How Connected Is Your Community to Everywhere Else in America?

Sep 20, 2018 | networking, trends

America is often described as a place of great divides — between red and blue, big cities and rural towns, the coasts and the heartland. But our social lives are shaped by a much stronger force that ignores many of these lines: distance.

In the millions of ties on Facebook that connect relatives, co-workers, classmates and friends, Americans are far more likely to know people nearby than in distant communities that share their politics or mirror their demographics. The dominant picture in data analyzed by economists at Facebook, Harvard, Princeton and New York University is not that like-minded places are linked; rather, people in counties close to one another are.

Even in the age of the internet, distance matters immensely in determining whom — and, as a result, what — we know.

Source: How Connected Is Your Community to Everywhere Else in America? – The New York Times

iOS 12 makes your old iPhone feel new

Sep 14, 2018 | mobile

Like most Apple events, last Wednesday’s big iPhone and Apple Watch reveal was a master class in manufacturing desire. For nearly two hours, Apple executives spoke of larger and more vibrant screens, faster processors, and better cameras, all in service of making your current iPhone or Apple Watch seem like stale bread.

So it was a bit jarring when Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives, took the stage and subtly suggested that you might not need a new iPhone after all. During her five-minute presentation on Apple’s sustainability efforts, Jackson claimed that iPhones are built to last, thereby reducing the environmental impact of making new ones.“Because they last longer, you can keep using them,” Jackson said. “And keeping using them is the best thing for the planet.”

Source: iOS 12 makes your old iPhone feel new

Teens are hooked on social media. But how does it make them feel about themselves? 

Sep 12, 2018 | mobile, networking, trends

Broadly, teens seem aware of the negative consequences of too much social media use:

  • Nearly three-quarters of teens believe that tech companies are manipulating users to spend more time glued to their devices.

  • More than half of social media users say it distracts them from doing homework or paying attention to the people they’re with.

  • Some 21 percent of teens say using social media makes them feel more popular, 20 percent said more confident, and 18 percent said it makes them feel better about themselves.

  • A quarter said it makes them feel less lonely, and 16 percent said it makes them feel less depressed.

  • Some 8 percent said it makes them feel more anxious, but 12 percent said less anxious.

Source: Teens are hooked on social media. But how does it make them feel about themselves? – Recode

Will we ever get tired of buying iPhones? 

Sep 12, 2018 | mobile

On the one hand, especially after last year’s price increase for the flagship model, the iPhone is a luxury item. People save up to buy it, and they measure their social and economic standing through it. In a sea of smartphones that do roughly the same thing, Apple’s particular smartphone commands a prestige premium. This is a familiar description for fashion or jewelry brands and products, but it finds few parallels in the tech industry.

The other side of the iPhone coin is that we keep replacing it like it’s a basic consumption good. If I buy a luxury watch for $1,000, I’d expect to have it for a decade or longer, whereas Apple somehow keeps enticing people to buy a pricey new iPhone every two or three years. It’s like the company is selling sneakers but charging the price of dress shoes.

Source: Will we ever get tired of buying iPhones? – The Verge