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A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

nytimes.com

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Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#21

Post by darth_avocado »

Tagbert wrote: post #17

Do people really want to quit their smartphone? I certainly don’t. It connects me to people, provides information, and lets me capture information when I want to. I do not feel overwhelmed by it. I do restrict notifications to specific apps and people. The rest, I check on a couple of times a day. Why would I want to quit?

People don’t want to quit smartphones, they want to quit what’s in them and that can be hard. Sometimes you just have apps that are a time sink. You can obviously delete them and call it a day, but sometimes you want to keep it around for a small use case, but then want to limit your usage to a minimum, which can be hard because these apps are literally designed to make you spend as much time on them as possible.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#22

Post by yaomtc »

allthecybers wrote: post #15

I'd love to quit my smartphone and have looked at options like Lite Phone to replace it. The only issue is my smartphone is now my GPS, my payment method, my home lighting controller, my car/house key, and my health tracker. Plus, was a convenient way to keep tabs on work messages. Half a decade ago I eliminated all my social media. Then about a year ago I started by removing work email and messaging from my phone.Th…

Pocket full of keys? Sounds like a recipe for pain. Carabiner!

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#23

Post by richardw »

darth_avocado wrote: post #6

It is unfortunate that the phone hardware companies have an interest in you using their phone more, otherwise they'd make it easier to manage your phone usage better. The screentime app in iPhone for example is so easy to bypass as a user even when you were the one who limited certain apps usage. I want an app that strictly locks away my access to an app and also suppresses notifications. Is that so hard to build? It…

I'm using "Freedom", which locks my Mac and iPhone and includes apps and websites and I think blocks notifications. I don't use it as much as I should, but I think it does the things you said? Not "default functionality" though.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#24

Post by madaxe_again »

Tagbert wrote: post #17

Do people really want to quit their smartphone? I certainly don’t. It connects me to people, provides information, and lets me capture information when I want to. I do not feel overwhelmed by it. I do restrict notifications to specific apps and people. The rest, I check on a couple of times a day. Why would I want to quit?

I think a more accurate statement of the need is that people want their lives back, and the smartphone is a clear symbol of the ever-connected world, where not noticing a message for 15 minutes can turn into disaster, where you are expected to Always. Be. Available. That’s what people want out of, in my observations.

We talk about habituated phone users - people who sit there refreshing their social feed for 14 hours a day - and while these are troubling cases, I don’t think they represent the majority of people who say they want to give up their smartphone.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#25

Post by XorNot »

darth_avocado wrote: post #21
Tagbert wrote: post #17

Do people really want to quit their smartphone? I certainly don’t. It connects me to people, provides information, and lets me capture information when I want to. I do not feel overwhelmed by it. I do restrict notifications to specific apps and people. The rest, I check on a couple of times a day. Why would I want to quit?

People don’t want to quit smartphones, they want to quit what’s in them and that can be hard. Sometimes you just have apps that are a time sink. You can obviously delete them and call it a day, but sometimes you want to keep it around for a small use case, but then want to limit your usage to a minimum, which can be hard because these apps are literally designed to make you spend as much time on them as possible.

This triggers my "learn some self-discipline" instinct.

It's such a learned helplessness statement "oh no, I can't possibly not open the reddit app 30 times a day. Save me from myself."

Like, I get it, it's not easy but it's also a pretty basic part of being an adult. Like brushing your teeth, eating healthily or doing exercise (which is to say: if you think "I have problems with those too" then the problem really isn't your smartphone).

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#26

Post by MattRix »

karaterobot wrote: post #7

I just checked the Screen Time statistics, and my average daily screen time last week was 18 minutes, the week before that was 22 minutes. I've never been in danger of becoming addicted to smart phones, just like I've never been in danger of being addicted to alcohol or gambling: none of them really appeal to me that much. But there are plenty of things I know I am addicted to, and I'm pretty sure the way to treat th…

This ignores the fact that many of the apps people use are designed and A/B tested to maximize time spent/wasted. The fact that it happens to not work on you does not mean it works for everyone.

Sometimes an addiction really is because something is designed to be incredibly addictive, not because of some underlying psychological issue with the user.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#27

Post by samstave »

karaterobot wrote: post #7

I just checked the Screen Time statistics, and my average daily screen time last week was 18 minutes, the week before that was 22 minutes. I've never been in danger of becoming addicted to smart phones, just like I've never been in danger of being addicted to alcohol or gambling: none of them really appeal to me that much. But there are plenty of things I know I am addicted to, and I'm pretty sure the way to treat th…

Sure but I have a machine with 18 inches of my person basically 24/7.

My phone won't tell you crap.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#28

Post by jskherman »

chias wrote: post #19

I was never in the "heavy smartphone users" category, but one thing I found that nonetheless shrank my usage significantly was switching to the "Niagara" launcher app (Android). If you are somebody that doesn't want to keep getting "sucked" into your phone, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I also switched to Niagara Launcher, and it's great especially with the new icons update (everything looks so consistent)! It decreased my usage as well but I still find myself going back to old habits whenever stress mounts, despite having Niagara Pro, enabling Morning mode, and Notification summaries. Any tips you could share that have helped you further decrease your usage?

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#29

Post by BeetleB »

allthecybers wrote: post #15

I'd love to quit my smartphone and have looked at options like Lite Phone to replace it. The only issue is my smartphone is now my GPS, my payment method, my home lighting controller, my car/house key, and my health tracker. Plus, was a convenient way to keep tabs on work messages. Half a decade ago I eliminated all my social media. Then about a year ago I started by removing work email and messaging from my phone.Th…

> The only issue is my smartphone is now my GPS, my payment method, my home lighting controller, my car/house key, and my health tracker.

If you use GPS only for navigation in a car, get a Garmin or something similar.

Payment: Is it that hard to use a CC like most people do...? I only recently used my phone for payments (lost card and was waiting for replacement), and did not find it any more convenient than using a card.

Lighting: Do you need to do this only at home or away from home? If the former, buy a Google Home (albeit that has its own issues...)

Car/house key: Sorry, no experience with this. I'd be terrified of using my phone that way.

Health tracker: No experience with this, so I don't know how you use it and what the alternatives are.

> Half a decade ago I eliminated all my social media. Then about a year ago I started by removing work email and messaging from my phone.The next step will be having a designated spot for it to stay while I'm home.

Good steps. I never allowed work stuff on my phone. And if I take it out at home, I'll leave it wherever I took it out. I have a PC so I don't need the phone (and yes, it's great that the PC is not mobile). I use my VoIP line as my main phone, so I have those all around the house. People know I may not answer my cell phone at home due to me not hearing it ring.

> thick wallet

How thick is thick? 1-2 credit cards, 1-2 debit cards. Not that thick.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#30

Post by BeetleB »

hammock wrote: post #8
desmond373 wrote: post #3

I feel like i would like a phone with the sim and wifi module ripped out. Perhaps just bluetooth so my files can get auto transfered when i get home. Phones are great note takers and recorders but the social media and communication aspects can be problematic.

>I feel like i would like a phone…but the communication aspects can be problematic. That’s not a phone then. It’s a computer (?)

Exactly. Where can I get a device that I can use away from home, fits in my pocket, and does not receive calls/texts? I value the camera, the GPS, and occasionally the data (not OP).
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