What percentage of people buy their phone outright these days? I use Verizon's payment plan to pay for my phone, but I own at the end and will then run it a few more years, until I start having problems with it or can't get certain apps to work correctly anymore, like Android Auto.

But through Klarna at 35+% interest..... uh, no. If that were my option from the carrier, I'd just put it on my credit card or just pay directly. My feeling is that Klarna is where you go when you need to finance items you really cannot afford at all.

Also, true defects will be handled via recalls and those can stretch back 10+ years. If something is found to be wrong with the driveline that can be fixed via software, it will get addressed via recalls, (see Ford and the fun they're having supporting older vehicles right now).

I mean this in the nicest way, but I don't think that you know much about how the used car market works. Maybe for $150k+ vehicles where every last minute thing matters...but for your average family that just needs the car to run and drive, their concern about some update that may affect where a button is on the LCD screen has absolutely no meaning or value to them.

If the car were to be stolen, it just goes to insurance and they buy another vehicle.

Why? A car that stops receiving updates does not automatically become undriveable. It just means that the manufacturer is no longer making changes to the features of the vehicle. For a lot of people, that is a good thing. It means every time you get into the car, it will be the same as it was before.

Cars are not cell phones.

"Your own personal experience is a common story, but doesn't suggest a root cause."

There was at least one root cause for me. I don't really enjoy talking to women anymore. Not because I don't like or want one in my life. It was just something that was simply....not enjoyable. I met many that loved playing games, being openly hostile, or were just jerking me around for fun. I tried many different things over the years, and always worked on my assertiveness and confidence as best as I could. But there was a point where it became exhausting and I started to see women as simply more work than it was worth. I understand that plenty of men may struggle with this, meet the right person, and get past it. I am confident that if I had met someone, maybe that would have opened that door again. But in the years that I was trying it, I just couldn't take the negativity, games, and bullshit.

I also agree that women scold and shame men because they have had terrible experiences, and then assume all men are shit. This has done enormous damage, which is what you're getting at as well. People are busy with their lives. If a demographic shits on you enough, you'll just find something else to do. The problem is still there, festering.

But, having an AI companion? No way. I know too much about technology. I know it isn't real - and that was why primary reason for walking away from women - because it wasn't real.

I must have been good at finding the ones that should have stopped trying, then. I certainly dated a fair share of dysfunctional women years ago before retiring out of dating because it was taking time away from things that actually brought me happiness and contentment and dating just made me like shit because the relationship started out okay but quickly turned into frustration and resentment on both sides - her expecting me to read her mind and magically know how to please her in every way, (a very long list), was always a factor.

I don't claim to not have issues. I am sure that there are some things screwed up with me. I do think a lot of men are getting the short end of the stick in dating, though, and that causes them to eventually drop out and/or take on trauma that makes them less desirable. For me, I made one last try with someone I knew that had just split with her husband. I knew that it was likely not a good idea. She pursued me. She was so traumatized from her marriage that it left me with emotional scars that I am still processing today, years later.

That's actually a good thing by design IMHO. It's probably better that people don't see my own rants and raves when I am at the end of a long day. I have realized that by and large, I don't have that much to say online, and I am fine with that. Living in the real world is still better, more productive, and more satisfying.

...these days. FB just doesn't interest me anymore; I just don't care that much about other peoples' curated version of perfection that they want me to see, while I am having to...you know, live a regular life, full of issues, frustrations, wins, losses, and disappointment.

It was ragebaiting that finally ended it for me. I was already one foot out the door on SM, but that was the end. I already deal with enough bullshit during the day.

I brought up the homeless because the less wealthy you are, dealing with the homeless goes up exponentially. That was my reasoning behind that.

I agree, it's a huge problem. I think a lot of things have hugely negative societal consequences, yes. However, I am only one man, and part of learning to be happier and content with my life has been learning to accept what I cannot change. When I make comments, I tend to be very 'direct'. My apologies if it came off as harsh.

I get your point, but when you are rich, you can simply afford more. For the same reason that they're going to drive a luxury SUV rather than a cheap Kia.

I am not willing to ride the bus with a bunch of near homeless people, as the busses where I live tend to have at least one guy that's pissing on the seat and another that is looking like he's about to go batshit, and yet another that is screaming about who he is about to beat the shit out of, and I don't walk into areas where people that clearly don't have much are. I don't strike up conversations with people that are just going to ask me for something. Call me a classist jerk if you must, but I will live at the top of what I can afford. Otherwise, I am not going to work 50 hours a week until I am 70.

...and we will do this for another 10 years. So, are they saying that after 10 more years, they're not going to do it anymore?

There was a time when socializing was fun.

You could talk to people and you weren't immediately judged, seen as a threat, or seen as an outsider. A lot of it is social media conditioning. A lot of it, (at least in American culture), is that you can't hang around people that are 'below' you, and you must focus your entire life around your personal 'brand'. Men can't even socialize with women that much anymore - men are seen as a threat and women generally seem to not enjoy having men around unless she's getting something out of it. Just because you haven't experienced it, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, so spare your Troll mod points for a moment.

There are places where this culture breakage hasn't seeped in yet, but it is definitely fewer places than years ago. A lot of improvement could be made by people getting off of their asses, turning the computer and phone off, and going outside to touch grass. Yes, you can find people that agree with you on *anything* online. That doesn't mean that it will make your life actually better or move your life forward.

No, I don't want to wait, but I don't think 50 computers should have to be left on in a lab an extra 12 hours a day to do an hours' worth of updates and reboot, either. What would be better is if operating systems weren't absolute shit that requires a gigabyte's worth of updates every 2 weeks.

SOME people are waging wars, oppressing, stealing, destroying. I don't believe fantasy characters are real, I don't wage wars. I am trying to not destroy the earth. I thought about modding this shitpost down, but I'd like to point out that it's jerky comments like this that keep everyone divided. Not everyone is perfect, just like not everyone is an asshole.

Not to mention, here in Nebraska, if you are driving some little $25k EV, you're going to be dead when you get hit by an 9000 lb truck or SUV, which said person was able to buy for maybe $25k.