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A guide to reduce screen time

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Re: A guide to reduce screen time

#41

Post by ivansavz »

One thing that has been working really well for me this year is the "internet Shabbat" rule: 24 hours of no TCP/IP every week. Friday night I pull the plug on the modem + turn off data on my phone, then enjoy all of Saturday in a disconnected mode. I can still be on the computer, just no internet.

It's amazing how much things I get done... it literally feels like I have two days instead of one. If I put a item like "outdoor exercise for 30 mins" in my TODO list, then I actually do it! Close friends and family can still reach me by phone/text, but all the chat groups and other messaging app distractions are silent.

I can still end up zoning out watching a movie in the evening, but it's more intentional: I had to pick the movie in advance and download it so I can view it offline.

The contrast with Sunday when I turn the internet back on is very notable. Suddenly the next day is disorganized and end up wasting hours on youtube recommendations, and following rabit holes, and hacker news of course.

My conclusion is that it's not the apps or the internet, it's the feeds (when information is being pushed down to you) that are the problem. It's just too convenient and we end up staying in it.

Highly recommended.

Re: A guide to reduce screen time

#42

Post by n8cpdx »

- Yes it is possible to live without using social media (except hacker news of course) on a daily basis. TikTok is the easiest to do without. Instagram and Snapchat can be deleted. Use the web app for those rare moments you need to check hours for a business that doesn’t have a website (sadly this happens)

- iOS Focus Modes is underrated in this article. When I arrive at work all my apps except teams and outlook disappear, my phone turns into a work dashboard. After work my phone shows my journal and the clock app. I never get notifications at work, they queue up until I leave. My watch is synchronized and does similar, showing exactly what I need and nothing else for different stages of my day. Focus Modes has sadly not been copied by Android so I can’t consider stitching until there’s a good answer (a well supported HealthKit alternative being the other deal breaker).

- iOS screen time is busted af, it is known. Might as well be a random number generator. I recommend avoiding. Apple workers reading this: pls fix

Re: A guide to reduce screen time

#43

Post by steve_adams_86 »

nullderef wrote: post #27
master-lincoln wrote: post #24

Title talks about screentime, but article only focuses on mobile phones and doom scrolling. I was surprised to see the recommendation of max 2h screen time per day for an adult at the bottom. The link leads to a page not mentioning this though. I spend already ~5h staring at screens for work. At home my biggest screen time is watching videos on TV. I don't think I ever doom-scrolled on my phone. I do read lots of new…

The link mentions: "Health experts say screen time at home should be limited to two hours or less a day" -- https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/reduce-sc... Maybe doomscrolling is reading too many news for you? Or do you think it's not too excessive?

When I’m doom scrolling it’s almost exclusively news. I’m not all that interested in short videos, social media, or other scrollable things. News is my weakness. Last month I was pretty bad about reading news about the USA. I’ve mostly recovered. It’s easy to convince yourself it matters (especially compared to watching shorts) but the reality is that for me, it’s bordering irrelevant. I live in Canada. There’s nothing I can do about the USA. Just focus on what’s here and now.

Re: A guide to reduce screen time

#44

Post by throwaway243123 »

nullderef wrote: post #4
Zambyte wrote: post #3

My cell phone lives in my sock drawer with the only exception being when I take it out for GPS. Otherwise, I have fully replaced my mobile computing with my Daylight Computer tablet. I feel like I have a much healthier relationship with this thing than I had with my cell phone. The lack of color and the lack of notifications has made my usage feel way more intentional. Before, I wanted to kick my habit of scrolling s…

It's awesome to see a Daylight Computer user in the wild :) Did you also try out an e-paper phone at some point? And how are you doing in terms of connecting with friends and so on?

This looks so intriguing. How is it at keeping on top of stuff like email and text? Any lag with a bluetooth keyboard?

Re: A guide to reduce screen time

#46

Post by doright »

It's not like TikTok has a 100% chance of hypnotizing you into a zombie that can only spend its waking hours thinking about dancing people and positive vibes. Only a very high chance, depending on how anxious/bored you are, amplified by the hard work of psychology PhDs.

It's so difficult to imagine the mindset of a person who can approach TikTok from a healthy perspective and not need to rely on what used to be called "parental controls" in the past to artificially prevent them from doomscrolling all day. They would just never need to consume advice like this. Surely those people must exist? Who are they?

But when you're slapped with something like C-PTSD from an early age, you aren't afforded the ability to address anxiety effectively. You have to turn to something to soothe your anxiety all the time or it will drive you insane.

If you were to try to go the complete or semi-aesetic route, you have to consider what lies on the other side of doomscrolling when there's just too much anxiety to function correctly: endless hellfire.

I have a hard time believing doomscrolling or needing to restrict screentime at every corner are effective ways to address a completely unrelated inbuilt source of boundless anxiety.

Re: A guide to reduce screen time

#47

Post by golly_ned »

ivansavz wrote: post #41

One thing that has been working really well for me this year is the "internet Shabbat" rule: 24 hours of no TCP/IP every week. Friday night I pull the plug on the modem + turn off data on my phone, then enjoy all of Saturday in a disconnected mode. I can still be on the computer, just no internet. It's amazing how much things I get done... it literally feels like I have two days instead of one. If I put a item like "…

Great idea — do you live with others who do the same thing, or on your own?

Re: A guide to reduce screen time

#48

Post by Zambyte »

throwaway243123 wrote: post #44
nullderef wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's awesome to see a Daylight Computer user in the wild :) Did you also try out an e-paper phone at some point? And how are you doing in terms of connecting with friends and so on?

This looks so intriguing. How is it at keeping on top of stuff like email and text? Any lag with a bluetooth keyboard?

I have always had trouble keeping on top of email, but probably as good as anything? I don't use a Bluetooth keyboard, but I use a USB keyboard (ZSA Voyager) and a Bluetooth mouse (Logitech MX Anywhere 3S) and it works well for me. For some reason I have to re-pair the mouse often, but I think that's on the mouse side. My headphones have no trouble staying paired.

Re: A guide to reduce screen time

#50

Post by barbazoo »

scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #37
hombre_fatal wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I went to my comment history after writing that and clearly I'm full of crap.

Well, all of us are full of crap thinking that we can resolve our screen time problem by talking to people through this screen thing. But hey, since I’m here, I’m gonna give it my shot at hypocrisy as well: something worth looking into is how to feel OK with yourself not reaching for the screen compulsively. On your own, with your thoughts

It’s so funny to me to see people trying to solve their screen addiction with … an app
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