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I guess I feel like I don't have a screen time problem because for me my phone is (in order): 1) A communication device 2) A music player 3) A glorified search

I guess I feel like I don't have a screen time problem because for me my phone is (in order): 1) A communication device 2) A music player 3) A glorified search engine when I'm not at a computer I think because I never really dived head-first into social media I don't have a strong desire to use my phone beyond when I need it for the above functions.

JeanMarcS 8y ago
I’m guessing you are writing this from your computer then. Me it’s from my phone. It’s 30 past midnight here in London and I’m eating, alone in the Airbnb I booked (don’t worry, I had a great evening :-), so I guess I could watch TV. But I’m reading HN. Today I visited London a bit, gone to British Museum, and made a lot of bus time. So I used my smartphone, while on the bus or in the queue to BM to follow events in Paris and France (as I’m french) Again, with my smartphone. So is it wasted time ? Maybe. I don’t know what else I could have done. Speaking with people was not possible, queuing between Italians and people from another country that I didn’t get the language. I could have listen to music (or a podcast or whatever) but I was concerned with the situation in France. So for me it’s a computer that I can use anywhere. On the other hand, do I waste time on it ? More than I should. But I too waste time on my computer doing the same stuff !
kbenson 8y ago
I use my phone a lot during the day, but that's because I'm not sure if I would categorize it first and foremost as a book reader or communications device. I spend much lot more time reading books/fiction on it than I do using it as a communication device (and don't use any social networks beyond HN), but the communication aspects of it are so important that I can't easily discount them as secondary. Interestingly, if I carried a paperback around with me, and pulled it out to read it when waiting for things, and read it before bed, would I be considered to have a "page time" problem, or is that more acceptable? If it's more acceptable, maybe that points to this being less a problem about spending time on the phone, and more about what we spend our time on in general.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> I guess I feel like I don't have a screen time problem because [...] That's an odd thing to volunteer and present a justification for when no one has accused you of having a “screen time problem”.

JeanMarcS 8y ago

I’m guessing you are writing this from your computer then. Me it’s from my phone. It’s 30 past midnight here in London and I’m eating, alone in the Airbnb I booked (don’t worry, I had a great evening :-), so I guess I could watch TV. But I’m reading HN. Today I visited London a bit, gone to British Museum, and made a lot of bus time. So I used my smartphone, while on the bus or in the queue to BM to follow events in Paris and France (as I’m french) Again, with my smartphone. So is it wasted time ? Maybe. I don’t know what else I could have done. Speaking with people was not possible, queuing between Italians and people from another country that I didn’t get the language. I could have listen to music (or a podcast or whatever) but I was concerned with the situation in France. So for me it’s a computer that I can use anywhere. On the other hand, do I waste time on it ? More than I should. But I too waste time on my computer doing the same stuff !

kbenson 8y ago

I use my phone a lot during the day, but that's because I'm not sure if I would categorize it first and foremost as a book reader or communications device. I spend much lot more time reading books/fiction on it than I do using it as a communication device (and don't use any social networks beyond HN), but the communication aspects of it are so important that I can't easily discount them as secondary. Interestingly, if I carried a paperback around with me, and pulled it out to read it when waiting for things, and read it before bed, would I be considered to have a "page time" problem, or is that more acceptable? If it's more acceptable, maybe that points to this being less a problem about spending time on the phone, and more about what we spend our time on in general.

dragonwriter 8y ago

> I guess I feel like I don't have a screen time problem because [...] That's an odd thing to volunteer and present a justification for when no one has accused you of having a “screen time problem”.