Like a lot of people, I waste too much time on my phone. I know it’s possible to set time limits on how much time you can spend on social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. However, since it’s so easy to deactivate those limits, those controls are basically useless.
There are phones which simply don’t let you download any apps, but they’re no good either because some apps are genuinely important. I need my banking app. That’s non-negotiable. Same with my credit card app. I’ll inevitably miss out on important personal news if I’m not in my family’s WhatsApp group chat. And if I’m lost in an unfamiliar place (happens a lot, no sense of direction), I need google maps.
So phones like the ‘Light’ phone which don’t have WhatsApp or maps, and which don’t let you download banking apps are also non-starters.
What I’d love would be a phone where you can choose what apps you have on it but then after you’ve made your choice then that’s it. No more apps. That way, I could have a phone which has what I need and only what I need.
Is it possible to get a phone like that? I’m genuinely starting to hate the fact that I have to have a smartphone.
" A kosher smartphone can have a variety of app’s, most kosher smartphones have Email, Google maps and Waze, excluded the Safe Telecom Mehadrin kosher smartphone, (the Safe Telecom Mehadrin kosher smartphone is the most kosher smartphone, and it doesn’t have any app), the other kosher smartphones will also have Torah, Navigation, Weather and Judaism Tools, the Safe Telecom Plus will also have Banking, Money Management and Local Shopping app’s, and the Safe Telecom Premium will also have Cloud Sync Storage, Business and Printing app’s."
So your real problem is that you can’t resist loading new apps and you want a locked-down phone to improve your willpower?
Or are you complaining that phones come with certain built-in apps they won’t let you delete? And somehow that offends you even though you don’t use them? Or perhaps you can’t resist the temptation to use them?
I’m not trying to pooh-pooh your concerns. Just trying to understand which problem you’re trying to solve.
Yeah, I’m not getting it either. It sounds like you want the ability to remove apps, get the phone just so, and then lock it down so you or nobody else can change it.
I can’t really speak for Apple phones, but on an Android phone, pretty much every app can either be uninstalled or disabled/removed from view. Granted, disabling/removing doesn’t get rid of them exactly, but they’re not right there on your desktop either.
But none of them I know of really let you lock yourself out of stuff like application installations, etc… At best, you might be able to set up a second profile or something, lock that, and then use that as your primary profile. You can do that on a PC, for example. But I have no idea on a phone of either type if that’s even possible.
Ultimately it takes discipline I think. Maybe just don’t install those apps and don’t give in to the temptation to reinstall Facebook and use it. One way to do this might be to get a very low storage capacity phone, and only install what you need, and don’t give yourself room (literally) to install much else). I’m not sure if that’s possible either; it’s just a WAG on ways to passively prevent yourself from installing stuff.
Sounds like any of a number of parental control apps would fit the bill for you. Get your phone how you like it, lock out access behind a randomized alphanumeric password, and store the password on a physical object somewhere safe, because you will eventually need access again.
StayFocused for Android has a setting that will not let you de-activate those limits while you’re in the middle of a blocked session. It also won’t let you uninstall the StayFocused app.
The struggle is real. I don’t know if it will help you but I’m in the middle of the Break Up With Your Phone text-based course with Catherine Price. I’m on day 23 of 30. It has helped me a lot. Sometimes you just need someone to go through it with you step by step. I recently did a 24-hour digital Sabbath which went pretty well. The only thing I missed was setting the alarm on my Hatch app (you have to set the alarm clock from the phone.) But my husband went in and did it for me.
To avoid the Straight Dope on my phone (sorry) I set a 30 minute time limit in Chrome, but leave Firefox Focus available 24/7 for when I need to look something up. Firefox Focus does not save cookies or browser history so I find it’s a pain in the ass to put in the password and browse the site through that app. I don’t even know the password off the top of my head.
Sometimes I wish I could bury my phone in the back yard. But there are things I need on it.
Exactly. Social media is addictive and I’m sorry to say I’m quite hooked. I could uninstall Twitter right now, but then some big news will break and before you know it my curiosity has got the better of me and I’ve downloaded it again. Similarly, I could go into my iPhone settings and restrict Twitter so I can only use it for 10 minutes a day (or whatever), but since I can take that restriction off as easily as I can put it on that’s not much use to me either. The obvious answer is to get a more basic phone that doesn’t support social media apps. The trouble with that is such phones also don’t support the few apps I genuinely do need (like my banking and credit card apps) or apps which aren’t strictly essential but are nonetheless edifying (such as Audible). What I want is a device that lets me have only the apps that I absolutely positively can’t do without and then won’t let me add any more.
Why do you need the banking app on your phone? I banked for decades before such things even existed. They still have a website and you still (maybe) have a computer. Millions of customers don’t have either and they bank just fine without.
Why do you need a credit card app on your phone? I was using cards when the smallest computer on earth was the size of a bus. Somehow I bought stuff and paid my bill anyhow.
I suspect both those “needs” are addictions inflicted on you by the bank & CC company that gain some small smidgen of revenue from many customers by badgering every single customer to check on their bank / card app at least daily.
Ultimately I will offer an aphorism from my time in IT:
You cannot fix a social problem with a technical solution.
The meaning being that if you have disorganized business processes and workers who blow deadlines or work around “the system”, trying to force them to behave using a computerized straitjacket must fail. They will collectively ensure it.
As @Spice_Weasel says, you need to fix your psychological / emotional problem with a psychological / emotional solution. When you don’t want to be glued to your phone you won’t be. Like fighting any other addiction or any other sort of habit change, there is no royal road. You just gotta work at it, perhaps guided by a guru. As she is doing.
Please understand I too have a real problem with addiction to SDMB in particular. I’m not laughing at your plight; I share it. I am persuaded that I can only fix my addiction by hard mental emotional work. Even a magical software lock as others have described won’t cure your cravings. You have to cure those from inside.
I’m seeing the need for a subscription service where you allow a 3rd party to monitor your phone activity and go all Quitters, Inc on you if you succumb to temptation.
Anyone that receives checks benefits significantly with a phone app. I’ve not seen photo-based check cashing except via app. Yeah, you an always go to an ATM (or even a bank!), but I probably do that less than once a year at this point.
Yup. My CU is nowhere near me.
It might depend upon the owner of the ATM but I don’t believe I can make ‘foreign’ deposits at any of the local bank ATMs.
-* Foreign meaning I’m using Bank A’s ATM but my acct is not with them but my acct is at Bank B. If I make a deposit via ATM at Bank A & there is some issue, maybe I typoed the $ amt, they can adjust it; however, when they look at the check for $10 & realize I stated my deposit was $1000 because I didn’t put the decimal in the right place they can’t as easily correct the incorrect amount because it involves a second bank, & people who reconcile the ATM entries, typically branch personal**, may not even have a contact at Bank B.
** Has anyone seen the ability to make a deposit at an off-prem ATM, like one at a convenience store/restaurant/stadium?
I am personally in @Johnny_Bravo’s camp on this. If you don’t want a separate app, you can also set up your device as a “child’s” account in conjunction with a friend/family member, and have them enable various iterations of parental controls native to the systems, including locking you out of the app store, screen limit times, and the like.
Buuuut… It’s part of a whole. If you feel you’re addicted and can’t control yourself, get counselling, help, etc. Lots of people are addicted to doom scrolling, social fulfilment online, and other symptoms of the always on world. It’s good you know it’s going on, but just locking yourself out of your phone isn’t going to stop you if you have other options available.
But if it gives you an extra boost in dealing with it, that’s not a problem either.
“Addiction” is a very strong word and there’s nothing in the OP to suggest an actual psychological dependency. Really really liking something and spending too much time indulging in it doesn’t necessarily rise to the level of being an addict.
Adding friction is a great first step, like Spice Weasel’s inconvenient no-cookie browser. You could also try keeping a hand-written log of how much time you spend on these apps. Or lock down your phone with a parental app like I suggested, but I don’t think removing your own agency will be ultimately helpful: prioritize solutions that increase mindfulness of your phone use.
If you find yourself literally incapable of curbing your habits, or if not being on your phone is giving you symptoms of anxiety or depression, then seeking out a therapist or counselor isn’t a bad idea. There might be underlying issues to work out, or you might benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy.