• finitebanjo@piefed.world
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    2 days ago

    Definitely not true, though. I don’t have any numbers but I would wager global slavery, as a percentage, has declined since 1876 with some bumps in the trend during WWII, as well as after the USSR and CCP took power respectively, when US privatized prisons, and when North Korea started existing and being awful.

    People on their phones are conversing, sometimes indirectly, and that gives them more power than we give them credit for. At least until they devolve into worthless sloppers talking to walls.

      • Hegar@fedia.io
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        2 days ago

        We’re social mammals and we will always spend large amounts of time engaging in social behaviour.

        It maintains relationships, strengthens bonds, makes it easier to obtain aid, helps reinforce our positions within our identity groups, etc. etc.

        Even when the words being shared are complete nonsense, conversing is never nonsense.

      • Apathy Tree@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        2 days ago

        Being productive all the time is for suckers with no actual lives.

        Unless you count forming and maintaining social bonds as productive, which it absolutely is, in which case your point is just straight moot.

      • SaraTonin@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        You’re a relatively large mammal. Your body is not designed to be productive all the time. It’s designed to have frequent periods of doing absolutely nothing. You’re also a pack animal whose survival depends on being social with other members of your pack.

        So, wasting productive time by conversing nonsense? That’s how we evolved. It’s good for us.