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Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

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Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#91

Post by Timwi »

Congrats on a useful and popular app! It sounds like something that could really help a lot of people.

Now, I really don't want to come across as smug or anything, but I'm not one of the people this would help. I already use my phone in a consciously controlled manner and I don't do things like endless doomscrolling. Despite, it's clear from the evidence that a lot of people do and would benefit from this app. So I'm really curious... what is that like? What goes through your head when you grab the phone, see the app, and then decide to put the phone back down? If you realize at that point that you don't actually want to use the phone right now, why did you grab it in the first place? I'm not insinuating anything, I'm genuinely just curious.

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#92

Post by exitb »

exe34 wrote: post #32
p1necone wrote: post #28

I feel like we're far too obsessed with the "nobility" of stuff we do for fun. Watch YouTube shorts, scroll reddit, whatever. It's only "addictive" because it's fun, it's no more pointless than anything else you might do for fun. What are you really achieving by using this app? Do you have an unhealthy relationship with your phone, or are you just arbitrarily ranking it low on the "worthiness" of random shit you migh…

it's currently very cool to announce to everybody how little time you spend on your phone, it's like the new "I'm vegan" or "I use arch btw". people don't realise how addiction works - see the Vietnam veterans case: https://jamesclear.com/heroin-habits we have bigger (social) problems that's causing the phone addiction: if it wasn't a phone, it would be video games, TV or alcohol or something else.

Even if the addition is really driven by the environment, rather than its subject itself, can individuals actually solve the underlying social problem? Can they do so in a way that's actually scalable to a significant portion of the population?

If your work, or lack of money, or your kids school, or your parents health are causing you stress, most often you can't simply "change your environment" to a less stressful one.

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#93

Post by hshshshshsh »

guax wrote: post #75

Installed about 30 minutes ago, it already made me reconsider using the phone 3x. It is indeed effective while you're engaging with it. Hope it continues like this for long term.

It will not last much. The brain will figure out the reconsideration is wasted mental processing and just proceed to open phone by clicking tool.

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#94

Post by chris_pie »

blahlabs wrote: post #78
HPsquared wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have greyscale set to activate in the evening to wind down for bed.

Could you share how you achieved activating greyscale automatically? Was it Android or iOS? I would love to be able to do this but couldn't find a way on GrapheneOS.

Latest Android has that built-in as a "Night Mode". You can also set a schedule or have it enable while charging

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#96

Post by Schinken_ »

Timwi wrote: post #91

Congrats on a useful and popular app! It sounds like something that could really help a lot of people. Now, I really don't want to come across as smug or anything, but I'm not one of the people this would help. I already use my phone in a consciously controlled manner and I don't do things like endless doomscrolling. Despite, it's clear from the evidence that a lot of people do and would benefit from this app. So I'm…

I am also not a doomscroller but a frequent "let's check if something new is happening" leads me to randomly picking up my phone regularly. It's almost automatic by now. Middle of work? "Muscle memory" sort of grabs phone, unlocks it, opens emails, messengers. Nothing new? Just close.

TL:DR;: For me (not a doomscroller) it's sort of automatic to check my mails and messages. Not thinking much while grabbing the phone

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#98

Post by rmholt »

Timwi wrote: post #91

Congrats on a useful and popular app! It sounds like something that could really help a lot of people. Now, I really don't want to come across as smug or anything, but I'm not one of the people this would help. I already use my phone in a consciously controlled manner and I don't do things like endless doomscrolling. Despite, it's clear from the evidence that a lot of people do and would benefit from this app. So I'm…

I don't think about it at all, it's almost automatic. Like locking the door when you leave your house.

I have a free moment, I enter a bus, I sit down at a table, boom phone.

I may be an usual case as I believe it to be caused by general anxiety and wanting to avoid the world.

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#99

Post by jarko27 »

Unearned5161 wrote: post #81

love the app, I think it works much better than a simple background with a question on it, and not only because I like to have pretty pictures there instead an idea: it would be neat to have extra functionality with specific apps, with regular interruptions to ask if you're still on track or what have you. maybe not even a button press, just like a 5 second breather with a message on the screen and then it goes away.…

More advanced reminders are the most frequent feature request so far. As a very trivial way to implement it, I'm thinking about showing the original screen periodically instead of the notification.

But the thing you suggest with modifying the message for each app sounds interesting. Are you thinking about something like "Have you found what you searched? Or you are just scrolling" on Reddit?

In any case, it's an item on the roadmap already

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#100

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

MMAesawy wrote: post #48
mzhaase wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point I think was more a critique on the fact that everyone now tries to extract profit with everything, even the simplest of apps.

How would you suggest to compensate devs for developing and maintaining such apps? Personally I would much prefer that developers lock poweruser features behind a paywall rather than plaster ugly ads all over the place. Making it a paid app works too, but likely 95% of the potential userbase would not try the app if they had to reach for their wallets first.

UBI.

(I would leave the comment at that, but it would probably come across as a bit facetious and would fail any 'low-effort' test. But I genuinely mean it: remove the necessity to obtain a certain amount of money every month, and all of a sudden, people would be able to create, share, and enjoy for free.

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