At PCdoB Congress, Lula Decries WhatsApp ‘Good Morning’ Culture, Calling Phone Use ‘Digital Dependence’

Overview

• Speaking at the opening of the 16th PCdoB congress in Brasília on October 16, Lula criticized pervasive smartphone and social media habits.
• He said in-person meetings are undermined because people stay on their phones, citing that if four sit at a table, three are conversing on the device.
• Pointing to ministers and allied leaders with phones on the table, he joked about whether they were awaiting calls from Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin.
• He lamented late-night and early-morning news checking, arguing that the behavior replaces intimate moments and feeds unease and lack of self-control.
• He said he intended to scold an audience member caught on a phone, and coverage noted that no government action on so-called digital dependence was announced.