A Real Solution For Phone Addiction
I think I actually found something useful
Elephant in the room: There have been thousands of pieces on this topic, but I really think I’ve stumbled upon a viable solution - You don’t have to ditch your tech for OR the apps. (At least, I don’t. If you’re off the rails, maybe you do. Anyway..)
I Love Technology
I love it, but I’m not evolved enough to handle this much stimulation.
It’s not good for me.
I found myself doing what I’m sure most of us do: the classic, thumb magically hits Instagram without even thinking about it, and an hour later you come to. It’s like a dopamine induced coma and I come out with an even larger fear of cave diving again. (algo has been scratching that claustrophobia itch big time lately)
I Don’t Think Abstinence is The Trick
What’s the balance though? I don’t think I want to be fully disconnected - I get a lot of inspiration from IG, and I’ve done a good job muting accounts that constantly feed negativity, but I still end up spending way too much time on IG and it doesn’t feel good.
Recently, I spoke with two people who really got me thinking about a way out.
This first, a great friend who said his wife gifted him a Brick, and it’s been a game-changer. Said his anxiety has really dropped off and he’s just more in the moment.
The second, a rad reader, told me he actually uses two phones. He uses an iPhone 13 Mini as his daily driver with NO social media or news apps on it and keeps an iPhone 16 Pro Max in his bag that he uses like a iPad mini when he wants to view those apps.
This is where the lightbulb moment went off for me.
Two fuggin devices.
Separate.
Brain Cookies
I think so long as the apps I’m addicted to are on my main device, I’m gonna have a problem. It’s just like how I can’t keep cookies in my house; I can’t help myself but to eat all of them.
I know what you’re thinking:
“Well, I’ll just waste away endless time on the other device.”
Yeah, me too.
And for that reason, I have made an adjustment to this two-device system that makes this super effective. And I realized it in my kitchen:
There’s only one way I could keep cookies in the house and not crush the box - it’s if the cookies kinda sucked. Vegan, hard as rock, soulless cookies. No. Sugar.
I realized I simply needed to apply this to my brain cookies (my phone/apps).
The Ultimate Two Device Solution for Phone Addiction
HERE IT IS: You don’t want a “dumb phone” for your daily use, you want a dumb phone for your addictive apps!
The UX of modern tech is sugar.
And I love sugar.
I love having my blazing fast iPhone 16 Pro on me - Awesome battery life, awesome cameras, awesome screen. It’s beautiful to interact with. But the beautiful UX paired with the infinitely dialed-in algorithm of modern social media is sugar x 1000.
That ain’t sugar anymore baby, that’s crack.
So what do I view social media on now?
Enter: iPad Mini.
You’d think viewing social on this much bigger screen would be an even better experience.
It’s not.
It’s so much worse.
It’s clunky (IG isn’t optimized for iPad), the screen isn’t as bright (I’ve got a matte screen protector on it too), the refresh rate is slower, typing on it is tougher. It’s so much worse, and that’s what makes this work.
You need friction.
It’s creates just enough friction for me to not want to spend a ton of time on the apps. The same way cafes use those kind of uncomfortable seats so that you don’t stay too long, the social media experience on the iPad mini is just bad enough to where I’ll view what I need, but then hop off.
The other critical thing here is, my iPad mini doesn’t come with me like my phone does. It stays at home, so I can’t retreat into my phone the moment I get bored.
You need separation.
If I’m out with friends, I still have the crazy camera of the latest iPhone to take photos with, but if I’m posting anything, it’s gonna have to wait. I am right back in the moment, not trying to come up with a clever caption.
How it’s going: In these past weeks, my screen time has dropped over 50%.
I Don’t Wanna Go Cold Turkey on Social
I get joy from sharing things that inspire me - I love sharing music I’ve found, interior design that is special, photography that moves me. I can still do all of that, it just takes more work. More friction. This makes me be more intentional, because it’s not a two second action anymore.
TL;DR - Keep your smartphone! You don’t need an iPad Mini exactly, you need to put social media or any app that is a time-suck on a device that has a worse UX - an old phone or even an iPad. The worse the screen resolution, the worse screen refresh rate, the slower the navigation, the better. You want the experience to suuuuuck.
Greyscale and setting time limits on apps doesn’t work; it can’t be a software fix. It’s gotta be hardware. You can’t bypass hardware like you will a time limit.
Other Phone Tips
DND - My phone has been on Do Not Disturb for 1-2 years now. If something is critical, people call me. I don’t get pulled out of a conversation with a text message - I view my messages at once when I have time to dedicate.
Work Email Only On My Computer - When I first started off after college, I was always connected. As I grew in my career, I pulled back on that. Prior to becoming self-employed, I started setting expectations with employers: When I’m working, you best believe I’m working hard - I’m tethered in. But when I’m off, I’m off.
This is what I expect from the people who do work for me. Work hard, do good work, but when you’re done, go enjoy yourself. If something absolutely critical needs tended to, I’ll call - has not happened yet.
All this to say - I don’t have work email on my phone. I know myself and if I see an email, I’m gonna want to tend to it immediately. I’m aware this is a case-by-case thing, but for the work I do, almost everything can wait till the next morning, or if it’s the weekend, it can wait till Monday.
A modification to this: My buddy keeps his work email on his phone during the week, but come signing off on Friday, he disables his work account on his phone and enables it on Monday.
Good Luck Out There
Power up that old iPad or iPhone 6 that’s tucked away in your drawer and move the apps over there. Get livin’ real life. Life is short, baby.
If this was helpful, let me know!
My iPad mini has been associated with the exact same purpose for the last few weeks. It completely changed my relationship with several apps, and I appreciate the concept of reduction without disassociation. Great article.
This is what I do!