Why libertarians keep buying the woke phone they claim to hate
Even though open systems without telemetry exist, most still choose the woke ecosystem. Liberal inconsistency has a name and a price.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The libertarian buys the surveillance device and calls it freedom
There is a choice: open operating systems with no telemetry, where the phone's owner is in charge. And yet, most people who distrust corporate power keep paying with their data to Apple and Google's proge ecosystem. Nobody is forcing them: it's a market decision.
The most common argument for staying in the fold is work. Certain apps only run on Android with Google or on iOS, and that justifies the toll. But the excuse falls apart on its own: GrapheneOS and LineageOS allow you to use a phone without tracking, and Proton Mail replaces Gmail for the serious stuff. The real cost isn't technical, it's convenience.
The irony is twofold. The very people who accuse tech companies of ideological manipulation hand themselves over voluntarily, card and data included. Liberalism promised that the rational consumer would choose the best option. The result is that they don't, and the proge triumph is sealed by their own choice.
Hope goes by the name of Motorola: if it starts selling phones with native GrapheneOS, the complexity argument evaporates. But don't bet on a change in behavior. Coherence, like privacy, takes effort. And the average consumer prefers to have it done for them.
There is a choice: open operating systems with no telemetry, where the phone's owner is in charge. And yet, most people who distrust corporate power keep paying with their data to Apple and Google's proge ecosystem. Nobody is forcing them: it's a market decision.
The most common argument for staying in the fold is work. Certain apps only run on Android with Google or on iOS, and that justifies the toll. But the excuse falls apart on its own: GrapheneOS and LineageOS allow you to use a phone without tracking, and Proton Mail replaces Gmail for the serious stuff. The real cost isn't technical, it's convenience.
The irony is twofold. The very people who accuse tech companies of ideological manipulation hand themselves over voluntarily, card and data included. Liberalism promised that the rational consumer would choose the best option. The result is that they don't, and the proge triumph is sealed by their own choice.
Hope goes by the name of Motorola: if it starts selling phones with native GrapheneOS, the complexity argument evaporates. But don't bet on a change in behavior. Coherence, like privacy, takes effort. And the average consumer prefers to have it done for them.
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (10 replies).
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