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I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

nytimes.com

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Re: I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

#21

Post by PavlovsCat »

CPLX wrote: post #5

I followed almost the exact same track as this guy, slowly realizing that my phone was a problem, then the problem, and coming to the conclusion that real drastic intervention methods were necessary, something that went beyond vague "trying to do better" efforts. I started a daily life 90% detox for a week or two then also did a completely phone free weekend, in my case at a Zen Buddhist monastery (and also in the Ca…

I don't preach as much as mostly take light jabs. "Oh, so what's new on Myspace? I am so hip to all this interwebs stuff", that sort of thing. They just give me a confused grin... I mean, what are they gonna do, unfriend me on a platform I'm not on? :P

And I also had a few conversations about this topic, with smartphone users, and they were rather pleasant. It's difficult on the web, then it easily can sound arrogant. But in person, I haven't met a single person I liked, and who liked me, that had a problem with me not having a smartphone... and sometimes talking about how an information age would be neat, rather than a mobile serfdom age. Maybe me and a person who totally "identifies with" their smartphone wouldn't like each other to begin with, but at any rate it never was a problem for me, not even with bosses. Sure, I also don't inspire anyone to give up their smartphone, but in a live-and-let-live sort of way, I don't feel a need to hide my opinion, at all, as long as I keep it somewhat light.

Re: I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

#22

Post by Yetanfou »

ianai wrote: post #2

“I found myself incapable of reading books, watching full-length movies or having long uninterrupted conversations. Social media made me angry and anxious, and even the digital spaces I once found soothing (group texts, podcasts, YouTube k-holes) weren’t helping.” So don’t take the call and keep having the conversation. Delete all apps that aren’t a net benefit. Is this really that difficult?

For some people it seems to be, others either see through the shallow attempts at creating and stimulating a need for more instant gratification which the 'app' world is so rife with or just plain are not interested in wasting time on caressing their touch screens for no identifiable purpose. Some - me amongst them - fit in both categories.

Mobile devices can be handy tools as long as they are seen as just that, tools to perform tasks which are laid aside when the task is completed. For some this seems to be difficult as this happens to be a tool which can be configured to call for attention at any time...

...a family is having dinner, 'bleep' says the phone in mommy's pocket and she is instantly is pulled off-balance by the urge to look for the cause of that 'bleep' versus the annoyance she knows this creates. Either she gives way to the urge and annoys her partner who feels these devices have no place in this context or she keeps it where it is and feels the pull of the thing in her pocket, the unfulfilled desire to know what made it bleep even though she knows it will just be another pointless message...

Re: I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

#23

Post by ianai »

epx wrote: post #12

I've always loved to read, any kind of book would do, but recently I've been unable to sit down and read a book, even technical ones. Guess I got used to the instant gratification that Reddit & friends give to the brain. Considering to ditch the smartphone as well. Actually, I can't ditch the WhatsApp because it is the new phone company these days... Using a very weak smartphone with small screen, too small and slow…

My latest personal find has been audiobooks. Suddenly all the time in the car is “reading”

Re: I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

#24

Post by fuball63 »

I like the way the author talks about rewiring of the brain. A lot of articles like this focus on the social aspect of phone usage; anxiety and isolation. There are however more intagible but noticable affects.

When I went on an international vacation and didnt buy a phone plan, I just turned it off at the airport and left it in my bag. I felt a strange clarity of thought and change in perspective about 3 days in. When I look back, I sadly think I was the best version of myself that week.

I am not a heavy phone user; I have a Blackberry so there arent many apps and I am generally uninterested in social media. But for anyone reading these articles thinking its mumbo jumbo, I would encourage you to give it a try.

Re: I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

#25

Post by drivers99 »

There was a period a few years ago, where I went without a smartphone, and used a flip phone instead. (My iPhone 4 became too slow after upgrading iOS too many times, and before I got an iPhone 6.) Phone service without a data plan is a lot cheaper too.

From the article: “A phone-free weekend involved some complications. Without Google Maps, I got lost and had to pull over for directions. Without Yelp, I had trouble finding open restaurants.”

I these types of cases, researching, planning ahead, and writing things down are the solutions. That’s what we used to do, and it still works.

What eventually made me justify getting a smart phone again was Uber (Lyft now), particularly when traveling. Funny, that’s 1% of 1% of what I actually use it for. (I don’t travel often.) So that might be an interesting thing to figure out: how to have a smart phone available for short periods of times when the benefits really call for it.

I recently read Cal Newport’s book, Digital Minimalism, which isn’t about breaking phone addictions. (It’s not decide-specific.) It’s about choosing the specific things we do on all digital platforms. It might not be the phone that’s the problem. For example, YouTube seems to be designed for maximum engagement, and it is an issue for me on phone, tablet, and Roku/Chromcast. It didn’t seem to be a problem on a PC, which I used before discovering the apps (which I originally installed in order to cast YouTube videos on a Chromecast).

Newport’s main philosophy is to get rid of most of the apps, websites, social media and then choosing (or tweaking) specific tools among those only if they are the best way to do something in support of what you value most. This is the opposite of the approach of using a digital technology just because it might have a benefit.

Re: I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

#26

Post by honzzz »

How do you separate the enriching part from the addictive part? To me the problem is that my laptop and my phone are magical doors that lead to both smart people at HN and some niche subreddits/blogs that really make me think, change my opinion, make my life more interesting... and right next to it there are social media bubbles, overwhelming stream of news and insight porn that I can read/watch for hours anxious that if I don't, I will miss out on something important... but somehow it's almost never the case.

I can distinguish how those two types of content make me feel - the first makes me feel fulfilled and inspired, the second tired and depressed. The problem is that the feeling only comes after I absorb the content and does not help me navigate towards the enriching and avoid the addictive - I start riding the enriching wave, I just need to look up some term or get distracted by something seemingly relevant... and suddenly I am sucked into the vortex of youtube-recommended videos and when I am finally able to free myself four hours later, I feel exhausted, sad and guilty that I wasted so much time.

Re: I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

#27

Post by StanislavPetrov »

I still use a flip phone, even though its getting harder now that they are trying to force everyone to use smartphones. For example, ticketmaster is mobile only now (for NFL games at least). There is no option to get your tickets physically sent. No matter how hard it gets, it simply won't ever be worth the massive privacy implications to me.

Re: I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

#29

Post by sleepinseattle »

I got a cellular Apple Watch and leave my iPhone at home. Productivity at work went through the roof, and meetings aren’t as painful anymore because I have no choice but to pay attention and participate.

It does all the smart phone essentials, including maps and Uber and two-factor auth, but the tiny screen staves off the addiction.

Re: I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

#30

Post by yazboo »

DKnoll wrote: post #19
tannhaeuser wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my current job I'm almost daily going by subway and see most people fumbling on their phone all the time. Many can't even stop when hopping on/off the train. Now when I carefully look at just what it is that captures their attention, it's mostly cheap games or endless-scroll taboola-style crap. A guy sitting next to me the other day simultaneously phoned and frantically clicked on random crap on his phone with no…

There isn't much else to do on public transportation. You either fumble around on your phone or stare blankly at the wall. When I took public transit regularly I would read sometimes but there was too much noise and movement around me to really focus. Clearly you find yourself bored as well since you're looking over people's shoulders.

It’s a miracle people suffered transit at all in the years before the invention of handheld networked devices.
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