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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

#61

Post by aembleton »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #19

A few weeks ago I made an effort to connect more with local reality and less with the internet and its mountain of suck. To that end I removed all social media apps from my phone (I only had one), and disabled the news feed, search, and browser. I still have all the features I find actually useful, like weather, maps, alarms, calendar, etc. The first few times you mindlessly look at your phone after doing something l…

> A few weeks ago I made an effort to connect more with local reality and less with the internet and its mountain of suck. To that end I removed all social media apps from my phone..

Don't you find that a lot of groups, such as your local running club organise over Facebook? Its those groups and even just organising a BBQ with friends that keep me on Facebook.

Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul

#63

Post by swayvil »

It's an interesting connection, your attention as your soul.

Consider the implications of "temptation". Consider "bound soul", "free soul", "damned soul".

Consider a soul, and a body, in a subway car, diddling with its phone, on the way to work.

It really sheds light on the subject.

Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul

#64

Post by photochemsyn »

Here's an idea: an app that forces you to solve a fairly complex mathematical puzzle every time you try to open any social media app. This is lifted from Larry Niven's Ringworld sci-fi novels (specifically, a wirehead addict uses this approach to limit their consumption).

Mobile devices don't seem to make this very easy to do, though, you need a app wrapper of some kind which seems fairly case-specific.

Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul

#65

Post by intrasight »

em500 wrote: post #53
TeMPOraL wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 no…

One way to moderate this is to remove them from your phone and just access them from a PC end of day. There is no value from 24/7 instant access to Reddit or HN (or the majority of network connected apps if you think about it), as opposed to browsing for an hour or two at the end of the day if you have some downtime.

This is my solution for Reddit and HN - which are my "problem" sites as well.

Like just now reading this thread anonymously on my phone and then at a later time, after some more contemplation, going to my computer and writing this comment. That break does three things. First, I get to think about why I am commenting. Second, if I decide that I do still want to comment, I've had some "offline" time to think about it. Third, by the time I am back on my computer I may have just forgot about it, or find that someone had already made the same comment as I had intended.

Only about 1/5 of the time will I comment on something that - after reading on my phone - I had felt compelled to comment on.

Reddit I never look at on my phone. I came late to Reddit - maybe a year ago. But I'm now a Reddit junky and probably spend an hour a day on it. Reddit does make it easier to avoid using on one's phone. For one, they aggressively push their app and I don't install apps. Second, they don't let you look at any content they deem "sensitive" without logging in. The result is that I will only use Reddit on my computer and that for me greatly limits my time spend there as I don't view my computer as an entertainment device.

Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul

#66

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

aembleton wrote: post #61
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #19

A few weeks ago I made an effort to connect more with local reality and less with the internet and its mountain of suck. To that end I removed all social media apps from my phone (I only had one), and disabled the news feed, search, and browser. I still have all the features I find actually useful, like weather, maps, alarms, calendar, etc. The first few times you mindlessly look at your phone after doing something l…

> A few weeks ago I made an effort to connect more with local reality and less with the internet and its mountain of suck. To that end I removed all social media apps from my phone.. Don't you find that a lot of groups, such as your local running club organise over Facebook? Its those groups and even just organising a BBQ with friends that keep me on Facebook.

They probably do, but I haven't used Facebook at all aside from a brief period in the 2010s. If they organize on Facebook, and I don't have any other way of finding out about them or otherwise contacting them, I just don't bother.

I am willing to accept some inconvenience in order to be aligned with my goals, which I am learning puts me very much at odds with the average person.

Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul

#67

Post by twic »

sledgehammers wrote: post #40
nologic01 wrote: post #31

Its not the phone. Its the screen. It could have been in any form factor - it was in another, less usable, form factor. The portability just clinched it for billions and made the issue of the screen more pressing than ever. The screen is the window to the matrix, our collective digital space. That matrix is something incredibly powerful. We have not tamed it. We don't even have a theory of taming it. A psychological,…

You have spoken my exact thoughts aloud, thanks. Let's start working on the theory!

I tend think the transition to living online is basically a repeat of the transition to living in cities. That is, from villages to cities is the same as cities to online. There's more of everything - people, stuff, contact, density, access, coincidences. I wonder if we can learn anything from the previous transition.

Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul

#68

Post by nicbou »

sudhirkhanger wrote: post #26

I 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…

SelfControl for Mac is ridiculously effective. I just leave my mobile phone in another room. TOTP can work with a password manager. I can walk to another room to log into my bank account as needed.

Re: How to Stare at Your Phone Without Losing Your Soul

#69

Post by nicbou »

ygouzerh wrote: post #9

That's so true. I love Youtube for its music, documentaries and software engineering content. But I hate the Shorts features, if I click on only one video, it sucks all my night. I built a small app for blocking the Shorts features, in this way I can enjoy the advantages without having the bad sides.

Try Unhook. You can hide all but the video player if you want.

On mobile just use the website.

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