I love how you’ve embraced a non-smartphone life and found a solution that works for you. I’m totally with you that we need to show alternative ways of living in our current digital landscape, and this can inspire others. I’ve changed the browser on my phone to Brave and try to use DuckDuckGo when I remember.
I’ve gone full circle with my phone use. I used to panic when I left my phone for 5 minutes to leave the house. I used to imagine a family emergency popping up. But the more I experimented with leaving my phone at home for small amounts of time while going out, the more my physical dependency on it disappeared. For me, it was a very physical habit. The physical was more important than what I was doing on it, so I had to treat my physical relationship with the phone first.
By creating Digital Cooldown to combat compulsive use, I found that addressing other aspects of my life, and changing a few settings on my phone, was a useful way of overcoming smartphone dependency. These included:
Deleting ‘addictive’ apps
Limiting the amount of time I’d spend on my phone for a week
Turning off all notifications (except text messages)
Keeping my phone in a bag at all times (this is KEY)
Preparing alternative activities that I could do instead of being on my phone (IMO, a notebook and pen is a lifesaver)
Thinking about what’s triggering me to check my phone and studying the physical sensations cravings caused (i.e. elements of mindfulness)
Repeating all the above steps
I now spend an avg. of 1 hour and 35 minutes on my phone a day (for the past 9 months), which I’m happy with. Since cooling down from my smartphone, I’m trying to find ways of using my smartphone more lately. I really love it! The ‘return’ is a form of rediscovery. Even though I spend more time on it now than I used to over the past few months, I feel what I’m doing on it adds value to my life (gratitude journal, Duolingo, music etc). Social media apps, except WhatsApp, have no place on my phone.
I think you mentioned in a post above that giving up your smartphone won’t solve all your problems – that’s why I strongly believe that balance, self-knowledge and exploring your life as a human being is important to making sustained, longterm change.
Also I think it’s important not to beat ourselves up too much over screen time on our phones. It’s only one metric. The days I spend the most time on my phone are the days I call my mum. I find that deleting the bad, amplifying the good and creating physical distance from my phone are so valuable.
I totally agree to all the points highlighted above. I also think that smart phone and the internet related devices are not allowing us to live in the moment, experience life that is happening around us. It feels as if everyone is trying to live happily in the “virtual world”. I totally agree that technology has made many things easy for us, but most of these “easy” things are emotionally harming us.
For example - When I reduced my phone usage, many of my friends started complaining that I was not there to quickly reply to their messages. Though phone is an excellent way to reach a person, it has put unrealistic expectations that this person will be available always and any time! It has made people very impatient.
Agree totally- the social norm now is invasive to our psyche. We can’t just relax anymore or be with ourselves or immediate surroundings.
Sometimes I wonder if some of the unhappiness and impatience in our world is due to a choiceless existence. If we are bound by other people’s whims and thoughts, we lose ourselves and this is problematic.
We really do need phone/device free zones- not because technology is bad, but it doesn’t belong everywhere.
My concern is that phone/device free zones is not enough. People need to make the choice to disengage from the platforms and devices that control their mind, time & behavior.
I bet you can get your family and friends on different platforms. Also, I’ve found that disconnecting from smartphone & social media has made me closer with my family than I’ve ever been before. Prioritize in-person time and phone calls.
I prefer Hangouts (owned by Google) to FaceTime (owned by Apple). Yet I use a MacBook Air for work for several hours/day. Everybody has a gazillion decisions to make. The flip-phone, I’m telling you, is a great one!
I see what you are saying. I think it will take a couple generations of ill health- spinal/postural issues & sendetary lifestyle diseases like cardiovascular disease etc… to really change people. After we figure this out there will be a period of waiting for longitudinal scientific research proving that smart phones use actually a risk factor for certain disease.
