Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

#91

Post by maccard » Mon, May 03, 2021, 7:13 PM UTC

swen-rekcah wrote: post #36

ranguna wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2fa through SMS? You don't need a smartphone for that. I don't know about Ireland, but in Portugal most banks have a Web app and not just a mobile app.

Sorry I should have been clearer - the banking app is Monzo and they don’t have a web app for mobile or desktop

If you're using monzo I'm guessing UK - pretty much all the banks other than monzo, starling, revolut are _fine_

Re: Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

#92

Post by stinos » Mon, May 03, 2021, 7:13 PM UTC

chrisbigelow wrote: post #90

My cofounder and I have been working on this problem for the past few years after being frustrated by the software solutions. You need your entire phone out of sight, new studies show even the presence of your phone can be a distraction[1] We are super-excited to be launching on Indiegogo in the next few weeks. Check it out at https://pausbox.com [1] https://news.utexas.edu/2017/06/26/the-mere-presence-of-your...

FYI 'paus' is Dutch for 'pope'

Re: Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

#93

Post by sapientiae3 » Mon, May 03, 2021, 7:14 PM UTC

https://atomichabits.com That’s all you need.

Re: Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

#94

Post by chrisbigelow » Mon, May 03, 2021, 7:15 PM UTC

stinos wrote: post #92

chrisbigelow wrote: post #90

My cofounder and I have been working on this problem for the past few years after being frustrated by the software solutions. You need your entire phone out of sight, new studies show even the presence of your phone can be a distraction[1] We are super-excited to be launching on Indiegogo in the next few weeks. Check it out at https://pausbox.com [1] https://news.utexas.edu/2017/06/26/the-mere-presence-of-your...

FYI 'paus' is Dutch for 'pope'

We may need to rebrand when we expand to the European market...

Re: Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

#95

Post by academia_hack » Mon, May 03, 2021, 7:15 PM UTC

I bought a diet-aid box with a timer called "Kitchen Safe". Just dump my phone in it whenever I have the will power, set a timer for a few hours, and turn a moment of motivation into hours of phone-free bliss. The box is designed to shatter if you hit it, so there's no need to worry about losing access in a real emergency but the replacement cost is high enough to not do that everytime reddit beckons.

Re: Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

#96

Post by stinos » Mon, May 03, 2021, 7:17 PM UTC

JKCalhoun wrote: post #89

Toutouxc wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Telling addicts to "simply stop", I believe we (as a society) have already tried that. It doesn't work.

S/he is telling addicts to tell themselves to stop.

Indeed, and that's like the one thing addicts usually cannot do, almost by definition. At least that's how it is for me.

Re: Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

#97

Post by stagger87 » Mon, May 03, 2021, 7:19 PM UTC

Toutouxc wrote: post #76

stagger87 wrote: post #65

Everyone is offering tricks or hacks to help, is simply stopping an option? I wasn't able to quit smoking until I really decided I wanted to quit and did it cold turkey. Same with both Facebook and reddit. I was blowing hours of my day on reddit. Then I decided I didn't like that for myself and quit cold turkey. It really really sucked at first, but I feel like until you really want to quit, no amount of hacks or tri…

Telling addicts to "simply stop", I believe we (as a society) have already tried that. It doesn't work.

My comment was a suggestion/question, not a one size fits all prescription. There is definitely some nuance you are looking past.

Going cold turkey is a serious approach and for some addictions like smoking the most statistically successful approach to quitting.

Re: Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

#98

Post by tmerr » Mon, May 03, 2021, 7:19 PM UTC

cle wrote: post #60

Any technical advice about how to block yourself is beating around the bush IMO. Not only is it easy to bypass most of that stuff, but you'll be way better off learning how to deal with this psychological issue directly instead of trying to avoid triggering it. Edit: They are not mutually exclusive by any means, I just mean that you will benefit in the long-run by addressing the psychological problem that leads to th…

I see no reason not to combine willpower with psychology tricks. I think of it as playing a game between my rational brain vs limbic system. Yes, my rational brain might be ahead for a while, but limbic system is always there to find me in moment of weakness. So I remove opportunities for it to take control. Turning off PC before work, laptop in the closet, phone across the room, ringer on. Simple and effective.

I have had better luck with physical impedances, and don't bother with tech ones now unless they're simple (uninstalling distracting apps). Like you say most software is easily circumvented.

Re: Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

#99

Post by waiseristy » Mon, May 03, 2021, 7:19 PM UTC

You only need to activate a very limited scope of self-control to improve your current situation.

Don't. Download. Apps.

If you are actually serious about improving your situation, you should be able to self-recognize going to the app store and hitting 'download'. If you find yourself doing that, uninstall the app you just downloaded and put the phone down. It's really that simple.

99% of addictive websites out there will more or less force you to download their app by making the mobile website design incredibly frustrating to use. Use this to your advantage. 5-10 minutes of reddit/twitter a day is fine. But DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE APP

Re: Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

#100

Post by cronix » Mon, May 03, 2021, 7:19 PM UTC

The thing that helped me quit using my phone as much was to quit using apps where there was a web counterpart available. For instance, I deleted the banking app and only visit the website on my home pc (or browser on phone if really in a pinch, which is rare). I deleted the facebook app and only used the website. I've since deleted the FB account totally. Same with twitter. Just use the website. My "phone" is now only used for phone calls and regular texting. I have a lot more free time and there is a "separation of concerns," to borrow a phrase from the tech industry. I use my computer for computing and my phone for phone calls, like how it used to be before smart phones. This also saved some money as I wasn't using as much "mobile" data, so I lowered the data plan. Also, shut off notices except for phone and texting, maybe email. My phone is relatively quiet now. No constant bleeping and blooping to cause that dopamine rush of "what did I miss out on" and programmatically running to check. Simply, you are addicted to your phone. You need to ween yourself off. Your OCD will likely subside once you've re-programmed yourself not to react to the stimuli. And if I'm out with people, the phone is OFF. They get my attention, not the phone. Now, a lot of the time, I don't even carry my phone with me. There is nothing so important that is happening that can't wait until I get home to check it. It's a gradual process, but the important thing is to start.