I watched a video today by Ashley Embers that made me think. She makes very good video essays, they all make me think, but this one made me think more than usual. Of course she says the usual "phone bad" things that everybody talks about, but she actually goes into depth on the hows and whys of the subject. Towards the end of the video, she starts talking about how to actually put the phone down.
"What we need to do is create a system where we don't rely on our self-control alone..."
Ashley talks about some things like turning off notifications and delegating tasks (calendar, calculator, etc) back to their physical counterparts. I don't think either of those things are bad advice, you should definitely do that. I think it's a bit funny though, because she almost immediately unknowingly contradicts her previous statement with the next piece of advice. Ashley charges her phone in the kitchen to keep herself from waking up and scrolling in the morning. When she said that, I immediately thought to myself, "This sounds very familiar..."
"Physically flee temptation."
"Separate yourself bodily from the thing that tempts you."
It's easiest and most effective to stop something before it starts. It's just inertia. This was her issue with applications like Apple's Digital Wellness, Screen Time, whatever they call it. They all stop you (or rather, make very half-assed attempts at stopping you) after you're already well into whatever it is you're doing. It's very easy to swipe away a notification every fifteen minutes if it means you can keep scrolling like you have been for hours. Get serious about it, and don't put yourself in that position to begin with.
As much as she'd want to believe that we need more than self-control alone, that's really all this boils down to. Just get off your phone, seriously, and stay off of it.
About a month or so ago, I made a new account on DSiPaint/3DSPaint. It's an old school style forum designed for use on Nintendo's DSi and 3DS. I had an account here from back in the day, but deleted it a few years ago when I found myself to be checking it often, too often. I came back as I found myself with more empty time. Now, I feel that I check it as often as some people check traditional social media. The same problem I had before. Will I delete my new account? No. The blog functionality of the site has really motivated me to start writing more in general. I am going to be taking steps to separate myself from it though.
Smartphones are meant for consumption, not creation. Only obsessively refresh groups and notifications when I'm on mobile anyways.
In the mornings, I'm usually on there to just put off having to get out of bed.
Before it was *Paint, it was YouTube. If it's not *Paint, it'll just be whatever is next. I want to end useless consumption completely.
It's that simple, and I still get to be active on the forum. Less active? Maybe, but not by much.
If it wasn't made obvious by Ashley's essay (and just common knowledge), I've essentially become a prisoner of my vices. You have too. Nobody wants to be a prisoner of anything, and neither do I. There are things with the house that need done, and there are things with myself that need worked. I really need to get out, and build relationships. It's literally impossible to do any of that in the digital world. Before you even think it: no. Online relationships, romantic or not, are not real. I don't advise that anybody invest any serious energy or time into one.