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--- blog [2026/04/28 09:31] – ultracomfy
+++ blog [2026/05/11 12:43] (current) – ultracomfy
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 (silence)
-I will have you know, I wouldn't usually be talking about things like this. But, I think this interaction lays bare a very interesting pattern of thinking/behavior this isn't usually this obvious. How much should we bet that this man has a grudge against technology he doesn't understand, heard a report in the radio about how the app system discriminates against the elderly, and his brain turned "they should outlaw it" <wrap lo>(or perhaps even "members of the ruling party are working on an initiative to outlaw it")</wrap> into "they will outlaw it"? It's an externalized frustration. He is capable of turning on and tuning a radio and does that even though this would technically discriminate against his ancestors who wouldn't be able to do even that. Now we are able to use apps (and technological literacy is low even in Gen Z) and that, so he wants to think, discriminates against him. The technological progress here isn't the problem, it's the inability of some to understand newer technology that frustrates and makes them wish that the technology didn't happen.
+I will have you know, I wouldn't usually be talking about things like this. But, I think this interaction lays bare a very interesting pattern of thinking/behavior this isn't usually this obvious. How much should we bet that this man has a grudge against technology he doesn't understand, heard a report in the radio about how the app system discriminates against the elderly, and his brain turned "they should outlaw it" <wrap lo>(or perhaps even "members of the ruling party are working on an initiative to outlaw it")</wrap> into "they will outlaw it"? It's an externalized frustration. He is capable of turning on and tuning a radio and does that even though this would technically discriminate against his ancestors who wouldn't be able to do even that. Now, we are able to use apps (although technological literacy is low even in Gen Z). And that, so he wants to think, discriminates against him. However, the technological progress here isn't the problem, it's the inability of some to understand newer technology that frustrates and makes them wish that the technology didn't happen.
-We have found the quintessence of "mad cuz bad" and it affects us all. Not in the moment, but after the fact it's always easier to see how our frustrations are so often motivated by our own lack of understanding. If you were shown a replay of a moment in a video game that made you angry two years ago, you'll very often realize just how not-good you were at the game. In my personal experience, it always came down to me not understanding a thing and then getting frustrated. Whether it's a game you don't understand, new technology, another person, modern pricing and customer retention strategies, there is not typically a reason to get angry unless you're upset with your failure to understand it.
+We have found the quintessence of "mad cuz bad", and it affects everyone, old and young, we just experience it in different ways. Not in the moment, but after the fact it's always easier to see how our frustrations are so often motivated by our own lack of understanding. If you were shown a replay of a moment in a video game that made you angry two years ago, you'll very often realize just how not-good you were at the game. In my personal experience, it always came down to me not understanding a thing and then getting frustrated. Whether it's a game you don't understand, new technology, another person, modern pricing and customer retention strategies, there is not typically a reason to get angry unless you're upset with your own failure to understand it.
 <wrap lo>I mean, nothing against getting mad at stores who use apps like this, this //is// annoying. But that's not why this man in particular was mad.</wrap>
+So, where does all this lead to? Well, ultimately this is a conversation about expectations and [[accessibility]].\\
+**Expectation** is what makes a person frustrated in the first place. If you didn't care about something, it wouldn't get you mad. It's only that when you expect yourself to perform at a certain level, or you expect something else to do something, that you can get frustrated. It is about the expectations that both others and you yourself put on yourself. In this case, the store levies the expectation on its customers that they have a phone and a working connection to the internet. And additionally, it expects the user to know how to use the phone, how to sign up, how to get an email address, how internet works in the first place and so on and so forth. <wrap lo>(Try to explain to someone in a way that they will remember that they aren't connected to mobile data and that without it their apps (but only some!) won't work, how to spot when their mobile data is not connected and how to turn it on and off - all to a person who doesn't understand cellular networks in the first place, or what the internet is at all)</wrap> Similarly, the man expects to be able to able to participate in society like everyone else. His inability to do so is what leads to the frustration in the first place.
+**Accessibility** is about enabling as many people as possible to participate in society and live a self-determined life. Essentially, the conversation about accessibility is always one about reducing the number or changing the nature of expectations that are being placed. Undeniably, if you just penalize everyone who can't meet all your specific expectations, for any reason - that //is// innately discriminatory. Some people could learn this, others will never understand smartphones, and both should be nevertheless fine and able to participate in society like the rest of us. The old man in the store would have been perfectly fine meeting any other expectation placed on him, just not these particular ones. Everyone would deserve getting expectations they can actually meet, and everyone - not just this old man - who gets expectations placed on them that they cannot meet would rightfully feel left behind.
+----
+Added later: There is an interesting element of friction here between technological progress and accessibility. Looking back at this rambling, I came up with another example of a thing the man is capable of that his ancestors probably weren't - driving a car. Even in the olden days, cars were not intuitive machines and required time in school to get right. This man probably has - or at least had - a driver's license, and there are some good odds that his ancestors did //not//. Now whether you actually needed a license that long ago and whether it was safe are valid discussions in their own right, but needless to say that someone who is 80 years old is going to have trouble if the car happens to be invented just then. Here again, I understand there is historical context, the car back then wasn't nearly as essential as it is today.
+But, and let's be honest about this, it's not like it is "essential" to have and use the grocery store's app. And, let's be //very// honest about this, anyone can learn how to use a phone, even at age; but a driver's license takes time to learn AND at least 2000 bucks for tuition and the tests. A price tag of 2000 bucks is NOT accessible. In fact, it's so inaccessible that 2000 bucks are inaccessible whether you're old OR young. And I'd argue that, between the grocery store's app and a driver's license, one is definitely more essential than the other.
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