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I love this, I love this, I love this. Right now, I am about a month along with no Facebook or Messenger. Previously I spent hours per day on both, running a p
by eckza 9y ago
I love this, I love this, I love this.
Right now, I am about a month along with no Facebook or Messenger. Previously I spent hours per day on both, running a pretty large community group and supporting its members. I disappeared; no explanation. Stress levels are down, I have so much more time to do things, and I have so much more attention for the things that really matter.
Anybody that needs me, has my phone number; and at least for now, SMS isn't a gamified platform (I'm looking at you, Snapchat).
Any social media apps (I compulsively install and uninstall Instagram a few times a week because on one hand, it's awesome; on the other hand, I end up putting too much time into it) have notifications disabled.
Getting an Apple Watch was the real game changer. Now, if my phone goes off, I don't even have to look at it or stop what I'm doing. I can decide whether or not to engage with the incoming notification without risking getting sucked into "being on my phone". With LTE, I can even leave the god damn phone in the car, at my desk, or in my locker at the gym without having to worry about missing an important call.
HN is my ground zero for everything and while it may be a little dangerous to only read news and articles that are posted on the same website, you all are pretty balanced and nuanced people from reasonably diverse backgrounds and worldviews, so I'm not that worried about it.
- vvanders 9y agoI love my Pebble for the same reason and I'm really dreading when they will become hard to come by. I already lost one Time Round to a swelling LiPo and nothing else has a similar form factor.
- letsgetphysITal 9y agoFitbit killed the original Pebble, or at least I couldn't get my Pebble connected reliably to my iPhone. Apple watch is a great upgrade.
- Angostura 9y agoCertainly a few months ago, there were Time Rounds going on Amazon on clearance (refurb stock) I know, I got one cut price.
- greggman 9y agointeresting. I would have thought a watch would be worse because it's basically a "hey, look at your phone alarm". I spend too much time futsing around the internet but I have almost all notifications turned off. no Twitter notifications, no Facebook notifications, no Instagram notifications. I only have messenger like app notifications on.
- rootusrootus 9y agoI have found my experience similar to the person you are responding to. With my Apple Watch I still see notifications, but I devote very little time to the interruption before dismissing most of it. It doesn't distract me long enough to derail my train of thought, and it is hard to get sucked into the Internet through the watch. I am working on tuning my notifications to just essentials, but even at full blast it has been a net win so far.
- ericd 9y agoI found it still creates those addictive little dopamine hits that prevents you from really being able to easily disengage, slow down, and think deeply. It keeps the addiction alive. It's useful for times when you need to respond quickly to messages, emails, and such, like during big deals or launches, but otherwise, I throw my smart watch in the drawer in favor of a mechanical one. I also aggressively uninstall apps that attempt to grab my attention, rather than waiting for me to call on them. Couldn't be happier with these decisions.
- ozmbie 9y agoI find the watch helps, because you distil your digital interactions down to a small number of important ones. Then go about your life without the constant pull of your phone nearby. The new Series 3 LTE watch has enough battery to get me through the day. The only notifications I have enabled are messages, phone calls, and reminders. I leave my phone at home but I'm still available for the important things.
- vram22 9y ago
- caconym_ 9y agoI have been considering the Apple Watch with LTE for this reason. I don't want to supplement my phone; I want to largely replace it with something that's less intrusive and offers less potential for wasting time. Thanks for sharing your experience.
- PhasmaFelis 9y ago> Previously I spent hours per day on both, running a pretty large community group and supporting its members. I disappeared; no explanation. I'm glad you're feeling better, but I'm not sure why you'd choose to leave people in the lurch rather than even a brief message.
- idrios 9y agoIf I'm not wrong, the message would disappear after the person deleted their Facebook so for people to see it the parent would have needed to stay on Facebook long enough for people to see it (which is an easy way to get sucked back into staying)
- ardillaroja 9y ago> reasonably diverse backgrounds and worldviews Definitely agree with the rest of your comment. Not sure about this bit though, I love the HN community but I think we're a pretty homogenous bunch. I would guess a lot of us work in technology, relatively well-educated, relatively wealthy, left-leaning, english speaking etc. Disclaimer: I've no data on this...
- Retric 9y agoI generally think of HN as far right not far left. But, I think it's bias in how we react to things not HN. Granted, not an American Republican party sounding board, but in terms of actual right and left political spectrum.