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I made my phone slow on purpose

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Re: I made my phone slow on purpose

#121

Post by Cider9986 »

sphars wrote: post #104
Cider9986 wrote: post #85

The truth is that none of these apps can really make your distracting phone into a smart dumb phone because of Apple's limitations on their power. And yet, Apple's own tool, screentime, also can be easily bypassed. The solution is Mobile device management (MDM) using Apple Configurator. All you need is a Mac and your iPhone and you can make it impossible to install distracting apps, create un-bypassable limits, and d…

I'm curious about your Android method, just to see if it's something I want to explore as a solution.

Here I talked about it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48275963

I bet you could use an MDM method on a regular Android, but I'm waiting for one that supports GrapheneOS. It's still a WIP https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/13587-mdm-on-grapheneos/38

Re: I made my phone slow on purpose

#122

Post by Cider9986 »

griffinli wrote: post #119
Cider9986 wrote: post #85

The truth is that none of these apps can really make your distracting phone into a smart dumb phone because of Apple's limitations on their power. And yet, Apple's own tool, screentime, also can be easily bypassed. The solution is Mobile device management (MDM) using Apple Configurator. All you need is a Mac and your iPhone and you can make it impossible to install distracting apps, create un-bypassable limits, and d…

What's your Android method? I use Apple Configurator too.

Here I talked about it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48275963

Re: I made my phone slow on purpose

#123

Post by DANmode »

al_borland wrote: post #112
gf263 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been interested for a decade+, but appreciate the condescension

I’ve found the most effective tool to be uninstalling the apps, being logged out in the browser, then building up a deep resentment for the manipulative practices these apps/sites employ. Friends send me links on Instagram all the time and it’s always a multi-step process to see it in the browser without being logged in. It’s half-broken and super annoying. If a search query sends me to Instagram, it just breaks 80%…

You are an average of the 5 people you spend the most time around.

Do those people send you any blog links?

or solely vapid social media shite?

Note that. There’s overlap in other parts of life.

Re: I made my phone slow on purpose

#124

Post by DANmode »

chatmasta wrote: post #115
gf263 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whenever I see something like this, I think wow this is gonna be so effective and change my life and then two weeks later it’s uninstalled and I’m slack jaw standing over the sink browsing Instagram

This hits close to home. I really need to stop bringing my phone to brush my teeth…

Yikes.

Re: I made my phone slow on purpose

#125

Post by Gigachad »

Darwins_Toffees wrote: post #95
zahlman wrote: post #92

I simply didn't get a smart phone. I had to get a new vertical flip phone last year — $80 plus tax to own it outright (and I think they gave me some credit on my pay-as-you-go balance too) — in order to migrate to 4G, but I was definitely not about to take the opportunity to get anything fancy. I do my computing, and my "app" usage, at home on my desktop (and play games on a dedicated handheld), thank you.

The one thing that's kept me from this path is tickets to events. Getting into a concert or MLB game without a smartphone is nearly impossible these days.

It’s usually a QR code right? You should be able to print it off.

Re: I made my phone slow on purpose

#126

Post by Fnoord »

I have a much simpler solution. I read before my son (5) one to two books, and he is allowed to watch a short movie (Lego technics, marble run, that kind of stuff). Sound is OK, if it is relaxed (so not music with 120 BPM, but lo-fi OK). Then he watches something of about 10 minutes. If he has to go to school tomorrow, he knows that's it, but in vacations and weekends he may watch another one. After he is done, he likes to pick the next movie for tomorrow (very important for him).

Re: I made my phone slow on purpose

#127

Post by thoughtpeddler »

chatmasta wrote: post #53

There is a great habit-breaking app called “One Sec.” You configure it with your addicting apps or websites and it uses iOS shortcuts to interrupt you when you open them, and make you wait for some time — optionally with the selfie camera open — and confirm you really want to open it. It’s extremely effective and I highly recommend it. I don’t have it anymore since it led me to eventually delete Instagram and I never…

+1 for One Sec, a fantastic app, if one has the patience to wire it up using Apple’s first-party Shortcuts app (which is probably the main reason most normies aren’t going to use it). Really helped curb my Instagram usage down from about ~15 minutes per day to around ~5 minutes/day at most, and often now a few days go by without me checking the app at all. It is remarkable how much a 4, 6, or 10 second wait will just cause me to say “nah, forget it, I don’t care anymore”. Like, how much of a dumb ape am I?

Re: I made my phone slow on purpose

#128

Post by jjenks1106 »

This is a really cool idea.. I've used the app limiters (screenZen, Opal) and honestly they really helped limit my screen time and I've been able to transition away from having to use them. I wonder what the psychological difference between limiting access to apps and making the overall experience less smooth, whether friction at the network level can feel like a more natural nudge, where I found app blockers could at times feel like your fighting yourself. Would be interested to see retention data and the sustainability comparing the two approaches.

Re: I made my phone slow on purpose

#129

Post by mh- »

gepeto42 wrote: post #3
andai wrote: post #2

Brilliant. Too bad there's apparently no built in way to do it. I was reminded of when Apple started slowing down the CPUs on older phones. Would be nice if you could just configure that on first run. "How addictive would you like your phone to be, sir?"

I feel like my phone is so sluggish when in low power mode (even a 17 Pro), that it could work for this.

It definitely downclocks the chip, but it also does some other stuff like capping the frame rate on the display, which (to me, ymmv) goes a long way towards making the phone "feel slower".

My (teenaged) kids frequently let their phones go into low battery and then run in power saving mode for hours, when one of them hands me their phones it's super jarring and feels awful to use coming from my 120hz phone haha.

Re: I made my phone slow on purpose

#130

Post by mh- »

gepeto42 wrote: post #100
Insanity wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This might say more about the quality of modern apps than the power of the iPhone lol.

Absolutely does. But it would definitely keep you away from switching between 13 Slack groups!

It's funny, I'm on a Delta flight right now with bad wifi and a few minutes ago I was thinking about how slow internet access completely changes my browsing habits to be more deliberate.

Example from a few seconds ago: I frequently click into HN user's profile pages when I read an interesting comment from them as I scroll past. At home, it loads ~instantly even on 5G. But when it takes 5-7 seconds to load one, you get a lot more thoughtful about navigating your browser.

There's definitely something interesting about intentionally downgrading your own experience in targeted ways.

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