There is nothing inherently bad about smartphones. In fact, they are incredibly powerful tools which have revolutionized the world. However, with great power comes great responsibility and I believe that the vast majority of people are using these devices in a way which harms them rather than helps them. Here is how you can develop a healthier relationship with your smartphone.
1. Do a Detox with a Dumbphone
Most of us have been using our smartphones non-stop for the last decade or so. Thus, it’s going to be extremely difficult for you to simply change your habits on a whim. I think the most effective strategy is to reset your addiction by ditching your smartphone for 3 months. If you can’t manage 3 months, 2 – 8 weeks is certainly better then nothing, but I would encourage you to go big on this one particularly if you have bad smartphone habits.
These days, you can buy cheap feature phones which have some key smartphone features (such as google maps and wifi hotspot) without the addictiveness of a touchscreen. I recently used one of these phones for 3-months and can say that the effects on my mind and focus were noticeable. Upon returning to a smartphone I was much more malleable towards a drastic change in how I approach using my device than I would have been without the reset.
2. Replace Social Media Browsing with eBooks
The fact that we can read books on a hand-held touchscreen is revolutionary. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people don’t take full advantage of this fact and instead browse low-quality drivel pumped out by midwits in tweet-sized chunks. The amount of research and effort that goes into writing a quality book is immense; it is a disgrace to brush aside these amazing works which our fellow men have laboured over in favour of lower-quality information. I was guilty of this until very recently, but am now proud to say that I have already read 3 books this year despite only being 2 weeks in.
In my experience, reading is the most time-efficient ways of absorbing information. If you want to be properly educated on a particular subject you need to seek out long-form content over short-form. So, replace the social media apps with eBooks. The small price you pay for each book is totally worth it, plus you can find many older books for free online in pdf format. If you’re more of a physical book person – remember you can always buy the book in physical later is you really want it in your collection. You can sample many books for free on Kindle before you buy to ensure you are buying something worth reading. Finding something you actually enjoy reading is essential; forcing yourself to read something you are completely uninterested in is a recipe for failure. There are subjects and authors out there for everyone.
3. Add Quality Websites to your Smartphone Homepage
Though not as favourable as books, many writers and websites have quality blog-posts and articles which can be found online. Instead of scrolling through the sewage of social media when you have a spare moment, why not spend your time reading this more valuable material instead? Find your favourite authors, blogs, pundits, news outlets (perhaps from all over the world so you get a broad perspective) and websites and have them one-click away on your homescreen as an alternative to instagram, youtube, reddit or telegram. You’ll be better off for it. Social media can still hold valuable information and can often direct you to quality information, but it should not form the majority of your phone-use time.
4. Avoid Short Video Formats
The short video style format found in TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Stories is extremely addictive and damaging to your attention span. TikTok in particular is designed to be as addictive as possible with its algorithm, layout, use of catchy music and lewd content. The way users scroll through endless videos until they find that one particular one which gives them a dopamine resembles the experience a gambler may have with a slot machine. Beware.
5. Display a Screen-Time Tracker Widget on your Homepage
It’s been said that ‘what gets measured gets managed’. Simply knowing how many minutes you’re spending on time-wasting apps can be very helpful. You don’t even have to drastically act on the information being presented – just the fact that you’re aware of how much time has been spent can nudge you in the right direction. Eventually, you can get addicted to the sense of accomplishment felt by seeing how long you read productive material in one day and how little time you wasted, which is also a good morale boost
6. Don’t Check your Phone Incessantly
Although our phones are valuable instruments, we should not be completely enthralled by them such that they hypnotize us away from the physical world. Don’t check your phone while having dinner with family, take occasional walks without your phone with you and don’t use every single free moment throughout the day as an opportunity to get touchscreen-fuelled dopamine rush. Stimulation-free moments throughout the day are incredibly refreshing and sometimes what our mind needs is simply some silence. These moments of peace can be a source of breakthroughs, fresh perspectives and revelation. If constantly checking your phone is a major problem for you, in addition to screen-time trackers, you can get trackers which track how many times you unlock your phone throughout the day.
7. Keep High-Quality Podcasts or Audiobooks on Hand
Oftentimes throughout the day we find ourselves working, driving, exercising or doing an activity which are good opportunities to take in some audio. I recommend always having some good podcasts or audiobooks ready and downloaded such that you are not scrambling to find new content each time you have some free listening time. A good free audiobook/ podcast player app I recommend for playing downloaded files is ‘Simple Audiobook Player’.