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Using Apple’s New Controls to Limit a Teenager’s iPhone Time
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- cbhl 8y agoReminder that you can go to /user and set maxvisit and minaway if you're using HN too much.
- baxtr 8y agoI had that option for a while and got annoyed by it. I turned it off, because it was often activated right before submitting or commenting (I know it gets saved and won’t get lost but still). What I do now instead: Before picking up the phone/going online, I force myself to give myself a short reason what I want to do and why. This loop helps me to avoid 50% of pick-ups, which is not perfect, but not bad either.
- yashevde 8y agoThe fact that HN gives you this option at all, to my mind, sets it in the very unique category of self-aware information sharing communities/platforms. Reddit has subs that focus on productivity and discuss addiction to Reddit itself, sure, but they seem to be going down the same path of catering to addiction now.. deleted Reddit entirely in lieu of HN recently and it's been fantastic.
- newswriter99 8y agoNot trying to overly criticize, nitpick or detract from the point of the story, but is that really a headline that belongs at a journalism publication like The New York Times?
- wlesieutre 8y agoIMO it's newsworthy that this feature is going to exist and a lot of people outside of the tech world have no idea unless someone tells them about it. We've been reading about "phone addiction" in newspapers for ages, now there are tools to help manage it. If you're a parent of teenagers with iPhones this is a pretty big story and the headline at least answers the implied "did it work?" question instead of trying to bait you with it.
- MBCook 8y agoWhat do you see as a problem?
- Angostura 8y agoI'm surprised, given that it is the NYT that the headline isn't: For Limiting Teenagers' Screentime, Apple Provides New Controls
- joezydeco 8y agoThe NYT also reviews TV shows, movies, and Broadway productions. Are those any more/less newsworthy than a change to a system that millions of its readers are holding?
- chris_mc 8y ago> “It was just a pattern for me — to open my phone and I would have nowhere to go,” she said. “I was just looking at a screen. It was kind of weird, so I’m trying not to do that.” I found out I did the exact same thing when I deleted my Reddit account and set limits here on HN. I used to find myself unlocking my phone, looking at it, opening Google News to the same old articles, then locking it and doing something else. I have gotten much more stuff done now that I don't stare at Reddit/HN/other all day. I feel like society should try to back away from being slaves to our technology, and maybe the popping of the social media bubble, via people realizing how much data they collect, may be the trick to do this.
- derefr 8y agoHave you ever tried reading e-books? I've replaced most of my "on break" or "during commute" social-media time with plain reading of long-form content. I wouldn't describe myself as "being a slave to technology"—I just wanted something to entertain me when I had nothing to do. Social media was a bad way to fill that hole, in terms of the emotional costs. Books are a better way to fill that hole. Even if both just look like "staring at your phone screen" from the outside.
- reaperducer 8y agoHave you ever tried reading e-books? I've replaced most of my "on break" or "during commute" social-media time with plain reading of long-form content. I tried that, and it didn't work for me because it's just too easy to switch to another time-absorbing app if the phone is already in my hand. But I did something similar: I started reading actual books. The key was to buy used paperbacks for $1 from low-end bookstores. That way I can carry it around and not worry about it, and if it gets lost or damaged, no big deal. When I'm done with it, I leave it on the bus or train for someone else to find.
- zwily 8y agoI carry a Kindle around with me for reading for two reasons: First, cause you can’t just switch to something else stupid. And second, cause you look like you’re reading a book to the people around you.
- ajiang 8y agoFascinating article that suggest two things to me: 1) The impact of such tools is heavily affected by the individual. Sophie's personal awareness and will power seem incredibly strong. As she is the child of a NYT editor, this doesn't seem surprising. 2) If people are demanding tools to help them limit their screen consumption time, brands will need to rely more heavily on 'IRL' ways to get in front of consumers (e.g. experiences, events, etc.)
- danso 8y agoIt's interesting to me, though not surprising, the the author is so surprised that a software/UI feature could be successful in reducing usage. As if being addicted to phone/software were an inextricable psychological/physiological characteristic/flaw. I used to use Reddit and Facebook a lot more regularly -- more than daily. But ever since I changed my password to something that I can't recall without a password manager, and added 2-factor auth, I rarely get on just because the lack of ease of use is enough deterrence. Ever since I did a system wipe a few weeks ago, I haven't checked facebook at all because I can't be bothered to get into my password manager. Though if I were being honest, I now have the meta problem of forcing myself to throw away the keys. I did the same thing with Twitter, even removing it from my phone. Then I reinstalled and logged in because I wanted to stay up to date on a current event one day. Now for a week I've been putting logging out and deleting my cookies.
- MBCook 8y agoIt may be that they’re surprised the system isn’t easy to bypass and this is actually useful instead of pointless.
- danso 8y agoI think also it's that the average user doesn't know how to "hack" things. This includes "hacks" like editing etc/hosts to send domains to 0.0.0.0, but also extends to the general mentality and ambition to even think about altering software to their own personal needs.
- tequila_shot 8y agoI did something similar. I simply deleted my Facebook, Messenger and Instragram apps from my phone. Never went back.
- danso 8y agoDeleting from the phone is the real engagement killer. I can usually get focused on work when I'm on my laptop. And unlike with a phone, I can't reflexively and compulsively use my laptop when waiting in line, walking around, or getting up/going to bed.
- commandlinefan 8y agoSo they'll switch from using their iphone to watching TV, playing their XBox, or getting on the computer.
- thermodynthrway 8y agoYou would think a teenager with a job could just get their own phone plan. I'm kinda thankful helicopter parenting is being undermined by technology (internet+Uber), maybe one day we will get back to reasonable parenting practices they had back in the 60's-70's. We don't let our kids roam the neighborhood anymore even though it's a magnitude safer than it was decades ago. I don't understand how we expect kids to start acting like grown ups between 18-20 when they've been treated like babies until then. I was working at 14 and driving wherever by 16. By the time I was in college I was completely independent. Maybe 50% of my friends never even had a job and had no idea how to do laundry or take care of themselves. If my parents said they were limiting my internet I would've laughed in their face
- marter 8y agohow much parenting expierence do you have?
- ddingus 8y agoI have a ton and agree with him.
- bilbo0s 8y agoObviously I don't have a dog in the race of how other people raise their own kids, so I'm a little hesitant to wade in to you guys' discussion. That said, I mean: "...If my parents said they were limiting my internet I would've laughed in their face..." ??? If I had witnessed an exchange between parents and their child where the child "...laughed in their face...", I'm certain I would not have characterize whatever parenting style those parents were using as "good".
- thermodynthrway 8y agoIt would have rediculous for my parents to suggest it. They trusted me to drive around pretty much anywhere and hold a job without getting in much trouble. How much more dangerous could the internet be than driving through a sketchy area. Their trust made me far more responsible than I would have been if they tried to treat me like a child when I was in my mid-late teens. I knew if I screwed up it was on me and would've felt bad that they misplaced their trust. Kids loooovvveee being treated like adults, I wish more people would use that as leverage. I think many parents these days make the transition from guardian to mentor years too late
- denimalpaca 8y agoPro-tip if you use your phone too much: Carry a book or Kindle around, and when you look idly at your phone, put it in your pocket and read instead.
- bcheung 8y agoAlong related lines, I noticed just removing notifications from the lock screen greatly reduces phone usage. I also set my phone on do not disturb the majority of the time unless I'm expecting a call. I estimate I cut my time 10x. That being said, I think screen time is only an approximate message. I spend tons of time on the computer every day but a lot of it is very productive learning online courses, work, and hobby programming projects. I wouldn't count that time towards something I want to avoid.
- visarga 8y agoFor years I tried limiting the screen time of my kids (back when iPhone was at versions 4 and 5). Never could manage to do it properly. My kids would always hack it. I concluded that Apple's interest in having kids spend as much time (and money) on the phone is opposite to mine and that's why they didn't allow proper parental controls. Now I just ask for the phone in the evening and give it back the next day. So much for "high tech". Seems that Apple finally woke up and did something about this. Asking a kid not to abuse the phone is like putting a large bag of chocolates in their room and saying "eat responsibly!".
- CptMauli 8y agoI think with chocolate its much easier to practice restraint. My children have access to endless sweets, but they seldom take advantage of it. But with the iPad its a different ballgame.
- justMoritz 8y agoMaybe because the iPad is a productivity machine and chocolate is a fat machine?
- JTbane 8y agoI still eat too much chocolate as an adult sometimes- the stomach aches remind me not to indulge too much.
- swebs 8y ago>For years I tried limiting the screen time of my kids (back when iPhone was at versions 4 and 5). Never could manage to do it properly. My kids would always hack it. This may actually be the best way to teach technical literacy at a young age. When I was young, I thought computers were black boxes that ran on magic. Then I had parental controls set on my user account. I learned really quick about Windows privilege escalation, how to install Linux, WEP cracking, how to load homebrew on the Nintendo DS, etc. I don't think I would have ever gone into Computer Science otherwise.
- Teknoman117 8y agoFor me, the thing that triggers my phone usage for the most part is notifications. So, I ended up disabling all of them except for a few people I need to be able to hear from (family) and slack messages from my work org. I look at my phone little enough that my OnePlus 3 will last two days. Now, the most anoying thing about this approach is when apps don't want you to disable notifications and constantly complain about it. Facebook Messenger for instance. You have a banner always visible in the list of chats that says "notifications are off, tap here to enable.". I KNOW they are off, I did it on purpose, and there's no way of getting rid of it.
- duckerude 8y agoCan't you disable them on the system level? On my Android device, sliding a notification slightly to the side reveals a button to block all of the app's notifications.
- saagarjha 8y agoYes, that's what he did. The issue was that Messenger would detect that he had turned off notifications for the app and nag him to turn it back on in-app.
- l3mu 8y agoI found that while it was easy enough for me to swipe away notifications from all my apps, it was the red badges that caused me to open an app as soon as I could - sometimes if for nothing else than to get rid of the badge. Switching my phone's settings to monochrome helped me as it meant that I had to intentionally look to see if an app had a badge on or not. HN Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16476727 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16476727
- sturmeh 8y agoI feel like this is a oddly biased study, as there are two major influencing factors that would have changed Sophie's behaviour. 1. The limits, creating a hard limit, obviously screen time is going to reduce, you can also make my battery a 10th of the size and achieve the same result, it doesn't mean I'm better off or happier. 2. The surveillance. The writer, as a complete stranger to the teenager (for the most part) tracking her daily usage AND commenting on it whilst sharing it with her mother, is enough to change her behaviour dramatically. I'd like to see how well self imposed limits work, and if there's any beneficial change people notice.
- salvar 8y agoIt's a father setting rules for his daughter (and himself while he's at it). Of course it's biased. What's odd about that? I'd understand if this was published as a study, but it's literally a NY Times article telling a story.
- 300bps 8y agoYou may have missed this part of the article near the beginning: “Just one problem: I don’t have a child, so I needed to borrow one. Fortunately, my editor gleefully volunteered her 14-year-old, Sophie, to be a test subject.”
- salvar 8y agoAh, I did. Thanks. I thought it was a writer/editor couple with a child.
- saagarjha 8y agoI turned this on the first week of the beta, but then I just ended up spending more time on my computer. I'd really love for Apple to bring this to macOS as well.
- fipple 8y agoMy solution: 1) Delete all my time waster apps except Kindle 2) Keep at least 3 books and 2 audiobooks in progress at once 3) any time I want to kill time, read the books
- justMoritz 8y agoI also like to read random wikipedia articles in different languages to compare information
- Tepix 8y agoSounds like it works as intended. Soo.. is there something equivalent for Android? If not, is something coming for Android P?
- aldanor 8y agoQuick googling yields https://families.google.com/familylink https://families.google.com/familylink -- would that do?