
Dear iPhone–It Was Just Physical, and Now It’s Over - dnetesn
http://nautil.us/blog/-dear-iphoneit-was-just-physical-and-now-its-over
======
bradenb
I guess I feel like I don't have a screen time problem because for me my phone
is (in order):

1) A communication device 2) A music player 3) A glorified search engine when
I'm not at a computer

I think because I never really dived head-first into social media I don't have
a strong desire to use my phone beyond when I need it for the above functions.

~~~
JeanMarcS
I’m guessing you are writing this from your computer then.

Me it’s from my phone. It’s 30 past midnight here in London and I’m eating,
alone in the Airbnb I booked (don’t worry, I had a great evening :-), so I
guess I could watch TV.

But I’m reading HN.

Today I visited London a bit, gone to British Museum, and made a lot of bus
time.

So I used my smartphone, while on the bus or in the queue to BM to follow
events in Paris and France (as I’m french)

Again, with my smartphone.

So is it wasted time ? Maybe. I don’t know what else I could have done.
Speaking with people was not possible, queuing between Italians and people
from another country that I didn’t get the language.

I could have listen to music (or a podcast or whatever) but I was concerned
with the situation in France.

So for me it’s a computer that I can use anywhere.

On the other hand, do I waste time on it ? More than I should. But I too waste
time on my computer doing the same stuff !

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kris-s
I'm trying to recalibrate my own relationship with my phone from its current
status as the "this is what I do if I'm bored" device to a "this is a tool, I
should use it for a task and then put it away" type situation.

Both Android and iOS have gotten features to help curtail excessive phone use,
which is a good first step. Something I do while I'm at work is put my phone
in my drawer and in airplane mode.

The biggest pillar I'd like to see destroyed in modern tech (specifically wrt
smartphone overuse) is advertising - the incentives are just so poisonous. Ads
seem to be the driving force behind making certain apps, like instagram, as
addictive as possible. A hard regulatory line needs to be drawn.

~~~
SllX
This is essentially what I do. I don’t pull my phone out unless there is some
_intent_ behind why I am pulling it out. If I pull it out to check the time, I
don’t then unlock it to mindlessly browse the web.

If I pull it out to read a book, I’ll treat my phone as if I’m reading a book
and won’t care so much about how much “screen time” I have. Or if I’m using
something like Instapaper. If I’m using Reddit, I’m looking for news on a
specific thing or I’m looking for information on a topic, and Reddit is just
one stop I make along the way, that doesn’t change whether I’m on my phone or
laptop.

If I’m watching a movie or something in bed, then it is time I would have
spent on a television screen anyway. If I’m taking notes, I’m taking notes. If
I’m journaling, I’m journaling.

I’m not interested in how much time I spend on my phone specifically, I’m
interested in knowing if I waste time. So far, I don’t feel like I waste time.
My recreation time is well accounted for, and some of it is spent on my phone
too, but I’m not against spending some of it on my phone.

At the end of the week when iOS 12 sends me a report on how I spent my time,
I’m generally not surprise. If I am surprised, I try to be more conscientious
going into the next week.

------
lifeisstillgood
Articles like this cake out for radio, TV, phones. Hell people even thought
newspapers took us away from our families

thing is, they are right - phones do take us out of the now. Probably the next
big development will be Agents running on our phones that actively fight the
predations of facebook et al. I would like to even write one.

The first thing i should write is an app that limits my TV watching - then HN
:-)

But till then, we do get much positive out of these things. We just have to
put them down more

------
ponco
Time spent sitting all alone

Time spent looking at my phone

Time spent sitting all alone

Time spent looking at my phone

I try to pull the curtains back

Turn you off, can't be touched

When all I want and all I know

Is time spent looking at my phone

Find me when the lights go down

Signing in signing out

Gods descend to take me home

Find me staring at my phone

I'm wondering where the hours went

As I'm losing consciousness

My sullen face is all aglow

Time spent looking at my phone

MGMT - TSLAMP
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stynWxPJ4PE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stynWxPJ4PE)

------
freddy418_sc
I don't understand why the title says iPhone. The article describes the
problems we have with any smart phone.

~~~
dragonwriter
Because it's an essay of personal experience, and the author's drug, er,
_device_ of choice was an iPhone (“iPhone” and “smartphone” are used
interchangeably in the body to refer to the author’s device.)

The fact that _other people_ might share similar experiences with other
devices, and that the author even recognizes this, doesn't change the fact
that the personal experience being addressed relates specifically to an
iPhone.

------
jrnichols
This read like yet another "i quit $trendy_thing" blog post to me.

Do we really need a whole article to say "I'm not using my phone that much and
now I feel enlightened."

Maybe I'm being a little cynical, but.. so what?

------
Apocryphon
Smartphones and tablets may have latched themselves into our daily life, but
I'm not convinced that we've even dealt with how much time we spend at our
computers, at least for white collar workers. Does anyone else live this
lifestyle?

[https://pics.me.me/tired-o-looking-at-bad-screen-cant-
wait-t...](https://pics.me.me/tired-o-looking-at-bad-screen-cant-wait-to-
get-36043948.png)

------
sys_64738
In recent years everybody was telling me I needed a smartphone or I’d be left
behind. Now I have a smartphone these same people are saying they wish they
didn’t. So I cut the cord by returning the smartphone within the 14 day
window. I’ve now gone from late adopter to trend setter all thanks to Apple’s
two week return policy.

------
czardoz
No one knows how to properly use social media. Everyone keeps consuming
information, all the time. Good news, bad news, opinions, cat pictures. That's
what causes fatigue. Social media is maybe not good for news, but it's awesome
to connect with people having similar interests, and to talk to friends who
you don't see often.

------
lucb1e
I'm not quite sure what the point of this article was. So it's not about Apple
phones but about smartphones? And the conclusion is that s/he is happier
now... good for them? This was quite a long article for how much the author
really conveyed.

------
buboard
They seem to be cultivating a media narrative that "smartphones are over".
More likely they are entering their mature phase, after they stop being status
symbols / default distraction devices.

~~~
trevyn
They also answer the question of how we would approach the creation of
sentient AI that is capable of suffering -- they switch their attention from
the smartphone to a sentient being that they created that is capable of
suffering.

