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Dumber phone

nomasters.io

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Re: Dumber phone

#161

Post by cirgue »

peacetreefrog wrote: post #125

There are a lot of "hacks" in this thread (put your phone in grayscale, put variable reward apps in a folder, turn off fingerprint sensor) but in my experience the mindset is by far the most important part. What's worked for me (and the article talks about this too) is viewing my phone as a tool with a limited set of functionality. For me, that functionality is: calls, texts, Google maps, Spotify, Audible, podcasts,…

The best mindset change for me has been realizing on a fundamental and emotional level just how garbage most of the internet actually is, and how much happier I am to get an extra hour of sleep, reading a book instead of Reddit, or letting myself get bored enough to stimulate serious creativity.

Re: Dumber phone

#163

Post by Fice »

peacetreefrog wrote: post #125

There are a lot of "hacks" in this thread (put your phone in grayscale, put variable reward apps in a folder, turn off fingerprint sensor) but in my experience the mindset is by far the most important part. What's worked for me (and the article talks about this too) is viewing my phone as a tool with a limited set of functionality. For me, that functionality is: calls, texts, Google maps, Spotify, Audible, podcasts,…

For me, one of the big advantages of email (which makes it my preferred electronic communication medium) is that it does not assume immediate reaction. I can read my mail once a day, reply to the messages that need to be replied to, and forget about it until tomorrow. Having email on a phone (especially with notifications enabled) would undermine that advantage.

Re: Dumber phone

#164

Post by punnerud »

I can recommend sorting the apps based colors. Did this tree years ago, and still love the “new” setup. -You remember the color more often than the name -No question like “was it in economy or productivity” -No addicting game folder. You have to browse to see them (on iPhone)

Re: Dumber phone

#165

Post by pnathan »

I don't advocate for dumbing the phone. Take away the dopamine hits, or limit them to "play" time. I use facebook, reddit, twitter, mastodon, in Chrome - not as apps. Both from a security standpoint and the notification standpoint.

But I have the Washington Post installed.

There are moments when you want real time information coming through....

I would generally advocate for using things that are specialized for long-form thinking and using. I.e., reading. You could do writing if you have a bluetooth keyboard. For games: chess, go.

always ask yourself what you are gaining from what you're doing....

Re: Dumber phone

#166

Post by vpeters25 »

This is a good idea, but i think it could go even further.

Somewhat unrelated but if you really want to see how horrendously unfriendly the typical smartphone UX is, hand one to a technology-challenged grandparent (who can probably use a legacy cellphone/flip phone just fine) and ask them to call you.

They are more likely to accidentally take selfies than figure out how to call you, even if they have your phone number memorized.

It would be nice to have an android "main menu" which is just simply the dialpad when you turn on or unlock the phone. Add a button for "smartphone things" like search contact list or open other apps but keep it most elemental function (making phone calls) up front and and easy.

Re: Dumber phone

#167

Post by kolpa »

vpeters25 wrote: post #166

This is a good idea, but i think it could go even further. Somewhat unrelated but if you really want to see how horrendously unfriendly the typical smartphone UX is, hand one to a technology-challenged grandparent (who can probably use a legacy cellphone/flip phone just fine) and ask them to call you. They are more likely to accidentally take selfies than figure out how to call you, even if they have your phone numbe…

All you need is a big widget on the home screen that provides dialer UX or links to dialer.

Re: Dumber phone

#168

Post by prophesi »

komali2 wrote: post #62
prophesi wrote: post #35

I just got a Pixel the other day after being phone-less for about 3 months. I only need it to do ARCore development, so I keep it powered-off. * I had to print out directions to get to new places, which had me learn my way around. * People were much less flaky since they couldn't text me at the last minute to cancel our plans. * I no longer had a crutch in difficult social situations, which helped me actually get to…

I respect what you're doing, but I noticed it's the friends like you (off Facebook, never answers texts) that stopped getting invited to stuff. Scenario 1: housewarming party 3 weeks away. My phoneless friend doesn't get the Facebook invite used to corrall the other 30 people coming. She also doesn't get the group FB message (nobody uses group SMS anymore in my friend group). A fluke of busyness means I don't see her…

Sure, it requires more effort to stay connected. Like I said, I know a lot of people need their phone/FB for their day-to-day business. But it can be done without you ending up as a recluse.

I didn't drop off the map with my friends, and I made a few friends that I otherwise never would have met. I still had a PC, so it's not like I couldn't be contacted. Most people that I hang out with use Discord/Telegram, anyways. If your friends all use SMS/MMS/FB to communicate, then you probably can't do it.

I think the key is to make it clear that you -do- want to be invited to things. People will let you know. It's also a plus to be a fun person to hang out with, and don't talk about how great it is to not have a phone.

Re: Dumber phone

#169

Post by rhombocombus »

Killing notifications has been the biggest game changer for me. I am still phone addicted, but I feel like that has had a substantial tempering effect on my checking of it. Not having a constant nuisance bugging me has made me like having a phone better, and the folks who need to get in touch can still reach me via text if required. That's been my compromise, but everyone will probably have their own flavor. The important thing is that we are beginning to recognize this as a problem, which I think most of us agree that it is.

Re: Dumber phone

#170

Post by mozzarella »

peacetreefrog wrote: post #125

There are a lot of "hacks" in this thread (put your phone in grayscale, put variable reward apps in a folder, turn off fingerprint sensor) but in my experience the mindset is by far the most important part. What's worked for me (and the article talks about this too) is viewing my phone as a tool with a limited set of functionality. For me, that functionality is: calls, texts, Google maps, Spotify, Audible, podcasts,…

When my dad decided to quit smoking, he didn't throw out the pack of cigarettes he was currently in the middle of. Instead, he put them up on the shelf next to his work desk. The pack wasn't totally in his face, nor was it out of sight. Despite the visual reminder being present, he broke his years' long pack-a-day habit.

Eventually - long after he stopped smoking - he threw the pack out, as part of his usual housekeeping.

I thought of this when I decided to quit social medias over the past two years. I bring it up now because it's something I think about in regard to how centrally important mindset is when trying to break a habit, or work on something of deeper value.

I wonder now too about the asymmetry in the ease of adoption vs. difficulty of opting out with smart phones and social media. Anecdotally, it just seems that you can nearly unconsciously start using a smartphone or say, sign up for instagram. But after a relatively quick onboarding, the effort required to opt out of these things feels akin to doing actual, hard work.

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