I’ve long been interested in the Light Phone (primarily for my husband and not myself), though I guess in practical terms that’s not much different from getting a feature phone.
And this isn’t a direct response to the post I guess, but I’m personally pretty content with my relationship with my phone. I like having it in my pocket as a camera, as a means of calling for help in an emergency (I’m a worrier and also in fact see a lot of accidents and crime while out walking), and as a shield to let me avoid unwanted social interactions. Having Uber and maps available also helps me feel more secure and like I won’t end up trapped somewhere. Also, I’m happy with the quantity and quality of the notifications I get, since most days, no one messages me except my mom, my sister, and my husband.
In terms of addiction, I weakly recommend:
Putting your phone in greyscale (more or less permanently)
Having a habit of not following the news, not only on your phone but on any platform
Cultivating disdain for people who spend time on their phones
Cultivating deep hatred of infinite scrolling, and deleting any app that has this feature
Leaving most group chats or servers you’re in, or if you can’t leave them (e.g. if they’re for work), at least muting most of them
I have more of a problem with addiction to my computer, but there too, I’ve successfully made my computer pretty boring. I use UBlock Origin to block most content and features on Facebook and Youtube, and then, since I don’t have any friends, the only things available for me to compulsively check are things that don’t actually update frequently and so it gets boring (I check email, Facebook, LW, Discord, and Slack compulsively, but 85% of the time there’s nothing new). I guess I don’t recommend the part about not having friends.
I’ve long been interested in the Light Phone (primarily for my husband and not myself), though I guess in practical terms that’s not much different from getting a feature phone.
And this isn’t a direct response to the post I guess, but I’m personally pretty content with my relationship with my phone. I like having it in my pocket as a camera, as a means of calling for help in an emergency (I’m a worrier and also in fact see a lot of accidents and crime while out walking), and as a shield to let me avoid unwanted social interactions. Having Uber and maps available also helps me feel more secure and like I won’t end up trapped somewhere. Also, I’m happy with the quantity and quality of the notifications I get, since most days, no one messages me except my mom, my sister, and my husband.
In terms of addiction, I weakly recommend:
Putting your phone in greyscale (more or less permanently)
Having a habit of not following the news, not only on your phone but on any platform
Cultivating disdain for people who spend time on their phones
Cultivating deep hatred of infinite scrolling, and deleting any app that has this feature
Leaving most group chats or servers you’re in, or if you can’t leave them (e.g. if they’re for work), at least muting most of them
I have more of a problem with addiction to my computer, but there too, I’ve successfully made my computer pretty boring. I use UBlock Origin to block most content and features on Facebook and Youtube, and then, since I don’t have any friends, the only things available for me to compulsively check are things that don’t actually update frequently and so it gets boring (I check email, Facebook, LW, Discord, and Slack compulsively, but 85% of the time there’s nothing new). I guess I don’t recommend the part about not having friends.
And finally, +1 to reading Digital Minimalism.