I see friends, family, strangers, subconsciously go for their phones during thoughtless times daily. Have a moment to think… Scroll. Showering with their phone propped up watching a video. First wake up and spend an hour or two frying the mind.
It has gotten so bad in my friend group and close family I swear they could not function emotionally without consuming content. When you bring it up or any negative about it. Anger, distasteful emotions. How do you talk, convince, gain real traction towards slowing or decreasing time spent. Once or twice a day could be ok. These people do it for sometimes hours daily. It’s sickening. Advice?
this is singlehandedly the hardest thing abour wanting to quit scrolling. when i’m scrolling suddenly everyone is an internet free health nut that doesn’t even know what tiktok is and i’m the stupid chud. then when i’m offline everyone NEEDS to scroll for 5 hours a day and be up to date on the most niche youtube drama while i am left out. it’s likt not smoking in the 1940s
Challenge them to bloom-scroll, and actually learn something.
Or wikwok on f droid !
Almost what I was looking for!
I’m gonna be probably a little too real here… This…uh…might not be the best place to ask. It’s kinda like running into a bar and asking everyone how they stay sober. It’s a nicer bar than the divey place down the road but…it’s a bar.
Eesh. Taking a phone into the shower sounds like “talk to a medical professional” level of addiction…
I had always listened to music when I took a shower as a kid, now I’ll put on a youtube video essay or news or podcast etc. I’m not actively watching the video, just some mentally engaging/ interesting background noise. Recently been listening to Gutsick Gibbon’s evolution lectures to Will Duffy.
How often are you completely devoid of everything “mentally engaging” aside from your own thoughts?
Give them something better to do when you’re with them, like have them play a game or something.
The only soul you will ever be able to save is your own.
Set an example, invite them outside to play, or suggest a board game night, basically offer them options that get them away from it, but expect most of them to just keep scrolling for your own mental health.
But mobilek is my best friend. You shouldn’t put your best friend down.
It’s digital heroin. We who are still awake must legislate a law against it or humanity is doomed.
I’ve struggled with this myself but I’ve gotten a lot better. I kept deleting the Instagram app so the temptation wasn’t there to scroll reels, but then I’d redownload to post a story and fall right back into the same trap. Well I have a tablet that I only use for reading manga, watching movies/tv/anime via plex, and sometimes stream games from Steam via my desktop as a host client.
I’m renovating my kitchen which is down to the studs currently so the temptation to post is real, but I just do it from my tablet now instead. For whatever reason I view it as a tool to do only those three things so I don’t get sucked into the same loop now. And I really need to work on getting our house to not be a construction zone so I have better things to do than scroll videos that I will forget what I even watched within minutes.
That was the biggest revelation how much of a time waste it really is. If I can’t even remember what I watched it was that insignificant then there’s no point. Sure maybe I’d show my husband something funny, but that’s about as far as it goes. Truly feels like brain rot in real time
Would try to convince them to use an eink device.
Like this one
This was the way for me. I started carrying around the XTEINK x3 in a little case strapped to my wallet and whenever I’m out and have downtime I just read a few pages. I’ve read more books in the last few months than the last decade.
Currently reading Leech by Hiron Ennes
I invite friends and family members on walks but tell them no phones are allowed. If they need to bring it in casenof emergency, they have to turn it on silent
Would be interesting to say, phones allowed. To subtly indicate this is generally a no phone activity. And they may challenge themselves to not use it on their own.
I would focus on what you can control. I think you could politely mention that you think they are on the phone too much and you feel it is an unhealthy habit. I would say that’s about the most I would intervene. It gets them thinking about the amount of time they are on the phone/internet and leaves it in their hands to make a change.
Anything more than that will be seen as pushy and overstepping, which will just give them a reason to dismiss you. The main thing I’ll say here is that it’s not your responsibility to “save” the people you care about in your life. The biggest impact you can have is focusing on yourself and setting a positive example for those around you.
Center your activities either around things that need both hands (sports, creative hobbies) or in remote location with no cell service.
Maybe board game night specifically without cellphones.
If you want to stop their use in day to day life, it sucks but it’s an addiction that is completely socially acceptable. Be prepared to get some flak for frustrating their dopamine rush. The options are limited and you won’t come off as helping to say the least.
I think phone use is tied to boredom personally, so if you notice someone falling into an hour long loop, invite them to do something I guess.
Do they have a reason not to?
We all have lots of very good reasons to keep phone usage to an absolute minimum. Not all screentime is inherently bad, but all of the big infinite scroll apps are designed to be as addictive as cigarettes.
I agree that those apps are crazy addictive. But like what’s the reason for them in particular to stop? What are they losing that’s of value to them?
Time with themself and others. Their ability to pay attention to things. A healthy baseline level of stimulation.
If it’s true that’s what they value, then that can be used as leverage to help break that habit. I would say that the other suggestions in this thread to not allow phone use when inviting them to things could be one place to start, but also while doing the same thing yourself. Or maybe come up with some other reason like being security paranoid or something (these apps are a privacy invasion for those around them after all).
If they’re too depressed to care though then that’s another problem.
a gunthe bible or something
