If any of you would use the internet for something worthwhile then this world wouldn't suck so much. Watch the 1942 USDA film, *Hemp For Victory*. The US government tried to erase the film from existence after World War II but 2 copies were found in the Library of Congress in 1989. There is an official US government link to the video or you can watch it on UA-cam.
This only makes sense if free will is untrue. Otherwise, the device (a tool) cannot possibly be making anyone do anything. The main problem is people are too weak and undisciplined to control themselves.
“I can’t wait to look back on my life in 50 years and remember all the great times I spent on social media with people I’ve never met.” - said No One Ever
Amen. I do enjoy reading and watching things online but it’s definitely not something I look back on as a good time. It’s a time sink like no other. It’s wasted time and made Me more anxious and lazy. I don’t even use it that often so I can only imagine what it’s doing to the younger generation that grew up on it
"Cellphones have obliterated courtesy, the fundamental building block of developing any real relationship." Probably the best and most true statement in this video.
although to be fair, this is mostly the internet in general, not exclusive to cell phones. After all, I'm not on a cell phone right now, I'm on a PC. I don't even own a smart phone (though I've had one in the past). But I've done some stuff in my younger years I'm not proud of like trolling. I've grown out of that terrible habit thankfully. All it takes for bad behavior is being anonymous, a smart phone not required.
@@JimmyMon666 Agree, my cell is strictly calls, text and photos of my Cattle Dog, calendar, typing is for my computer, thank you for your comment Jimmy M
@@JimmyMon666 exactly. I was in the exxact same position as yourself. Smart phones really aren't much help at all unless you are out of wifi range and need to use a cell phone plan.
I used to prepare a lavish Sunday lunch for my family and close friends. My one rule was that we interact with one another and phones were put away. All 6 family members stopped coming for lunch. LMAO. I started cooking for the guys with the rock band who actually appreciated the free meal and whose conversations were totally delightful.
Sad for your family member but VERY good for you. Life aorts itself. I got rid of facebook a while back. And i dont use any other social media. So if people want to talk to me, they have to call or text. Well, i'm down to 1 friend and 1 family member taking news regularly and my GF. And ya know what? Thats enough for me. At least my relations are genuine. Lets be real and let life sorts itself!
It’s great you found people appreciate your food and company. Sad about your family and friends. Maybe have a conversation about that with them. Remember, they all have an addiction problem.
I remember being in a bar, maybe 5 years ago and everyone at the bar was looking at their Smartphones. It used to be that people who lived alone could go to a bar so that they could talk to someone other than themselves... now its a lonely place to go unless you bring your own friends or your SmartPhone.
In my country (middle east) we don't even have bars and alcohol is taboo and people sit on the streets on their phones and unemployed is skyrocketing so it's pretty much over for us
@@walid__0l94 In your country you must have coffee cafes.. they are kinda like bars for socializing... not everyone in bars drink alcohol, some people drink coffee or just water.... I drink water, coffee makes me pee blood.
Yes. I go to Virginia to visit my niece, and the four kids get on their devices instead of talking to their great aunt! They do answer my direct questions (very well behaved) but it's not a conversation. I stop because I don't want them to get mad at me.
The scariest thing about his take on smartphones is that he is 100% spot on. Conversations are presented in text that would never be said face to face.
People still did this way before cell phones. Writing letters, for example is maybe the oldest school way of saying something in text that wouldn't be said to someone's face.
Believe me I've experienced the same nastiness verbally in real life before social media. And people on the receiving end of of it often freezed or fawned because they felt trapped instead of fighting back or walking away. Only this evening two neighbours were outside having a fight that had started to get physical.
Bill’s been crushing these monologues. I’m 29 and can see the difference these smart phones are making. That line about treating each other like dinner options when it comes to dating couldn’t be more spot on.
I'm only eight years older than you and I never joined any social media at all, unless you count writing the occasional UA-cam comment. Never regretted it. But I saw society around me change into a horde of zombies. Especially the younger generation. It's like Bill said, they sit around together, yet alone with their phones in hand. Well, if they would at least be silent, but usually there is music or some video or other running loudly. When did kids stop climbing trees or actually play? Was it in your generation already?
I'm 32 and I see it. I'm just old enough to have grown up thru the cell phone developments and having social media right on your phone has been a killer for society. I even catch myself sitting on the couch next to my fiance at night on my phone after being gone at work for 12 hours, rather than talking to and being with her. What a rude thing to do. I have to remember to come home and put my phone away immediately.
I can definitely agree with everything you guys have all said. This culture of social media really has been a plague to peoples psychological health, I don't like where its heading. It seems a lot of people are a lot more depressed and disconnected these days. Even if you want to connect with someone on a personal level its hard to find someone detached enough from their cellphone to have a meaningful conversation. I hope and pray that social media comes crashing down and people learn how to give each other the time of day again like it was when I was younger.
I’m 68 and I sure am glad there was no internet and social media when I was a teenager. I was bullied/ostracized by a group of 5 other boys when I was 15. It got so bad that I ended up changing schools (which basically ended the bullying). I can only imagine how much worse this would have been with social media. My wife gets pissed at me because I spend too much time on my iPad, which I admit I am addicted to. However, when I am out with friends socially I do put my phone down and do not look at it. That I consider rude and it is a line I don’t cross.
you know what would have ended the bullying? punching those kids right in the nose. i got bullied back in the day. then i got sick of it and beat the shit out of the kid. guess what.... no more bullying after that.
When I was getting bullied myself in the late 90s, I resorted to going online as a refuge. I found specific niches, chat rooms on MIRC and Yahoo, and was able to find my little slice of the world where I would feel at ease. Most people didn't even use internet for anything other than porn and/or email and that fact was what allowed it for it to be so nice for me. If I had to deal with the online world being nothing but an extension of whatever was happening in the real world, I would probably snap or something because it would just be too much pressure for me. Someone took middle school/ high school drama, exported it into the online realm, and made it available 24/7 including whatever adult decided they wanted to go back to lame popularity contests and immature drama/ gossip.
I hear you. I’m 39 and so thankful I didn’t grow up with social media . I have an iPad and enjoy it but It quickly turns into a time waster. Im not even on main social media sites like Twitter, Instagram and facebook
It's a damn shame how things are these days. People have become socially inept. So many good friends I used to know who I never hear from now. Who despite all attempts to communicate are always too busy to talk. Some people's minds have been so poisoned by social media that any normal social activity is seen as weird or alien to them.
Idk if social media is completely to blame for that. Maybe a little bit, but not all. Getting older makes it hard to do things. Moat of us work full time jobs, have houses to take care of, a partner to spend time with, family we may nit see a whole lot. I think drifting further apart from people you were once close to is an almost inevitable part of life. I say almost because it may nit happen to some people, but will definitely happen to mosr
Truth be told, that's more a matter of getting old than social media. I felt like even once I hit 25 I really started to drift apart from friends, and by 30 it was just game over lol. People move, they have kids, they work all the time, it's very very difficult to maintain friendships, esp once you're no longer in each others lives everyday like you were in school or college.
Amen. My two closest childhood friends that I miss dearly will only communicate via fb messenger. Just like them; I have a family & full time job.... I don’t have time to sit and type..... Not only that but I notice the more I’m on the screen the more lonely my soul aches.
Suggested experiment: 24 hours, no smart phone. As my Daddy used to say, before he left this cold, cruel world: ''Seems to me, smart phones are creating a lot of dumb-asses.'' Today would've been his 80th birthday. RIP, Pop. I still miss you.
I keep going back to Ian Malcolm, the character in Jurassic Park played by Jeff Goldblum: "...your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they COULD, they didn't stop to think if they SHOULD." This is the scourge on humanity known as the Internet. It has done some great things, and has enabled unspeakable wrongs and (as an atheist I hesitate to use this word, but....) EVILS. Our human species may not survive this technological "toddler" stage we're in, and the reason WHY we might not survive it is unquestionably SOCIAL MEDIA. We, as a species, are simply not smart enough to distinguish between some bullshit screed uploaded by a paranoid schizo rando and a thoughtful, well-researched article from a real person who isn't batshit crazy. The proof? You have 35 PERCENT OF PEOPLE IN AMERICA who think that the bullshit screed uploaded by a paranoid schizo rando is REAL and the well-researched article is "FAKE NEWS." (Lookin' at you, GOP Trumptards....) Facts will NEVER stand a chance again. Thanks, Trump, and other polarizing ideologies. Thanks for gaslighting all of humanity to the point where redneck cousin-f*ckers (and their ultra-liberal counterparts) will have ANY legitimacy in the public discourse. In any rational society, their idiocy would never see the light of day. It'd make the rounds on the underground, but it would die because it deserves no actual traction. Social media gives a false equivalency for ANY information. Cousin Billy-Bob's UA-cam screed is now elevated by morons to the level of FACT, when it absolutely deserves no such label. THAT is why social media will kill us all. We have become, and will remain, incurably polarized FOR NO REASON. The polarizing influences come from the fringes (yes, from both ends of the spectrum -- don't get me started on cancel culture), and they have DEMANDED a seat at the adult table. And they don't deserve it. But we'll give them a seat, and they'll F*CK things up for all of us.
@Jeff Baer They said all that about books when the printing press was invented. Social media has been here for 15 years, and the World Wide Web for twice that long, yet it’s only in the past 4 or 5 years that we’ve seen the issues you described, such as misinformation and hate speech, and that was driven by the backlash to wider societal changes, such as confronting racial prejudice and welcoming refugees and immigrants. Most of this originated off-line, primarily Fox News and its enablers. In the UK, the misinformation, disinformation, casual racism and xenophobia has existed for decades in our tabloid newspapers. It’s nothing new. The fact that some people might drink drive isn’t an argument for disinventing the car.
Actually it's just the dumb humans, the ones with no manners and no real life that this is referring to. Many of us, young and old, are not staring at our phones constantly, but you wouldn't notice that, because you are too addicted to YOUR phone! lmfao
It's disturbing. I'm a millennial and I feel like I'm one of the few sane ones. I regularly observe people out at restaurants or wherever they may sit together. For example, parents and children won't even talk to each other because they're all on their phones. What kind of parent gives their children smart phones?! I recently substituted at my old elementary school and second graders had phones. _seven yr olds._ I was at a restaurant a few months ago and a table of 7 sat down next to us and all the teens and adults were on their phones, hardly exchanged a word, even when the food came they absentmindedly shoveled food in their mouth, engrossed by their phone.
It's sad my wife and i have a rule?to bring one phone to dinner in case something happens?with the?kids. If our kids are with us we leave the phones in the car.
I’m what you might call a contrarian fan of Bill’s- don’t agree with him on many things - but I feel like he’s been a crucial voice on these types of issues the last year or so.
Bill’s done a complete 180 after signing a deal with the White Sox and becoming a 100 millionaire. I really noticed a change in his politics after that. 🤷♂️
I always appreciate people with whom I DON'T always agree so long as their information is correct their analysis is thought out and they argue from the center that is some positions more conservative and some more liberal at least I can get a better grip on reality from them than most mega mouths out there
You sound like projecting the eternal cliche of "people using glasses=smart" xD ive always loved bill and he is as great now as he was without glasses dude...
I've spent damn near my whole life glued to the internet far before it was cool and I can tell you it's not just the phone, or just the internet.. it's social media. Social media is the destroyer of civilizations, and humanity's greatest mistake. I've steered clear of it since MySpace became unpopular and never, ever regretted it. I sorta miss early Myspace. The atmosphere was so much more fun and chill and I met legitimately cool people on it. Sure as hell never can say that about Facebook.
@BlazingOwnager I totally agree, social media is a cancer, I used facebook for around half a year and I completely hated it, never again, YT as the only social media platform I use and I try to stay off it as much as possible.
He spoke the total truth about today's age. As a 45 year old man I find myself at times missing life before cell phones / smart phones. It's like a deasie with no cure.
Sure there's a cure: get rid of your smartphone. I've never owned one, and the only times I've ever wished I had one were the couple of times I got lost driving in a car without GPS.
I recall going to my uncles for Thanksgiving a few years back. A 5 year old had a 500$ phone. Mine was like 40$. When the ball game came on all us guys went to the living room to "Watch" After a few mins I noticed the room was very quite. I looked around and every other person including my 70 year old uncle was looking at their phones. I was like are we watching this game or what? Crickets. I just got up went out the back door grabbed a few beers out of the ice chest and smoked cigarettes the rest of the evening on the back patio alone.
@@elgoog7830 Yes, I've really noticed this myself. Two people meeting for breakfast just staring at their phones not saying a single thing to one another. I eat at IHOP a lot and see this sort of thing all the time.
I feel you there. The only social media I'm on is here, but this is where I listen to music when I study or work on artwork here and there, and UA-cam is only partially social media, as you can just ignore comment sections. I don't even text my friends and family. I prefer talking to them face to face or hanging out with them. I don't even bring my phone to work, either. I like being present and in the moment with my life. Social media does have it's upsides, like talking to a good friend that's moved away still, but the cons far outweigh the pros.
That headline about anxiety and high school students from "Psychology Today" is from the year 2000. There were no smartphones. The first iPhone was released 7 years later. There was no Facebook. No Instagram. No UA-cam. How's that for fake news Bill Maher?
@@firstlast9292 already you got to stop. He was talking about social media. Social media has only become worse, with access becoming much more readily available with the advent of smartphones. You set up a strawman.
@Rich Perez Sell the iPhone, buy a Samsung. Gamers did it to Microsoft when they announced "always online" for the Xbox One, most bought Playstation's instead and Microsoft hasn't brought up mandatory online again.
and he said it on TV, the old pop culture delivery device that smartphones serve to enhance, while also making everyone a potentially famous talking head.
I hated these f****g machines from the moment I saw them, so yeah, I don't have one. It's like still being a virgin. Bill said all the words so damn well right, like I wish I had done. You all don't want to realize that this machine is really making an a** h*** of you. But we're stuck with it for ever. Uhhh....., not me ;-)
I use a tin of Heinz beans with a long, long string attached to another tin 2 miles away, which my one friend in my life uses to call me with. Empty tins of course, I am not a weirdo.
I'm an IT engineer and I've been playing on computers for over three decades, I hardly use social media and rarely carry my phone. A smart phone to desktop users is nothing more than a glorified calculator. Its weird walking into a restaurant and its silent while everyone checks their phone, people do behave differently than they did a decade ago.
Definitely a distinction there, though I'm not sure what the line is. And yeah, I wonder if we looked at say Twitter, if we'd see a marked difference between those who answer by computer or by phone. Likewise differences between gen2 and gen3 internet users. To gen2, the internet is a different place where you go, where you inhabit an avatar, a persona. To gen3, it's just another part of your life. They don't even understand pseudonimity. I wonder how much of a difference that makes.
When I first tried meditation 3 years ago I had a literal panic attack... 10 WHOLE MINUTES with zero stimulation input. It was the level of panic it caused that snapped me back to reality - I no longer carry my smartphone - I meditate 30 minutes every day - yoga 30 mins. My life is IMESURABLY BETTER...
Yes you can. Just leave it at home, and go for a drive. I use mine to listen to music most of the time. Sometimes, I will leave it in the house, go get in my truck and go somewhere. Hasn't killed me yet.
I am age 61. For some of us, the smartphone just does not have the same appeal as it does for others. I am required to have one for work, but I hardly ever use it. We don’t have WiFI at home and so my cellphone is dependent on Data. Last week I realized it had been a while since the phone rang. My Data had been off for 11 days before I noticed.
agreed. But even UA-cam now has become weird. I seriously think google and apple single handedly ruined everything. I was listening to someone the other day talk about the old windows and how even with windows 11 everything has become a "service" instead of a "tool"
Facebook has become too mean, vitriolic , and inconsiderate for me now. Literally strangers wanting to fight with you for no reason, or a foolish reason at that. I wastes so much of one's time that I want out. Get back to the rotary phone and an answering machine.
After listening to this I realize Bill was talking about me… I’m 48 years old and I’ve let the phone take over my life… I don’t interact with people matter fact I can’t even stand to deal with people face-to-face anymore… Just like he said I would ghost them and ignore them instead of confront them about something I didn’t like… today I turned off and deactivated my Facebook page and my Instagram… I didn’t have Snapchat or Twitter because I’m 48 years old and I don’t understand that stuff lol… I kept UA-cam but that is the only means of social media I have going forward! Time to start being in real human again!!
You probably will miss Facebook for a few months, but you won't miss it after some time. As the basic principle of economy that says that when you invest in something you have to be aware that you are not investing in other things, you may end up investing your time in something more productive and rewarding than spending your time on Facebook.
Just this small comment is an inspiration to me. I am so happy for you. What a great realization! I hope I can find and accept my own faults like you have and feel good about making changes for the better.
@Hell Raiser - I'm so baffled that anyone can start looking at their phone while they're having a conversation with another person. It's so rude. Good for you for walking away when it happens.
I advise every single person to do a no screen week at least once a year. You'll feel rejuvenated, and connected to the world around you more than a smartphone could ever do.
It is an awesome experience, I try for at least a week a year if I can get away from the house. It's just not possible most days due to work (online) and other days due to programming and other hobbies.
@@pathologicaldoubt Buddy! I have been watching Bill Maher since ‘93 when he started the show politically incorrect in Comedy Central before hi moved to HBO and I know what I said and what I meant you don’t.
Tech industry? What about personal responsibility? Don't get a phone. It's possible to live without it. Though I have a hard time convincing my friends and family of it, they are all aghast I haven't bought into it.
No, the tech industry is not going to listen. WE THE PEOPLE are going to have to do the hard work of pushing back against the tech industry by not lettin g them dominate our culture. It starts with putting the phone down at the dinner table.
I have nothing to hide, but I do sometimes take screenshots of financial information including account numbers so I can have quick access to them. I feel our privacy is being invaded.
Bill, thank you for the pointed commentary on smart phones and their negative effects on our society. While I don't always agree with your point of view, this was very well said. I hope more people put the phone down and engage with each other face-to-face.
I have a friend who I used to have lunch with now and then. She'd get out of her car with her purse over her shoulder and her phone in her hand. I looked at her and asked if she was having lunch with me or with her phone? Then I strongly suggested she put it on mute and put it in her purse. So many can't exist without them. Drives me nuts.
I had the same friend - we only meet once in the bluest moons and usually Im ready with an excuse why I have to be brief. Her phone comes out I "remember" my other errand and Im gone. If I dont matter more than the phone than neither do you - even if Im just going home. Honestly its an actual addiction.
While waiting for the "skip ads" to appear, there are often five or six or sometimes even fifteen seconds to endure. This is when I close my eyes and meditate. Questions that have arisen during these breaks: "What? This hurts?? Really, it hurts to wait? What is wrong with your head, TAR ICO, if you can't close your eyes and mellow out for fifteen seconds??" Anyway, these moments of reflection have become better and better. Healthy. Intellectually stimulating. Go now and do the same. Or not! I actually do appreciate some commercials, like movie previews.
I’m still using a flip phone for all the reasons outlined here. My phone is for making calls & nothing else and yes I do know how to use one, I just have no need for the thing.
When a parent purchases a cell phone for their two-year old, it's simply the 21st century way of saying GET OUT OF MY HAIR. In the 70s, it was GO OUT AND PLAY.
But...........no you won't. You wrote that comment. But you won't actually follow through with that. You know you won't. But that actually makes your comment all the more true, doesn't it?
Thank you Bill for the excellent commentary on the smartphone/Social media problem. This monologue hits the nail right on the head. Western civilization is finished if we don't get a handle on this.
All those applause breaks and the seemingly mandatory laughing after every single sentence completely fucks with the rhythm of the segment. Just ditch that damned crowd already!
Sadly he likes the crowd. In fact he gets pissed when you don’t clap for something he thinks is funny and or important. That annoys me more than the applause. Every comedian knows if the jokes doesn’t land, just keep moving on; he waits and stares at the audience like why the heck did you not clap or respond. I will say, he’s smart and some information and jokes do go over his audience heads.
@@jovanolague3161 Yeah, agreed - he shouldn't feel entitled to a certain reaction from people, which he seems to do. These things aside, Bill almost always has a good point in these bits, but all the unnecessary shenanigans(from both himself and the crowd) sadly drowns out the message(and the jokes) sometimes, imo.
There's a producer with a six-figure salary pumping an applause light through the whole thing. Plus a few hundred grand in sound equipment that can make that audience sound however they want, on the fly. What you hear is exactly what Maher and his people want you to hear. This is "live" only in the sense that it's done in a single take. It's no less processed than any other media you consume.
This whole bit is spot on, especially the dating. I miss locking eyes with a woman and the silent tension...nowadays most people 30 and younger can't even hold your eyes for more than 2 seconds
It's part of the reason why I don't bother about dating anymore. I simply don't have the patience to be with someone who HAS to keep her phone in line of sight so she can habitually glance at it every 30 seconds (any more than I would date someone who had to duck out for a smoke every 20 minutes). Most of the other reasons are phone-related as well, come to think of it. What a world.....
Spot on. Imagine paying 15,000 dollars to travel to an exotic location and spending so much time on your phone that you miss most of the worthwhile sights. We were in Paris a few years ago having dinner at a restaurant that afforded us a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower. The three people sitting at an adjacent table only looked up from their various devices long enough to place an order with the waiter. And don't get me started on the idiots who walk around completely oblivious to anything and everything going on around them.
“Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community. Then they were quickly silenced, but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It’s the invasion of the idiots.” ~Umberto Eco
I wholeheartedly agree. It seems no one even speaks to each other any more, but just text them. I could live without the damn cellphones. I think if all the cellphones disappeared, some people would go insane as they are totally addicted now.
@Simshine95 but USA has been *PANDERING to the Proudly Idiotic* for at least 4 decades .. be it the school system or pop culture eg look at Hollywood hits ... now the MORON is the hero who berates the scientist & saves the day with his _folksy_ ways
I stopped watching television 45 years ago because I could see its effect on those around me. Now I am absolutely stunned to see people doing the insane things they are that are not just self-centered & rude as F but extremely dangerous as if that device is more important to you than anyone else, In reality everyone is choosing to live in the digital realm so no one will have any clue what started WWIII. Can you hear that megaphone in the distance? "ALL ABOARD!"
When he's right, he's right. I stopped drinking after watching Maher talk about the alarming increase in American alcohol consumption and health problems.
Good for you. I'm not one of those uptight types that will go around telling people that alcohol is "literal poison" or anything like that, but moderation is _essential._ All else being equal, I'd much rather have a teetotaler for a friend than an alcoholic- and I suspect any responsible adult would feel likewise.
Psychology Today: "The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s." That just about sums it up right there. I'd imagine that it's the same with adults 18-35 as well. The inmates are literally running the asylum. And he's spot on about all the faking of pics. We have a word for that: Kayfabe. Life is becoming a work, and shoots are problematic. Don't even THINK about going off the script!
That headline about anxiety and high school students from "Psychology Today" is from the year 2000. There were no smartphones. The first iPhone was released 7 years later. There was no Facebook. No Instagram. No UA-cam. How's that for fake news Bill Maher?
I learned today that UA-cam is considered "Social Media", even though it's nothing like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. I don't use any of those apps but I do realize I watch a lot of UA-cam on my phone. Maybe a good thing to try is to quit UA-cam on the phone and only watch it when on a computer, or stream it to a TV. Then it would be more akin to just watching TV on a Television.
Yupp I barely go on Facebook and I don't even have IG but it's like he said its a bunch of fake ass pos full of themselves look at me don't even look like themselves in real life ass people!!
I remember when people use to go to a bar, have a drink and reflect on life. Clear their heads. Now they just get drunk and stare at their phones the whole time. Take time to unwind please.
So true? That headline about anxiety and high school students from "Psychology Today" is from the year 2000. There were no smartphones. The first iPhone was released 7 years later. There was no Facebook. No Instagram. No UA-cam. How's that for fake news Bill Maher?
Hello from South France, One evening when I was on the terrace of a restaurant, the weather was very good, a beautiful rather romantic terrace, there was a couple of young people 24 or 25 years old at a table not very far from me. From aperitif to dessert, they must have exchanged about thirty words. They each had their smartphone on their side next to them and spent the evening with their noses inside, raising their heads either to eat or drink, or to briefly comment on what happened on their respective smartphones with a smile. It's very significant on the addiction to social networks. This disembodied youth is scary for the future of Humanity. Cordially,
"disembodied youth" is the most apt description of these zombified millennials that I've ever read...They are truly, as the Bible notes, "lovers of themselves....and without natural affection." I remember, once a few years ago, I was on a date with a young woman....We were in a new "upscale" eatery for lunch, nothing fancy, but very nice none the less...After the server took our order, my lunch companion began texting....She continued texting, pausing breifly when our food arrived...When I tried to engage her in conversation, she would look up at me in bewilderment, as though I were speaking in some foreign tongue that she did not understand...After a few more minutes, I got up and left the table without saying anything to her....I settled the Bill with the Hostess and left a genorous gratuity for the Server...I don't think that my "date" noticed my absence nor realised I had not finished my meal...Never again....🤔🕊
@@4inaftermath454 Hello, I'm 54 old. I'm Parisian but now I live Perpignan close to the Spanish border. Montpelier isn't so far (97 miles). Don't worry, Montpellier is one of the prefered cities of French people. Good weather, sea at 10 km (6,21 miles) full of students cause of the numerous universities. City + suburbs: 440,896 inhab. Population in the inner city: 290,053 inhabitants. It's a very touristic city and attractive by its architecture, its many monuments, its museums, its many festivities throughout the summer season. Like Perpignan, it's located in the "Occitanie" region, which is a region highly renowned for its wine and its gastronomic specialties. No worries about getting around since the city offers 4 tram lines + many buses. Montpellier is a very good choice. Hope I've answered to your request. Have a nice day, peace!
@@j-loosenfout67 thank you for the information , very helpful . Looking to move away from the hustle and non stop flow of life in New York and just relax and enjoy the moment . From what I gather the way of life over there fits this mostly and I’m working on securing travel to explore and confirm this
@@4inaftermath454 Yes, these are exactly the same reasons that prompted me to request my transfer to the south as soon as a position became available because I no longer supported the degraded climate, the polluted air, always having to lift the head to hope to see a small piece of sky, the frantic and daily race of the Parisian suburbs where we live in a constant emergency. So I think I understand what you're looking for. And for that, the south of France is exactly what you need. If you adopt the French way of life, that you appreciate being able to sit quietly on a café terrace with friends, or even with a book, a newspaper, or a magazine and let the time slip by while sipping a coffee -cream or a beer and watching the world go by, then in France you'll feel at home. Perpignan, the city where I live, is wedged between the mountains (the Pyrenees) to the south and the sea (Mediterranean) to the west. Breathing air of such quality and seeing a real beautiful sky, a very pure blue is a luxury that today, I couldn't do without. On the other hand, know that's complicated to make friends in France. Because here most people stay in touch with their friends for a very long time, often even their entire life. So, they're frequently "among themselves". If their circle of friends grows, it's most often through someone introducing a new person to the circle of friends. Friendship meetings are therefore rarely done outside the circle of friends. Unlike the Anglo-Saxons, the French are rather reserved by nature. They don't have the same ability as Americans to communicate with each other without knowing each other when they're at the checkout of a supermarket and when they queue for example. Same thing on the way to behave with other people or even with customers for example. If you talk to a salesperson in a store in France you'll often be surprised to find salesperson willn't be especially overflowing with enthusiasm, full of big smiles and ready to move mountains to satisfy you. No, the salesperson will be himself, no more, no less. It can be very confusing for an Anglo-Saxon at first when you aren't used to it. Ditto in the restaurant, the waiter lets you eat. He's not going to come every three minutes to ask you if everything is okay, if you don't need anything and to chat with you. If you need anything, you call him. Indeed, in France, the service in general must be discreet. The server shouldn't give the impression that's constantly listening to your discussions. The only way to make friends in France, if you like sports, is to go to cafes which broadcast major sporting events on screens. On these occasions, people are very open, they like to exchange their impressions. You can also go to the stadiums. Rugby is very popular in the south of France and the atmosphere is extremely nice and friendly. You can also register in the many "pétanque" clubs. Again, this is a great way to meet the locals around a very relaxing and fun activity. The atmosphere is very warm and friendly. In these places people are generally very relaxed. So, don't hesitate to ask me for other information, I'll try to help you. Good day.
He’s absolutely right. I’m one of the lucky ones who fully formed his mind before 2008, and I feel like I only use the phone to better access real content like Bill. And I disavowed all social media after feeling all the things he describes. But I have relatives that grew up with all this, and it has clearly warped their sense of reality and community.
The way you describe it is that social media only affects younger generations. In fact, it affects older people too. That somewhat racist uncle? Well, he found a bunch of racist friends and created a racist echo chamber on FB and now he's even more racist. That aunt thinking about a certain conspiracy? Well, now she knows it's real thanks to some "documentary" a conspiracy theorist on FB shared to her. Yes, I too saw the (red) light when FB stopped being just an easy way to keep a contact list with "Friends" and have silly games/interactions together, and started being a way to keep you in your own bubble of same type information, making it a race to showoff between you and people you know, while harvesting as much personal information as possible. But many others gladly give up privacy, potential jealousy and the danger of misinformation for the possibility of finding their tribe - whatever that might be: racist, misogynistic, white supremacist, Left, Right, conspiracy "expert", etc. In any case: Bill talks about smartphones, but at some point in the future those smartphones will be replaced by holographic bracelets and "smarter" watches and so forth. The phone part of "smartphone" has little impact, since, as he pointed out, people don't really call nowadays. What will remain will be the social media. That's the rot that will fester.
I understand being formed before smart(stupid) phones because I am 74 and hate these phones. Digital is more vulnerable that old analog phones, which I want back. Charging a phone is not a reasonable thing for elderly! This world stinks!
I truly Hate it when I'm hanging with friends, Rare Occasion anymore... and everyone is having a different conversation with each other on their phones.... When we're All in the Same Damn Room!!!
Thats bad... not only is it bad its almost two faced. Like what are you saying to one person in the room you don't want the others to know? Not you personally I mean anyone who does this. I didn't realize it was that bad.
@@TraumaER i'll be on the tallest hill in my area with bottle of 30 yo scotch and a sack of the best smoke i can find and sitting in a lawn recliner watching it come in. Peace out world
What really matters in life can’t be seen through the tight knit net of addiction but when you sit that phone down and open your eyes it’s more beautiful than any clever tweet.
I love going on walks and enjoying the outside. My phone's main purpose is honestly playing music. I put on my head phones, play music, and just walk around observing nature and thinking. I think more people need to learn how to be alone with themselves every now and again and learn about who they truly are.
When smartphones became popular, I was living in an area with no cell service. So, I didn't bother. Within a year, I vowed I would never get one because all my friends turned into assholes. More than a decade later, I'm more resolute than ever to NEVER own one. I detest them and I struggle not to detest people in general now. As an outside observer, everyone seems incredibly rude, looks ridiculous, and behaves like addicts in denial.
I can relate. I carry mine in case of a breakdown when I'm driving. My friends know, because I have informed them, that I do not look at my phone sometimes for hours, or for DAYS!! I am not a Pavlov's dog; I do not jump and run at the ringing of a bell!
Watching some of the riots was weird for me. It made me think of body snatcher hosts holding their parasites up in front of themselves to see. Thousands of crazy angry people running down the streets all with their devices in front of them. 40 years ago you could have used that footage for a sci-fi horror flick. “Invasion of the thought snatchers “
Yet one of the clinical cures or treatments to addiction in general is to replace the bad routine with a better one. Now how do you do that when we are obsessed with social distancing, work and study from home and wearing a de facto muzzle covering your face...? People would have never accepted the lockdowns if we didn’t have the inferior but comforting substitute to real relationships called social media and smart phones...
Maybe people that look at their phone instead of talking to others because people suck, rude, stupid, ignorant arrogant, fickle and usually aren't worth talking too.
When you've seen several full-speed, high-speed crashes on CA highways where the distracted driver who didn't stop because they were fucking texting and took out three or four other vehicles, you get everything Bill si saying.
I love my flip phone. All it does is make phone calls, usually brief and to the point only when needed. I've had people tell me they were envious. The phone is to be a tool that serves man, not the other way around.
I too love my flip phone, which my son calls my POS phone. He can't seem to grasp why I won't upgrade to a "smart" phone even though I been very clear that "Hello", "Goodbye", caller ID, and voice mail are all I want from a phone. I have a laptop and tablet and don't need another devise in my life, especially one that can stop you from actually LIVING it!
Jesus said go to your room and pray alone. He never built a church. He was a Jew and he said in Matthew that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. Anyway. People don't read Bible or care what Jesus said as long as it is in line with their way of lives.
@@dudewheresmycar8506 no he did not say that in Exodus. That book was written thousands of years before Christ. He only quotes in the New Testament which is the new convenant that Christian are to live under. Books like exodus and others in the Old Testament have great stories we can learn from but it is not where you draw instruction. If you are going to slander Jesus at least know what you are talking about.
Never was a big Bill Maher fan, but lately he’s really hitting the ball out of the park calling out the hypocrisy that is permeating virtually everything. This is a perfect example.
Yeah, I was at one of Bill's comedy shows and he had to scold someone several times to get them to stop filming with their phone. Bill, " I can see the light on your face."
“Turn off your fucking cellphone. You can have no idea how unimportant your call is to us.”-Christopher Hitchens’ 8th Commandment. Yeah, this isn’t a new problem. And it’s only gotten worse.
The only reason I have a cellphone is for work; when I get home from work I put it on the charger until the next day when I leave for work. I still have my landline as my official phone.
Mine is in the bottom of my rucksack and people say you never answer your phone. I rarely use it and only take it with me in the car in case I break down.
"Phones make people fake their lives instead of living their lives." I already realized this back in 2010 with Facebook. People will exaggerate 20% of their life, which is fun and exciting, as though it occupies 80% of the total time they were alive. If 80% of your life is without pain, suffering or challenges; you are either not growing, or you are already dead.
Absolutely spot on. You know, the thing that really gets me is that it's still called a "phone". You know, like a telephone. It's supposed to be meant for calling people. But ever since phones got "smart", they've just done so much more than that. If you keep it to what it was originally meant for, it's not so bad, but it seems like it's been terrible for humans to have access to everything that smartphones do nowadays at all times.
No those must be the boomers who remember the good old days before the millennial and Gen Z kids came with their smart phones and isolated themselves from actual social contact and binge watching an entire season of TV shows in half a day
“Ya know, he’s kinda got a point”- Me watching this on my phone, at 2am.
Yeah but you got a like from me!
I literally gave my iphone the evil eye while watching this.
It is only 9pm, and I have an iPad Pro.
Difference?
I do not have Neanderthal neck.
Busted..but it's 051 where I am😞😞
If any of you would use the internet for something worthwhile then this world wouldn't suck so much.
Watch the 1942 USDA film, *Hemp For Victory*.
The US government tried to erase the film from existence after World War II but 2 copies were found in the Library of Congress in 1989. There is an official US government link to the video or you can watch it on UA-cam.
"Phones make people fake their lives instead of living their lives." This is painfully accurate in today's world.
@@firstlast9292 False. And you're confused about what fake news is
@Mary Clawson ⁹
@kyre lymrick Dude, sounds like your life sucks!!! 🤔😆😝
only for people who choose to fake their lives, so they may not be that much of a loss anyway...
This only makes sense if free will is untrue. Otherwise, the device (a tool) cannot possibly be making anyone do anything. The main problem is people are too weak and undisciplined to control themselves.
“I can’t wait to look back on my life in 50 years and remember all the great times I spent on social media with people I’ve never met.” - said No One Ever
"I'm recording the 4th of July fireworks so that I can rewatch the video someday"--literally no one.
Lol
Amen. I do enjoy reading and watching things online but it’s definitely not something I look back on as a good time. It’s a time sink like no other. It’s wasted time and made
Me more anxious and lazy. I don’t even use it that often so I can only imagine what it’s doing to the younger generation that grew up on it
@@beardly0121 so true. I never go back and rewatch the videos I've made.... but I do rewatch the porn I downloaded.
Why not? People talk about their pen pals in the before time.
"Social media has made you all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it." -Mike Tyson
He nailed it. It’s like courage via drone.
people were assholes long time before the smartphone or social media.
Agreed..But i think its making a come back! lol
@@ErnestoIvanRamirez However, these "smart-phones" have amplified it greatly. 👍
@@paulferrante5192 oh I agree, but he talks as if they were the source, when it only shows how shitty people really is.
"Cellphones have obliterated courtesy, the fundamental building block of developing any real relationship."
Probably the best and most true statement in this video.
If I sit at lunch with a friend, they pull out that cell, I give them a choice, and walk out
although to be fair, this is mostly the internet in general, not exclusive to cell phones. After all, I'm not on a cell phone right now, I'm on a PC. I don't even own a smart phone (though I've had one in the past). But I've done some stuff in my younger years I'm not proud of like trolling. I've grown out of that terrible habit thankfully. All it takes for bad behavior is being anonymous, a smart phone not required.
@@JimmyMon666 Agree, my cell is strictly calls, text and photos of my Cattle Dog, calendar, typing is for my computer, thank you for your comment Jimmy M
@@JimmyMon666 exactly. I was in the exxact same position as yourself. Smart phones really aren't much help at all unless you are out of wifi range and need to use a cell phone plan.
@@JimmyMon666
Reminds me of a story about "The Ring of Gyges" in Plato's Republic.
I used to prepare a lavish Sunday lunch for my family and close friends. My one rule was that we interact with one another and phones were put away. All 6 family members stopped coming for lunch. LMAO. I started cooking for the guys with the rock band who actually appreciated the free meal and whose conversations were totally delightful.
…Or maybe your cooking was just that bad and rock bands have no money.
Sad for your family member but VERY good for you. Life aorts itself. I got rid of facebook a while back. And i dont use any other social media. So if people want to talk to me, they have to call or text. Well, i'm down to 1 friend and 1 family member taking news regularly and my GF. And ya know what? Thats enough for me. At least my relations are genuine. Lets be real and let life sorts itself!
@@Jockustoe Why? Why say that?
@@patbertram8745 dont worry about Jockustoe Jr. he probably jealous that you even have a family.
It’s great you found people appreciate your food and company. Sad about your family and friends. Maybe have a conversation about that with them. Remember, they all have an addiction problem.
I remember being in a bar, maybe 5 years ago and everyone at the bar was looking at their Smartphones. It used to be that people who lived alone could go to a bar so that they could talk to someone other than themselves... now its a lonely place to go unless you bring your own friends or your SmartPhone.
In my country (middle east) we don't even have bars and alcohol is taboo and people sit on the streets on their phones and unemployed is skyrocketing so it's pretty much over for us
@@walid__0l94
In your country you must have coffee cafes.. they are kinda like bars for socializing... not everyone in bars drink alcohol, some people drink coffee or just water.... I drink water, coffee makes me pee blood.
Yes. I go to Virginia to visit my niece, and the four kids get on their devices instead of talking to their great aunt! They do answer my direct questions (very well behaved) but it's not a conversation. I stop because I don't want them to get mad at me.
So true
The scariest thing about his take on smartphones is that he is 100% spot on. Conversations are presented in text that would never be said face to face.
People still did this way before cell phones. Writing letters, for example is maybe the oldest school way of saying something in text that wouldn't be said to someone's face.
Believe me I've experienced the same nastiness verbally in real life before social media. And people on the receiving end of of it often freezed or fawned because they felt trapped instead of fighting back or walking away. Only this evening two neighbours were outside having a fight that had started to get physical.
its not just all he has said,its destroying my language also english man here
People in the audience uncomfortable clapping because he’s addressing every one of us.
Idk some of his points are not that great here. I think the audience didn't quite know if he was being sarcastic at points or not
nah most of us are guilty and agree at the same time. hes just not on his a game with this one.
@@Noah-Haon tf are you talking about, everything he said was true
Haha. Okay 👌 guys
Not me; I can't stand all that crap. Some of what he's saying is scary as hell.
Bill’s been crushing these monologues. I’m 29 and can see the difference these smart phones are making. That line about treating each other like dinner options when it comes to dating couldn’t be more spot on.
This is a relief to hear. I was worried that Bill's demographic was not very wide.
I'm only eight years older than you and I never joined any social media at all, unless you count writing the occasional UA-cam comment. Never regretted it.
But I saw society around me change into a horde of zombies. Especially the younger generation. It's like Bill said, they sit around together, yet alone with their phones in hand.
Well, if they would at least be silent, but usually there is music or some video or other running loudly.
When did kids stop climbing trees or actually play?
Was it in your generation already?
I'm 32 and I see it. I'm just old enough to have grown up thru the cell phone developments and having social media right on your phone has been a killer for society. I even catch myself sitting on the couch next to my fiance at night on my phone after being gone at work for 12 hours, rather than talking to and being with her. What a rude thing to do. I have to remember to come home and put my phone away immediately.
Yea I'm 33 same.. good to know theres more of us than we realized
I can definitely agree with everything you guys have all said. This culture of social media really has been a plague to peoples psychological health, I don't like where its heading. It seems a lot of people are a lot more depressed and disconnected these days. Even if you want to connect with someone on a personal level its hard to find someone detached enough from their cellphone to have a meaningful conversation. I hope and pray that social media comes crashing down and people learn how to give each other the time of day again like it was when I was younger.
I’m 68 and I sure am glad there was no internet and social media when I was a teenager.
I was bullied/ostracized by a group of 5 other boys when I was 15. It got so bad that I ended up changing schools (which basically ended the bullying). I can only imagine how much worse this would have been with social media.
My wife gets pissed at me because I spend too much time on my iPad, which I admit I am addicted to. However, when I am out with friends socially I do put my phone down and do not look at it. That I consider rude and it is a line I don’t cross.
you know what would have ended the bullying? punching those kids right in the nose. i got bullied back in the day. then i got sick of it and beat the shit out of the kid. guess what.... no more bullying after that.
@@joe-di6zf you’re not shit btw
America legalized weed to fight the Nazis.
Watch the 14-minute 1942 USDA film, *Hemp For Victory.*
When I was getting bullied myself in the late 90s, I resorted to going online as a refuge. I found specific niches, chat rooms on MIRC and Yahoo, and was able to find my little slice of the world where I would feel at ease. Most people didn't even use internet for anything other than porn and/or email and that fact was what allowed it for it to be so nice for me. If I had to deal with the online world being nothing but an extension of whatever was happening in the real world, I would probably snap or something because it would just be too much pressure for me. Someone took middle school/ high school drama, exported it into the online realm, and made it available 24/7 including whatever adult decided they wanted to go back to lame popularity contests and immature drama/ gossip.
I hear you. I’m 39 and so thankful I didn’t grow up with social media . I have an iPad and enjoy it but It quickly turns into a time waster. Im not even on main social media sites like Twitter, Instagram and facebook
It's a damn shame how things are these days. People have become socially inept. So many good friends I used to know who I never hear from now. Who despite all attempts to communicate are always too busy to talk. Some people's minds have been so poisoned by social media that any normal social activity is seen as weird or alien to them.
Idk if social media is completely to blame for that. Maybe a little bit, but not all. Getting older makes it hard to do things. Moat of us work full time jobs, have houses to take care of, a partner to spend time with, family we may nit see a whole lot. I think drifting further apart from people you were once close to is an almost inevitable part of life. I say almost because it may nit happen to some people, but will definitely happen to mosr
Maybe it's you.
Totally agree. I’m in the same boat as you.
Truth be told, that's more a matter of getting old than social media. I felt like even once I hit 25 I really started to drift apart from friends, and by 30 it was just game over lol. People move, they have kids, they work all the time, it's very very difficult to maintain friendships, esp once you're no longer in each others lives everyday like you were in school or college.
Amen.
My two closest childhood friends that I miss dearly will only communicate via fb messenger. Just like them; I have a family & full time job.... I don’t have time to sit and type..... Not only that but I notice the more I’m on the screen the more lonely my soul aches.
Suggested experiment: 24 hours, no smart phone. As my Daddy used to say, before he left this cold, cruel world: ''Seems to me, smart phones are creating a lot of dumb-asses.'' Today would've been his 80th birthday. RIP, Pop. I still miss you.
You had a good one! I promise you have not seen the last of him.
@@carlnorris2392: Sometime Uber driver myself, it's my side hustle. I understand.
This is one of the best New Rule he's ever done. Thank you Bill.
Smartphones are simultaneously a marvel of technology, and the worst invention ever.
I keep going back to Ian Malcolm, the character in Jurassic Park played by Jeff Goldblum: "...your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they COULD, they didn't stop to think if they SHOULD."
This is the scourge on humanity known as the Internet. It has done some great things, and has enabled unspeakable wrongs and (as an atheist I hesitate to use this word, but....) EVILS.
Our human species may not survive this technological "toddler" stage we're in, and the reason WHY we might not survive it is unquestionably SOCIAL MEDIA. We, as a species, are simply not smart enough to distinguish between some bullshit screed uploaded by a paranoid schizo rando and a thoughtful, well-researched article from a real person who isn't batshit crazy.
The proof? You have 35 PERCENT OF PEOPLE IN AMERICA who think that the bullshit screed uploaded by a paranoid schizo rando is REAL and the well-researched article is "FAKE NEWS." (Lookin' at you, GOP Trumptards....) Facts will NEVER stand a chance again. Thanks, Trump, and other polarizing ideologies. Thanks for gaslighting all of humanity to the point where redneck cousin-f*ckers (and their ultra-liberal counterparts) will have ANY legitimacy in the public discourse. In any rational society, their idiocy would never see the light of day. It'd make the rounds on the underground, but it would die because it deserves no actual traction. Social media gives a false equivalency for ANY information. Cousin Billy-Bob's UA-cam screed is now elevated by morons to the level of FACT, when it absolutely deserves no such label.
THAT is why social media will kill us all. We have become, and will remain, incurably polarized FOR NO REASON. The polarizing influences come from the fringes (yes, from both ends of the spectrum -- don't get me started on cancel culture), and they have DEMANDED a seat at the adult table. And they don't deserve it. But we'll give them a seat, and they'll F*CK things up for all of us.
Best catastrophe that could ever happen would the entire internet crashing right after it sent out a self destruct bug to every phone on earth.
@Jeff Baer
They said all that about books when the printing press was invented.
Social media has been here for 15 years, and the World Wide Web for twice that long, yet it’s only in the past 4 or 5 years that we’ve seen the issues you described, such as misinformation and hate speech, and that was driven by the backlash to wider societal changes, such as confronting racial prejudice and welcoming refugees and immigrants. Most of this originated off-line, primarily Fox News and its enablers.
In the UK, the misinformation, disinformation, casual racism and xenophobia has existed for decades in our tabloid newspapers. It’s nothing new.
The fact that some people might drink drive isn’t an argument for disinventing the car.
Smart phone, marginally intelligent operators.
Actually it's just the dumb humans, the ones with no manners and no real life that this is referring to. Many of us, young and old, are not staring at our phones constantly, but you wouldn't notice that, because you are too addicted to YOUR phone! lmfao
It’s been a year I have stopped using Facebook and Twitter ..A sense of calmness has retuned and a lot of negativity has gone from my life ..
More people ought to do this and see what a difference it makes
Yep. I deleted my Facebook and all social media almost 5 years ago. It has been a wonderful thing and I can't imagine going back to it.
I use Facebook for funny memes. No other social media no dating sites. It's all depressing I'm happier with less social media
@@t2k777 Me either. Both of those platforms are horrible and unnecessary.
It's disturbing. I'm a millennial and I feel like I'm one of the few sane ones. I regularly observe people out at restaurants or wherever they may sit together. For example, parents and children won't even talk to each other because they're all on their phones. What kind of parent gives their children smart phones?! I recently substituted at my old elementary school and second graders had phones. _seven yr olds._
I was at a restaurant a few months ago and a table of 7 sat down next to us and all the teens and adults were on their phones, hardly exchanged a word, even when the food came they absentmindedly shoveled food in their mouth, engrossed by their phone.
It's sad my wife and i have a rule?to bring one phone to dinner in case something happens?with the?kids. If our kids are with us we leave the phones in the car.
You are sane. :)
@@j.hernandez983 that's reasonable !
@@richelledeguzman7453 😊 thanks
So true man, its sickening how social media has destroyed normal communication even affecting parents and children. Just sickening.
I’m what you might call a contrarian fan of Bill’s- don’t agree with him on many things - but I feel like he’s been a crucial voice on these types of issues the last year or so.
Totally agree. Can't handle some of his political positions but it's whatever
Bill’s done a complete 180 after signing a deal with the White Sox and becoming a 100 millionaire.
I really noticed a change in his politics after that. 🤷♂️
Duh, for 28 YEARS, I've agreeded with absolutely everything Bill's said....
He has been a crucial voice on these types of issues (and political correctness) for a long time.
I always appreciate people with whom I DON'T always agree so long as their information is correct their analysis is thought out and they argue from the center that is some positions more conservative and some more liberal at least I can get a better grip on reality from them than most mega mouths out there
Ever since he started wearing the glasses it seems like he see's things a lot more clearly. This is the Bill Maher I grew up liking.
No…there’s just no Trump to bash for the whole hour…
Bill is a lot better without trump in the WH. A lot of people are tbh
You sound like projecting the eternal cliche of "people using glasses=smart" xD ive always loved bill and he is as great now as he was without glasses dude...
@@Psicokass You should listen to this segment another 20 times. He's talking to you!
Now that Trump is gone he’s allowed to do this kind of stuff again!
I've spent damn near my whole life glued to the internet far before it was cool and I can tell you it's not just the phone, or just the internet.. it's social media. Social media is the destroyer of civilizations, and humanity's greatest mistake. I've steered clear of it since MySpace became unpopular and never, ever regretted it.
I sorta miss early Myspace. The atmosphere was so much more fun and chill and I met legitimately cool people on it. Sure as hell never can say that about Facebook.
You get back what you put in. If you put shit in you get shit back.
Hey, Blazing...
You wrote "Social media is...humanity's greatest mistake."
Amen.
@@JohnRay1969 Actually with social media you don't even have to put shit in and you STILL get shit back.
@BlazingOwnager
I totally agree, social media is a cancer, I used facebook for around half a year and I completely hated it, never again, YT as the only social media platform I use and I try to stay off it as much as possible.
I think commenting on a utube video qualifies as social media.
He spoke the total truth about today's age. As a 45 year old man I find myself at times missing life before cell phones / smart phones. It's like a deasie with no cure.
Sure there's a cure: get rid of your smartphone. I've never owned one, and the only times I've ever wished I had one were the couple of times I got lost driving in a car without GPS.
I recall going to my uncles for Thanksgiving a few years back. A 5 year old had a 500$ phone. Mine was like 40$. When the ball game came on all us guys went to the living room to "Watch" After a few mins I noticed the room was very quite. I looked around and every other person including my 70 year old uncle was looking at their phones. I was like are we watching this game or what? Crickets. I just got up went out the back door grabbed a few beers out of the ice chest and smoked cigarettes the rest of the evening on the back patio alone.
Good story. Can visualize the whole thing
Take a look at a busy restaurant. Most places display zero communication between one another. Very odd to witness.
@@elgoog7830 Yes, I've really noticed this myself. Two people meeting for breakfast just staring at their phones not saying a single thing to one another. I eat at IHOP a lot and see this sort of thing all the time.
I feel you there. The only social media I'm on is here, but this is where I listen to music when I study or work on artwork here and there, and UA-cam is only partially social media, as you can just ignore comment sections. I don't even text my friends and family. I prefer talking to them face to face or hanging out with them. I don't even bring my phone to work, either. I like being present and in the moment with my life. Social media does have it's upsides, like talking to a good friend that's moved away still, but the cons far outweigh the pros.
Thanksgiving. Alone. What a story.
Goddamn! Bill is sooo right. This guy’s New Rules segment is so addictive. Can’t get enough of it.
He is talking about you tho
@@willjones6400 and you
That headline about anxiety and high school students from "Psychology Today" is from the year 2000. There were no smartphones. The first iPhone was released 7 years later. There was no Facebook. No Instagram. No UA-cam. How's that for fake news Bill Maher?
@@firstlast9292 already you got to stop. He was talking about social media. Social media has only become worse, with access becoming much more readily available with the advent of smartphones.
You set up a strawman.
@@willjones6400 I know😜
"Well, if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide." It's sad how many people are okay with this.
@Rich Perez Sell the iPhone, buy a Samsung. Gamers did it to Microsoft when they announced "always online" for the Xbox One, most bought Playstation's instead and Microsoft hasn't brought up mandatory online again.
It's more than sad. It's fu@king terrifying.
With that thought you are allowing SOMEONE ELSE to define your right and wrong. That makes you a SLAVE of that "someone else".
@Rich Perez Live free according to your own conscience? :)
You know what i tell people who say that? If that's true then why do you shut the door when you poop?
Thank you Bill. This is so important
this couldn’t be more spot on! my god finally someone said what i was thinking
and he said it on TV, the old pop culture delivery device that smartphones serve to enhance, while also making everyone a potentially famous talking head.
There's been plenty of other people who have said this, he's hardly the first.
@@fuzzypanda1684 unfortunately no one is doing anything about it.
"Finally"? 😂 I've said this a million times. So have millions of other people.
The patriot act exists, Bill is extremely ignorant for pretending privacy exists on his spy device.
i don't always agree with this guy, but he's spot on!
You should never agree with one person on everything, ever. That would make you a sycophant. Don't be that..
The only person you should ever totally agree with on everything is Donald Trump.
@@joeywho534 haha you're funny.
@@pazz6708 what?
@@joeywho534 Yes you should, or he will do everything Bill just talked about.
The most true thing I have ever heard about anything ever at any time.
I hated these f****g machines from the moment I saw them, so yeah, I don't have one. It's like still being a virgin. Bill said all the words so damn well right, like I wish I had done. You all don't want to realize that this machine is really making an a** h*** of you. But we're stuck with it for ever. Uhhh....., not me ;-)
You ought to watch more
Old man yells at cloud? That's the deep insight here?
Bill Blart came in hart this wark
ua-cam.com/video/r7zdbq-rXNg/v-deo.html
@@georgepearson4332 see that flying over your head. You missed the point.
I'm a proud flip-phone owner, and I approve of this message.
I've never used anything but flip phones (I'm 31, so I get a lot of weird looks.)
Yeah, Galaxy Z Flip is pretty rad.
Do they make flip phones that work on 4g? 3g will be defunct next year sometime. 2g has been obsolete for several years.
@@macroevolve I'll revert to a rotary if need be!
I use a tin of Heinz beans with a long, long string attached to another tin 2 miles away, which my one friend in my life uses to call me with. Empty tins of course, I am not a weirdo.
I'm an IT engineer and I've been playing on computers for over three decades, I hardly use social media and rarely carry my phone. A smart phone to desktop users is nothing more than a glorified calculator. Its weird walking into a restaurant and its silent while everyone checks their phone, people do behave differently than they did a decade ago.
Why I could never get into game apps on the phone when grew up playing PC.
Definitely a distinction there, though I'm not sure what the line is.
And yeah, I wonder if we looked at say Twitter, if we'd see a marked difference between those who answer by computer or by phone. Likewise differences between gen2 and gen3 internet users. To gen2, the internet is a different place where you go, where you inhabit an avatar, a persona. To gen3, it's just another part of your life. They don't even understand pseudonimity. I wonder how much of a difference that makes.
It’s the people not the phones
You can't hook up to a cell tower and then a satellite and still expect privacy. That's just insane
Same here. All my social media accounts are dead zones and I mostly use my phone to watch UA-cam or read the news. Everything else is on the laptop.
Went nearly the first two decades of my life without a cell phone…. Now I can’t go one hour without it.
Damn that’s disturbing but many folks are the same way. I’m glad I didn’t grow up with them
Try. To paraphrase Louis C.K., "You won't BELIEVE the resolution..." of REAL LIFE!
When I first tried meditation 3 years ago I had a literal panic attack... 10 WHOLE MINUTES with zero stimulation input.
It was the level of panic it caused that snapped me back to reality - I no longer carry my smartphone - I meditate 30 minutes every day - yoga 30 mins.
My life is IMESURABLY BETTER...
Yes you can. Just leave it at home, and go for a drive. I use mine to listen to music most of the time. Sometimes, I will leave it in the house, go get in my truck and go somewhere. Hasn't killed me yet.
I am age 61. For some of us, the smartphone just does not have the same appeal as it does for others. I am required to have one for work, but I hardly ever use it. We don’t have WiFI at home and so my cellphone is dependent on Data. Last week I realized it had been a while since the phone rang. My Data had been off for 11 days before I noticed.
One of the best decisions I made was to stay off social media, especially Facebook, with the exception of UA-cam comments, of course. Bill is right.
agreed. But even UA-cam now has become weird. I seriously think google and apple single handedly ruined everything. I was listening to someone the other day talk about the old windows and how even with windows 11 everything has become a "service" instead of a "tool"
I also don't don't any social media except for comments on bills show
I deleted Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Best decision I've ever made. It was causing problems in my relationship.
Facebook has become too mean, vitriolic , and inconsiderate for me now. Literally strangers wanting to fight with you for no reason, or a foolish reason at that. I wastes so much of one's time that I want out. Get back to the rotary phone and an answering machine.
This is what I do too! Sadly, UA-cam has become very toxic too.
After listening to this I realize Bill was talking about me… I’m 48 years old and I’ve let the phone take over my life… I don’t interact with people matter fact I can’t even stand to deal with people face-to-face anymore… Just like he said I would ghost them and ignore them instead of confront them about something I didn’t like… today I turned off and deactivated my Facebook page and my Instagram… I didn’t have Snapchat or Twitter because I’m 48 years old and I don’t understand that stuff lol… I kept UA-cam but that is the only means of social media I have going forward! Time to start being in real human again!!
You probably will miss Facebook for a few months, but you won't miss it after some time. As the basic principle of economy that says that when you invest in something you have to be aware that you are not investing in other things, you may end up investing your time in something more productive and rewarding than spending your time on Facebook.
Wow, what an awesome decision to make. Congratulations!! I hope it's going well for you! :)
Just this small comment is an inspiration to me. I am so happy for you. What a great realization! I hope I can find and accept my own faults like you have and feel good about making changes for the better.
how are doing?
@Hell Raiser - I'm so baffled that anyone can start looking at their phone while they're having a conversation with another person. It's so rude. Good for you for walking away when it happens.
I advise every single person to do a no screen week at least once a year. You'll feel rejuvenated, and connected to the world around you more than a smartphone could ever do.
Sounds like a great idea until you get fired.
So switch to nudie magazines in the meantime? Hmmmm
I have a smartphone... but it's hardly ever on or even charged. But then I grew up before they were a thing.
It is an awesome experience, I try for at least a week a year if I can get away from the house. It's just not possible most days due to work (online) and other days due to programming and other hobbies.
Week?! Are you insane?
Bill, that’s the Bill Maher I have been missing
It’s the same Bill, buddy.
He's always been this way.
@@pathologicaldoubt Buddy! I have been watching Bill Maher since ‘93 when he started the show politically incorrect in Comedy Central before hi moved to HBO and I know what I said and what I meant you don’t.
This bit about mobile phones was very good, and well on-point.
Thank you, Bill. This should be a daily PSA.
Nodding in agreement with Bill, as I watch this on my smartphone.
I remember when I got my own landline in my room at age 17 and thinking, "I have reached the pinnacle of human communication."
The pinnacle of human communication is having a meal and/or a few drinks and talking face to face. Everything else is a pale imitation.
@@Vladimirwlr1234 Dude, I was only 17.
When we got the first cordless when I was like 15 It was amazing.
Lol
Many times I've REALLY considered going back to the cordless. I'm always in a time that makes sense to me.
Easily one of the most important messages he's ever had. ARE YA LISTENING, TECH INDUSTRY???
Oh, and I think Bill should get a Pulitzer for this piece.
Tech industry? What about personal responsibility? Don't get a phone. It's possible to live without it. Though I have a hard time convincing my friends and family of it, they are all aghast I haven't bought into it.
yes! agreed for the Pulitzer
tech industry already knows this stuff. They dont care, its all about selling the latest model to the tech-sheep.
No, the tech industry is not going to listen. WE THE PEOPLE are going to have to do the hard work of pushing back against the tech industry by not lettin g them dominate our culture. It starts with putting the phone down at the dinner table.
Agree 100! This really made me rethink my habits and what I'm teaching my kids. Thank you.
I have nothing to hide, but I do sometimes take screenshots of financial information including account numbers so I can have quick access to them. I feel our privacy is being invaded.
Bill, thank you for the pointed commentary on smart phones and their negative effects on our society. While I don't always agree with your point of view, this was very well said. I hope more people put the phone down and engage with each other face-to-face.
I have a friend who I used to have lunch with now and then. She'd get out of her car with her purse over her shoulder and her phone in her hand. I looked at her and asked if she was having lunch with me or with her phone? Then I strongly suggested she put it on mute and put it in her purse. So many can't exist without them. Drives me nuts.
I had the same friend - we only meet once in the bluest moons and usually Im ready with an excuse why I have to be brief. Her phone comes out I "remember" my other errand and Im gone. If I dont matter more than the phone than neither do you - even if Im just going home. Honestly its an actual addiction.
I no longer even converse with those "friends" who keep staring at their phone while I am with them. Your choice, a human connection or your phone.
I check my phone once a day for emails, then I start the rest of my life.
Bill took the words right out of my mouth with this segment. BRILLIANT!!
Nailed it.
Finally Bill gets it, what ever happened to warrants and judges? When did tech monopolies become more powerful than our government
Exactly why the Chinese CCP are presently destroying and physically just taking over these companies.
When Australia told FAcebook they couldn't do something, and Facebook said 'watch us.'
Warrants and judges apply to the government. If you don't like what's going on take Gaetz's advice.
Even before they erased Trump.
When tech giants became the government.
Thank you Bill, I needed to hear this.
I definitely miss meditating in silence on the toilet.
Oooooooouuuummmm
I miss that too.
I mean, I never did that.
But I miss when _you_ did that. I miss it a lot.
While waiting for the "skip ads" to appear, there are often five or six or sometimes even fifteen seconds to endure. This is when I close my eyes and meditate. Questions that have arisen during these breaks: "What? This hurts?? Really, it hurts to wait? What is wrong with your head, TAR ICO, if you can't close your eyes and mellow out for fifteen seconds??"
Anyway, these moments of reflection have become better and better. Healthy. Intellectually stimulating. Go now and do the same. Or not! I actually do appreciate some commercials, like movie previews.
I miss counting the letters of ingredients on the shampoo bottle to find the longest one.
sick.
I’m still using a flip phone for all the reasons outlined here. My phone is for making calls & nothing else and yes I do know how to use one, I just have no need for the thing.
I don't know if this is Maher's best New Rules --- but it's gotta be near the top !!
Top 5.
OK, boomer. The only one I didn't finish.
When a parent purchases a cell phone for their two-year old, it's simply the 21st century way of saying GET OUT OF MY HAIR. In the 70s, it was GO OUT AND PLAY.
"Phones make people fake their lives instead of living their lives" - perfect for a t-shirt, which I will now print.
phone fake
Ha !@ i have a T-shirt '' Don't Bro me, unless You Know me ''......
@@jhawthorne78 ....their 'leader ' donald jerko**, er, J trump......
But...........no you won't.
You wrote that comment. But you won't actually follow through with that.
You know you won't.
But that actually makes your comment all the more true, doesn't it?
Listen to "Another Time" by Disturbed
100% ALL FACTS
Thank you Bill for the excellent commentary on the smartphone/Social media problem. This monologue hits the nail right on the head. Western civilization is finished if we don't get a handle on this.
Perfect! Absolutely perfectly on target. One of the top 10 commentaries of Bill's career.
All those applause breaks and the seemingly mandatory laughing after every single sentence completely fucks with the rhythm of the segment. Just ditch that damned crowd already!
Sadly he likes the crowd. In fact he gets pissed when you don’t clap for something he thinks is funny and or important. That annoys me more than the applause. Every comedian knows if the jokes doesn’t land, just keep moving on; he waits and stares at the audience like why the heck did you not clap or respond. I will say, he’s smart and some information and jokes do go over his audience heads.
@@jovanolague3161 Yeah, agreed - he shouldn't feel entitled to a certain reaction from people, which he seems to do. These things aside, Bill almost always has a good point in these bits, but all the unnecessary shenanigans(from both himself and the crowd) sadly drowns out the message(and the jokes) sometimes, imo.
There's a producer with a six-figure salary pumping an applause light through the whole thing. Plus a few hundred grand in sound equipment that can make that audience sound however they want, on the fly. What you hear is exactly what Maher and his people want you to hear. This is "live" only in the sense that it's done in a single take. It's no less processed than any other media you consume.
He doesn't write these either
I was thinking the same thing
If I could “like” this 100 times, I would! Now what do we do about it???
You need to create 99 more accounts 😋
This whole bit is spot on, especially the dating. I miss locking eyes with a woman and the silent tension...nowadays most people 30 and younger can't even hold your eyes for more than 2 seconds
It's part of the reason why I don't bother about dating anymore. I simply don't have the patience to be with someone who HAS to keep her phone in line of sight so she can habitually glance at it every 30 seconds (any more than I would date someone who had to duck out for a smoke every 20 minutes). Most of the other reasons are phone-related as well, come to think of it. What a world.....
Yup, the whole process of courting is a lost art in modern life. Glad I have experienced it.
As someone who just turned 26 you are correct but also I like it. Doesn’t take as much effort to get laid.
@@matttrembley8584 Point proven. Anything worth having or doing requires effort.
@@zyrrhos Idk what you mean by this besides quoting someone else.
Spot on. Imagine paying 15,000 dollars to travel to an exotic location and spending so much time on your phone that you miss most of the worthwhile sights. We were in Paris a few years ago having dinner at a restaurant that afforded us a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower. The three people sitting at an adjacent table only looked up from their various devices long enough to place an order with the waiter. And don't get me started on the idiots who walk around completely oblivious to anything and everything going on around them.
“Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community. Then they were quickly silenced, but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It’s the invasion of the
idiots.” ~Umberto Eco
I wholeheartedly agree. It seems no one even speaks to each other any more, but just text them. I could live without the damn cellphones. I think if all the cellphones disappeared, some people would go insane as they are totally addicted now.
It’s made people shameless
I was about to write this exact quote from Eco, one of my beloved quotes!! Just too real.
@Simshine95
but USA has been *PANDERING to the Proudly Idiotic* for at least 4 decades .. be it the school system or pop culture
eg look at Hollywood hits ... now the MORON is the hero who berates the scientist & saves the day with his _folksy_ ways
Everyone absolutely has a right to speak. You dont need a Nobel prize to have a right to speak. Dumb quote.
I stopped watching television 45 years ago because I could see its effect on those around me. Now I am absolutely stunned to see people doing the insane things they are that are not just self-centered & rude as F but extremely dangerous as if that device is more important to you than anyone else, In reality everyone is choosing to live in the digital realm so no one will have any clue what started WWIII. Can you hear that megaphone in the distance? "ALL ABOARD!"
When he's right, he's right. I stopped drinking after watching Maher talk about the alarming increase in American alcohol consumption and health problems.
I agree - 90% of the time I think he is an insufferable rich Boomer. But 10% of the time he is absolutely spot on - or his writer's area at ant rate.
@@piccalillipit9211 wow, that last part went off the rails completely.
@@32lara32 - HAHAHA Im incredibly dyslexic. And Im a professional author - imagine how bad life is for my proofreader LOL.
Good for you. I'm not one of those uptight types that will go around telling people that alcohol is "literal poison" or anything like that, but moderation is _essential._
All else being equal, I'd much rather have a teetotaler for a friend than an alcoholic- and I suspect any responsible adult would feel likewise.
@@Commander6444 Maher is correct 90% of the time
I feel personally called out in the best way 🙈. He’s got a point or 5!
Psychology Today: "The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s."
That just about sums it up right there. I'd imagine that it's the same with adults 18-35 as well. The inmates are literally running the asylum.
And he's spot on about all the faking of pics. We have a word for that: Kayfabe. Life is becoming a work, and shoots are problematic. Don't even THINK about going off the script!
That is a stat that makes you stop and really think.
I also tend to look at things in pro wrestling terms. It's a very useful lens.
Jim Cornette would love that you did this 👏😄
That headline about anxiety and high school students from "Psychology Today" is from the year 2000. There were no smartphones. The first iPhone was released 7 years later. There was no Facebook. No Instagram. No UA-cam. How's that for fake news Bill Maher?
@@firstlast9292 If anything, if it’s that late, it would only logically mean that things have gotten even worse.
I was giving Bill a "hell yeah" and laughing while sitting on the toilet watching with my smartphone.
I deleted all my social media a few years ago.
UA-cam is pretty much my only communication with the world and I like it this way.
Fuck the fake.
@@crackasaurus_rox9740 Try some DMT
I learned today that UA-cam is considered "Social Media", even though it's nothing like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. I don't use any of those apps but I do realize I watch a lot of UA-cam on my phone. Maybe a good thing to try is to quit UA-cam on the phone and only watch it when on a computer, or stream it to a TV. Then it would be more akin to just watching TV on a Television.
You don’t need to delete, you just don’t need let the algorithms dictate how you see the real world.
Yupp I barely go on Facebook and I don't even have IG but it's like he said its a bunch of fake ass pos full of themselves look at me don't even look like themselves in real life ass people!!
@@JBuchmann or just don't use the comment section 😂
Bill is absolutely killing it this season!!
I remember when people use to go to a bar, have a drink and reflect on life. Clear their heads. Now they just get drunk and stare at their phones the whole time. Take time to unwind please.
watching this on my phone and wholehearted agreeing.
Did the same on my iPad 😊
Probably one of the best segments Bill has done.
Ever.
Everything Bill said is so true.. It hurts... We are not wired for this type of environment....
So true? That headline about anxiety and high school students from "Psychology Today" is from the year 2000. There were no smartphones. The first iPhone was released 7 years later. There was no Facebook. No Instagram. No UA-cam. How's that for fake news Bill Maher?
@@firstlast9292 Dude, you’ve posted this like a dozen times already, lol.
Doesn’t matter if it’s from 2000, it’s still going on.
Thank you, Bill. We must reclaim our humanity.
I'm so old I can remember going an entire day without taking a picture of something
Hello from South France,
One evening when I was on the terrace of a restaurant, the weather was very good, a beautiful rather romantic terrace, there was a couple of young people 24 or 25 years old at a table not very far from me.
From aperitif to dessert, they must have exchanged about thirty words. They each had their smartphone on their side next to them and spent the evening with their noses inside, raising their heads either to eat or drink, or to briefly comment on what happened on their respective smartphones with a smile. It's very significant on the addiction to social networks. This disembodied youth is scary for the future of Humanity.
Cordially,
"disembodied youth" is the most apt description of these zombified millennials that I've ever read...They are truly, as the Bible notes, "lovers of themselves....and without natural affection." I remember, once a few years ago, I was on a date with a young woman....We were in a new "upscale" eatery for lunch, nothing fancy, but very nice none the less...After the server took our order, my lunch companion began texting....She continued texting, pausing breifly when our food arrived...When I tried to engage her in conversation, she would look up at me in bewilderment, as though I were speaking in some foreign tongue that she did not understand...After a few more minutes, I got up and left the table without saying anything to her....I settled the Bill with the Hostess and left a genorous gratuity for the Server...I don't think that my "date" noticed my absence nor realised I had not finished my meal...Never again....🤔🕊
What’s it’s like there? Do you guys have people who are young? Or is it retiree or a mixed bag? Looking to move some where near Montpellier.
@@4inaftermath454 Hello,
I'm 54 old. I'm Parisian but now I live Perpignan close to the Spanish border. Montpelier isn't so far (97 miles).
Don't worry, Montpellier is one of the prefered cities of French people.
Good weather, sea at 10 km (6,21 miles) full of students cause of the numerous universities. City + suburbs: 440,896 inhab. Population in the inner city: 290,053 inhabitants.
It's a very touristic city and attractive by its architecture, its many monuments, its museums, its many festivities throughout the summer season. Like Perpignan, it's located in the "Occitanie" region, which is a region highly renowned for its wine and its gastronomic specialties.
No worries about getting around since the city offers 4 tram lines + many buses.
Montpellier is a very good choice.
Hope I've answered to your request.
Have a nice day, peace!
@@j-loosenfout67 thank you for the information , very helpful . Looking to move away from the hustle and non stop flow of life in New York and just relax and enjoy the moment . From what I gather the way of life over there fits this mostly and I’m working on securing travel to explore and confirm this
@@4inaftermath454 Yes, these are exactly the same reasons that prompted me to request my transfer to the south as soon as a position became available because I no longer supported the degraded climate, the polluted air, always having to lift the head to hope to see a small piece of sky, the frantic and daily race of the Parisian suburbs where we live in a constant emergency.
So I think I understand what you're looking for. And for that, the south of France is exactly what you need.
If you adopt the French way of life, that you appreciate being able to sit quietly on a café terrace with friends, or even with a book, a newspaper, or a magazine and let the time slip by while sipping a coffee -cream or a beer and watching the world go by, then in France you'll feel at home.
Perpignan, the city where I live, is wedged between the mountains (the Pyrenees) to the south and the sea (Mediterranean) to the west.
Breathing air of such quality and seeing a real beautiful sky, a very pure blue is a luxury that today, I couldn't do without.
On the other hand, know that's complicated to make friends in France.
Because here most people stay in touch with their friends for a very long time, often even their entire life.
So, they're frequently "among themselves". If their circle of friends grows, it's most often through someone introducing a new person to the circle of friends.
Friendship meetings are therefore rarely done outside the circle of friends.
Unlike the Anglo-Saxons, the French are rather reserved by nature. They don't have the same ability as Americans to communicate with each other without knowing each other when they're at the checkout of a supermarket and when they queue for example.
Same thing on the way to behave with other people or even with customers for example. If you talk to a salesperson in a store in France you'll often be surprised to find salesperson willn't be especially overflowing with enthusiasm, full of big smiles and ready to move mountains to satisfy you. No, the salesperson will be himself, no more, no less.
It can be very confusing for an Anglo-Saxon at first when you aren't used to it.
Ditto in the restaurant, the waiter lets you eat. He's not going to come every three minutes to ask you if everything is okay, if you don't need anything and to chat with you.
If you need anything, you call him.
Indeed, in France, the service in general must be discreet. The server shouldn't give the impression that's constantly listening to your discussions.
The only way to make friends in France, if you like sports, is to go to cafes which broadcast major sporting events on screens. On these occasions, people are very open, they like to exchange their impressions.
You can also go to the stadiums. Rugby is very popular in the south of France and the atmosphere is extremely nice and friendly.
You can also register in the many "pétanque" clubs. Again, this is a great way to meet the locals around a very relaxing and fun activity. The atmosphere is very warm and friendly.
In these places people are generally very relaxed.
So, don't hesitate to ask me for other information, I'll try to help you.
Good day.
He’s absolutely right. I’m one of the lucky ones who fully formed his mind before 2008, and I feel like I only use the phone to better access real content like Bill. And I disavowed all social media after feeling all the things he describes. But I have relatives that grew up with all this, and it has clearly warped their sense of reality and community.
The way you describe it is that social media only affects younger generations. In fact, it affects older people too. That somewhat racist uncle? Well, he found a bunch of racist friends and created a racist echo chamber on FB and now he's even more racist. That aunt thinking about a certain conspiracy? Well, now she knows it's real thanks to some "documentary" a conspiracy theorist on FB shared to her.
Yes, I too saw the (red) light when FB stopped being just an easy way to keep a contact list with "Friends" and have silly games/interactions together, and started being a way to keep you in your own bubble of same type information, making it a race to showoff between you and people you know, while harvesting as much personal information as possible.
But many others gladly give up privacy, potential jealousy and the danger of misinformation for the possibility of finding their tribe - whatever that might be: racist, misogynistic, white supremacist, Left, Right, conspiracy "expert", etc.
In any case: Bill talks about smartphones, but at some point in the future those smartphones will be replaced by holographic bracelets and "smarter" watches and so forth. The phone part of "smartphone" has little impact, since, as he pointed out, people don't really call nowadays. What will remain will be the social media. That's the rot that will fester.
@@razvanzamfir1545 found the commie
@@razvanzamfir1545 counterpoint taken. Well said. I agree with a lot of what you said.
I understand being formed before smart(stupid) phones because I am 74 and hate these phones. Digital is more vulnerable that old analog phones, which I want back. Charging a phone is not a reasonable thing for elderly! This world stinks!
I truly Hate it when I'm hanging with friends, Rare Occasion anymore... and everyone is having a different conversation with each other on their phones.... When we're All in the Same Damn Room!!!
Sorry, f those people. Make new friends.
Thats bad... not only is it bad its almost two faced. Like what are you saying to one person in the room you don't want the others to know? Not you personally I mean anyone who does this. I didn't realize it was that bad.
As they say, "1984" wasn't an instruction manual.
Maybe it wasn't but It certainly seems to have given them some ideas.
I thought it was? We're just a bit behind schedule
cool kids model their governments off of brave new world
2021 is 1984. We need an asteroid more than ever. 💯
@@TraumaER i'll be on the tallest hill in my area with bottle of 30 yo scotch and a sack of the best smoke i can find and sitting in a lawn recliner watching it come in.
Peace out world
Thank you, Bill. Brilliant commentary on a very important subject. Big fan here.
This is so good, well done, and thank you Bill 👍
Me: "He's right!"
Also me: *watches this on his phone*
On the toilet
What really matters in life can’t be seen through the tight knit net of addiction but when you sit that phone down and open your eyes it’s more beautiful than any clever tweet.
I love going on walks and enjoying the outside. My phone's main purpose is honestly playing music. I put on my head phones, play music, and just walk around observing nature and thinking. I think more people need to learn how to be alone with themselves every now and again and learn about who they truly are.
@@Armosect you are so right. Being mindful of the beauty around you in nature is such a blessing.
Welcome back, Bill
When smartphones became popular, I was living in an area with no cell service. So, I didn't bother. Within a year, I vowed I would never get one because all my friends turned into assholes. More than a decade later, I'm more resolute than ever to NEVER own one. I detest them and I struggle not to detest people in general now. As an outside observer, everyone seems incredibly rude, looks ridiculous, and behaves like addicts in denial.
I can relate. I carry mine in case of a breakdown when I'm driving. My friends know, because I have informed them, that I do not look at my phone sometimes for hours, or for DAYS!! I am not a Pavlov's dog; I do not jump and run at the ringing of a bell!
Watching some of the riots was weird for me. It made me think of body snatcher hosts holding their parasites up in front of themselves to see. Thousands of crazy angry people running down the streets all with their devices in front of them. 40 years ago you could have used that footage for a sci-fi horror flick. “Invasion of the thought snatchers “
Yet one of the clinical cures or treatments to addiction in general is to replace the bad routine with a better one.
Now how do you do that when we are obsessed with social distancing, work and study from home and wearing a de facto muzzle covering your face...?
People would have never accepted the lockdowns if we didn’t have the inferior but comforting substitute to real relationships called social media and smart phones...
@@ArnoldSig - That is a very important point you made, and I've not seen it mentioned anywhere else.
Maybe people that look at their phone instead of talking to others because people suck, rude, stupid, ignorant arrogant, fickle and usually aren't worth talking too.
When you've seen several full-speed, high-speed crashes on CA highways where the distracted driver who didn't stop because they were fucking texting and took out three or four other vehicles, you get everything Bill si saying.
CA sucks.
@@swesleyc7 California or Canada?
@@swesleyc7 Get a safe space.
I love my flip phone. All it does is make phone calls, usually brief and to the point only when needed. I've had people tell me they were envious. The phone is to be a tool that serves man, not the other way around.
I too love my flip phone, which my son calls my POS phone. He can't seem to grasp why I won't upgrade to a "smart" phone even though I been very clear that "Hello", "Goodbye", caller ID, and voice mail are all I want from a phone. I have a laptop and tablet and don't need another devise in my life, especially one that can stop you from actually LIVING it!
Never disappointed with you Bill. Thanks for being you . Your the the Greatest !!!
If preachers would give sermons like this, I'd be in church every Sunday.
Jesus said go to your room and pray alone. He never built a church. He was a Jew and he said in Matthew that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. Anyway. People don't read Bible or care what Jesus said as long as it is in line with their way of lives.
@@dudewheresmycar8506 Honestly, I find it inappropriate to talk about someone like Jesus or anyone who is not in this world using those expressions.
@@liamcavanagh5270 I do.
🛐
@@dudewheresmycar8506 no he did not say that in Exodus. That book was written thousands of years before Christ. He only quotes in the New Testament which is the new convenant that Christian are to live under. Books like exodus and others in the Old Testament have great stories we can learn from but it is not where you draw instruction. If you are going to slander Jesus at least know what you are talking about.
I'm pretty sure the ass hole trait is hereditary. The cell phone just amplified the ego to absurdity. Not a good mix.
Lotta truth to this, people talk shit without getting hit.
Never was a big Bill Maher fan, but lately he’s really hitting the ball out of the park calling out the hypocrisy that is permeating virtually everything. This is a perfect example.
Rise Bill! So grateful for you calling this shit out
Keep up the good work Bill! You are a voice of reason and hilarity through these crazy times. America needs this!!!
My ancient mother said years ago, never put anything on your phone you would mind on the front page of The New York Times. We laughed.
Yeah, I was at one of Bill's comedy shows and he had to scold someone several times to get them to stop filming with their phone. Bill, " I can see the light on your face."
Yb
Nailed it again Bill
“Turn off your fucking cellphone. You can have no idea how unimportant your call is to us.”-Christopher Hitchens’ 8th Commandment.
Yeah, this isn’t a new problem. And it’s only gotten worse.
This is sooooooo accurate.
The only reason I have a cellphone is for work; when I get home from work I put it on the charger until the next day when I leave for work. I still have my landline as my official phone.
Mine is in the bottom of my rucksack and people say you never answer your phone. I rarely use it and only take it with me in the car in case I break down.
"Phones make people fake their lives instead of living their lives." I already realized this back in 2010 with Facebook. People will exaggerate 20% of their life, which is fun and exciting, as though it occupies 80% of the total time they were alive. If 80% of your life is without pain, suffering or challenges; you are either not growing, or you are already dead.
the cia owns facebook
Absolutely spot on. You know, the thing that really gets me is that it's still called a "phone". You know, like a telephone. It's supposed to be meant for calling people. But ever since phones got "smart", they've just done so much more than that. If you keep it to what it was originally meant for, it's not so bad, but it seems like it's been terrible for humans to have access to everything that smartphones do nowadays at all times.
Paper, scissors, rocks and convenience. Convenience wins every time.
"You're phone is turning you all into assholes."
Seal claps. "Hey, wait a minute. He just called us assholes." Seal claps.
Yup.
Oh I already knew I was an asshole I didn't need anyone to tell me that
@T0MapleLaughs
*Your phone
Sorry for being an asshole.
Bill Maher is probably the only person that can tell everyone that they are an asshole. and they will applaud him for it LOL.
No those must be the boomers who remember the good old days before the millennial and Gen Z kids came with their smart phones and isolated themselves from actual social contact and binge watching an entire season of TV shows in half a day
Thank you for revealing the truth thro8ugh humor.
I have a phone, but I try to be polite in real life! At least say "Hello" "Thank you" and "Excuse me" when necessary. Kindness is free