How to turn your smartphone into a dumb phone

Have you watched the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma?

If you haven’t, it canvasses a lot of territory from the proliferation of fake news to issues with kids and younger people using social media, speaking to many of the product designers involved in creating the beast.

One of the key messages coming from these designers and the documentary overall is the way that your smartphone is designed to take your attention for as much time as possible.

It can tell your regular usage patterns and will try and get you to stay staring at your device for longer. If it detects you are slipping out of regular usage patterns, it will also try and remind you about the things you usually do to get you back online.

A great deal of this can be addressed by turning off your notifications, but that may not be enough.

Many people these days have a desire to disconnect, but they still want to remain accessible to family and friends.

If this sounds appealing, you could always try your luck and purchase a dumb phone. There are still some for sale at some places, but obviously you will have to go without a few features.

On the other hand, you could always just look at turning your smartphone into a dumb phone, which also allows you the option of going back if you decide you can’t do without the necessary features.

Programmer David Thorpe has produced a handy ‘how to’ video explaining how to turn your smartphone into a dumb phone while still being able to use the apps that you need.

He covers how to tidy your apps and the best way to use them only when you need them, turn off notifications, disable suggestions and most importantly how to use your screen time effectively.

What do you think of these suggestions? Are you worried about how much time you spend on your phone? Have you seen The Social Dilemma? What did you think?

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