2023 - Quitting the Smartphone

Desron23

Desron23

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It's 9:00 am Monday - I've been up since 6 and I've checked my phone too many times to count already.
A buddy of mine sent me an article this weekend highlighting how much we as Americans use our phones, and 5 and a half hours a day on average for us is not the way I want to be headed. Article below.
www.zippia.com

20 Vital Smartphone Usage Statistics [2023]: Facts, Data, and Trends On Mobile Use In The U.S. - Zippia

Each and every day, most of us rely on our phones to communicate, research, and entertain ourselves.
www.zippia.com www.zippia.com
I'm not as sure of the validity, but he was saying that it's decreased our attention span as a whole and contribute to a myriad of other common mental health issues that seem to be more prevalent today. I have certainly felt a need to check my phone randomly and can't focus as well as I was even 3 years ago.
Anyways, we all know they're gathering as much data as they can from us with every click, so I have decided that I am going to cut my usage down to as little as is feasible. I'd opt for an old flip style but I have to have specific MFA apps for work.
I'll try to document my progress, or any useful resources I find here.
I'm starting with about a 4 hr/day screen time average so I'm below "normal" but it's a huge time suck I don't need. If any of you guys have any recommendations please let me know
 
No advice except that I’m going to machine gun all my tech when I retire.
I figure it’ll take between 6 and 8 hours to realize that I want to replace it all, but it’ll be a glorious hour or two before the panic starts.
 
GymB said:
No advice except that I’m going to machine gun all my tech when I retire.
I figure it’ll take between 6 and 8 hours to realize that I want to replace it all, but it’ll be a glorious hour or two before the panic starts.
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I think you hit the nail on the head. Maybe if I make it fun by shooting my tech it'll go easier
 
To borrow a term from the Millennials/Gen Z, I 'quiet quit' my smart phone. I need it for work and they do offer a tremendous amount of convenience (tap to pay, maps, calendar, etc.) so I can't ditch it entirely. BUT, I have it set to automatically go into sleep mode between 8pm and 9am. No calls, texts, etc. except for a select a few contacts.
 
Shady Grady said:
I haven't owned a cell phone since 2017. It's great.

It does create some additional work living in a society that expects you to have one.
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it's certainly assumed nowadays that you have an iphone or android.
If I were you I wouldn't change it now
 
Tim said:
To borrow a term from the Millennials/Gen Z, I 'quiet quit' my smart phone. I need it for work and they do offer a tremendous amount of convenience (tap to pay, maps, calendar, etc.) so I can't ditch it entirely. BUT, I have it set to automatically go into sleep mode between 8pm and 9am. No calls, texts, etc. except for a select a few contacts.
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That's a good idea, I have tried do not disturb for bedtime but will turn it off if I'm having a conversation. I think sticking to that would certainly help
 
Desron23 said:
That's a good idea, I have tried do not disturb for bedtime but will turn it off if I'm having a conversation. I think sticking to that would certainly help
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I have DND set for 9p-6a.

I probably should adjust that a little since I'm not jumping out of bed at 5:30 every morning.
 
silent mode and leave it in a different room. or by the front door. If i feel i need to check it, i can get up and walk over to it.
since it's probably just work making more work for me, after hours and unpaid, i don't feel the urge to check it all that often.

gotta get my wife to break her habit. she's on it constantly. starts telling me something, gets distracted by her phone, can't remember what it was she was talking about before, and then thinks she told me the full thing she was trying to tell me so i had better remember what she thought at me. she does need it for her hearing aids, but she uses it way more than that.
 
also - it will probably help if you break your dependence on twitter facebook snapchat onlyfans etc first. once there's nothing much you want to look at your phone for, it's much easier to stop looking at it.
 
DrScaryGuy said:
silent mode and leave it in a different room. or by the front door. If i feel i need to check it, i can get up and walk over to it.
since it's probably just work making more work for me, after hours and unpaid, i don't feel the urge to check it all that often.

gotta get my wife to break her habit. she's on it constantly. starts telling me something, gets distracted by her phone, can't remember what it was she was talking about before, and then thinks she told me the full thing she was trying to tell me so i had better remember what she thought at me. she does need it for her hearing aids, but she uses it way more than that.
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I try to leave mine in a different room for dinner/etc when I should be socializing and it helps.
I'm trying to avoid being in the same situation your wife is in with respect to conversation.
DrScaryGuy said:
also - it will probably help if you break your dependence on twitter facebook snapchat onlyfans etc first. once there's nothing much you want to look at your phone for, it's much easier to stop looking at it.
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Lucky for me I never got a twitter and deleted facebook as soon as it was understood how much data they were actually harvesting. I use instagram and snapchat, though instagram is the only one I think really contributes. The instagram reels really get me, the algorithm it has me on could be a case study
 
MHI45 said:
They are handy but using the GPS is the best feature on them. Other than that I could switch to a flip phone. Mostly. Probably. Do we turn right here or the next light? 😁
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GPS and music/audiobooks are my #1 resources, but don't actually account for much of my screen time, since when I am using them, generally I'm busy somewhere else.
 
Me. said:
I don't know if other Androids do it, but with a Google Pixel you can put it in "Extreme Battery Saver" mode.

In that mode you get to control with apps get any battery time.

Turn off location, allow only text and calls.


Battery life = 6+ days.

When you open an app, it will ask if you want to unpause that app, and will shut it down again 5 minutes later. With that you can open your MFA apps as needed. You can also go full-use when needed (GPS, etc.).
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That's a pretty great feature. I don't think iPhone has anything similar but I'm almost certain that isn't their intended use case. I might still have a pixel 3 laying around
 
Something I've done that's really cut down on 'checking' is getting a cheap ass 'smart watch'. I picked up one of the amazfit amazon branded ones for $25 and it's just smart enough to alert me if I get a call or text from someone on my 'VIP' list. The phone just sits somewhere I'm not (within bluetooth range) and if the wife or my dad is trying to reach me it buzzes my watch. If it's someone else... I'll see it when I see it.

I won't miss something important and won't have to 'just check real quick' all the time which leads to wasting time checking.
 
Jayne said:
Something I've done that's really cut down on 'checking' is getting a cheap ass 'smart watch'. I picked up one of the amazfit amazon branded ones for $25 and it's just smart enough to alert me if I get a call or text from someone on my 'VIP' list. The phone just sits somewhere I'm not (within bluetooth range) and if the wife or my dad is trying to reach me it buzzes my watch. If it's someone else... I'll see it when I see it.

I won't miss something important and won't have to 'just check real quick' all the time which leads to wasting time checking.
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I think I could enable something like that on my garmin running watch. I have notifications totally off on it as of now
 
Shady Grady said:
I haven't owned a cell phone since 2017. It's great.

It does create some additional work living in a society that expects you to have one.
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How do you use Vanguard/Fidelity/investment places and most banks without a phone?
 
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Shady Grady said:
I'm not sure I understand the question.

I use a computer to access company websites including my broker's.
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It is not possible, as far as I'm aware, to sign up to the vast majority of financial services accounts(or credit card accounts, or even license plate renewal at nc dot) without a phone number.
 
Fred said:
It is not possible, as far as I'm aware, to sign up to the vast majority of financial services accounts(or credit card accounts, or even license plate renewal at nc dot) without a phone number.
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I think you could accomplish this with a landline or google voice.
I'd be surprised if they wouldn't let you sign up in person and set up an account there for you to check later and use email as MFA
 
Fred said:
It is not possible, as far as I'm aware, to sign up to the vast majority of financial services accounts(or credit card accounts, or even license plate renewal at nc dot) without a phone number.
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It is possible.

I have a landline. I renew my tags every year via https://payments.ncdot.gov/.

Easy peasy.
 
"find my phone"

200.gif
 
CZfool68 said:
Make one up. I do it all the time. 😆
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You can do that, but only for unimportant things, because the financial services will want to send you worthless text or voice confirmation codes that you will need to log on. If you try to turn this off in the settings, you either can't, or they keep doing it anyway.

These never add meaningful security, often make the account much less secure, and obviously lock you out of your account when the phone is lost or broken or your number changes.
 
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Fred said:
You can do that, but only for unimportant things, because the financial services will want to send you worthless text or voice confirmation codes that you will need to log on. If you try to turn this off in the settings, you either can't, or they keep doing it anyway.
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Ok, now that I am home and on my iPad instead of a crappy little phone I’ll make a long post with my thoughts.

First, my wife does the books and handles it all online. I handle our IRA’s and investment account all online. Haven’t needed a phone yet. Maybe we‘re so far down the income ladder we don’t rate. No clue. Maybe we’re just still with old, boring companies that are technologically weak?

Second, I’ll admit my hypocrisy and weakness right off the bat. I was browsing the forum while eating lunch. Now home on the iPad before getting back to work.

I have/had a buddy doing his post Doctorate work at Vanderbilt. Pretty smart guy in Physics. He was working in a research group to study different cancers. It was a mixed bag of scientists and doctors from different disciplines. I met him for dinner in Nashville after he’d been there about a year. One area of his study was for cell phones and possible links to cancer. I asked if he had formed a hard opinion yet. He said, no studies that are definitive or worthy of being published, but I don‘t put my cellphone in my front pocket near my pecker anymore. 🤣

There is also a lot of early study on the harmful effects of EMF, and all this crap. Plenty of information out there about it. Not sure it will drop you dead on the spot, but at some level it isn’t good for a human body. Not sure how much or how often it takes to mess each one of us up in some way, but I’d bet it does depending on your particular health condition.

In a perfect world I’d get rid of my cellphone and the wifi in the house. I could use the hardwired network for everything except my iPad. That would be a tough addiction for me to stop. Like I said, I’m weak. And if you think I’m weak try to get your wife and teenage daughter to drop the phone and use a hardwired laptop. Not happening without a lot of screaming, yelling and beatings.

IMO the only people that seem to have this figured out and will survive all this technology, WW3, the great famine and the US Gov’t are the Amish And people like them. Those folks seem to have had zero Covid, and not sure I’ve ever seen an obese one.

Maybe I’ll take the Mrs out tonight for my black wool suit and her new dress. 😬
 
Fred said:
@CZfool68 @Shady Grady What credit card co do you use that doesn't require a real phone number?
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A phone number does not have to be a cellphone. Back before you youngsters were around we had phones with wires, dials and buttons. Pretty sure those contraptions still exist. Or even a more modern version. No government tracking device needed.
 
DrScaryGuy said:
you can log in to your google account and do a "find my phone" that will tell it to ring at full volume for 5 minutes, even if it's on silent mode.
I have used that feature many times
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With every phone or just android types?
 
Fred said:
Landlines aren't any better for privacy than a cell phone you leave at home turned off, and you don't have the option of bringing them with you or doing useful things(emergency usage, encrypted messaging over Signal, GPS In emergencies) with them. No point in even considering.
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I would definitely argue that my iPhone with a VPN located in a non-extradition location, along with a password manager and complex passcode is more secure than a landline for sure. I would argue that with the landline, you aren't exposing yourself to all the data-gathering or potential security risks that you would be on unsecured wifi or cell networks.
If the landline works for someone, more power to them, but I am in the same boat, I need my cell in case of emergency, I'm more worried about family being able to call me when they need me.
 
Fred said:
Landlines aren't any better for privacy than a cell phone you leave at home turned off, and you don't have the option of bringing them with you or doing useful things(emergency usage, encrypted messaging over Signal, GPS In emergencies) with them. No point in even considering.
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I think he was replying to your question regarding how do you make any financial transactions with banks and credit card companies without an active phone number. I didn’t take his response to mean that the landline was better than a smart phone.
 
Fred said:
Landlines aren't any better for privacy than a cell phone you leave at home turned off, and you don't have the option of bringing them with you or doing useful things(emergency usage, encrypted messaging over Signal, GPS In emergencies) with them. No point in even considering.
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That landline isn‘t going to give me a tumor on my privates, wrist or ears.

Do you really think Signal’s encryption could stop the Gov’t baddies? Might stop a sneaky private individual, but if the Feds want to read your Signal messages, they will read your Signal messages.


How was this nation built without all this cool technology? How did those Wells Fargo riders fix wagon wheels without calling AAA on their cellphones? And how the hell did my Dad get to Uncle Bob’s in Maine with a damned GPS? Old man must have been a genius back then. 😳
 
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Average Joe said:
I think he was replying to your question regarding how do you make any financial transactions with banks and credit card companies without an active phone number. I didn’t take his response to mean that the landline was better than a smart phone.
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It’s certainly a useful alternative for somethings. Plenty of ways to avoid cell phone use if one wants to.
 
I to don't own a mobile phone, I did purchase a "Tract Phone around 7yrs ago. I somehow locked it up, didn't know how to unlock it, and threw it down on a asphalt parking lot. Didn't break the first time, so I threw it down the 2nd time, and to my surprise it broke. Never owned one again. Wife has one, so when I need pictures taken, she reluctantly takes them. (Lucky to have her)
 
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Fred said:
Well, a landline is still an active phone number. So if that's what he meant, that doesn't matter, or help.
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I'm possibly misreading your intention but it seems to me that you are being argumentative for no reason.

This thread is about quitting the smartphone. As far as I'm aware, no one has stated they don't have access to a phone or that landlines are better than smartphones. Just that it is, in fact, possible to get rid of the smartphone.

I know because I have done just that.
 
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