@Daley I read the Irresistable book you recommended. It was exceptional at describing the problem -- designers and developers are designing games/apps/websites/etc. that play our on psychology and make addicts out of all of us.
What I thought was lacking, though, was what to do about it? What behavioral changes can I make to correct this behavior? Do you have any books on this aspect?
The only effective way to break an addiction is to get the person addicted to become fully aware of the damage the poison inflicts and choose life over the poison itself.
Honest question, @ReadySetMillionaire - Are you someone who subscribes to a faith and credo? If so, can it be described as Abrahamic in origin? Perhaps inclusive of a certain tradesman from Galilee who got nailed to a post?
If so, and even if you aren't, you could always jump to the end of that reading list, give a quick dig into what Stefan Andriopoulos has to say about the origins of all this technology and historical roots of the media, then give old Joost Meerloo's book a read for as long as you can stomach it. Once you realize what's been done to us, maybe give Deuteronomy 18:9-14 a read as a bit of soothing balm. Good or bad in one's intent, this stuff and the science behind it when used is clearly dangerous.
Though, I will be honest, temptation is hard to fight because the programming runs deep… but until you genuinely hate the damage more than the benefit, any efforts at moderation and control aren't going to do much short of a full removal cold turkey detox and or heavy dialing-back of the amount of technology made available in your life. Take it from an addict.
Thanks for the reference.
Here's the thing, and what usually gets me stuck -- my cell phone (and computer) are what make me money. I'm a solo practicing lawyer. My phone and email are the actual pipeline of my professional revenue, and that's not optional.
Just for an example, email. Gmail (and any work email) fulfills obvious needs, but for my specific situation, I get emails regarding covering hearings for $100 each. I average $1,400 in income from these, but these hearings are gone if I do not respond quickly. For now, in the infancy of my practice, I need these notifications on so I can respond and make money.
My home screen has the following apps:
Phone
Weather
Clock
Messaging
Gmail (necessary for work)
Google Calendar (necessary for work)
Google Maps (necessary for driving to hearings)
Google Play (listen to music while reading)
ESPN
Podcasts (listen while exercising)
Apple News (curated to summarize all my sports news...takes up way, way, way less of my time than Twitter)
Fitbit (health and fitness)
Quickbooks Self-Employed (allows me to track mileage and transactions)
I also have things tucked away in a folder -- Chrome, Instagram, Netflix, YouTube, banking apps, Snapchat, mobile TV apps, etc.
So, as you'll see, almost all of the icons on the home screen are production-related. And I'm a big sports fan.
The new Apple Screen Time app shows I'm using my apps as follows:
Productivity Apps -- 4 minutes per day (work)
Internet Browsing (Chrome) -- 34 minutes per day (mindless bullshit, usually reading about politics/news)
Social Networking (includes texting) -- 26 minutes per day (22 minutes of this is texting, the rest is Instagram...no Twitter or FB)
Reading and Reference (Apple News) -- 10 minutes per day (reading sports news)
Health -- 3 minutes per day (tracking calories and steps via Fitbit)
Entertainment -- 5 minutes per day (ESPN app)
Other (podcasts, music, etc.) -- 8 minutes
I feel like I'm doing way, way better than I used to. But I still pick up the phone and, look, I only use the productivity apps 4 minutes per day. Then it's a lot of browsing, texting, and it all somehow adds up to
NINETY MINUTES a day.
But then I go and look...the average person uses their cell phone for
FOUR HOURS per day! So I'm doing okay, but am I doing okay enough? I especially worry about this because my entire job is word processing, answering phones, responding to emails, etc., so I'm also in front of a computer a lot.
I guess I'm just torn. Am I using this enough as a tool for good that it's worth the detriments, or am I addicted to this damn thing?Just looking at this, I'm going to try and cut down to 45 minutes per day. I'll maybe keep everyone posted.