this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2026
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[–] ToastedRavioli@midwest.social 18 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I dont think that in the 60s-90s anyone would have necessarily anticipated the existence of smartphones as they are now. Rather than it being a “deliberate” choice not to have them in the show. Its just not a futuristic idea of communication that existed at the time. Theres not smartphones in The Jetsons either. Earlier ideas of what the future would be like were a lot more utopian than the dystopian hellscape induced by smartphones and social media. Their various ideas of the future were a modification of the way people actually lived then, which was simultaneously less connected but also more interpersonally social

[–] yakko@feddit.uk 8 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

There's a lot of newer Trek shows that seem to have stayed away from smartphones too, though.

[–] ivanvector@piefed.ca 10 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

There's not a whole lot of entertainment value in having a bunch of people sitting in silence texting other people off screen with the occasional loud video being played to nobody. Even if they are in space.

[–] yakko@feddit.uk 13 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, well it sucks in real life too

[–] schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 weeks ago

Ditto for AI. Oh, sure, they played with AI, but always in an embodied holodeck character or an android, never as a disembodied computer program. Imagine a show where every major decision point on the bridge was "do what the computer says."

[–] ToastedRavioli@midwest.social 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Well yeah, but they are based on the universe that was invented earlier. It would be pretty jarring for them to have made a change like that

[–] yakko@feddit.uk -1 points 3 weeks ago

Look, this is a boring conversation right? I feel mildly gaslit, can we talk about anything else?

[–] TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

they also didn't understand how tribal and primitive most of us are deep down.

social media plays on those instincts.