Making My Smartphone More Dumb Before AI Puts Me Up Against The Wall.

Procrastination

Have you ever been happily scrolling through your phone, shopping, checking your socials, answering messages as soon as they appear; and then you realise…you’ve been looking at your phone for the past three hours and you haven’t accomplished a thing except ignore your partner or children and haven’t completed the 17 things you actually needed to do that day, all because of that little enticing device in your hand monopolising all of your time, focus, and energy. When you realise this, what are the strongest thoughts or emotions you experience at that time?

“I’ve wasted a day”, “I have ignored my kids and now they are playing up”, “I didn’t watch any of that film we were watching together!”, “I am in a mood and I feel exhausted”, “the world is such a horrible place full of ignorant and violent people”

I have felt all the above so you are not alone!

A few years ago, while covering a class for a teacher, I discussed maintaining focus and avoiding distractions. I had a presentation ready and covered the impact of mobile phones on concentration. I asked them “how much time do you spend on your phones?” I was surprised by the anecdotal evidence provided by those 16-19-year-old students. One student discovered they had spent a full day on Snapchat in a week, losing that time to studying and in person socialising.. Most other students used their phones for between 10 and 18 hours on one social media app each week, spending around a day on their phones in total. Have you checked your screen time recently and how long have you spent on social media alone?

How many of us are concerned about how much time our phones are taking away from us and what other things are our phone habits take away?

A 2018 study from the journal of the Association for Consumer Research found that smartphone notifications reduce our productivity by up to 20%, and Microsoft found constant digital stimulation has reduced human attention span from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to just 8 seconds by 2013. Worryingly, the Journal of Preventative Medicine linked increased social media use to higher rates of depression and loneliness.

Let’s Get Dumb!

So what have I done?

Inspired by the Light Phone, which is a premium-priced phone made in America which does the basics of what you need in a phone. About to release its 3rd iteration; the cleverly named Light Phone 3, it has a phone, messaging, music, podcasts, a newly added camera, and maps…and that’s about it. No access to web browsers, no access to social media, no WhatsApp, and the screen looks like a Kindle. Fueled by my consumeristic nature, I wanted to buy one but thought about the aspects of my iPhone 15 Pro I did like and the architecture I am already tied into. Apple CarPlay being one, the camera and video capabilities (I film all of my content using my phone). I quickly realised that for me, it might not be the best option to change just yet, plus to pay off the phone and buy another would put me back over £1000.

That got me thinking. What if I tried to emulate the Light Phone as closely as I could get it with what are the absolute bare essentials I need on my phone?

The process I followed was to first check how many apps I had on my phone. I had justified keeping them all on there because it’s more convenient to use the app with the fast login sequence (usually involving your face), and you can get the answers, check the updates, check your bank account quickly and easily.

I had just under 100 apps on my phone. Some of them I had completely forgotten I had on there; some were rarely used apps like paying for parking, and others were linked to my interests like Goodreads or Letterboxd. I started culling the apps I basically never used. That removed about a third of the apps on my phone. I asked my daughter to count how many I had, and she counted 69 (hilarious, I know!).

No, it was time to get serious. I deleted all social media, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, Letterbox, and Storygraph. I ruthlessly deleted all of the apps I barely used like Apple’s Measure and Compass. I then made the decision to delete the mail app….a major source of distraction that, by checking the emails I have received, usually starts a cascade of checking other things just by unlocking my phone.

With that done, it made it easier for me to delete other apps I use a lot but led me down a rabbit hole of scrolling, distraction, reduced focus, reduced mood, procrastination, and the ultimate demise of human society and interaction.

I managed to get the apps down to 35. Only 9 of them were outside of the Apple economy. This may still sound like a lot, but things like Calendar, Calculator, Find My, Reminders, Shortcuts, Wallet, Watch, Weather, and Passwords are pretty important and useful to me. They allow me to plan and stay on track or remind me what I need to do for the day.

A lot of the other apps I deleted, I checked if I could access them through the web browser and saved the majority of them to bookmarks so that I could choose to update or check them intentionally.

The last thing I did, and I came upon this by chance, I found an app that made my phone look like the interface of the Light Phone. My phone has now got a black screen with 6 apps to choose from: Messages, Notes, Phone, Music, Audible, and Calendar, and it also shows the time and date at the top of the screen (you can see the picture added to this blog). They aren’t in lovely boxes that give some haptic feedback or shows when you depress them. They are just the words themselves.

Dumb But Lighter

This morning, when I woke up, I felt this pull to check my phone, but with nothing on there, I couldn’t. I have increased the friction to check socials and my mail first thing in the morning. To check them on my phone, I would have to go through more steps through the web browser, and that is not part of my click-happy habit. I can still feel a pull to check and click and open my phone. I think that addiction will take time to adjust too and remove entirely

But I have noticed a difference. I have been able to focus on writing this blog post without distraction. I used my phone intentionally, asking Chatbox to help me find the research I added earlier in the blog and then was able to put my phone back down without quickly checking my emails or any posts on social media or reply back to any WhatsApp messages; I maintained my focus and continued to work. And in there best way to replace the dopamine hits you get from the likes or the comments on posts, I celebrated my accomplishment by giving myself a cheer and clapping my hands. I smiled and focused on the feeling of happiness I received in the realisation. I said out loud “Well done Paul, you’ve accomplished something positive there”

Be Honest With Yourself

If you are truly honest with yourself and ask the questions, “Do I need this app”, “Does this app improve my life or hinder life happening?” Then you may be able to let go of those things that aren’t serving you and what you want your life to look like. I bet that if you imagined your ideal future, the image that springs to mind doesn’t involve laying on a sofa looking at your phone.

To finish with a quote from Tim Cook, Apple CEO:

“We don’t have a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when it comes to technology. It’s about using it to make your life better, not using it to be a slave to it.”