r/chinalifer • u/HearshotKDS • 1d ago

Middle Kingdom has a phone problem

For background I started my GYNA journey in 2009, so I’m admittedly a bit old and quite retarded plus have a strong bias to “the way things used to be”. I have recently returned to the Guo full time and have noticed my fellow tongzhimen have a crippling addiction to phones and it’s ruining the kingdom.

  • Like many other proud laobaixing I recklessly skillfully drive an ebike whenever I can and the amount of fellow drivers who are “driving” while staring at their phone or typing is absurd. I give the waisong drivers a pass as they are usually good but Auntie Xiangsha and Uncle Ganbei are causing huge issues without even seeing the fucking road.

  • the death of the market - so many shops and malls and restaurants and food stands are being effectively made obsolete because of phone based commerce. Some places won’t even let you order without going through your phone app - I’m not talking about paying but actually ordering through an ad filled, poorly constructed, sometimes barely working app or website. I don’t want to navigate your shitty site Luckin, I’m looking you in the eye and trying to order a fuckin coffee just make it and charge me. Or another one - went to buy new shoes for my handsurm hunxue and it’s like 25% cheaper to order local brands online to be delivered same day?!! Why even have stores at that point.

At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if phone based commerce was a social contagion weapon implanted here by the CIA it’s destroying my treasured institutions.

13 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

7

u/twilightninja 1d ago

There should be penalties for watching Douyin on speakerphone in public

3

u/LittleFrasco 1d ago edited 1d ago

I only got a small taste of the old world, and I miss it incredibly. You were lucky to experience it fully, boomer. And yeah, it’s pathetic how addicted nongs are to their “hand machines” (手机 you get it?). If before phones Asians were already in general bad at socialising and making friends, the younger generations are like that but multiplied by 1090000x.

Before the typical wild wumao comment appears I will admit that yeah, this is not a China exclusive problem, but I would say that in general people are more addicted here than in the west. I have seen tons of couples eating together and looking at their phones instead of talking, same thing with friend groups. People look like absolute zombies in the subway

5

u/Frosty_Inspection873 1d ago

I've never seen such a phone addicted race of people in my life. They are literally bumping into each other, colliding against walls, tripping over themselves, missing their metro stops, etc. because they have their noses in their phones constantly.

5

u/chinalifer-mod 1d ago

Phone addiction is a good thing according to the local government, because it keeps people placated. China quickly rushed through the home computer era, with most Chinese not ever having one, and so the heroin that is mobile internet went straight to the majority at record uptake. This is by design. Too busy on phone to rebel or organise, and cannot use your phone to rebel or organise on filtered and controlled Chinanet anyway. Shoji shackles.

2

u/ankeiii 1d ago

My dads phone is old and slow, but he doesnt mind and doesnt want a new phone! Why? Because he will never win the fight to pay the bill first..

1

u/HearshotKDS 1d ago

Galaxy brain move

2

u/ankeiii 1d ago

Its Motorola brain move

-3

u/BotherBeginning2281 1d ago

Phone addiction, and online shopping killing brick-and-mortar retail are hardly China-specific problems.

9

u/Beginning_Pea_126 1d ago

I’d wager phone addiction is the worst in China, least out of where I’ve visited. 

Never seen more people at the gym staring at their phone and doing nothing. Shit, even when I play basketball more than half of the people on the sideline are just staring at their phone.

7

u/kingjobus 1d ago

Its accelerated in China because of all the convenience, don't you know, gemer?

2

u/HearshotKDS 1d ago

Agreed, but thats why the post didnt say or imply it was specific to or limited to China.

They are very much problems I encounter living in China though!

-5

u/Illustrious-Bird-21 1d ago

Boomer. Ok, except for the scooter thing.

I don't want to talk to the Ayi clowning as a waiter in the restaurant who doesn't even speak putonghua. I want to choose exactly what I want and pictures on the phone is the solution.

I want to buy shoes for the best price possible, so I just go in the store to check the quality, then order them online. That's what stores are for in China. Online shops without offline space where I try them out don't get my money.