For over a year I had the "world's tiniest ruggedized phone". I don't remember the brand but I bet you can google it. Regardless, I still found myself using Instagram and Facebook on the tiny little screen 🥲. When they say social media is made to be addictive I fully believe it. App blockers, making my screen grey scale after 6pm, none of it works. I delete the settings, I remove the blocker.
The best things I've done for myself that is SO much easier said than done is 1. remove the thing from your life that you're trying to avoid and/or 2. Embrace the thing you're trying to avoid.
For me 1. Was a terrible job and 2. Was silence and boredom
Sep 30, 2024
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mattshawsome right now I just have a Google pixel 6a, or were you wanting to know what anti phone apps I've used?
preliminary_yellow_yak mostly wondering if you were still using the tiny phone or how you are currently navigating the tech distraction morass.
It’s such a challenge — I’ve tried all sorts of different approaches. Minimal launchers, dumbphones, etc.
Thanks for sharing about your journey.
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crazy talk from me, idc. i've been slowly weening off my social media consumption, but it's not been enough!! some things i've done to combat it have helped slightly, but i realize the only way to really get free of it is just cut it.
i've seen a lot of people talking about "dumbing down" their phones/tech to only house the essentials. there are apps for iOS and Android that make things like that possible. also like.. i think they make dumb phones from factory, but i'll have to dig deeper for that.
it's gonna be painful the first period of time, but it's worth it. even the little bit i've done has cut some really strong ties to my phone. i really depend only on apps that have messaging (discord, iMessage, FB messenger [not as much]). However, sometimes i get sucked down a rabbit hole if i get sidetracked.
i see a lot of people comparing doomscrolling to an addiction and they couldn't be more right. bc it is an addiction. it's a trap. only way to really get out of it is to shut it off completely.
1d ago
i have been on a journey to untangle my tasks from my iPhone.
i'd be out in the world someplace, pull out my phone for something as menial as checking the time, or as well intentioned as capturing the moment in a pic, and immediately get sucked into texts and instagram™️ and all the virtual things happening in this tiny lil demon light box.
the goal: pull my phone out of my bag ONLY for phone things. that's texting, calling, and apps that can't be replaced
the solutions so far:
🕰️ i started with a watch (shoutout Casio) and i wear it every day. once I broke the habit of checking my phone for the time, I felt legitimately freed from something Major
📷 I bought a small digital camera to leave in my bag. the pics look better and I don’t get distracted by the virtual world when I'm trying to capture something in the now
📚 I bought a kindle. It fits in my jacket pocket (literally) and gives me something to do when I'm on the train or waiting for an appointment that isn't scrolling
I just realized so much of the time I spent on my phone was not intentional. It was a thing I was doing in between Other intentional moments. my screen time is still several hours a day (don’t get me wrong) but I think my brain has healed at least 3%.
welcoming other ideas as well💡
Sep 24, 2024
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I recently quit a drug I was addicted to for years, and soon after started quiting major social media platforms using the same lessons I learned from getting sober!
Your brain is great at eventually returning to a natural baseline. But until that happens, You'll need replacement(s) to tide yourself over
Here are some options that have been helpful for me:
1. Coloring books + music. It might seem very childish, but its super fun and relaxing without putting you at the mercy of the algorithm or ads!
2. Frame reading as a scrolling replacement. Find some breezy, fun reads to start out with. Short story collections are good for this because its more digestable to read 15 stories over 400 pages than 1 story.
3. Going on walks *and leaving your phone at home*. It's exercise(always good), it puts you into the real world, and its an activity that can last pretty long.
4. Accountability to others. Tell your supportive loved ones that you're quiting social media. It gives you purpose, you're now doing it for yourself *and* others.
5. Phone calls. Bored but don't want to scroll? Call someone! Just put them on speaker and pretend they're in the room with you, just chat!
6. Last but not least, physically hang out with people *with your phone turned off*.
Jan 19, 2025
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It's Ranch. The cap comes off to hold change. Larger compartment in the back. Second pattern I've written and so proud
Apr 9, 2025
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Told my dad another van repair caused our plans to change. We wouldn't be going to Maine. It's too close to winter to be going up North. Instead we'll be staying a few months in Texas on a horse farm.
"Y'all need to just settle down somewhere"
Nearly four years ago I told him our plans to live in a van and travel to different farms for work exchange.
"Now's the time to do it while you're young"
Well it's been a little past three years. The first van kept having issues and we were in an unhealthy living arrangement. Months turned into a year and we weren't welcome anymore. My nesting partner and I were glad the old van even made it three states over to another family member's house.
A few repairs and a second dog later we decided we needed to upsize. This van is also old and needed repairs too but what really kept us here longer was meeting one person that could have made a sad town worth staying in. However, that wasn't in the cards either.
So we're almost four years in to this dream to travel. We've already done a bit of travel if you think about it.
I told my dad "why would I give up on something just cause it's taking longer than I thought it would?"
"You need to put down roots"
I asked what that meant to him.
"Get a home"
Ah, well the van is my home.
If there's one thing I've learned over these last few years, my family is living miserably, going to jobs they only tolerate, to the point of exhaustion, to then sit in an expensive house and watch TV every evening. They have no connection to their community.
I want to see different towns, meet people, get an idea of the community I would be living in long term. I want to be intentional with where I put my roots.
So however long it takes, home is where I am and it's where I'll be in the end.
Sep 30, 2024