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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

#41

Post by klardotsh »

BeetleB wrote: post #30
hammock wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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).

Minus the camera thing, I'd almost say a PinePhone-esque device is the fit, given the dodgy telecoms stack (which isn't a dealbreaker to you). Otherwise, though, sounds like a phone in permanent airplane mode (or at least, without a SIM inserted) is the move for you.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#42

Post by noduerme »

wincy wrote: post #34
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…

My wife and I both have iPhones and MacBooks as our primary computing devices, and have setup blocks for each other’s phones. So we voluntarily (I have to stress, this is something we both are 100% on board with, don’t be a creep) set a passcode, and from midnight to 8pm our browsers are locked down, we can only use a few apps, and we’re focused on the kids or work. The only problem with this is overriding it require…

[flagged]

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#43

Post by laweijfmvo »

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 never found Screentime usable because something like turn-by-turn navigation would count against the global screen time, with no option to exclude it. worthless.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#45

Post by BirAdam »

madaxe_again wrote: post #24
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…

I’ve been off and on into conlanging since I was a young child, and when the smartphone started becoming a thing with later Blackberries, Treos, and then with iPhone and Android, I began using the same word to mean leash and phone in most of my languages.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#46

Post by XorNot »

lethologica wrote: post #35
XorNot wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 is…

This is like saying to addicts “Just stop smoking crack”. Everyone knows smoking crack is bad for you. A lot of people want to quit but are unable to no matter how much “self discipline” they have. And app developers have teams of people dedicated to making sure you stay on these apps longer and longer. Now imagine your dealer is in your pocket 24/7.

Your smartphone is in absolutely no way like smoking a physically addictive hard narcotic.

Again: learned helplessness. You've picked a comparison to ensure that you have maximally separated any notion of your own culpability. Drug addicts who get clean start by recognizing that they made the choice to start, and need to be mindful of the choice to quit, outside the physical addictions which drive it.

The answer for them isn't "I need the crack dealers to all go away first".

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#47

Post by crossroadsguy »

seam_carver wrote: post #36

I have an e ink smartphone, specifically a Hisense A9. It has the same screen as a Kindle. It is wonderful for productive stuff like reading, messaging is passable, and videos are pretty much unusable. It's wonderful, I've read so many books now.

It has Android 11 as of today; with no information of upgradability. I would not ever recommend anyone to use such an outdated OS in today's world even on their secondary phone. It's just unsafe.

If it is to be used as a "reader" device then, well, whatever. But in that case why not just use a "reader device" then.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#49

Post by mattl »

BeetleB wrote: post #30
hammock wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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).

iPod Touch if you can still find one?

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#50

Post by skidd0 »

lethologica wrote: post #35
XorNot wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 is…

This is like saying to addicts “Just stop smoking crack”. Everyone knows smoking crack is bad for you. A lot of people want to quit but are unable to no matter how much “self discipline” they have. And app developers have teams of people dedicated to making sure you stay on these apps longer and longer. Now imagine your dealer is in your pocket 24/7.

Except crack and other drugs form physical dependencies which leads to withdrawal. Smart phone addicts have a more psychological battle. That's the willpower/self-discipline part. How do you build discipline? Practice! So, yeah, it can be as simple as telling yourself "just stop using the apps" as often as you can to build up the skill.
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