Standards for Embracing New Technology, Inspired By Wendell Berry
Also, (but sort of unrelated) Apple’s iPhone SE v. Google’s Pixel 4a
Introduction
Disclaimer: If you’re not much into phones or the Apple v. Google debate, I’d recommend skipping this introduction and picking up in the next section 🙂
In late Spring of this year, Apple and Google were each to release a “budget” smartphone — the iPhone SE (2nd generation) and the Pixel 4a. Both were to be less than $400, relatively affordable in the sea of four-figure flagships.
Despite COVID-19, April saw the release of Apple’s iPhone SE. Google, however, seems to have taken the pandemic harder. The Pixel 4a was to be announced in May, but it was pushed back month by month until finally (probably) it will release August 3.
All this is irrelevant to say that this summer I have been considering which competing phone to upgrade to. Since my iPod touch and my grandparents’ old iPhone 4, I have been solely an Apple user. I now have a MacBook Pro, an iPhone 6s, and AirPods, and although I love that these devices work well together, Apple’s restrictions on third-party applications and devices to integrate with their own (namely and most frustrating, Spotify), sometimes makes me wish I had never bought in to their confined ecosystem.
Furthermore, Google has, in my opinion, topped Apple in several areas within the past few years. Their budget Pixel 3a didn’t even have an iPhone competitor, unless the first generation iPhone SE counts, which was already two years old when the 3a was released. Google’s vast collection of Nest home products makes Apple’s only home devices, the Apple TV and the absurdly expensive, Spotify-unfriendly HomePod, look like a joke. Google Assistant is miles ahead of Siri and, honestly, I think those Google Pixel Buds have AirPods beat in aesthetics.
But I’ve digressed enough off-topic. This is not an article about whether Google or Apple is superior. It’s not even really about which of the two budget phones I am going to buy.
Rather, my oscillation between the iPhone SE and the Pixel 4a (which involved watching far more YouTube videos than was good for me of people switching from Google to Apple or Apple to Google) has gotten me thinking of a more serious question that underlies that of which smartphone to upgrade to.
Namely, what are the standards that a new technology must meet in order for me to integrate it into my life?
Help and inspiration from Wendell Berry
Like everyone else, I want to purchase things that will enhance my life instead of subtract from it. But determining between wanting a new thing for the value it will provide from wanting it just to have it can often be difficult.
We hear it over and over again, that our devices ought to be tools, not entertaining distractions that fill up our time. In other words, technology ought to provide the means to some end (of adding value to our lives) rather than being ends in themselves.
A year ago I read the farmer-philosopher Wendell Berry’s essay “Why I am Not Going to Buy a Computer,” published in 1988. Berry’s ideas in this essay clashed with how the majority viewed personal computers during the 1980s — that is, as manifestations of humanist ideals like freedom, individualism, efficiency, and unlimited knowledge for the common man.
If you’re unfamiliar with Berry’s work, he writes primarily about how America has mistakenly abandoned the Jeffersonian agrarian ideal, participating in a “rape of nature” through our consumerist, environmentally detrimental lifestyles.
These themes form the basis for Berry’s reasons for not purchasing a computer — he cannot write against the destruction of the environment with a tool created by destroying the environment.
But he goes further than his conservationist reasons. Berry states that in order to adopt a computer into his life, it would have to help him achieve what he values:
“I do not see that computers are bringing us one step nearer to anything that does matter to me: peace, economic justice, ecological health, political honesty, family and community stability, good work.”
Later in his brief essay, Berry provides nine standards for a new technology to meet in order for him to welcome it into his life and work:
- The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces.
- It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces.
- It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces.
- It should use less energy than the one it replaces.
- If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body.
- It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools.
- It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible.
- It should come from a small, privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair.
- It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.
Berry’s standards are my inspiration for writing this article. I haven’t bought a new phone (or a new digital device of any kind) in several years, and considering purchasing an upgrade to an iPhone SE or Pixel 4a has lead me to assess my own requirements that either of these devices (or any device/tool) would have to satisfy before bringing it into my life.
Originally I was going to respond briefly to each of Berry’s standards, describing why I would adopt some while leaving others out, but suffice it to say that I will only be adding several from Berry’s list to my own while unfortunately ignoring the majority, which I find to be unrealistic nearly 32 years after the publication of his essay.
My own standards for embracing a new technology, plus the iPhone SE v. the Pixel 4a
Creating my own standards was not easy, as there are many devices and tools that slip through the gaps of generalized statements. Ending up with a list of nearly 20 rules, I combined several and eliminated others so that only seven remain. Threaded through the explanations for these standards is my processing of which phone to upgrade to, the iPhone SE or Pixel 4a.
1. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces.
Berry’s third standard. There are two things here that stand out. One, adopting a new device means replacing another already owned. Second, the new device ought to perform the function of the replaced device more efficiently and effectively. Berry writes,
“My final and perhaps my best reason for not owning a computer is that I do not wish to fool myself. I disbelieve, and therefore strongly resent, the assertion that I or anybody else could write better or more easily with a computer than with a pencil. I do not see why I should not be as scientific about this as the next fellow: when somebody has used a computer to write work that is demonstrably better than Dante’s, and when this better is demonstrably attributable to the use of a computer, then I will speak of computers with a more respectful tone of voice, though I still will not buy one.”
Returning to my phone upgrade affair, both the iPhone SE and Pixel 4a would replace my current iPhone 6s, as well as performing “clearly and demonstrably better.” They have faster processing speed and battery lives that last more than 4 hours (which is about what my 6s can handle these days). They also have other new features like improved cameras and wireless charging, but I view these as luxuries rather than essentials.
2. It should retail for a similar price to the one it replaces.
This is my version of Berry’s first rule (“The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces”). Both the iPhone SE ($399) and the Pixel 4a (rumored to be $349) retail for much cheaper than the iPhone 6s when it was released ($649). I even bought mine used for $450, and both these new phones still beat that price.
However, I find Berry’s original standard to be too idealistic. Successive generations of devices fluctuate in price, sometimes cheaper and other times more expensive than previous models. To hold that an upgrade must always be cheaper is unrealistic, but emphasizing that the new device should be within a similar price range is nevertheless a good reminder that I don’t really need the iPhone 11 Pro (which would cost me my soul); instead, I can do just fine with a “budget” smartphone.
3. I should have enough money to comfortably buy it twice.
In other words, I should be able to afford it. Not much else to say here. I can afford both the SE and 4a. I can’t afford the iPhone 11 Pro.
I don’t think this rule should necessarily apply to every technology, however. I will not buy a car or a house only when I have enough saved to buy two of them — that would be absurd.
But for purchases in the first few thousands of dollars or less should perhaps be considered from this perspective.
4. It should have its own specific place among other owned technologies.
It should have its own function. It should not do what my computer does, or what my TV does, or even what a book does. In fact, it does all of these things, but it does them in a portable manner, so that I can take my computer, TV, and books anywhere I go. Thereby, it secures its own function among these other technologies.
Since there’s not much here to go on with the SE v. 4a debate, as both would serve their own function among my other devices, I’ll resort to another example. I used to have a school-issued iPad, which I only really used for gaming and Netflix. But I could stream Netflix on my laptop and I only played games occasionally, so I sold my iPad, since its specific function among my other devices was unclear.
5. Sell the replaced device if possible. If not, get rid of it.
I have not upheld this standard very well. I still have my previous phones (a glossy-red LG slide-phone and an iPhone 4) stowed away somewhere in my bedroom. Why? No idea. I won’t be able to make a profit from them or even donate them, but there’s still no reason for them to clutter my space.
If upgraded to the SE or 4a, I could sell my iPhone 6s or trade it in, rather than trashing it or letting it collect dust.
6. Its interaction with my other devices should not be complicated, but as simplified as possible.
I believe that technology, unless for a very good reason otherwise, ought to simplify our lives rather than complicate them.
Thus, this where, in the phone upgrade example, the SE and 4a take diverging routes. Should I switch to Android, I’d be more than fine adopting Google Calendar and Photos (they’re better than Apple’s anyway), but I’d miss Apple’s Notes, AirDrop, and AirPods (usually) seamless interaction with my iPhone and MacBook. Also, I can type significantly faster on my MacBook than on any phone, which makes having synced Messages with my iPhone and MacBook so very nice.
I don’t think this standard applies just to software. For instance, it would be great if all my devices required USB-C cables. If I bought the 4a, both my phone and laptop would be USB-C, but my AirPods would still take Apple’s Lightning cable (unless I ditched them for the USB-C Pixel Buds, that is).
Considering only this standard, going with the SE makes the most sense. iOS and MacOS just work well together and I am already using Lightning cables, so the SE would fit right in. And I don’t want to buy the Pixel Buds just to have all USB-C devices (although, having one type of cable for every device so that you only have to pack one when traveling is about as good as digital minimalism can get).
7. You are aware of the good that it will replace or disrupt, which includes family and community relationships.
A twist to Berry’s final standard (It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships).
Again, I find Berry’s original statement to be unrealistic. Though a new technology can add good to the world, it will always replace or disrupt something good that already exists.
Neil Postman terms this the Faustian bargain, that “technology giveth and technology taketh away.” For instance, our smartphones connect us with people all over the world, offer unlimited knowledge at our fingertips, serve as pocket-sized cameras, TVs, and computers. But they can also isolate us and, all too often, disrupt our “family and community relationships.”
Many of us, however, need our smartphones. We can’t get away from them. They have Outlook and Slack so we never miss what’s going on at work. They have group chats and social media so we don’t miss what’s happening with our friends and family. Unless we want to upend our lives, we cannot help giving in to the smartphone Faustian bargain.
But this does not mean that we have to be unconscious of what a technology takes away. Knowing our phones are distracting to ourselves and others, we can choose to put them down at the dinner table, while driving, or during a conversation. Purchasing a new technology while understanding what it will give and take away from your life is essential to controlling it rather than letting it control you.
As with any new device, both the SE and 4a would give and take away. They would give me new features and better performance, but they would also dazzle me, distract me from what I find valuable for no other reason than that they are new and shiny.
Conclusion
Those are my standards that a new technology must satisfy in order to be embraced into my life. If you’ve made it through this (congrats btw), I’d be interested to hear what your own standards are or if you have any critiques of mine.
Oh, right. Like anyone actually cares what phone I’m going to choose, this article would be incomplete announcing the victor.
So, without further ado, the winner is…
My iPhone 6s.
The reality is, I don’t need a new phone. Yeah, I have to charge my 6s about three times a day and it is frustratingly slow at times, but recently (after a year of holding back, thinking that my phone might implode if I did) I upgraded from iOS 12 to 13, which unexpectedly seems to have improved my battery life slightly. I also switched the background, applied an un-cracked screen protector, and stole my mom’s old iPhone 6 case.
All of that to say, after seriously considering both the iPhone SE and Pixel 4a, I find that I don’t need either. My 6s feels like a completely different phone right now, and I’m ready to keep plugging a god-forsaken Lightning cable into it three times a day until it actually does implode.
One final note: if Wendell Berry can get by without a computer, a smartphone, or a landline connected to an answering machine for that matter, I can get by without the latest smartphone upgrade.
Sources and further reading
- “Why I am Not Going to Buy a Computer” by Wendell Berry, with responses to his essay and his responsive essay to those responses 😰
- “Why Wendell Berry is Still Not Going to Buy a Computer” by Travis Kitchens
- “Informing Ourselves to Death” by Neil Postman
- “A Timbered Choir” by Wendell Berry. If you’re interested in Berry at all, this collection of poems is a good place to start.
