Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

271–280 of 350 posts

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#271

Post by vonjuice »

XorNot wrote: post #171
vonjuice wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technological problems are environmental problems. The US army officially considers cyberspace to be a dimension https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Dimension_Operations If a factory is polluting the air, the water, if you can't sleep because it makes loud noises at night, you don't tell people they should get air masks, or water filters, or take melatonin, or to just move somewhere else. If you live in an area that…

"The internet" is as present in my life as I want it to be. No one is forcing you to install apps which notify you, or to post on social media. That's your choice. Thus proving my original point: the immediate reaction is to try and externalize the problem, despite the fact that it is entirely being driven by your own choices. You've carefully constructed your example once again to make yourself the idle victim: powe…

"Alcohol is as present in my life as I want it to be. No one is forcing alcoholics to drink or to buy wine. That's their choice."

Given that you ignored pretty much all of my points and instead doubled down on your bootstraps mentality I'm just gonna say your empathy is very atrophied.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#272

Post by blakeburch »

I recently switched to a flip phone in January as an experiment. My main goal was to eliminate my scrolling habits in any form of downtime, as I was becoming increasingly unhappy and noticed it was affecting my eyes negatively.

Most of the benefits came from the friction the device itself causes. The texting experience was terrible, so I texted less. The internet browser was laughable, so I just pulled out my laptop when I needed to look something up.

Did I enjoy the flip phone? Absolutely not. The experience was terrible. But I did learn some lessons.

It made me appreciate my smart phone for what it was - a computer in my pocket. The more I can think of it as a tool to use at my disposal, the less of a distraction the device itself becomes. By disabling notifications for every app, I essentially get the same experience as a flip phone. I browse the web through apps to do a specific activity when the need strikes. Other than that, it stays in my pocket (or more likely at home, in the couch cushion).

Plus, I also learned that I like the idea of memorizing directions more than using turn-by-turn nav. It makes me pay more attention to the roads and I gain a better familiarity with my area.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#273

Post by vonjuice »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #147
vonjuice wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Convenience matters - notebook and pencil method cuts down people benefiting from health tracking by a couple orders of magnitude. How?

Take sleep tracking: I tried and failed to note those times when I wake up. I'm usually too foggy to remember, and later in the day, it's too much effort to reverse the times out of environmental cues. Obviously, I don't have a consistent sleep schedule - otherwise, I wouldn't care about tracking it in the first place. And, of course, manual tracking doesn't work when I wake up in the middle of the night and go back…

I'm not so much interested in how difficult it is to track something as whether the data and its granularity maps out onto real change.

I went through periods of wanting to make changes in my life, and I thought it was all about figuring out a perfect system.

It turned out that the bigger problem was actually overthinking, and it was that overthinking itself which wanted more data and more methods.

In actuality, what helped was removing as much friction as possible. I have no data about my sleep except for the clear fact that I wake up earlier and spend almost no time rolling around my bed before getting out of it. I don't need either a watch or paper to tell me that.

I don't say that as a way of critiquing your methods, just wondering if you notice real, considerable change as a result, the kind that you don't need to minutely keep track of because it's so obvious.

Or to make it not personal, is there a known correlation between the popularity of fitness tracking devices and significant weight loss across populations?

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#276

Post by nehal3m »

natdempk wrote: post #266
GoblinSlayer wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dumbphones have cameras, so if you can't or don't want to remember a map, you can take its photo. My short term memory if good enough for that. Random installable apps are really the only edge smartphones have.

Serious question: Is there a dumbphone that has a camera that is even remotely near a flagship from the last year or two? (Pixel/iPhone/Samsung) I wouldn't realistically carry around a camera everywhere because of bulk/UX, yet I (and most people) do care about having a pretty decent camera to take photos day to day.

Part of the reason modern flagships take such great pictures is computational photography. A dumbphone almost by definition can't do that, even if the optics were equal.

In 2022 I did a year long stint on a Nokia 110 4G and I carried a Canon PowerShot G7X Mark 3 around. It's a one inch sensor compact camera that fit my pocket just as well as my smartphone did (and since there's nothing to do but make phone calls and text with a super shitty UX that phone lived in my backpack). The UX for a camera is more annoying depending on how and why you take pictures. It does force you to be a little more mindful and focused on what you're doing though.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#277

Post by magicmicah85 »

I would rather not go back to a flip phone, so good on anyone that can and is happy with it. I do not miss T9 texting. What worked for me was I shifted my mind to stop thinking of my phone as a daily necessity and more as a multi-function tool. Screen Time helped to identify the apps I'm using the most. I started with deleting the time wasting apps - Reddit, twitter, tiktok, instagram - all gone. If it's really important, I'll go on a computer or use safari but otherwise I just don't care for anything happening on there anymore.

For awhile I would pick up my phone, realize there's nothing interesting on it and go do something else. I've read 6 books so far this year. I'm on pace to 5x my reading from last year. I'm watching movies or tv with complete attention, where I used to be confused as to what was going on cause I'd be on my phone.

Whatever helps you get rid of your unskillful habits, keep at it. The rest of the world is always going to be vying for your attention, it's yours to spend how you choose.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#278

Post by lm28469 »

deely3 wrote: post #236
lm28469 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we have to be sure that its a phone and not society. Are we really at that level of discussion ? Smartphones, and the web, clearly have a magnifying effect on many topics which are detrimental in a lot of cases Human nature didn't magically change in 2007 when god emperor Steve Jobs shat out the first smartphone

Yes, we always at this level of discussion. Smartphone is a tool, not a sentinent thing that commands you what to do. Its always the simplest way to forbid something, but I think we have to be more caution with easy ways.

A nuclear bomb is just a tool, fentanyl is just a tool, an AR15 is just a tool, and guess what ? all these things are heavily regulated

"it's just a tool" is level 0 of argumentation. What is the tool used for ? What are the people in control of said tool getting from it ? Who's benefiting for it ? Who's getting abused by it ? &c. We can collectively make decision about things, we've done it on thousands of different subject for thousands of years, history didn't stop in 2007

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#279

Post by causal »

hospitalJail wrote: post #275

I've done stuff like this. Actually made me socially isolated, I had a few close friends, but lost my acquaintances and people I was familiar with. I don't really buy into these anti-society articles anymore.

The article is about spending less time on your phone in order to be more present in-person. Calling that "anti-society" is wild.

That said, I'll agree that it is increasingly difficult to participate in some spheres without specific apps. The article discusses this too. It is an alarming trend that excludes those who are unable to or cannot afford to use smartphones.

Re: A practical guide to quitting your smartphone

#280

Post by illegalsmile »

bittercynic wrote: post #241
bayindirh wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can pass time while waiting - doctors office, etc - which makes me more pleasant. If you need to suppress your thoughts by using a tool while being alone and not doing something (to be pleasant), maybe you should do something about these thoughts rather than suppress them?

It's not always running from your thoughts. Sometimes it's just nice to be occupied with something pleasant while you're waiting. Also, sometimes when you're waiting at the doctor's office you're waiting for important news that would trigger anxiety in the healthiest among us, and distracting yourself is a great strategy in those moments.

Right? There were, and still are, magazines in many waiting rooms or TVs. If I want to meditate or sit without distraction it's probably not going to be in a waiting room or at a restaurant.
Post reply on HN