somehow this is not surprising at all. :/
The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)
21–30 of 379 posts
Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)
#22Getting rid of my smartphone was without a doubt the most positive thing I ever did for myself. I'm sure some people have the self-control to use it sparingly. But for me, not having to constantly fight the urge to check my always-connected magic pocket internet portal has freed up a huge amount of my mental willpower, which I can now redirect to other more important things. Now that everything is closed, I don't eve…
Can you talk more to the practicalities of getting rid of a smartphone? Have you seriously found that the loss of the conveniences they bring haven't been that burdensome? I am really intrigued by the idea but find it almost inconceivable to work for me (which might speak to an addiction, so I feel compelled to understand this further)
I have my smartphone and am not the OP, but I spent several years on Windows Mobile which supported almost no apps, so it was kinda like a dumbphone.
I think people often overestimate their need. People act like they can't live without Google Maps, but 90% of them take the same route to work every day. I would argue if you aren't traveling outside your local area, you have zero need for a mapping app. It's true you may not be notified of a slightly faster route because of some unforeseen event, but the difference is probably a couple minutes at most, and you should know your local streets well enough to get along anyways.
There was the rare event where I couldn't participate in some restaurant's rewards program because they only did it via iOS/Android app, and that was annoying, but it also led me to just use that business less.
Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)
#23Getting rid of my smartphone was without a doubt the most positive thing I ever did for myself. I'm sure some people have the self-control to use it sparingly. But for me, not having to constantly fight the urge to check my always-connected magic pocket internet portal has freed up a huge amount of my mental willpower, which I can now redirect to other more important things. Now that everything is closed, I don't eve…
Can you talk more to the practicalities of getting rid of a smartphone? Have you seriously found that the loss of the conveniences they bring haven't been that burdensome? I am really intrigued by the idea but find it almost inconceivable to work for me (which might speak to an addiction, so I feel compelled to understand this further)
Specifically what functionality do you feel is so critical? The only thing I really struggled with at first was:
- 2FA codes, but a self-hosted Bitwarden and a Yubikey solved that well enough
- Maps. This is a legitimate sacrifice, especially for someone with as poor a sense of direction as I have. But between the mapping application in my car and looking things up before I leave somewhere on my laptop, it's not been a huge problem.
Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)
#24Getting rid of my smartphone was without a doubt the most positive thing I ever did for myself. I'm sure some people have the self-control to use it sparingly. But for me, not having to constantly fight the urge to check my always-connected magic pocket internet portal has freed up a huge amount of my mental willpower, which I can now redirect to other more important things. Now that everything is closed, I don't eve…
I get the same thing by A) not watching the news B) turning off notifications for almost all apps C) the real magic key to keeping control of your smart phone, instead of letting it control you is
hang on
Hello?
Look I'm right in the middle of something I'll... yeah. I know I ... I KNOW. Look, I gotta go.
Anyway, as I was saying... uh... well anyway. Phones suck.
Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)
#25Getting rid of my smartphone was without a doubt the most positive thing I ever did for myself. I'm sure some people have the self-control to use it sparingly. But for me, not having to constantly fight the urge to check my always-connected magic pocket internet portal has freed up a huge amount of my mental willpower, which I can now redirect to other more important things. Now that everything is closed, I don't eve…
Best thing I've done this year is to simply get a feature phone. They're cheap, they're hardy, and they're mostly free from distractions to give you. This one I have does have an Internet browser and some kind of Facebook functionality but the experience is so incredibly miserable, it acts as a very effective deterrent.
Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)
#26"Journal of the Association for Consumer Research" and vague implied effects on mental state both pretty good indicators that this will not replicate. About half of psychology papers don't replicate anyway, the field has been doing some house cleaning, which is awesome, but needs to do a lot more. Oh you can add that all the researchers are marketing professors at business schools (one now at Snap). Good job on the m…
I find this response overly dismissive. Did you read the paper or just the abstract?
Dismissing the work of marketing professors out of hand isn't the right approach. What if this is one of the half of psychology papers that do replicate?
Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)
#27I was just remarking the other day while doing my morning constitutional that I can't remember what I used to do while sitting on the john when I didn't have a cell phone. I honestly couldn't remember. Probably just sit quietly and think and be bored. I wonder if boredom is good for us. Our brains probably need time not to be engaged with our eyes do mental housecleaning. Meditation is good but it's not the same as s…
You don't leave a book in the bathroom? I have gotten through so many books in my to-read list just by leaving it in the bathroom. It takes very little mental effort to not bring a smartphone to the john when there is a book waiting, at least for me.
Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)
#28I feel like this applies to just about anything that compels us to pay attention to it (TV, video games, etc...), albeit in different ways depending on the media.
Go to laundromat. Bring book, this time I'm going to get some reading done. Oooh, moldy golf tournament (or soap opera) on TV. And there goes 90 minutes.
Last week when I was in a hospital waiting room, I knocked out A Brief History of Time in one sitting. That thing's been on my bookshelf for at least ten years untouched. I'm not sure it significantly enhanced my life (though it helped my understanding of the fabric of the universe, I guess?), but it felt like an accomplishment.
Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)
#29Getting rid of my smartphone was without a doubt the most positive thing I ever did for myself. I'm sure some people have the self-control to use it sparingly. But for me, not having to constantly fight the urge to check my always-connected magic pocket internet portal has freed up a huge amount of my mental willpower, which I can now redirect to other more important things. Now that everything is closed, I don't eve…
I wonder how much benefit people would get by just putting their phone in airplane mode for long chunks of time.
Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)
#30I can personally say the same for internet. When my ISP goes down my brain unfold 2x and time slows down.