Ubiquitous mobile phone access has made the great pub debate a lost art form. Everyone has instant access to any fact or information they could want, meaning that lively debates about any sort of topic are no longer as likely or common in your local pub. But is this good? Should we give thanks that fast talkers can’t convince us that the moon is about to fall, or mourn that lively debates in pubs are a thing of the past?
If you came to your majority before the generational shift to increasingly accessible mobile phone access and usage, then you probably remember your first trips to your local pub with fondness for a number of reasons, if you remember them at all. We’re talking about 15 years or so ago at this point, but we’re sure there’s probably a couple of years’ leeway either side of that, depending on how tech-savvy the customers at your local were.
Of course, there are many things that pub-goers can still enjoy and are an integral part of the experience, but engaging in inebriated arguments with other customers about obscure facts was a tried and tested part of the pub experience, one which is no longer the same. These debates were often over incredibly banal things, or obscure little nuggets of history, but they relied on people either having the knowledge themselves, knowing someone who did or simply being able to talk the other person into submission.
Now, with the entirety of human knowledge in our pockets, people don’t have to argue their point; it doesn’t matter if you are talking with someone about the best platforms that provide attractive casino bonus offers, or if you are discussing which actors are in a specific film, or which band wrote or performed a song first, a simple Google search is likely to reveal the truth of the matter, but doing so kills the great pub debate.
Remembering the Golden Age of Pub Debates
While it might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, or pint of lager as it were, the pub debate was a big part of the experience of going to the pub for many people. Depending on the nature of your local pub, there might have been a couple of local characters who seemed to know just about anything and to speak on every topic with authority, or it might have been that, depending on the topic, someone else in the crowd would be the one people turned to as the expert.
It wasn’t quite an ancient Greek symposium full of philosophers pushing the boundaries of thought, but having a good, lively discussion was a part of the draw for the pub for many. It wouldn’t matter what you were discussing; someone would be an expert who could weigh in and tip the argument one way or the other. Now, this is no longer the case.
Smartphones Lead to Dumb Conversations?
Smartphones make debating many of the classic pub conversation topics entirely fatuous. You don’t need to have an extended conversation about who wrote what song or which team scored how many points in what season; our phones can simply provide the knowledge with a simple search.
It might seem like that’s a good thing, you aren’t going to jaw back and forth for hours to come to a conclusion that can be reached in moments. But reaching the answer isn’t necessarily the point of the discussion when you’re at your favourite pub. Having a spirited yet friendly debate with someone in the pub could lead to a lifelong friendship. One of you is wrong, or maybe you both are, but in the end, you laugh and try to see the other person’s point of view. Maybe you are even so impressed with their ability to argue something you know is wrong that you come back next week to re-make their acquaintance.
While smartphones can give us the answers to many questions, those answers don’t necessarily improve the quality of conversation that we might have. It’s also a real conversation killer when someone’s first instinct on hearing something is to whip out their phone and fact-check you in real time.
Is it Really All Bad?
Alright, it isn’t quite all bad. Having access to concrete information like dates and figures doesn’t necessarily preclude all debate. You can still argue the benefits and drawbacks of different things with people, which director is better, which band has a more interesting influence; there are plenty of topics that allow you to argue from a more experiential standpoint rather than simply spitting cold, hard facts.
There is also the fact that being able to look some things up can be really advantageous in some situations. Say you do want to play some online games, well, finding a good affiliate site that lists out a range of platforms that you can play on, including bonuses and other benefits, is exactly what you need. Having your old mate Ned just tell you what he reckons could be good in this situation, but what if Ned is an idiot? It’s better to have access to facts and figures in this case.
Final Thoughts
While the golden age of pub debates is over, there’s still plenty you can argue with your friends and strangers about. If you can grit your teeth and accept that people will fact-check you in real time, arguing about more emotionally based truths can still be a rewarding and fun social experience.
Smartphones can provide access to all of human history and just about any fact we care to know, but they can’t have an interesting conversation with us. Maybe put your phone away and let your friends mislead you a little, the conversation will be more fun for everyone!
