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The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)

journals.uchicago.edu

121–130 of 379 posts

Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)

#121

I want a smartphone that only has useful apps and nothing else. I want it to have SMS and Phone, Google Maps, Uber, Lyft, Uber Eats, and such. But I don't want social media, I don't want news, I don't want a browser, I don't want email, etc.

What's wrong with just not downloading applications you do not want to use? You could make the argument against iOS that you can't delete some default applications but... just don't use them.

Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)

#122
post #10

Getting 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.

I started doing it. Or at least turning off data so I am still reachable.

Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)

#124
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 not found it to be overly burdensome. I have an indestructible kyocera flip phone, so I'm able to call people (and SMS in a pinch). I have an LTE-enabled tablet, so if I'm going somewhere totally unfamiliar, I'll throw it in my bag just in case I need to look up some information. Otherwise you just have to plan your outings in advance - like we always did prior to 2008 or so. I have a Garmin GPS mounted in car…

Thank you for this - I am considering making the switch also.

The biggest switch for me would be losing music streaming. What do you use for music on-the-go (at the gym, commuting, walking around, etc.)?

Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)

#125
post #68
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have not found it to be overly burdensome. I have an indestructible kyocera flip phone, so I'm able to call people (and SMS in a pinch). I have an LTE-enabled tablet, so if I'm going somewhere totally unfamiliar, I'll throw it in my bag just in case I need to look up some information. Otherwise you just have to plan your outings in advance - like we always did prior to 2008 or so. I have a Garmin GPS mounted in car…

Thanks for your great response. I’ve often considered doing something like this. I wonder if there is a way to accomplish many of these things while still carrying your phone? For example, what if your phone took 5 minutes to unlock? And didn’t give notifications until you unlocked it? Just a thought.

My personal experience on this is like the article above states, merely having my phone on hand caused me to think about pulling it out or looking at it even if it was turned off. It was not till I hid my phone away in my glove box or somewhere I rarely accessed did I feel truly free from it. I will say having done this for months now I really don't miss it and only go grab it when I absolutely need it (usually for work stuff). The result is that I feel much less distracted and more focused on my life as it happens, also my view of the world seem more grounded in reality now.

Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)

#126

I lack a lot of self-control in many areas of my life. Except when it comes to my smartphone which for me is a tool rather than an entertainment device. Most of my day the phone is in DnD/flipped over on the second desk in my office and not within arm's reach. I don't know how much having the device in the same room as me is a "cognitive capacity reducer" but for the most part, my smartphone is a forgotten device exc…

I have a fairly nice smart phone, and I use it for phone calls, text messages, 2FA, e-books, taking pictures, checking the weather forecast, and as a clock/timer/alarm. In a pinch I'll look something up or access my bank account, but very rarely. I'm in front of my desktop computer 10 to 12 hours a day, if I need to search for something on the web I'll do it then. If I want to play a game, I'll play it on my expensive desktop computer. If I'm going on a trip I'll bring my laptop.

I must be in the minority, but the size and ergonomics of the phone make it a last-resort sort of device for me despite the fact that it looks like a futuristic sci-fi device.

Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)

#127
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scanned the paper too with sci hub. Nothing remarkable. But we should be dismissive of any new results from psychology, it just doesn't have systems in place to validate claims. There is some cool stuff in psychology that has been replicated 20 times, across different cultures, and over time. But the chances of a headline psychology paper being true are, generously, 5%. To be far to the authors, they are in a bit of…

I think skepticism is warranted, but dismissiveness is not. Honestly it's a little offensive. Also, in this case their findings aren't even counter intuitive or that surprising. They are just measuring something that most of use believe already (judging by the rest of these comment threads).

We all already believe that grass is green. Nothing is gained by pointing out that a Magic 8 Ball confirmed this.

Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)

#128
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>In the case of married couples, the spouse has a moral obligation to satisfy the other sexually within moral and reasonable limits (i.e., sexual abuse or objectification of the other is never admissible). I can't agree with those statements. No one, not your spouse, not your significant other and not anyone else is obliged to provide sexual satisfaction to you or anyone else. What's more, while consent is never opti…

You have interpreted the parent exceedingly uncharitably. If one partner in a monogamous relationship suddenly announces that from that day forth there shall be no more sex, the other partner is certainly within their rights to be upset. Most people aren't signed up to the idea of never having sex again. Consent is never optional, but neither should it be unreasonably withheld in a monogamous relationship in which se…

>You have interpreted the parent exceedingly uncharitably.

Perhaps I have. However, I don't see how much more "charitably" I can interpret what they wrote. Or do you think that I'm wrong in my assertion?

>If one partner in a monogamous relationship suddenly announces that from that day forth there shall be no more sex, the other partner is certainly within their rights to be upset.

I don't disagree with that statement at all. But I stand by my assertion that no one is obligated to sexually satisfy anyone else.

If my spouse/SO decided that she wanted no more sex with me, sure I'd be upset. And as my feelings are my own, I'm entitled to be upset.

However she, as a sentient being, has agency. As such, she (not me) gets to decide what happens with her body.

Should a situation similar to your example occur, that should be a big red flag that something is wrong in your relationship. And if that's the case, going on about how your spouse is obliged to pleasure you certainly isn't going to improve things.

>Consent is never optional, but neither should it be unreasonably withheld in a monogamous relationship in which sex is a key component.

How do you handle the logic problem set up by your statement?

If consent to sexual activity is not optional, how is someone obliged to provide such sexual activity if they don't wish to consent?

>Rights and responsibilities always pair.

Neither you nor I have the right to demand sexual contact with someone who does not consent. Full stop. It doesn't matter what your relationship with that person might be.

And providing you (or anyone else) with sexual contact isn't anyone's responsibility, again regardless of what sort of relationship you might have with them.

And that's the issue that I have with both your and the parent poster's statements.

You said it yourself: Consent is not optional. If you truly believe that, how can you even entertain the idea that someone should be obligated, or have the responsibility to provide sexual satisfaction to anyone if they choose not to do so?

I don't disagree that it's customary for those in a romantic/sexual relationship to engage in sexual activity. But no one is obligated or required to do so.

And if you don't think that's true, consider this[0]. Because coercing someone into non-consensual sexual activity is called rape.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marital_rape

Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)

#129
post #10

Getting 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…

Gah, I need to do this so bad. Lately I've admitted to myself that I'm truly addicted to my phone. I go through phases of blocking safari, deleting all my non-essential apps, etc, but they always find a way to slowly creep back into my life ("5 minutes of reddit won't hurt while my kids are playing on their own...."). I'm realizing that I am just one of those people who can't handle even having it as an option. Thanks for inspiring me to take the next step.

Re: The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017)

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I think music/podcasts would be a big sacrifice for me. I suppose I could do a dedicated MP3 player for music, but especially with podcasts the live-updating feed is something I really enjoy.
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