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Comment by 1ba9115454 | Hacker News Reader

I've seen a group of English girls around a table in the old square in Prague, one of the most beautiful places in the world for people watching. All of them were not speaking to each other just scrolling through Instagram.

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It's entirely possible you bumped into a group of young girls who've had a busy, interesting and stimulating trip through a cool country and who wanted to stop for a quick coffee and a bit of free wifi. Please don't jump to conclusions and judge people like this.

He is probably right, it is the default behaviour in the UK.

It's entirely possible smcl hired those girls to go to Prauge and act that way so that he could tell you not to jump to conclusions. Please don't jump to conclusions.

It's entirely possible that smcl and escherize are in cahoots to tell you not to jump to conclusions. Please don't jump to conclusions.

Exactly, let this be a lesson to you all :D

Online photos of oneself in foreign countries have become a fashion accessory. Bonus points if you spent cash to travel to help the poor in a developing country instead of donating it to people who could use it more effectively.

> instead of donating it to people who could use it more effectively

Having lived in Cambodia for 2.5 years, consistently marvelling at the mansions, SUVs, and lunch/dinner habits of the overwhelming majority of the non-profits and charities and NGOs etc sitting it all out very fatly there.. hope you had someone else in mind ;)

I'm an effective altruist ;) https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/

That's why you research the effectiveness of charities before donating. (Personally I follow GiveWell's recommendations.)

To be fair, the rent on a nice compound in Cambodia is what... 3k a month? Not necessarily much of a cost.

Care to elaborate?

Just google "volunteer abroad scams". https://holeinthedonut.com/2011/02/21/scam-volunteer-charity...

Non-profit, charities and NGO often is a actually a lucrative business when it comes to helping the poor there. Also, it may be that the westerners who work there are paid Western wages and live in countries in which life is cheaper.

I donate to Médecins Sans Frontières but more than half my money goes to a company that makes profit off recruiting donators, sooo.

There's only so much time you can spend enjoying a sightseeing spot before it gets boring.

Used to be the same with newspapers, before the rise of mobile phones. Sometimes ppl enjoy to come together to spend some time by themselves, together. No biggie.

I've sat in that square and people watched, and played on my phone (looked at days pics, whatever), and talked to friends, and people watched some more. It's Prague, one of the most crowded, touristy places you can go to, and arguably fits the selfie generation perfectly.

You mean the super touristy section where everything is really gimmicky and there's bums everywhere begging for money? God forbid they check their phones for something else to do than wander around one of the most trafficked sites in all of Europe. Gosh next thing you know you'll tell me some people went to Paris and didn't even spend the whole time staring at the Eiffel Tower!

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