Thread by @Caleb_Parker

Can you imagine if we, as a society, made all our decisions based on saving jobs?

What if we just accepted the status quo?
Progress would be so slow 😱
Would society be better or worse today?

Let’s chat about this...

The Web has barely been around for 30 years. Most people on earth did not have access to it even a decade ago.

➡️2001
Most people had a landline
Long-distance calls were considered a luxury.
The number of fixed phone lines on earth was less than 15% of the current number of mobile phones.
Less than 2% of retail sales were conducted online.

➡️2008
There were 90 times less iPhones in use than today. (There were hardly any Android phones.)
Uber, Instagram and Zoom were not yet invented, and Netflix had barely started streaming.

Less than 12% of mobile phones had broadband internet; those that did had 3G (which was about ten times slower than the 4G networks today.)

❓How many phone company jobs have been lost?
❓How many retail jobs have been lost?
❓How many taxi jobs have been lost?
❓How many Blockbuster jobs have been lost?
❓How many travel agent jobs have been lost?
❓How many bank teller jobs have been lost?

But, how has society improved?
Has your life been positively effected?
Are things more convenient today?
How many more new jobs have been created?

Progress eats jobs.
It also creates new ones.
If it didn’t long distance travel would still require trains 🚂 and ships 🛳

P.S.
Here are some other jobs that technology has killed, but improved society, over the years:
home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/f…

Source for tech stats:
subscribe.drorpoleg.com/p/covid-nycs-r…