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0 pointsbastawhiz3y ago0 comments

Nothing. You could leave it at home, too. But that's not the point. We live in an age where, arguably, we all feel safer because we're able to contact loved ones immediately. Visiting this hypothetical cafe implies that we also eliminate our ability to receive and respond to time-sensitive messages. That's perhaps a luxury, but it's a luxury that we rely on.

If my home security system tells me that it heard broken glass, I want to know now, not in thirty minutes. If my kid needs to be picked up from school, I want to know now. If my spouse's employer calls to tell me they've been sent to the hospital, I want to know now. Anyone with a job that requires them to be reachable for emergencies (like an emergency responder on their lunch break) cannot attend this cafe. In today's society, it's a luxury to have no responsibilities to anyone such that you aren't reachable for hours at a time.

It's wild to think of a place that would be exclusionary of parents, caregivers, partners, and more simply because of an absolutist policy. And you've got to be carrying cash. And of course, there's no ATM because that would have a screen. For a huge swath of the population, this is simply a non-starter.

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6 comments · 4 top-level

mikestew3y ago· 1 in thread

In today's society, it's a luxury to have no responsibilities to anyone such that you aren't reachable for hours at a time.

Luxury? For a large swath of the population, that’s called “a job”. From nurses to factory workers, many aren’t allowed to carry a phone when they go to work.

But, man, this idea that the leash can’t be cut for even thirty minutes to enjoy a coffee is indicative of other problems, IMO. Just because one can constantly be reachable doesn’t mean one should. Which is…kinda the point of the café, eh?

Nextgrid3y ago

> many aren’t allowed to carry a phone when they go to work.

Reachability != carrying a phone.

For those working at a job that prohibits phones, they are still reachable, just that emergency contacts will call the workplace instead (where someone would then deliver the important notification in-person to the employee).

cxr3y ago· 1 in thread

You're in a bubble. There are tons of people who have to go to work every day without having their cell phone. That's not a product of luxury. It's the opposite. And with your comment about "exclusionary of parents, caregivers, partners, and more" you've cleverly (or not) swapped for-all and there-exists implicit quantifiers—by "exclusionary of parents", you meant "exclusionary of people who are a parent to someone and won't be parting with their phone" and by "partners", you mean "people who are a partner to someone and won't be parting with their phone", etc.

ghaff3y ago

With the obligatory "This post was a thought exercise..."

There are also those of us who can be on long flights, travel places without cell service, may turn off phone if international, etc. I'm mostly reachable by cell phone but, no, you're not guaranteed to reach me right now every moment of every day.

chrismartin3y ago

Don't worry: for every No Screens Cafe, there are 35,000 Starbuckses.

93po3y ago

i am recently unemployed and could turn off my phone for weeks (with forewarning) with zero problems. but also - no kids, no partner, no pets, no family that lives in the same state

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