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I understand the appeal of this, but I feel like the only way to get through the modern world is to build up the antibodies to these distractions. We can't all

I understand the appeal of this, but I feel like the only way to get through the modern world is to build up the antibodies to these distractions. We can't all reasonably hide ourselves away in quiet country houses either literally or figuratively. Giving up the conveniences of a smart phone for the truly useful things in order to avoid the distraction of notifications and boredom-browsing is the kind of measure that might be necessary for the truly addicted, but for most of us I think it's cutting off ones nose to spite ones face. How about just starting by uninstalling Facebook and turning off notifications?

swsieber 11y ago
Well, for starters, Facebook can be accessed through the internet...
- dasil003 11y ago
  So don't. You can buy heroin on the street corner too, it doesn't mean you have to do it every time you walk by.
mziel 11y ago
Not a FB user, but actually it can't be uninstalled. I had an Android phone with no FB (I probably deleted it after I got the phone), and after the system upgrade it got installed without me agreeing to it. And I can't seem to undo it.
- enjo 11y ago
  To be clear that's because the FB binary is baked into the firmware. Buy a better Android phone that doesn't stuff your default install with nonsense.
  - barbs 11y ago
    Or find a custom ROM like cyanogenmod
- khedoros 11y ago
  "can't" is only relative to your level of determination. Deleting Facebook and other bundled apps was my original reason to root my first phone.
- wongarsu 11y ago
  FB is often baked into the OS image, but any reasonable recent Android (4.1 an newer?) still allows you to disable those preinstalled apps. For all intents and purposes that's the same as uninstalling, you just can't get it out of the app manager.
- wooptoo 11y ago
  You can disable the app entirely. It will not be removed from the phone but it won't bug you ever again. Go to settings > Apps and select your app.
joelrunyon 11y ago
Maybe they just want a phone to be a phone?
- dasil003 11y ago
  More power to them. I'm just saying that for me, it's throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If I have a feature phone it means I no longer have access to useful information like maps, business information, documents I may need when running errands, etc, etc.
  - morganvachon 11y ago
    Ask your parents how they ran errands in the late 90s/early 2000s, before the rise of the smartphone. You might be shocked to realize that pencils, notebooks, and standalone GPS units aren't myths, they actually existed. Every new generation seems to wonder how life on Earth existed without the technology they were raised with. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
    - dasil003 11y ago
      LOL, my parents. You mean ask them how they ran errands in the 70s when I was born? I moved out of my parents house in 1994. I didn't get a cell phone at all until 2003. You think I'm some kid? You're entirely missing the point.
      - morganvachon 11y ago
        We're the same age then...but you came across as a technology-obsessed teen. My bad. I get it, modern conveniences are great, I just shudder to think how dependent so many people have become on it, to the point that one would feel crippled without their toys.
        Grishnakh 11y ago
        I'm the same age as the other guy. Modern conveniences are great, so why should I go without? Just because some hipster complains "how dependent so many people have become on it"? People are pretty dependent on cars too. Our great-great-great grandparents did just fine with horses and buggies. Are you going to abandon your car now and get a horse? People used to get along just fine living in mud huts or lean-tos. Are you going to try living like that too, so that you don't feel dependent on modern conveniences like houses with running water? Why on earth would I want to go back to the days when it was easy to get lost, and I had to mess around with crappy paper maps, and had to try to find businesses using phone books, and you could only talk on the phone at certain points like your house and otherwise your spouse had no idea where you were? The rest of us abandoned all that crap for good reason: it was a pain in the ass.

swsieber 11y ago

Well, for starters, Facebook can be accessed through the internet...

dasil003 11y ago
So don't. You can buy heroin on the street corner too, it doesn't mean you have to do it every time you walk by.

mziel 11y ago

Not a FB user, but actually it can't be uninstalled. I had an Android phone with no FB (I probably deleted it after I got the phone), and after the system upgrade it got installed without me agreeing to it. And I can't seem to undo it.

enjo 11y ago
To be clear that's because the FB binary is baked into the firmware. Buy a better Android phone that doesn't stuff your default install with nonsense.
- barbs 11y ago
  Or find a custom ROM like cyanogenmod
khedoros 11y ago
"can't" is only relative to your level of determination. Deleting Facebook and other bundled apps was my original reason to root my first phone.
wongarsu 11y ago
FB is often baked into the OS image, but any reasonable recent Android (4.1 an newer?) still allows you to disable those preinstalled apps. For all intents and purposes that's the same as uninstalling, you just can't get it out of the app manager.
wooptoo 11y ago
You can disable the app entirely. It will not be removed from the phone but it won't bug you ever again. Go to settings > Apps and select your app.

joelrunyon 11y ago

Maybe they just want a phone to be a phone?

dasil003 11y ago
More power to them. I'm just saying that for me, it's throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If I have a feature phone it means I no longer have access to useful information like maps, business information, documents I may need when running errands, etc, etc.
- morganvachon 11y ago
  Ask your parents how they ran errands in the late 90s/early 2000s, before the rise of the smartphone. You might be shocked to realize that pencils, notebooks, and standalone GPS units aren't myths, they actually existed. Every new generation seems to wonder how life on Earth existed without the technology they were raised with. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
  - dasil003 11y ago
    LOL, my parents. You mean ask them how they ran errands in the 70s when I was born? I moved out of my parents house in 1994. I didn't get a cell phone at all until 2003. You think I'm some kid? You're entirely missing the point.
    - morganvachon 11y ago
      We're the same age then...but you came across as a technology-obsessed teen. My bad. I get it, modern conveniences are great, I just shudder to think how dependent so many people have become on it, to the point that one would feel crippled without their toys.
      - Grishnakh 11y ago
        I'm the same age as the other guy. Modern conveniences are great, so why should I go without? Just because some hipster complains "how dependent so many people have become on it"? People are pretty dependent on cars too. Our great-great-great grandparents did just fine with horses and buggies. Are you going to abandon your car now and get a horse? People used to get along just fine living in mud huts or lean-tos. Are you going to try living like that too, so that you don't feel dependent on modern conveniences like houses with running water? Why on earth would I want to go back to the days when it was easy to get lost, and I had to mess around with crappy paper maps, and had to try to find businesses using phone books, and you could only talk on the phone at certain points like your house and otherwise your spouse had no idea where you were? The rest of us abandoned all that crap for good reason: it was a pain in the ass.