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Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

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Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#101

Post by lifeisstillgood »

csmeder wrote: post #54

Hi Royce and Oliver, I have a suggestion: look into dimming the screen slowly for the last 30-60 seconds before you pull a person out of the app. This will greatly decrease the annoyance of being pulled out. It gives you time to anticipate being done with your session. I do this with my toddler. We let him use our phone to look at family videos while we are changing him. If I turn the phone off abruptly, it can be fr…

It's this and a thousand other "hacks to handle human failings" that will allow us to have the promise of technology while minimising the downsides - just as we did for weavers looms, coal power and so on

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#102

Post by csmeder »

jxramos wrote: post #93
prionassembly wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have physical brightness buttons? Do you have any more gradual transition hacks? Our 2-yr old doesn't have access to phones at all -- except perhaps when he grabs one that's lying around; but then he expects it taken from him. But he's so taken with TV that we plan screen time in reverse: start at dinner time and subtract how much time we want him to be there. Our whole approach to tantrums is having something…

he's probably just surreptitiously using control center to dial things down. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202769 One thing I discovered recently was that iPhone volume buttons decrement the volume 1/16 at a time.

Correct, as he gets older this won’t work because he will understand what I’m doing.

I’ve thought about writing an app that shows a pre set collection of videos from my photo library and then slowly turns down the brightness after a few minutes. If anyone want to build this let me know. I’d love to use it.

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#103

Post by csmeder »

prionassembly wrote: post #88
csmeder wrote: post #54

Hi Royce and Oliver, I have a suggestion: look into dimming the screen slowly for the last 30-60 seconds before you pull a person out of the app. This will greatly decrease the annoyance of being pulled out. It gives you time to anticipate being done with your session. I do this with my toddler. We let him use our phone to look at family videos while we are changing him. If I turn the phone off abruptly, it can be fr…

Do you have physical brightness buttons? Do you have any more gradual transition hacks? Our 2-yr old doesn't have access to phones at all -- except perhaps when he grabs one that's lying around; but then he expects it taken from him. But he's so taken with TV that we plan screen time in reverse: start at dinner time and subtract how much time we want him to be there. Our whole approach to tantrums is having something…

We don’t have a tv in the house. And we don’t use our phones/iPad in front of our son. So the only time he sees a screen is when we are changing his diaper. The only exception has been when we are all sick we watch a family movie on the iPad with him. And if I’m being honest a few Saturday mornings I’ll watch a show with him while we are waking up.

I use control center to lower the brightness.

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#104

Post by paolomaffei »

csmeder wrote: post #54

Hi Royce and Oliver, I have a suggestion: look into dimming the screen slowly for the last 30-60 seconds before you pull a person out of the app. This will greatly decrease the annoyance of being pulled out. It gives you time to anticipate being done with your session. I do this with my toddler. We let him use our phone to look at family videos while we are changing him. If I turn the phone off abruptly, it can be fr…

Absolutely gold suggestion. This might just be the future for most internet-connected device use, and particularly for children/supervised use like you're describing.

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#105

Post by jahewson »

martingalex2 wrote: post #23

It is wholly interesting that such a tool is needed. We need a new generation motivated by self-control and at an early age be critical of how technology triggers dopamine responses. I would be interested in seeing clinical classification of app addictions as a real health issue that deserves treatment. The real answer is to put down the phone. We (in this industry) are all complicit in the creation and promulgation…

Why build an app when you can just replace humanity with something different and not reflective of actual humans?

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#106

Post by anteloper »

endisneigh wrote: post #42

though I do like this app. this app, along with onesec really illustrate what's annoying about modern tech development. why pay monthly for something whose feature set rarely changes? something like this ideally should be $10 once.

We actually do expect our product to change quite a bit over time, basically because of the nature of the arena we're playing in. platforms will change over time, as will they apps we're helping moderate, and we'll always be trying to integrate as seamlessly as possible to play defense for our users.

As such, we think a recurring subscription is the best way to align our interests with our users and make sure we're building the right thing over time. When customers are consistently paying, if we don't consistently deliver the value they're paying for, they leave. It means we're in a tighter feedback loop with users about what's working and what isn't.

Basically we think it's mission-critical that the technology protecting your attention to be as well built as the tech trying to exploit it, and our best guess at the moment is recurring subscription is the best way to accomplish that.

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#107

Post by noahchumsky »

anteloper wrote: post #83
akshithg wrote: post #39

I’ve been using onesec[1] for a year now it’s been working great for me. Additionally works great on the browser I use. Onesec uses the shortcut/automation on iOS to intercept app open and not the screen time api you mentioned. So it does take a little time for the initial setup, that’s the only friction I remember from a long time. Just putting it out there. I do like the additional social feature here. Would give i…

they've executed brilliantly, glad to see it's working well for you. along with the one-tap setup and social accountability features you point out, other noticeable differences between their solution and our are - we can pull you out of an app at the end of the time you intended to use it for - we support restricting websites - we let you accumulate your progress over time via a streak, which is quite motivating (at…

One sec lets you restrict websites! But the other two features you listed are compelling. I may give it a try

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#108

Post by oidar »

ok. I tried it out, bought the subscription and it's super buggy. The blanks screens between the flow are just not smooth at all. Having to manage the notifications and the inbetween screens - is a mess. And when the you get an error that this app has been prevented from opening b/c it is restricted - and get caught in a loop - it's pretty off putting. Back to shortcuts for me.

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#110

Post by wnolens »

panchtatvam wrote: post #10

If one needs to use an app to reduce the time spent on apps, then the person already has no self control. Since your app promotes such ideology of people who are slaves to technology,this app actually promotes such a repressive machine dependent society. Technology is supposed to serve society not rule or govern its habits. People should be taught to use technology not be a slave to it by using non-technology means.…

Not all of us are as perfect as you.
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