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.
… using social networking sites lights up the same part of the brain that is also triggered when taking an addictive substance.
I can absolutely believe this. When I was having trouble quitting nicotine one of the ways I’d distract myself was to just sit and scroll bullshit on my phone. I can say without a doubt that it was hitting some of the same spots as the addiction I was trying to quit, for sure
Apparently it’s not possible to own a smart device and just not install Facebook 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
I know you’re joking but mine won’t let me uninstall it, and get this, “disable” won’t work either! Samsung S9 (quite old now) btw if anyone reading this wants to avoid.
It sounds like your issue is more of a user thing and not a technical thing. Can you not root the device and install Graphene or a clean Android OS without the Samsung crap? I feel this is 100% solvable. But then I don’t buy Samsung garbage, so maybe out of the loop.
Also, Facebook needs an account. So another option is to just not have one. I haven’t had Fb since leaving college back in 2015. Doesn’t affect my life in the least.
Rooting has always been beyond most users, even if it’s technically trivial. It’s definitely solvable, unfortunately most solutions in this direction tend to draw attention of corporate legal teams.
even if it’s technically trivial
I wouldn’t call it trivial. I’ve seen my mom use a phone and you’d be amazed how much stuff isn’t trivial to anyone over 50.
What’s Facebook?
I looked into this before, but I found the options were too stripped down.
Ultimately I need:
- Maps
- Music streaming
- Web browser
- 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 :/
Just uninstall the apps you’re trying to avoid
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.
It’s actually the opposite of that. It’s like telling a guy to not carry supplies around in his pocket. Sure, he can always buy more if he wants, but at least that’s an extra step.
If you want to reinstall the apps you can but at least they’re not readily available
Are people really so addicted to social media that they can’t use their own willpower to simply not have those apps installed?
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.
I don’t really understand poor self control, but I concede it exists and many people have it.
I can’t really imagine what it’s like to decide to do a thing and then just… don’t. Not like “I decided to run a mile and discovered I physically couldn’t”, but “I decided to uninstall the app and then I just didn’t”
Who’s in charge? What’s happening in there?
Whoa dude, these are questions nobody’s ever asked before!
Try reading a book or something, damn… This shit has been talked about and studied to death, you don’t need to hypothesize.
Or just see if you can hold your breath until you die. You can’t? WHO’S IN CONTROL? Spooky.
Instead of asking us, perhaps define addiction for us first, and how it corresponds to willpower.
Phones still pre-infected with anti-libre software, software we don’t control.
When’s the last time Tor, OBS, NewPipe or F-Droid abused us, exploited us? Never, they don’t fail to include a libre software license text file, like AGPL.
absolute power corrupts absolutely. It’s not that those softwares are noble, they’re just decentralized. I will say it’s impressive that Tor doesn’t have some people pulling the strings trying to take over (but it’s probably the NSA right?)
OBS is decentralised? Not the first word I would pick.
is it not open source? That helps to decentralize power though powerful figures can still appear in those spaces too, like (benevolent) Torvalds on the Linux kernel
It’s libre software.
?
It’s distributed under the GNU General Public License v2 (or any later version) - see the accompanying COPYING file for more details.
Yes
