🔗 Smartphones are not the enemy
Thomas reckons our phones aren’t the real problem; the trouble comes from the systems behind them that fight for our attention. But the phone? That’s just a tool.
I strongly agree with Thomas’ thoughts here. When I thought I was addicted to my phone it turned out my paltry 1.5hrs/day was way below the 4.25hr/day average. Even so, I think that’s too much, and my screen time has actually reduced to around 1hr/day now.
I’ve fallen foul of “I need to implement [thing] to force me to use my phone less” in the past, but it’s bollocks. We just need to have more willpower and not pull our phone out every time there’s a moment of silence. I consciously do this now - when I’m alone, my initial pang is to pull out my phone, but I deliberately don’t. Over time those pangs have reduced, but they’re still there.
Thomas mentions turning off notifications in his post. I did that a few years ago now, and it’s done me a lot of good. These days, the only sound my phone makes is when someone calls me. And the only notifications I see are from Signal and WhatsApp, but because they don’t make a sound, I check them when I want to, not when my phone tells me to.
Just writing that last paragraph (in the office, on my lunch break) I’ve heard 4 different phones beep.
Turn. Notifications. Off.
You can thank me later. 🙃
Phones aren’t evil. The attention economy is what keeps us hooked and distracted. It’s not the device that’s the issue, but the systems built to keep our eyes glued to it.