on proprietary, closed-source products and services from megacorporations.
For instance, it’s really absurd that people in many parts of the world cannot function without WhatsApp, they can’t even imagine a life without it. It seems absurd that Meta literally has them by the balls, and these people can’t do anything about it.
Also the people who base their entire careers on say Adobe or Microsoft products, they’re literally having their lives dictated by one giant corporation, which is very depressing and dystopian.
It’s worse in China. WeChat is EVERYTHING.
It seems absurd that Meta literally has them by the balls, and these people can’t do anything about it.
I don’t get this sentiment. If anything happens to WhatsApp, they’ll just switch to another IM. WhatsApp wasn’t the first to come along, and won’t be the last. How exactly does Meta have them by the balls?
In some of those countries, it’s not really a choice. Like, WhatsApp is the only way of contacting a company’s customer care (via chat bots that run on it), colleges and universities may have study groups on it and teachers may hand out notes etc in those groups, also apparently it’s also the only way to contact even some government agencies.
I know, I’m from those countries. Like I said, we used other IM apps before WhatsApp came along, and if something changes we can use a new app. WhatsApp currently leads the market due to the network effect, but it doesn’t have us ‘by the balls’.
(Though the most likely successor would be WeChat, which is arguably much much worse in many ways)
Do you require WhatsApp to contact certain government agencies? Do you require WhatsApp to get access to customer support? Do you require WhatsApp to get access to lecture notes? No? Then you’re not from one of those countries.
Yes, yes and yes. Yes I’m from one of those countries
Which means you can’t really switch to other apps then, which means Meta has you by the balls.
I suppose that depends on your definition of by the balls. Like I said, it’s not difficult for everybody to switch if they piss everyone off. On average people here have 2-3 IMs installed.
I remember listening to a podcast that talked of how in the Philippines (I think it was), Facebook is the internet, because Meta/FB effectively subsidised the carriers into allowing FB access to not use up any data allowance. As a result, if all you do is go on FB, you don’t pay a penny. If WhatsApp is included in this, then yeah, you’re locked in with no real alternative.
Oh right. Not quite nowadays, they get subsidised from multiple companies, including Google (YouTube) and such. I hate to say this, but WeChat would probably be happy to jump in and grab some market share if Meta does something egregiously dumb
So many people use it, that the barrier to change to another application is high. They would need to fuck up on very large scale.
Yes, they currently have the market share, and network effect keeps them there. Nevertheless, my point was it’s not a monopoly, so how does Meta have everybody 'by the balls"?
Talk to some older folks about what it was like when there was only one phone company and the alternative was snail mail.
I was there. It was fine. You didn’t need phones to be able to function in a society. Phones were something like an optional convenience that you had only at fixed places, like your home or office. If you were out and about, you typically didn’t have access to a phone, unless you were in the vicinity of a payphone, so you weren’t expected to be available on phone. Whereas in the countries where Meta has monopoly over, everyone expects you to be on WhatsApp, and you don’t really get a choice in the matter.
I can happily live with any IM software, just happens that WA got on the market earlier and everyone else uses it. Me taking a stand by only using telegram does no good if I have no one to talk to.
Tipping.
I feel like that’s a hard one. Whenever I argue against tipping with coworkers (we don’t currently work in the service industry) they will mention how they are all for it and mention how during peak times they made double their usual amount. I feel like it’s really been drilled in that it’s good for the workers
Just another way to divide. Typically FOH staff get all or most of the share, while cooks get screwed, in my experience.
Tipping isn’t an issue if it’s a bonus from satisfied customers. The American system of it making up your minimum wage is nonsense.
- Juno ( @Juno@beehaw.org ) 1•2 years ago
Tips = To Insure Prompt Service It’s a slavery term
In Norway, restaurants started to implement applications or websites to order at the restaurant. Scan a QR code or download an app (yuck) to order the food and preemptively pay for it. While that might be fine, I find it really strange when I’m asked about tipping when I place my order. I have literally not seen a waiter, I have just sat down and looked through a website, and now I’m asked if I want to tip? Why? What for?
Luckily, 0% tip is very common in all services in Norway, so it’s not considered rude to refrain from tipping.
How taxes are dealt with in North America. Just send me how much I owe. Don’t have me go through a service to figure it out
Cars. Fuck cars.
So tired of being here in the states where people think you need a car, like it’s required to live. It’s only needed because we allow our infrastructure to be so lacking that we depend on cars. There are places both built up and as rural as the states where they don’t need cars, where driving for 3 hours for a road trip is considered ludicrous.
I use a car about 4 times a month. On those 4 occasions I need that car. When buying my house I considered some extra criteria like proximity to a bus stop, train station and a good cycleable connection to daily goods stores. Even 10 years ago that caused my house being 15 to 30% more expensive as houses in different areas.
I am lucky to be able to afford such a thing but now I don’t own a car for about 4 years and the cost of owning and maintaining a car seems to be far more expensive than the extra I had to invest in my house. Cars have become a lot more expensive while inflation made it easier to do the downpayments on my house.
Yup in the same boat, and I’m baffled that you get a downvote for this very mild opinion lol, shows the weird car focused culture we have, that someone telling us how they like living without a car is worth downvoting.
I choose my home on walkability and ease of access. I’m “lucky” that in the states I have a coffee shop and a few restaurants that I can walk to, and a bus stop a block away. We aren’t at the “No cars” yet unfortunately, I’m in Seattle and while it’s easy to go a lot of places without a car, unfortunately the surrounding area is very car centric. But, we are moving towards being a one car household
It’s not even a mild opinion, it’s a reality that more and more of my friends are living in. I’m in my mid 40’s so it’s not that it has anything to do with strong opinions, it just makes sense. 9 years ago we bought an electrified cargo bike. That was the first step in realizing we don’t really need a car. I just added it all up and it made sense.
Well good luck making them change that In the meantime, I’m using my car so it doesn’t take 2 hours to walk to the grocery store and only bring back what I can carry.
No one is saying you can’t if you don’t have access, we’re saying it’s ridiculous that we don’t have actual decent transit infrastructure. You should use your car if it’s the only option, but it’s ridiculous that it is the only option.
If anybody has trouble seeing the absurdity of cars in cities, imagine a hockey game, except each player has a Zamboni instead of skates.
Circumcision
Yup, absolutely. Although as far as I know, it’s only still a thing for Americans and Jews, and maybe one other country I can’t remember rn? And I think it’s on a downturn in the US thank god
Islam and the Philippines, in the Philippines being called “intact” is a bad insult.
Not really where I live.
Religions.
This is one of the most obvious answers.
Hahaha i read the 102 current comments and basically 90% of those that name the absurdity is just “capitalism” or its consequences.
Trump
Destroying our only habitable planet.
I feel like this should have way more upvotes.
Having opinions about other peoples gender, sexual orientation, private matters. Also legislating about that.
our strange treatment of animals
we anthropomorphise and infantilise our pets, yet boast about the animals we eat who’ve had legit insanity level cruel lives thanks to our systems.
[ not saying fussing over your pets is bad, i love it too, just the contrast is whiplash++ ]
lack of body autonomy
hint: most lqbqtia rights, reproductive rights, medical/medication rights, are all the SAME RIGHT:
your body, your choice.
it is constantly under attack, and diffused into separate arguments when its the one right effecting all these issues. newsflash: when it comes to my body, your unwelcome opinion, religious or otherwise, ain’t worth the air its vibrating through.
slippery slope gatekeeping laws
making harmless x illegal because a subset of x might lead to harmful y. if y is bad, then enforce your ban on y, and fuckoff trying to use it as an excuse to control x₀, x₁, x₂ etc.
The current work week, there is no need for it to be that long with the advances in technology. Capitalism, its a pyramid scheme that is unsustainable.
I am noticeably more efficient on 4 day weeks, it just doesn’t feel like a grind as much as the 5 day week. 5 day weeks I’ll get bored, stare at the clock, and just want to be over. 4 day weeks I actually feel rejuvenated after the weekend and I’m ready to come back. We really need to rethink that
To some degree literally all of it. My monkey brain was designed to handle at most 150 people, wandering around all day searching for food, unprocessed food, using my body, having a close community I trust, relationship with nature, extreme knowledge of a small amount of things, and an uninterrupted sleep cycle powered by the son.
My humanity is a poor fit for the world I am in.
somewhat tongue in cheek answer:
people who think that our brains were designed.
In a way it designed itself over time. I am a collection of accidentally acquired traits that happened to survive more often in the world that used to be. Mercifully it appears that I am somewhat adept at living in this world, but damn does it feel like I am a fish out of water being in this world.
people who think that our brains were designed.
It was, just by forces that lack conscious motivation.
That repairing stuff yourself is worse than the company repairing it for you
It’s kinda true since the company will probably try to withhold schematics, withhold spare parts or worse, maliciously design it to be unrepairable
Self fulfilling prophesy that works to generate more profit for the company.
The Electoral College.
First Past the Post system in Canada
FPTP anywhere it’s used. The UK. The US (for individual Senate or HoR races, as well as each state’s decision of how its College Electors are chosen). A majority of the seats in Taiwan and South Korea. Among a bunch of others. Though certainly, most of the most functional democracies avoid FPTP, because by its very nature FPTP is undemocratic.
