February 2017
Phone > Driving
23/02/17 19:08
I initially thought self driving cars would never really catch on. I thought they would be possible, but just not that popular. It was such a right of passage when you could finally got your driver’s license and could go anywhere you wanted. However, I’m beginning to think that I am wrong on that. I watch people, especially younger ones, walk around with their eyes locked on their phones, and many times with earbuds burrowing into their ears. They are so engrossed that it is not uncommon for someone to walk right into you.
I look at the popularity of Uber and Lyft, initially thinking that it was a cost savings relative to owning a car. Now I think part of the popularity is that people don’t have to be bothered by driving and can spend more time looking at their phone.
I now think that whatever will enable people to spend more time connected to their phone, will succeed. I can see people taking longer trips, where Uber and Lyft don’ make sense, using self driving cars to get to their destinations. In some ways, I think this is good in that it allows people to be more productive. But I wonder if it just means more wasted phone time?
