Smartphones manipulate our emotions and trigger our reflexes

Yes and my comment is just relaying what professionals have to say about the phenomenon:

Bottom line up front: the way out is to set aside some time for a menial task that isn't mentally taxing.

Screens are a particularly effective means of avoiding processing one's emotions. Those, of course, don't go away by themselves so if you don't take time to deal with them, you create a dependency.

The moment before going to sleep is typically when piled up emotions and intrusive thoughts return, so that's also when the temptation to set them aside is the greatest.

Resisting that temptation, but giving in to it eventually is dangerous, because next time the signal is stronger.

> When they go to sleep at night, they have to choose between all of the information ever published in the history of the world, or the back of their eyelids

They are not tired enough if they choose to use their smartphone, that's an education issue.

Children are taught the value of a good night of sleep, they are taught by having fulfilling daily lives and exhausting. If you let them be like a plant, yeah they will be just as dumb as a plant.

> sharing biometric data through pre-loaded health and wellness apps.

I've been thinking about finally getting a smartwatch to keep tabs on my sleep and encourage me to do more exercise, like jogging for a certain amount of time or something. Suggestions for privacy respecting, ideally FOSS solutions?

I've switched to a CAT S22 Android builder's flip phone, and my usage has dropped significantly. The screen is so small and fiddly that it makes me feel sick using it for extended periods - exactly what you want from an adictive substance like a smart phone. Having to physically open it to use it, and then waiting 5 seconds before it lights up, creates a psychic barrier to just 'quickly checking for updates'. The camera is like an early 2000s cheap digicam - just about good enough for documenting things but it hardly beckons you to want to photograph your life constantly for social media. It's a PITA to use and that's why it's perfect for everyday use.

This is getting ridiculous

Everything we interact with has an emotional impact. And smart phones trigger our reflexes because they are literally tools for communication.

> Most of these features were developed decades ago for other uses. GPS was created by the U.S. military in the early 1970s, then was adopted by hikers and sailors to both navigate and to allow others to locate them if necessary.

> Vibration alerts were created for pagers in the late 1970s for professionals — from hospital staff to travelling salespeople — to notify them of an important phone call.

> Sound alerts became more widespread with Tamagotchi and other 1990s digital pets. Those toys are especially significant when discussing today’s psychological dependency on portable devices.

Seriously???