A phone is just a shittier computer. Please don’t ask about my computer.
Yes
Is that what it is? Addiction?.. Or am I just absorbing information as I would?
For that matter, is it a detriment that I sit here, scroll, read, investigate, research, find random topic I never expected and learn something new?
My phone’s just a tool. Replace it with a book, and I’m still doing the same thing for myself, if it’s out of boredom.
I’m entirely dependent on my phone.
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Navigation: I can’t even get from my home to the grocery store without the GPS because I don’t recognize locations and can’t create a mental map.
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Hydration: I am likely to die of dehydration without my phone reminding me to drink water since I don’t feel thirst.
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To do list: I never get anything done if it’s not in my to do list because I keep forgetting otherwise.
Could I find low tech solutions to these problems? Sure, paper maps exist, alarm clocks aren’t phone dependent, and I can write my to do tasks in a planner, but these aren’t as efficient and I’m more likely to get lost, forget to drink, or forget to look at the planner.
Dependant is not the same thing as addicted.
Do you feel an uncontrollable urge to look at your phone, even when you do something else or when it isn’t appropriate? That would be addiction.
I hadn’t thought of that, but it makes sense. I don’t have an addiction to my phone, but I used to about a decade ago. Purging my social media (deleting all accounts) and going cold turkey worked wonders for me.
These days I can use some social media without getting addicted, but the key is to not allowing any social media apps to give notifications. When I used to be addicted, every time I got a Facebook notification, I couldn’t stop myself from opening the app and then I found myself aimlessly scrolling and time has passed. Now I use it when I choose, instead of when someone else chooses for me.
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I’m addicted to the internet
The phone is just one of many ways to get to it.
It’s like saying a drunkard is addicted to “the bottle”. They aren’t. They are addicted to alcohol.
I am addicted to dopamine.
My phone is one of the less harmful sources of a dopamine feedback loop.
Working with my therapist to get a hold on that.
Ugh same. I’ve tried to reduce screen time a few times but it inevitably leads to more skin picking/nail biting.
I’ve always been shit at being idle. There’s so many other activities I’ve been suggested to try instead but none have worked (usually either because of adhd or the chronic tendinitis in my wrist).
No, I’m addicted to the apps in my phone. Without them (or internet to use them) I don give a damn about that thing.
Yep, and we’re surrounded by enablers, too. I left my phone at home accidentally when I went out with the fam. “Fuckit, I don’t need a phone. Let’s just go…”
And not only did it become quickly obvious how much I use my phone (NFC payment, looking up store hours, nearest grocery store, etc) but how much everyone expected me to have a phone and everything on it. Use my phone to pay. I don’t have it, I gotta use a card. Give my kid cash for when we drop her off to hang out with friends with apple pay. Can’t do it, no phone. Here’s $15 cash. (Eye roll, carrying change is a burden now) Use loyalty card at the store. Nope, it’s on the phone. Wife has to use hers. Can’t get my daughter’s text messages, and even though she knew I’d left my phone, she still texted me.
People expect you to have all the conveniences on a phone, including the ones that are convenient to them.
I’m addicted to my laptop and basically any social media platform. Block one and I’ll find plenty of others to waste my time on.
I’m addicted to having something to do, the phone is the most obvious thing to look at when I don’t have anything else to do, but I never look at my phone when e.g. driving except for purposes of navigation or music control.
No. I could stop af any time. I just choose not to. Its totally voluntary.
(Just like smokers, they could stop at anytime, they just choose not to)
My doctor said I should not drink brake fluid, I told him not to worry… I can stop anytime
It’s easy to stop smoking! I do it several tines a day!
Same
If I could get away with not having a cellphone, I would honestly much prefer to not have one. Unfortunately, the modern job market and my wife wanting to be able to reach me make it unlikely that I could do so without suffering some fairly major issues.
Initially, I quite liked the idea of being able to consolidate multiple devices, like an e-reader and music player into a single device, but I’ve really come to resent the expectation that I should always be available to contact at all times.
If I could ditch mine, I’d really rather just have some sort of portable device in a similar form-factor that could play connect to WiFi, play music and podcasts and work as an e-reader. Bonus points for some sort of offline map/navigational capacity. I don’t want to get texts or phone calls, and only be able to access email and the broader internet when I’m somewhere with WiFi.
I like to think I’ll eventually get to a point where I can do that without having to worry about being unable to get jobs for not responding quick enough. Unfortunately, it seems like more and more things are trying to make cell phones an unavoidable aspect of participating in society, whether it’s banks only offering OTP texts for 2FA, or so many venues no longer even offering the option to print your tickets at home, but instead requiring you to display your ticket in an app on a device with an active data connection.
When I’m tired, I am, and I hate it. With more energy I do other things, but the phone is always that super-low effort thing to pick up.
I have a book to read, and paper and pencil for sketching next to me, and those are the things I want to do, but they feel like effort right now.
Not even a question
Input Input Input! I’m addicted to continuous inputs and reactions.
If i can keep my brain running I do not need a phone. I’m happy with a good book for hours.
