Zero screen time is not ideal. Everything over the internet is not drugs by the analogy
How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul
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Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul
#42> It’s about whether your phone is a needy, attention-sucking vampire. What else outcomes might be awaited if "the phone" is running non-free software? I am exactly that kind of person whose healthy screen time of snoop phones is zero because of some attention obstructions - but I have no fatigue issues after heavy sessions behind a screen which is powered by Debian without opening any websites requiring JS.
I can't tell if this comment is HN satire or not
Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul
#43I would've agreed some time ago. Today I think it's okay to not optimize everything for efficiency and it's also okay to waste some time on mindless things.
Yes, but phones are not those things that are okay, unless they're very well-manicured. It's not mindless, it's far more insidious than that. There are people vying for your attention. They are not doing it mindlessly, and they are not doing it for your benefit. Almost every mindless activity mankind has ever known hasn't required a phone-sized computer with a touch screen, but somehow that's nearly the only one peop…
I am perfectly able to waste away entire days seeking out entertainment on my phone without the assistance of algorithms.
Put in another way; algorithmic content delivery isn't the only factor.
Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul
#44> It’s about whether your phone is a needy, attention-sucking vampire. What else outcomes might be awaited if "the phone" is running non-free software? I am exactly that kind of person whose healthy screen time of snoop phones is zero because of some attention obstructions - but I have no fatigue issues after heavy sessions behind a screen which is powered by Debian without opening any websites requiring JS.
I can't tell if this comment is HN satire or not
You are enslaved by your own computer device and I am not, where is the satire?
Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul
#45You can only replace an addiction with another (healthier) one. For instance: intense outdoor activity, time spent working in a farm, etc. The tech we’ve built is insanely addictive.
Isn't the strength of addiction inversely correlated with how healthy it is?
Or put another way, how the fuck does one begin to like intense outdoor activity at all, much less to the point of it replacing a social media problem (including HN)?
There's only one somewhat reliable "trick" I know that makes people do these kinds of switches: falling in love, or at least getting a crush on, someone who's already doing the healthier thing. Obviously, this method is only available for a small segment of the population and mostly for a few years.
Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul
#46I am able to focus on work but even when I am super busy with work I will spend a lot of time on mobile. So it doesn't interfere with work but does interfere with health and overall well-being. I have removed all social media apps from my device including Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I don't use media streaming apps on mobile like YouTube. I do spend a lot of time reading on mobile that is helpful but it does tr…
Are there any apps or setting which reduce the saturation of colours? I notice that in many publicly available screens, such as in gyms, the saturation is extremely high drawing my attention to it. I find that this is also the case on my iPhone and Mac. Certainly I can go monotone. But not desaturate partially.
Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul
#47The problem is that internet is both a library and a public place. You need library for information and for work, and internet delivers here better than anything else - almost any information is available instantly. But unlike library with silence and no distractions you're at the same time in the middle of the giant public square, where all the people from your social circle also available instantly.
It's like studying in the middle of the giant party. Of course you can plug in noise cancellation headphones and find dark corner, but you brain knows that all people you care about are right here.
If you want to share some thoughts or check on someone in the library you have no choice – you can't talk to them, or have to go outside. But internet removes this constraint.
I really believe this social aspect of reachability of people (friends, haters or some people on internet you follow) is crucial. It's not about apps or a screen time, it's about social connection (even ephemeral) that gives this gratification and makes our brains summoning the apps.
Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul
#48You can only replace an addiction with another (healthier) one. For instance: intense outdoor activity, time spent working in a farm, etc. The tech we’ve built is insanely addictive.
You could take up smoking. Problem is that you can smoke and zombie-phone at the same time ...
Just start drinking as well, you'll have to quit one habit or take up juggling.
Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul
#49I would've agreed some time ago. Today I think it's okay to not optimize everything for efficiency and it's also okay to waste some time on mindless things.
There's a difference between intentional leisure and addiction.
Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul
#50The problem is that internet is both a library and a public place. You need library for information and for work, and internet delivers here better than anything else - almost any information is available instantly. But unlike library with silence and no distractions you're at the same time in the middle of the giant public square, where all the people from your social circle also available instantly. It's like study…
> I really believe this social aspect of reachability of people (friends, haters or some people on internet you follow) is crucial. It's not about apps or a screen time, it's about social connection (even ephemeral) that gives this gratification and makes our brains summoning the apps.
This. I've concluded the same, observing my own interaction patterns. I use very little social media (would've ditched Facebook if not for Messenger, and Instagram if not for my wife liking to post "stories"). I do, however, have a huge HN problem. But it's not a consumption problem. I feel a compulsion to comment (like here, now). If I don't do it - e.g. because I can't find anything I feel like responding to - I quickly get tired and it's easy to close all those HN tabs.
I've tried breaks from HN. Each time, I somehow ended up on Reddit. Again, not consuming, but engaging in discussions on various subreddits that tend to be more about conversation than links. The few times I tried to stop myself from that, I quickly ended up on Mastodon, posting "tweet storms" and creating more interesting conversations.
So at least in my case, it's definitely about connection. Pure consumption has its draw, but I can kick that somewhat easily. But those kinds of conversation - which, for reasons I'm not sure of, have no equivalent in meat space - have me in an iron grip.