
I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain - imartin2k
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/23/business/cell-phone-addiction.html
======
honzzz
How do you separate the enriching part from the addictive part? To me the
problem is that my laptop and my phone are magical doors that lead to both
smart people at HN and some niche subreddits/blogs that really make me think,
change my opinion, make my life more interesting... and right next to it there
are social media bubbles, overwhelming stream of news and insight porn that I
can read/watch for hours anxious that if I don't, I will miss out on something
important... but somehow it's almost never the case.

I can distinguish how those two types of content make me feel - the first
makes me feel fulfilled and inspired, the second tired and depressed. The
problem is that the feeling only comes after I absorb the content and does not
help me navigate towards the enriching and avoid the addictive - I start
riding the enriching wave, I just need to look up some term or get distracted
by something seemingly relevant... and suddenly I am sucked into the vortex of
youtube-recommended videos and when I am finally able to free myself four
hours later, I feel exhausted, sad and guilty that I wasted so much time.

~~~
SllX
The answer is discipline.

That’s not the answer people generally _like_ , but it is real and honest.

I wake up at the same time every day, have the same routine every day, and
have the same commute most days. To an extent, software has made it possible
to chuck my own bad habits in the bin and start anew, but it doesn’t have a
say in how I spend my time.

I read Hacker News and comment here because I _like_ to, but if I need to stop
for any reason during the day, I’m losing _nothing_ by doing so, and if
something is worth reading, then it is worth writing down what I’ve read. To
me this is just a part of my reading time that I’ve allocated for each day,
and not even the largest share of it. Same with /r/AskHistorians or
/r/DepthHub. If you treat each thing like it is just a book you haven’t
stopped reading yet, then you know you can always come back to it and read
some a bit more whenever you want to. There’s no guilt, no stress, it’s just
another part of my daily routine. Just like my job is. Just like listening to
podcasts is. Or going for a walk. Or drinking a cup of coffee. Or cooking my
meals and eating. Or brushing my teeth.

You are the master of your own destiny. You don’t have to spend time in any
way that you don’t choose to, so you might as well spend time taking care of
yourself rather than trying to figure out _how_.

Social media might be the digital equivalent of crack, but there isn’t a gun
to your head telling you to use it.

~~~
shrimp_emoji
>You are the master of your own destiny. You don’t have to spend time in any
way that you don’t choose to, so you might as well spend time taking care of
yourself rather than trying to figure out how.

Fundamentally, I don't think this is true. I think free will is a meme.

When you exercise self-possession to change your habits (insofar as you really
did it consciously to begin with[0]), you're moving within a predefined space
whose boundaries are encoded by myriad factors beyond your control. If, in
that space, there's both "succumb to bad habits" and "break bad habits", and
you managed to move to "break bad habits", great. But what if the space is
only confined to "succumb to bad habits" for some people? That's the
fundamental difference here: the conventional concept of agency assumes
everyone's decision space is equally voluminous or that they can navigate with
equal effort.

Especially disgusting to me is that holders of this view can recline in the
comfortable callousness their ignorance or mythology affords them. If someone
hasn't improved their circumstances, it's their moral failing, so they deserve
their misery.

On the other hand, the callousness that materialist elitism affords you, that
someone who can't improve their circumstances deserves their misery, is less
comfortable, so it's a better kind of callousness. Many of us couldn't survive
without the coddling of our parents and our civilization, and, on average, our
civilization is a better place for our participation in it. Given our highly
collective world of artifice, why would someone have a worldview that
emphasizes some kind of Darwinism? It's a little silly and less palatable than
the handwaving of moral virtue, so the end the result is that you're more
forgiving of people's failures and proactive in their success.

0: [https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/free-
will-...](https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/free-will-is-your-
brain-the-boss-of-you-video/)

~~~
naasking
> But what if the space is only confined to "succumb to bad habits" for some
> people?

No person would be so constrained. The space of possible behaviours is simply
too large, so you're arguing a moralistic stance from an unreasonable
assumption.

Furthermore, free will and determinism are not at odds. Even if someone were
_fully_ constrained to act in only a single way, that doesn't entail they
would not be morally blameworthy.

The mistake you and others who argue against free will make, is that you
assume moral blameworthiness necessarily entails punishment. While this is
often the case in religious beliefs, it simply does not follow without
additional assumptions. Your beef is not with free will. Don't throw out the
baby with the bathwater.

~~~
smallgovt
> No person would be so constrained. The space of possible behaviours is
> simply too large, so you're arguing a moralistic stance from an unreasonable
> assumption.

Can you elaborate on why the space is simply too large to make this a
possibility? From my observations of people suffering from severe addictions,
it seems entirely possible that they have no agency when it comes to combating
their addiction. They either are completely unable to grok the consequences of
their actions or unable to choose actions that they know will benefit
themselves.

> The mistake you and others who argue against free will make, is that you
> assume moral blameworthiness necessarily entails punishment

I don't think GP assumes moral blameworthiness necessarily entails punishment.
I think, rather, he assumes that immoral acts are worthy of punishment. That
is, if we happen to decide to punish a certain set of actions, we should
punish immoral actions. I think this is a fair assumption. The primary goal of
morality discussions is to determine which actions we want to strive for and
which actions we want to avoid.

~~~
naasking
> From my observations of people suffering from severe addictions, it seems
> entirely possible that they have no agency when it comes to combating their
> addiction. They either are completely unable to grok the consequences of
> their actions or unable to choose actions that they know will benefit
> themselves.

I think you'd agree that the space of choices falls on a sort of spectrum,
with comatose patients on one side, and the most intelligent or able people on
the other. The set of choices available to comatose patients is the empty set,
the set of choices available to the other end are enormous. Addiction will
carve out a segment somewhere on this spectrum that is _not_ the empty set. If
it were the empty set, they would not be able to satisfy their addictive
impulses. They're clearly rational enough to be able to figure out how to get
their next fix. Agreed so far?

> I don't think GP assumes moral blameworthiness necessarily entails
> punishment. I think, rather, he assumes that immoral acts are worthy of
> punishment.

Immoral acts are morally blameworthy. I don't see the difference you're trying
to point out.

> That is, if we happen to decide to punish a certain set of actions, we
> should punish immoral actions. I think this is a fair assumption. The
> primary goal of morality discussions is to determine which actions we want
> to strive for and which actions we want to avoid.

Nothing in this paragraph justifies punishment over say, rehabilitation. And
that's the point: you simply can't get to retributive justice, or any form of
justice, merely from the conclusion that free will exists.

You always require an additional assumption, but I've had countless arguments
with people like the OP where they start with the assumption that punishment
isn't justifiable, and then work backwards and conclude that therefore we
should eliminate the concept of free will as if that solves the problem. It
doesn't, it introduces a whole other set of problems, and punishment remains
as a viable option given the right assumptions even without free will.

------
CPLX
I followed almost the exact same track as this guy, slowly realizing that my
phone was a problem, then _the_ problem, and coming to the conclusion that
real drastic intervention methods were necessary, something that went beyond
vague "trying to do better" efforts.

I started a daily life 90% detox for a week or two then also did a completely
phone free weekend, in my case at a Zen Buddhist monastery (and also in the
Catskills, ironically).

I completely and totally agree with his ultimate conclusion. Having a
smartphone had literally rewired my brain, and not in a good way. The
inability (or unwillingness?) to hold concentrated attention on literally
_anything_ that requires more than 5 minutes of sustained attention is just a
horrible way to live.

It's a tough thing to do, I freely admit that I have lapsed repeatedly since I
started working on this seriously about two months ago. And I don't talk about
it IRL with people since it's impossible to discuss without coming across as a
holier-than-thou asshole.

But this is a _real_ problem, and looking around it seems nearly everyone in
modern society has it.

I think we're all going to look back on this era and what we've done to our
mental health in abject horror, like we do on whatever era it was that the
Romans decided sugar of lead was an awesome way to sweeten wine.

~~~
PavlovsCat
I don't preach as much as mostly take light jabs. "Oh, so what's new on
Myspace? I am _so_ hip to all this interwebs stuff", that sort of thing. They
just give me a confused grin... I mean, what are they gonna do, unfriend me on
a platform I'm not on? :P

And I also had a few conversations about this topic, with smartphone users,
and they were rather pleasant. It's difficult on the web, then it easily can
sound arrogant. But in person, I haven't met a single person I liked, and who
liked me, that had a problem with me not having a smartphone... and sometimes
talking about how an information age would be neat, rather than a mobile
serfdom age. Maybe me and a person who totally "identifies with" their
smartphone wouldn't like each other to begin with, but at any rate it never
was a problem for me, not even with bosses. Sure, I also don't inspire anyone
to give up _their_ smartphone, but in a live-and-let-live sort of way, I don't
feel a need to hide my opinion, at all, as long as I keep it somewhat light.

~~~
vxNsr
I'm confused about what part of the parent you're replying to, I haven't
downvoted you, but it's just not clear what you're talking about in the
context of the conversation.

~~~
PavlovsCat
this bit

> I don't talk about it IRL with people since it's impossible to discuss
> without coming across as a holier-than-thou asshole.

~~~
vxNsr
In the future you should quote it in the parent comment. that way people will
at least understand what you're talking about.

To make a nice look quote use the ">" and wrap the quote in asterisks to
italicize.

------
grecy
I'm 37, and I have never really had a smartphone, because I don't want one. I
know I tend to be addicted to the internet (I can't resit my laptop when it's
nearby with wifi), so I think it's more healthy for me to just not have a
smartphone than to resist temptation (like an alcoholic simply not going into
bars).

I'm a Software Engineer and I've never downloaded or used an "app" on a
smartphone.

I did buy a new Android one for $20USD in Guinea, but I just use it to tether
my laptop and it doesn't have a single app on it. I've never browsed the web
on it or made a phone call because the interface sucks.

It's interesting to watch how addicted people are to their phones, and how
much it invades everyday life. I think I have an interesting perspective
looking from the outside in.

Whenever I'm out for drinks or dinner, every single other person checks their
phone about every 1-2 minutes, often spending at least that long doing nothing
other than staring at their phone, oblivious to those around them. During
those times I really enjoy looking around to see who else isn't on their
phone, and I make eye contact and smile to see what kind of human responses I
can get. I have previously been at a table of 10 people and I'm the only one
not staring at a phone.

I get that they can make life much easier in certain situations (coordinating
meetups with people, locations, timing, etc.), but to be honest the more I
observe from the "outside", the more I'm convinced the negatives outweigh the
positives.

Of course everyone needs to make their own choice, and I'm by no means saying
everyone should ditch their phone or that phones are stupid.

~~~
tannhaeuser
In my current job I'm almost daily going by subway and see most people
fumbling on their phone all the time. Many can't even stop when hopping on/off
the train. Now when I carefully look at just what it is that captures their
attention, it's mostly cheap games or endless-scroll taboola-style crap. A guy
sitting next to me the other day simultaneously phoned and frantically clicked
on random crap on his phone with no chance of actually reading anything on
there. I've noticed some are even staring caustically at the phone's home
screen or settings panel after having consumed everything being offered online
for the time being.

I don't know, but IMHO these people should go see a therapist, and we should
seriously get a move going to call out and stop this pathological addictive
behaviour.

~~~
DKnoll
There isn't much else to do on public transportation. You either fumble around
on your phone or stare blankly at the wall. When I took public transit
regularly I would read sometimes but there was too much noise and movement
around me to really focus. Clearly you find yourself bored as well since
you're looking over people's shoulders.

~~~
yazboo
It’s a miracle people suffered transit at all in the years before the
invention of handheld networked devices.

~~~
Nextgrid
Weren’t people reading books/newspapers before, or playing paper-based games
(crossword, sudoku, etc)?

In most public transports the noise would make any conversation impossible
anyway even if it would be considered acceptable and normal.

------
cyberferret
I am amazed at how my brain's ability to focus on long term tasks has been
diminished over the past few years. I used to be a voracious reader, but
lately have struggled to read (offline) more than a few pages at a time. I
won't blame smartphone usage entirely, but it certainly has been a large
contributor to that.

This year, I've begun a concerted campaign to reduce my phone time. The latest
iOS screen time tracker ironically, has been a help. I look forward to the
weekly reports that say "Your screen time has been _reduced_ by x minutes per
day". So far this year, the downward trend has continued.

I spent the weekend just gone reading a lot more, and also taking up painting
again after a nearly 3 decade break from it.

~~~
legionof7
Yeah, I've noticed this too. I used to be able to finish pretty long books in
one sitting and be completely absorbed in them, but now I struggle to finish a
chapter.

~~~
raz32dust
It could also be that you've grown older, and have more responsibilities now,
so you just don't really have as much time in continuous blocks? I used to be
a reader in my teens as well, but in adult life, with work, social life and
the tons of other activities that I have access to, it just isn't a priority.
Slightly older friends of mine who are married/have kids have even less time.
So it seems like free time reduces throughout adulthood until around
retirement/kids-go-to-college, and then starts increasing again.

~~~
legionof7
Yeah, it's probably somewhat that, though I usually do most of my reading
before bed and I'm still not able to concentrate nearly as much as I was able
to.

------
nickjj
For developers or people who are on a computer a large portion of the day, I
don't think the problem has anything to do with smartphones.

A lot of those addictions (checking email, checking if someone engaged with
one of your replies or content, etc.) can happen on a laptop or desktop
workstation. The only difference is you're looking at them in a browser
instead of on your phone.

I never had a smartphone but I am a freelance developer where I spend most
days doing work on a computer and it's really easy to get stuck in loops where
you're checking XYZ on an abnormally high frequency. It's especially difficult
if your business expects you to be on those sites.

In other words, ditching your phone (if you have one) isn't going to change
much if you spend most of your day on a computer. At best you'll be less rude
to people out in public which is a good thing, but it's not going to fix your
brain.

~~~
snarfy
Totally agree. Actually I think were are worse in that laptops and
workstations are more potent drugs than the phone ever could be. People will
be glued to their phones in public, but we don't even bother to go out into
public.

------
pcprincipal
Another strategy to help ditch the phone - try for a few days rating each day
on a scale from -2 to 2 and recording a few notable things about each day. I
learned about this technique from Jim Collins, who shared it on a podcast with
Tim Ferriss[1]. Collins says sorting the spreadsheet is especially useful
because you can see patterns and learn what separates good days from bad days.

I bring this up in relation to this article because after three days of doing
this (for those interested, [-1, 0, 0]), I concluded distractions are the
biggest reason I didn't go [2, 2, 2]. My phone for me at least is the #1 cause
of distractions - simply looking at it and seeing a notification can derail my
train of thought. Setting it on Do Not Disturb and only checking a set number
of times I'm thinking will be helpful.

One more thing here - knowing that I need to rate myself at the end of each
day absolutely is in the back of my mind during the day, which I think is a
positive.

[1] - [https://tim.blog/2019/02/18/jim-
collins/](https://tim.blog/2019/02/18/jim-collins/)

------
drivers99
There was a period a few years ago, where I went without a smartphone, and
used a flip phone instead. (My iPhone 4 became too slow after upgrading iOS
too many times, and before I got an iPhone 6.) Phone service without a data
plan is a lot cheaper too.

From the article: “A phone-free weekend involved some complications. Without
Google Maps, I got lost and had to pull over for directions. Without Yelp, I
had trouble finding open restaurants.”

I these types of cases, researching, planning ahead, and writing things down
are the solutions. That’s what we used to do, and it still works.

What eventually made me justify getting a smart phone again was Uber (Lyft
now), particularly when traveling. Funny, that’s 1% of 1% of what I actually
use it for. (I don’t travel often.) So that might be an interesting thing to
figure out: how to have a smart phone available for short periods of times
when the benefits really call for it.

I recently read Cal Newport’s book, Digital Minimalism, which isn’t about
breaking phone addictions. (It’s not decide-specific.) It’s about choosing the
specific things we do on all digital platforms. It might not be the phone
that’s the problem. For example, YouTube seems to be designed for maximum
engagement, and it is an issue for me on phone, tablet, and Roku/Chromcast. It
didn’t seem to be a problem on a PC, which I used before discovering the apps
(which I originally installed in order to cast YouTube videos on a
Chromecast).

Newport’s main philosophy is to get rid of most of the apps, websites, social
media and then choosing (or tweaking) specific tools among those only if they
are the best way to do something in support of what you value most. This is
the opposite of the approach of using a digital technology just because it
might have a benefit.

~~~
tedmiston
I'm reading _Digital Minimalism_ by Cal Newport right now which was the first
thing that came to mind reading this article as well. For others that are
curious, that book asks the question "Does the way we spend our time
[particularly in the digital world] reflect our values?"

[https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Minimalism-Choosing-
Focused-N...](https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Minimalism-Choosing-Focused-
Noisy/dp/0525536515)

[http://calnewport.com/books/digital-
minimalism/](http://calnewport.com/books/digital-minimalism/)

IMO Cal's approach being driven from core values and encompassing all device
usage resonates on a deeper level for me than the author's. That said, I
haven't read yet the book written by the coach of the article author, _How to
Break Up With Your Phone_. Looking forward to checking that out.

[https://www.amazon.com/How-Break-Up-Your-
Phone/dp/039958112X](https://www.amazon.com/How-Break-Up-Your-
Phone/dp/039958112X)

------
sleepinseattle
I got a cellular Apple Watch and leave my iPhone at home. Productivity at work
went through the roof, and meetings aren’t as painful anymore because I have
no choice but to pay attention and participate.

It does all the smart phone essentials, including maps and Uber and two-factor
auth, but the tiny screen staves off the addiction.

~~~
peatmoss
I got the non-cellular watch a while back and have found it pretty good at
avoiding the “hey here’s a text message, but why don’t I also check the news”
loop. I think I made a mistake in getting the non-cellular version as I still
am compelled to get out the phone and thus risk distraction when I want to
respond to a longer text message.

------
epx
I've always loved to read, any kind of book would do, but recently I've been
unable to sit down and read a book, even technical ones. Guess I got used to
the instant gratification that Reddit & friends give to the brain. Considering
to ditch the smartphone as well.

Actually, I can't ditch the WhatsApp because it is the new phone company these
days... Using a very weak smartphone with small screen, too small and slow to
read, would be a solution?

~~~
ianai
My latest personal find has been audiobooks. Suddenly all the time in the car
is “reading”

~~~
scruple
My Pixel 2 is, honestly, a glorified iPod touch. I guess with a radio chip. I
don't have it near me to check but I'd imagine that at least 50% of that
devices usage is audio. Audiobooks, podcasts, and music. I don't really have
apps on it, and I've never really used smartphones apps. For me, it's a
communication device that has the storage capacity and capabilities to handle
my audio library. I love it for that and it works exceedingly well.

------
huffmsa
I've just setup a new phone and have decided to leave all of the dopamine
triggering apps off of it. I installed one thinking "it won't be that hard to
moderate" but my fingers were immediately flipping it open and scrolling
unconsciously. So off it goes.

I'm already noticing myself not caring about those platforms and not even
really checking them on the desktop.

~~~
tomrod
My spouse and I did this with all of a few company's apps, utilizing the
mobile website only.

The difference in time saved is notable.

~~~
huffmsa
I tried mobile site only hut they quickly became as bad a habit.

As much fun as arguing on Twitter is and seeing those analytics go 1+, it's
not improving my life, skills or earning potential.

------
ericsoderstrom
As a mindfulness-building experiment, I'll occasionally try writing down
everything I do on a given day (before I do it). Even small things, like
reading an article on hacker news, or responding to a text.

It's kind of the inverse approach to what is described in the article. I don't
necessarily forbid myself from doing any smart-phone related activity. As long
as I intentionally make some mental note of what I'm about to do before I do
it. For some reason this seems to be more effective for me than the
elimination approach.

------
fuball63
I like the way the author talks about rewiring of the brain. A lot of articles
like this focus on the social aspect of phone usage; anxiety and isolation.
There are however more intagible but noticable affects.

When I went on an international vacation and didnt buy a phone plan, I just
turned it off at the airport and left it in my bag. I felt a strange clarity
of thought and change in perspective about 3 days in. When I look back, I
sadly think I was the best version of myself that week.

I am not a heavy phone user; I have a Blackberry so there arent many apps and
I am generally uninterested in social media. But for anyone reading these
articles thinking its mumbo jumbo, I would encourage you to give it a try.

~~~
frosted-flakes
You must have an old BlackBerry, because new ones are just like any other
Android phone.

~~~
fuball63
I have the Blackberry Classic, from summer 2015. They did an integration of
some sort with Amazon Fire apps, but they don't work super well. My next one
will probably have the Android; I wonder where they are privacy wise.

------
mgbmtl
As the author noted in his article, I would emphasise the importance of having
a hobby you enjoy. My rock climbing gym is full of programmers, just saying,
it's a nice sport that's accessible to all strengths, and you can probably
find a meetup at the gym near you.

Also, biking to work can be a great way to avoid both phones and advertising,
and also reconnect with your surroundings. I hate taking the subway only to be
bombarded by advertising, so I read on my phone, which has ad blockers.

~~~
gerbilly
I find it's really hard to play with a phone while surfing. :-)

Also to surf moderately well requires keen observation of nature. It's very
meditative.

------
xmb
I've found it effective recently to push my chair out from my desk or to shove
my phone back into my pocket as soon as I realize I am about to engage in a
distracting activity. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing, meditating if
you will, until I feel the temptation pass. It might help to build some
concrete habit to replace a bad one rather than focusing on eliminating the
bad habit directly.

------
ianai
“I found myself incapable of reading books, watching full-length movies or
having long uninterrupted conversations. Social media made me angry and
anxious, and even the digital spaces I once found soothing (group texts,
podcasts, YouTube k-holes) weren’t helping.”

So don’t take the call and keep having the conversation. Delete all apps that
aren’t a net benefit. Is this really that difficult?

~~~
huffmsa
Yes. The system is designed to be difficult to ditch. For a lot of people, the
little thrill of an unread notification badge is like mainlining heroin. It's
a dump of happy chemicals right to their brain.

~~~
doodliego
Cigarettes might be a better analogy: that little pick-me-up in small bursts
throughout the day.

------
viburnum
For those of you who have succeeded, how long was the withdrawal period? I try
but in always get sucked back in after a few days.

------
pdimitar
IMO we should fight to consume the modern Web and apps in ways that benefit us
and not somebody else.

Throwing away the devices is a radical and unrealistic measure for many.

If you need to live on a lonely island somewhere in the Pacific for 18 months
then by all means, do so.

I quite like it in the civilization when I am focused and not constantly
distracted though. And that's achievable.

~~~
superkuh
> IMO we should fight to consume the modern Web and apps in ways that benefit
> us and not somebody else.

That's kind of a self-defeating statement. The modern web and it's requiring
the end user to blindly run third party code to even get text to show on a
webpage _is_ the problem. And 'apps' on locked-down, proprietary computer
devices like smart phones only makes it worse.

My solution to the problem was to not start. I have never owned a smart phone
that connects to a telco network. Only in the last year or two have I bought a
($15) smart phone to use over wifi with my custom 910 MHz wireless ethernet
bridge between my home network and car network. But in the end I never used it
since my thinkpad laptop was so much more powerful and better for getting
actual work done.

~~~
pdimitar
> _The modern web and it 's requiring the end user to blindly run third party
> code to even get text to show on a webpage is the problem._

Not really self-defeating. I am pretty sure you don't inspect every line of
code of every software you run. There are reasonable compromises but we
currently don't live in a system that has them (not in the widely used
software anyway).

> _My solution to the problem was to not start._

Good for you. I will again repeat however that there are many people like me
who consume responsibly and make the system work for us, not we for it.

------
purplezooey
"like getting really into healing crystals or Peloton."

A dude with an apartment like that is going to tell me Peloton's a cliche?

~~~
doodliego
I'm not a cyclist, what does reduced drag by biking in a group have to do with
healing crystals?

~~~
bdsa
They're referring to the Peloton brand of exercise bikes, I think.

------
davidscolgan
I've been able to more or less "conquer" my smartphone by using the nifty
little app called AppBlock on Android. Since the phone is not rooted, I can
make it literally impossible to use certain apps unless I wipe the phone (I
think you need the paid version for that, but it's like $7). Otherwise I'd
just turn off the blocker.

I just block the browser and Youtube and Reddit and everything else. I rarely
have a case where I really need to use a browser when away from my laptop that
isn't wasting time.

Now my phone is just a thing that does calls and texts and that also plays
music and podcasts and has ebooks and alarms and maps. Not a source of
infinite novelty.

My laptop, on the other hand, is the harder one to tame, since the really
problematic things are so close to the productive things, especially when
coding.

------
magduf
Honestly, I'm shocked by all the comments here from people without smartphones
or only flip-phones, in what's supposed to be a community of technophiles.

Personally, I'd be lost without my phone. I don't understand the "addiction"
bit at all, it's just a tool to me that is extremely useful, mainly because of
a handful of apps. The phone part (for talking) really isn't that important,
because I don't talk that much on it. Here's what I use my phone most for:

1) navigation. Seriously, why the heck would I want to go back to the
inefficiency and danger of paper maps when I have a navigator telling me when
to turn and keeping me on track as I concentrate on paying attention to other
drivers?

2) calendar. My calendar is online so it's easy to keep myself organized with
it, and my phone gives me reminders.

3) texting. So many people text now that to communicate with them you have to
text too. The nice thing about texting is that you don't have to interrupt
what you're doing right that second to respond. Also, there's more to texting
than SMS: there's many apps like Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, LINE, etc.
which can offer more reliable and better user interfaces (such as read
receipts).

4) calculator. I don't have to carry around an old HP RPN calculator, because
my phone has an app that does the same thing.

5) notes. Instead of taking notes on easily-lost pieces of paper, I have an
app for writing random bits of information down.

6) socializing. Meetup.com and various dating apps are quite helpful in
finding events and meeting new people. How else is a single person supposed to
meet dating partners anyway? (No, I don't drink, so don't tell me to go to a
bar.)

Web browsing is actually not something I do that much on my phone, because the
screen is small and the UI for it sucks, so I generally save that for my PC.
It's nice to have the capability now and then, for instance if I want to look
something up on Wikipedia really quick when I'm out, but it's not something I
spend a lot of time on.

~~~
magduf
Oh yeah, I forgot a really big one:

7) camera. Instead of having to carry a separate camera around just in case I
see something I want to photograph, I already have one built into my phone
that's pretty good (though admittedly of course not nearly as good
(particularly for low-light conditions) as a serious DSLR or other good
camera). My new phone even has dual lenses, a 16MP regular lens with OIS and
an 8MP wide-angle lens. Considering I carry the phone around all the time
anyway for the other functions, the camera is a really nice bonus.

Along with this is 8) Banking apps, with check-deposit functionality (enabled
by the camera in #7). No longer do I have to take time off from work and waste
my time and gas going to the bank when someone sends me a paper check; instead
I just take a couple photos on my banking app and it's deposited.

------
jammygit
For people who advocate getting rid of their smartphones, what about apps for:

1\. Audiobooks & Music

2\. Mobile Authenticators

3\. Flash Card apps (anki)

4\. Podcasts

Is it also valuable to get rid of those things? Are they part of the problem,
or would they be a casualty of the abstinence?

~~~
geowwy
3 months smartphone free

1\. Audiobooks & Music - I don’t really listen to music on the go but I’m
considering an MP3 player

2\. Mobile Authenticators - most password managers can handle OTPs

3\. Flash Card apps (anki) - Using a Kindle for Mandarin and Bible Greek. It
has language learning features that work okay, maybe a little better because
there’s less temptation to quickly switch to another app.

4\. Podcasts - Same as number 1

------
faitswulff
> changed my lock screen to one that showed three questions to ask myself
> every time I unlocked my phone: “What for? Why now? What else?”

How does one do this? Asking for a friend...

~~~
czr
I'm assuming they just made a wallpaper with that text on it and set it as
their lockscreen background?

------
petersonh
I downloaded an app to track my phone usage on a daily basis, and the shame
power of seeing how much time I wasted helped me cut down to the essentials.

------
StanislavPetrov
I still use a flip phone, even though its getting harder now that they are
trying to force everyone to use smartphones. For example, ticketmaster is
mobile only now (for NFL games at least). There is no option to get your
tickets physically sent. No matter how hard it gets, it simply won't ever be
worth the massive privacy implications to me.

~~~
jammygit
I wonder how one would go about finding out which flip phones don't track you,
eg, via contact lists or w/e. The answer doesn't come up in google searches.

------
tramGG
I got rid of my phone for 3 years and my employer (between failed attempts at
startups) was appalled that I would even consider this. They became irate but
eventually acquiesced. It's weird how much people can't understand how others
don't want their addiction. This doesn't happen with heroin, or other drugs,
just technology.

------
mrfusion
I’m really interested ingetting a weekly “digest” for each of my subreddits.
That way I can just block reddit and stop wasting time but I can be sure I
won’t miss anything important. I just want to see the top ten posts of the
week for each subreddit.

I guess that wouldn’t be that hard to code up. I think they have an. API.

------
khalilravanna
When the author mentioned the joy brought on by having that "digital retreat"
it reminded me of my cross country motorcycle trip this past March. I rode
from Boston to Chicago to Seattle to San Francisco to Utah and Colorado and
then back to Boston in 3 weeks. If you do the math, I think it averaged out to
like 450 miles a day on a motorcycle. Which if you've ridden you'd know is a
shit ton of riding back-to-back. So while I brought along my laptop and my
Nintendo Switch, I ended up not touching them because as soon as I got to the
hotel I'd usually pass right out.

That whole trip as a result was rather fantastic. Every day was just
punctuated by the changing sights and sounds around me, as well as the
physical challenge of the amount of riding every day.

That is, except for my phone, which was the ever-present companion on my
journey. See, I didn't have GPS, instead opting to strap my phone to the
handlebar with a little mount and use it with Google Maps to navigate. At one
point, 3 or 4 days into the ride, somewhere in Wisconsin or Minnesota, I saw
my dad (who I was riding with for half the trip), take a photo with a little
camera he had stashed in a tank bag. I was jealous, "Aw man, I can't take
pictures till we stop." But surely it'd be inane to take my $1,000 iPhone X
out of it's secure mount and hold it one-handed while riding at highway speeds
on a motorcycle just to take some pictures. I'm sorry to say that that idea
became less and less inane as the days went on and I was eventually pulling
the phone out of its harness god knows how many times a day while riding.

At this point you're likely thinking, so when did you drop it? Which is a
great question. The answer to that question also brings us back to my original
point with this point. I broke it _right_ after the PCH goes from the 101 to
the 1 on the coast of California, specifically _right_ after it touches the
coastline revealing absolutely breathtaking views. I was devastated, and a
little concerned as I had no GPS and had been relying on it entirely for the
ride up till that point (some, I don't know 4k+ miles).

In fact, what it turned into is one of the best days of that trip. I was
completely blind and completely detached from anything that wasn't physically
connected to my body flying down the coast of California. I had to navigate by
following signs and asking for directions. I noticed the surroundings much
more along the way. Everything seems more vivid when you've lost the
sometimes, I'm embarrassed to say, manic need to take pictures of things as
you go along. The brutal irony of that day was that I dropped the phone
because I couldn't stop taking pictures of the sights on the trip and as a
result I lost every single picture I took from Boston to California.
Thankfully I had kept a travelogue of daily Instagram posts, so then the only
day that has no pictures to account for it was the day I rode down the coast
of CA. Those are views that can only be recreated in my mind, sans-iPhone, and
I kind of like it that way.

~~~
gerbilly
I'm sorry you broke your phone.

We just got back from a Caribbean island, and once or twice my wife used
Google maps as a backup to our paper map.

It was almost always wrong. Google was always selecting really stupid routes
that anyone actually living there would tell you are really impractical.

It became a kind of running joke, and we would amuse ourselves by talking back
to the Google voice which was always telling us to take the wrong exit in
roundabouts, or telling us to do a u-turn for no reason.

Once, a few years ago, before we gave up on GPS, Google planned a route
including a highway that had been closed for 2 years. We had to turn back.
Thanks!

I now never use GPS, even when travelling. I buy paper maps and plan and
memorize ahead of time and watch for road signs. I find you meet more people
and have better interactions with locals if you ask for directions.

~~~
khalilravanna
This is a fantastic strategy! The times I’ve done this have always resulted in
more fulfilling journeys. Even just the act of burning new routes into the
synapses of your brain and honing your internal compass is super rewarding.

------
html5web
I no longer have social apps installed on my phone and I’m just doing fine.
The social networks are full of garbage these days. I use HN for tech news and
use feed api for reading news.

------
html5web
Piece of advice: Turn off notifications for messengers and email apps. You’ll
see how you feel better without being distracted. Also it makes you more
productive.

------
booleandilemma
No need to ditch your phone, just uninstall Facebook, Candy Crush, and other
time-wasting apps.

------
johnchristopher
Which app did he use to get usage statistics ?

~~~
johnchristopher
> as measured by the iPhone’s built-in screen time tracker

I somehow missed it.

