It has been hard to miss the wave of recent publicity encouraging us to use our smartphones less, as terms like “digital wellbeing” and “digital detox” have entered the vocabulary. A slew of books and media articles tell us that our smartphones are drawing us in to wasting time on things that aren’t really important, disconnecting us from each other and reducing our ability to concentrate.
Capitalism abhors a vacuum, so apps have been created to help us monitor or block app usage, iOS and Android incorporate new tools to manage our attention with each update and the really brave can buy the designer Punkt phone that does calls, texts and tethering and that’s it.
I’m not going to knock this movement (especially the books, some of which are recommended below) but I do wonder if the message needs to be more nuanced. In particular, I dislike the term “digital detox” because it suggests that digital devices are inherently bad for us – a bit like alcohol, something we feel we ought to give up but can’t. Digital devices are actually incredibly helpful and can have a positive effect on our life in lots of ways – tracking fitness goals, taking notes, finding directions in an unfamiliar town, convenient banking, monitoring energy usage and countless other things. As the Americans say, these are “life hacks” that can make us healthier, save time and be more effective. The point is not to “detox” from our phones, but to use them intentionally. In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear advises that we should consider whether our habits are moving us towards or away from the sort of person we want to be. I would suggest we apply this logic to how we use our phones.
That said, we do need to recognise that smartphones, and especially social media apps, are genuinely, physically addictive. If you aren’t familiar with science of this, I recommend looking up the link between social media and dopamine, or have a read of this article. So if we are going to gain the benefits of smartphone use without experiencing the downsides, we need to make a conscious, controlled effort.
What this looks like will be different for everyone, so what follows are a series of suggestions for optimising smartphone use that work for me and that you may want to consider:
- You really don’t need to install every app going on your phone. Review those you have and see if you think they genuinely add something to your life. If in doubt, try doing without it for a week and see how it goes. Do you feel liberated or are you inconvenienced by not having it? Having fewer apps is best practice in security as well.
- Linked to the point above, if you feel you are spending too much time on social media, try not having the apps on your phone or tablet. This means you will only check them when you have access to a laptop or use the browser, which is less convenient. You won’t feel cut off, but you won’t waste time idly scrolling through feeds. Cal Newport, author of the (slightly extreme but recommended) book Digital Minimalism, recommends that, if you don’t want to break altogether with social media, you use it as if you were being charged for usage. Do what you want and then get out.
- You may want to consider doing the same with news apps. Unless it is essential for your job, do you really need constant access to the news? It can be addictive too.
- Configure your home screen so that the more tempting apps are less obvious, and you have to scroll through to find them. Apps for mapping, banking, music, audiobooks and weather, for example, are not generally addictive and you may want to make access as convenient as possible. You may want to make others a little harder to use.
- This one for Android users only – you will probably know that you can completely change and customise the “look and feel” of your phone using one of the many launchers available on the app store. My particular gripe with the standard setting is the Google search box you can’t remove, unless you use a launcher. The Microsoft Launcher is free and has a better degree of customisation. Recently, a number of launchers have been developed which are specifically aimed at helping to manage phone use. I use Niagara Launcher which has a great minimalist design and a free version without advertisements – the paid version offers additional features.
- Notifications can interrupt your flow and prod you to pick up your phone again and again. You have total control over these so turn off any notifications that aren’t essential. This can go quite granular, for example, you can mute WhatsApp group discussions while still getting notified of individual messages.
- One tip I discovered in a recent Mozilla blog post (tip 4) was to make your phone less enticing by switching it to grayscale, either permanently or in the evenings when you want to be winding down. Try it – it makes a real difference to how you see your phone.
- It’s generally a bad idea to have your phone on and with you when you go to bed. Official NHS advice is to avoid using smartphones or tablets for an hour before bed, and most of us can also do without checking it first thing in the morning. Charging it overnight in your room isn’t good for the battery and can even be a fire hazard. Modern phones charge quickly so it probably isn’t necessary either. Alarm clocks are pretty cheap and generally a better option.
Hopefully some of those tips are useful. Please do share below your tips for using your smartphone to enhance your life rather than being an unwelcome distraction.