Eh, not really. My brother works with a whole bunch of people who manage just fine when they have their gov phone taken away.

Nope, they are a necessity

they really are a necessity...

You can live, sustain, function, and proceed without the use of a personal phone. Would be inconvenient as fuck, but it can be done and is being done.

can you live without the internet?

yes.

is the internet a necessity for life in today's america?

yes.

Boom

We have different terms of what a necessity is then.

Not everyone in America has the internet and they can still do everything fine. It's just inconvenient.

Just like the use of a phone. You don't need one to function. It's just inconvenient.

An inconvenience that hinders upward mobility, the ability to find and hold a job, etc etc etc

Yes there are people without phones and Internet. Yes some of us here remember a time without it. Thing is I can't find a job without either because they are required on applications, many places don't offer paper applications anymore, you can't get a fuckin credit card without an email.

Is it possible to live without them. Well yeah it is possible to think otherwise is stupid. But considering how interconnected the world we live in is, your "inconvenience" is a social hinderance that cripples the lives and potential of thousands upon thousands of people.

Like I said it is a inconvenience, no matter how large it may be, but it can still be done which is my point. That it isn't a necessity. 1/2 the people I knew from a board and lodge didn't own a phone or a computer, but still have a job and still live their every day lives. It is just an inconvenience to them, but I know how it would be a disastrous hindrance to others...

are clothes a necessity?

by your logic, not owning any is simply an inconvenience.