this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2024
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Adults and teens concerned about their screen time are turning in their smartphones for “dumber” models.

Buried in the settings of many smartphones is the option to look up how much on average you are staring at your phone per day.

It can bring an uncomfortable realisation, that what was supposed to be a useful piece of technology has become an obsession.

According to a study by Harvard University, using social networking sites lights up the same part of the brain that is also triggered when taking an addictive substance. This has raised concerns about phone habits among youth. 

In the UK, research by Ofcom estimates that around a quarter of children aged five to seven years old now have their own smartphone

Links have been shown in some studies between use of social media and a negative effect on mental health - especially in children.

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[–] [email protected] 80 points 5 months ago (28 children)

I looked into this before, but I found the options were too stripped down.

Ultimately I need:

  • Maps
  • Music streaming
  • Web browser
  • Email
  • Wallet functionality

Then there are miscellaneous apps that I need as well, some that don’t have browser functionality (local bike rental app) or something like a workout tracker.

Thing is, if you start adding functionality for the above then it’s just a regular smart phone and there’s nothing stopping you using the apps you’re trying to avoid :/

[–] [email protected] 37 points 5 months ago (7 children)

Are people really so addicted to social media that they can't use their own willpower to simply not have those apps installed?

[–] [email protected] 72 points 5 months ago (14 children)

Yes!

It’s a problem that a lot of people have, some are willing to acknowledge it and try to take steps to work around it.

Some people were born into the social media generation and have been fed a product designed to be addictive their entire lives.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago

It's not strictly social media. It's boredom. We're basically using these things to groom ourselves to have attention problems.

And in the end it's not that they can't, but they actually have absolutely no reason to want to. There's no immediate or probably even no intermediate consequence to sitting down on TikTok for 2 hours. You get your serotonin boost and nothing bad happened.

Of course you could have spent the time constructively, learn a new skill, cleaned the bathroom, but those are the exact opposite of getting that serotonin boost.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

Yes. That's how addictions work.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Mm... You don't have a single thing in your life where you struggle with self control?

Really?

It's a completely foreign concept to you?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

We are on social media right now

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago

I would miss the camera the most

I do have a nice camera but it’s a lot to carry around

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

For me it's maps and WhatsApp sadly. If I could get out of those, I would go to a dumb phone fairly quickly

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Quite a few of the dumb phones have WhatsApp. Although the maps experience would suck.

Personally, since they already have WhatsApp, having a good camera and 5G tether are my two wishlist items. 4G tether is probably fine for the most part but the good camera would be missed.

That with an iPad mini, so that I can still use banking apps and maps but I'd have it in a bag so that it's not simple to access and I could leave it at home would be my ideal.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Do you happen to know a few of these? We don't have these in the US

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You mean like this? Nokia 6300, has WhatsApp, apparently has Google Maps, 4G for tethering. Shitty camera is the drawback for me, otherwise it hits all the spots.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NCGGBVZ

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Loos like that one is no longer sold in the US, but I see this one is Nokia 2780 Flip | Unlocked | Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile | Blue https://a.co/d/2gPbkB8

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (3 children)

That's a shame as the 2780 doesn't have WhatsApp.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

There are screentime apps that can track and limit the useage of certain apps. You can use your bike rental app as long as you want but can set a specific time limit for others like 1 hour on youtube, 30 minutes for lemmy etc.

I used one before and it helped me quantify the time I was wasting and gave me tools to limit my usage.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Just uninstall the apps you're trying to avoid

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Well yeah but then it's back to the addictive aspect. That's like telling a heroin addict to carry around all the supplies for heroin in his pocket but just don't do heroin. People trying to recover from heroin probably shouldn't keep heroin in their pockets.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I don't understand why you don't just uninstall what you don't need?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

Just don't buy more heroin. Addicition solved. Why didn't anyone think of that?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

This is what I don't get. Just don't use social media on your phone. I don't have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. on my phone. But the camera, maps, music and audiobooks, email, calendar, digital wallet, etc. are invaluable to me. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Because some people struggle with self-control. Uninstalling apps is reversal by installing them again.

I forget the names now as I have better control and habits but there are several apps that will block you from using apps you set a time for. For instance if I don’t want to use Voyager for Lemmy during certain hours then it would just not let me.

There are ones where you can remove them all from your iOS screen and just have borrowing text links to vital apps like Email, Messages, Phone, etc.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Because social media exploits the same mental addiction as gambling, "retail therapy," and adrenaline and exercise addiction. You may as well tell a caffeine addict to just stop drinking coffee every morning and cut chocolate out of their diet.

This is something that people who have never experienced mental health issues like addiction struggle to grasp because they've never had the wiring in their brain used against them by companies like this. It takes immense willpower to fight against the physical makeup of your brain and not fall to the temptation of reinstalling social media for the endorphins.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Except for, you know, not installing the apps on your phone.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Yeah same here. I’ve ditched all social media now except Lemmy and for that I have only a handful of favorite subs I like to read.

But I use my phone for photos, music, email and wallet. Occasionally maps if in a pinch.

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