18 ms·

Living Like It's 99, No Social Media, No Smartphone

156 points by betaman0 6y ago

chovybizzass 6y ago
i'm back on irc no more discord/slack for personal use.
- ajyotirmay 6y ago
  IMO, you can ditch a smartphone and still keep using the services. I normally keep such services on my laptop, and I just open one up when I need to use one. It's a middle ground. I can't completely get rid of a smartphone because I'm into motorcycle touring and GPS is essential to me. I'm trying alternatives to Gmaps, but it's pretty awkward and uncomfortable. One thing that I've done is no notification tone, and I've disable notifications for whatever selected IM apps I've got on my phone
figbert 6y ago
I'm looking into doing something like this. Seems calming.
acd 6y ago
Deleted Facebook, deleting Whatsapp. LinkedIn also considering deleting it. Have a non touch phone. Why are technology which is additive and invades your privacy called smart? Why is a smart phone with gps tracking smart for privacy? Smart tv? Smart speaker? Privacy?
scaladev 6y ago
> The cherry on top was to stop paying each year for a new smartphone, that does nothing more than the previous one Why were you buying new phones every year? This is such a non-argument. I've been using the same Android phone for almost 7 years. It does everything I want it to do. Sure, I spent a couple of days trimming down the system, and carefully selecting applications (for example, the Google Clock from 2015 weighs about 3 MB and is very fast, while the same application from 2020 is about 30 MB and is extremely slow to start, despite having the same feature set).
- everdrive 6y ago
  Does your 7 year old android phone receive security patches?
  - Qluxzz 6y ago
    Maybe I've been lucky here but my Oneplus One (April 2014), now flashed with lineageOS is still receiving updates. Android version: 10. Android security patch level: March 5 2021.
    - techrat 6y ago
      > now flashed with lineageOS Your device is not stock and is, therefore, an exception.
    - heavyset_go 6y ago
      How old is the kernel?
      - Qluxzz 6y ago
        Kernel version: 3.4.113-lineageos-g168ab7a #1 Thu Mar 11 08:34:55 UTC 2021
  - techrat 6y ago
    Does an Android phone without security patches cease to function? OS security patches are less of a concern for older devices because the majority of the OS was still moved into Google Play Services and as long as the apps are still updated (eg, Chrome), the risk is very low.
  - Spooks 6y ago
    At least for me, I don't do banking on my phone and my main email is not tied to my phone.
    - jjav 6y ago
kristopolous 6y ago
This reminds me of a small company with an non-smart e-ink phone and I'm curious whether there was a market fit ... has anyone tried the Light Phone and if so, does it achieve these goals? I feel like it may constitute a separate device class than a dumb-phone but I don't know how much is marketing versus reality.
- motohagiography 6y ago
  I almost bought one of these: https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/ https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/ but I realized I barely talk on the phone, I just use it for texting. Thinking old blackberry format would be better, as I prefer the keyboard.
  - kdtsh 6y ago
    It's a very neat looking phone and there are probably some economies of scale involved which mean they can't produce a $50-150 phone, but 330€ is absurd, I cannot imagine more than a few dozen people around the world would use this phone as a daily driver for that price. Cut the price in half and then you might have people talking.
- alectroem 6y ago
  I've had the Light Phone 2 since launch, but just got rid of my old smart phone and switched over to it completely about a month ago. If your goal is to overcome a phone/internet addiction, or just disconnect, then the LP2 will definitively help you achieve that! Your going to have to give some stuff up (No Spotify, no Directions yet), and deal with texting that worse then a smart phone but better then a number pad. But to me its definitely worth it. I think the LP2 will eventually provide the same stuff that the original author gets from his Garmin watch and GSM Calls phone, which is pretty neat!
- kweks 6y ago
  Try the Cat B26 phone. Nokia 3210 size, 4G + Wifi. KaiOS. T9 interface. Cutdown WhatsApp, cutdown Google Maps. Dual SIM. Can act as a 4G hotspot. Certified water and dust proof. Weeks long battery. 65€. Very solid devices for cutting back internet dépendance or for traveling without but still having the basics.
avmich 6y ago
Social media seems to be useful for a job search. Not everybody still has their own startup, and for those who don't a network like LinkedIn can mean less months sitting without income. Privacy is great, but sometimes it's really hard to see ways to simply exist - eat, sleep - without communicating in ways which erode your privacy.
danaliv 6y ago
I've been tempted to do this. The thing that stops me is how good texting is on smartphones. The author writes about this, and pretty much confirms my fear that it would be a major step backwards and would put me out of sync with almost everyone in my life. I'm awkward enough as it is; I don't need to add new barriers to interacting with me. :) ETA: Honestly if Apple would open up iMessage, I could get rid of my iPhone, which is of course the reason they don't open up iMessage. A couple other things I've thought about, more on the social media angle, are (1) starting a personal web site again, and (2) a different kind of social media site. For (1), I've already got a little VM that runs my email and some quickie web apps I threw together. Why not stand up a personal site too, like a lot of us used to have, where I can share all the stuff I'd normally be putting on Instagram, etc.? Obviously that's adding friction for folks too, but I'm less concerned about that stuff getting ignored. For (2), and bear with me because this is going to sound a bit woo-woo, I think a social gratitude list could be really powerful. Maybe not a big hit, but definitely powerful for people who would use it. I say this because I used to be on an email list with some friends where everyone would write ten things they were grateful for that day and then send it to the list. Now, if this is not a practice you're comfortable with, you're probably dry-heaving right now; I did too at first. But once I got past the fact that it's not very cool, I found that it was a fantastic way to keep up with folks. (That's in addition to the mental health benefits, which I think are evidence-based but I'd have to double-check that to be sure.) Amazingly, I didn't even notice a tendency for it to degrade into performativity or attention-seeking. Overall I just think it would be a structure that would enable some of the positive aspects of social media while discouraging or eliminating the negatives.
- everdrive 6y ago
  >The thing that stops me is how good texting is on smartphones. There used to be nice dumb phones with physical qwerty keyboards. They were wonderful for texting. It's a real shame they're not made anymore.
  - gman2093 6y ago
    I think there's still a market for slide-out keyboards on devices. They felt a bit janky in the 00's but I would still be first in line for the next android (or even ios, unlikely) device with such a feature. In high school I could send texts without having to look away from my counter-strike games.
silvi9 6y ago
The best benefit I've seen is my increased focus and ability to do deep work. I actually feel like I'm getting way more work done, and have the ability to now focus for hours at a time. Before, work usually consisted of surface level attempts at "working" before I was notified on Discord or social media about something. Notifications and the constant desire to check for replies have really hindered my productivity in ways unimaginable. Now, without distraction, I can get meaningful work done. Hugely beneficial and transformed my whole manner of working.
- ncfausti 6y ago
  Would you say the same level of benefit could be had by simply just turning your phone off and placing it in another room while working? I've done this with pretty great results. Actually, I will do it again right now.
  - silvi9 6y ago
    Definitely, I've had a similar level of benefit when putting my phone in another room, it always worked great and helped me get some deep work done. Glad it works for you also, always great to see others doing this too!
standardUser 6y ago
This is great and all. Unless you travel a lot. Or have a wide network of far flung friends and family to keep up with. Or have niche hobbies and interests. Or are looking for a new job. Or just generally like to keep up with modern trends and culture. But yeah, sure, sounds great for the tiny number of people who don't require any of the above.
- PenguinCoder 6y ago
  Two things I _need_ and get from a smart phone that I can't get from a dumbphone - GOOD GPS/Maps, and NFC/contactless payment.
  - tayo42 6y ago
    I would include a camera too. I don't really want to carry a dslr, i like that google photos are pretty much synced and backed up. It not fun for me to run some crappy data back up thing. I like taking pictures, i like looking back on them. I use them for painting inspiration too. I don't really need to be a photographer though with a dslr or whatever is cool now
  - grillvogel 6y ago
    you could get a gshock watch with GPS, and don't most credit cards have NFC options now?
    - PenguinCoder 6y ago
      I forget my wallet a lot, but I don't forget my phone. Or, if I'm already pulling out the wallet for the card, miswell use the card.
- mixmastamyk 6y ago
  All my job searches have been organized over email, and the poster said no smartphone, not no phone. Exaggerating a bit?
- jc_811 6y ago
  I don't think you need a smartphone and social media to do any of the above listed tasks. The author's qualm isn't with having an online presence, or being tapped into modern society, it's having that modern society constantly tapping you on the shoulder with a bombardment of notifications and algorithms designed specifically to get you hooked. I think you can easily travel, have a wide network of far flung friends, be involved in niche hobbies, look for a new job, and keep up with modern trends & cultures - all without a smart phone and social media. If you have a laptop & internet connection - you're good to go! This allows you to tap in when you want on your own terms instead of the other way around.
jaynetics 6y ago
> People Thought I Was Dead [...] Some of them even contacted my family multiple times. I've been wondering whether something has happened to a few remote acquaintances of me who have suddenly stopped posting. If you plan to quit facebook et al, that's awesome, but maybe post a final status saying "I'm not dead, get in touch via mail or phone".
- DyslexicAtheist 6y ago
  if you really care why not just reach out. I was one of the first people (that I know of) who decided to live this way so never thought about it. only later after I constantly seen the topic pop up (and finding myself justifying my "odd behaviour" to others) noticed that also now I wouldn't announce it in fear of being called "that guy" who thinks they are special. I didn't want to be seen as "the vegan at the steak dinner" telling everyone that they are better then them. Being so disillusioned with superficial "online friendships" at the time felt it was also my duty to not announce it to all those 95% of my contacts who didn't care anyway.
  - spiritplumber 6y ago
    In a lot of cases, because people stopped checking their damn email
- username91 6y ago
  I dropped off most of the WWW similarly a few years back. I was exhausted and the last thing I had the energy for was composing a post to several platforms and imagining all the incoming replies.
drivers99 6y ago
I switched back to a flip phone between using an iPhone 4 (before) and an iPhone 6 (after), when iOS updates made the 4 slow to a crawl. I decided I was "done" with smart phones. There wasn't a major disadvantage that I remember, however the killer app that made me come back (and buy an iPhone 6) was Uber/Lyft.
Brajeshwar 6y ago
Not to this extreme, but I try to have a leaner digital life as much as possible. I jump early (must have been 10+ years) onto the idea of no newspaper, no news, no cable, etc. I don't try to preach to others to practice what I do, but I believe it is about not worrying about missing out. I was very digitally involved and was one of those early adapters and regular beta-testers of new software, including hardware, etc. People are surprised when I don't carry my phone most of the time, not giving out my phone number when ordering tea; some are even angry when I say "no phone calls"[1]. I use the phone primarily as a camera. One of the best things was to disable all notifications[2] except for the must-haves such as Calendar. I still use electronics and digital devices, and mediums, but I have dumbed them down far enough. I will continue to prune and minimize my attachments. 1. https://no.phone.wtf https://no.phone.wtf 2. [2014] https://brajeshwar.com/2014/missing-step-productivity-activities-stop-notifications/ https://brajeshwar.com/2014/missing-step-productivity-activi...
bszupnick 6y ago
> trick I’ve developed, when giving my contact info to new people, is to enter my phone number on their smartphone myself, and install Signal for them I too have no social media nor smartphone, but this made me cringe...I TOTALLY understand his pain-point and it's tough to not be on Whatsapp, but to go above-and-beyond for privacy reasons, and then install an app on someone's phone without their consent? But it is a great article! I love the watch and it's something I'm going to look into for myself!
- enricozb 6y ago
  I'd like to assume he meant that he would walk them through installing Signal, and not just install it without them asking. I can't imagine what that interaction is like...
beyondthecut 6y ago
Sadly, the phone mentioned on the website is no longer being made. Anyone have alternative suggestions for a non-Android "wallet phone" that works in the US?
- twobitshifter 6y ago
  You might try this. I can’t vouch for it but the concept seems interesting to me. https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/ https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/ It’s a small candy bar phone but maybe not square enough to fit in your wallet.
- zikduruqe 6y ago
  https://www.thelightphone.com https://www.thelightphone.com
e2021 6y ago
he problem I have with getting rid of the smartphone is the camera - its so much better than a dedicated camera for its size, and once you have the camera its hard to resist using the apps.
ksm1717 6y ago
This is a super cool article and it’s funny to me how much time was spent detailing the features of the watch (suspiciously similar to a smartphone’s) and how some of the commentary is steeped in 2018 anti social media sentiments that have since become tropes in themselves. Examples like posting pictures of meals and the idea that people use social media to fool people into thinking your life is exciting. I think the types of people interested in making these posts realize that the social media mainstream considers it passé at this point.
syntheticnature 6y ago
The author says they're using Signal, but they obviously aren't on their phone. It looks like getting access to Signal on a "desktop" requires it being on your phone -- which seems like a potential future chicken/egg problem.
- Mediterraneo10 6y ago
  With signal-cli and perhaps other third-party clients, you can register a new Signal account on an ordinary computer. You do need a phone to receive the Signal confirmation SMS, but that can even be a dumbphone. Obviously signal-cli is never going to be a solution for the mass public, but using it is an option for some HN readers – this is a "news for nerds" website.
- mssundaram 6y ago
  Yeah that part confuses me too
wojciii 6y ago
I stopped using Facebook a year ago. Deleted the user. I created a fresh one to be able to follow my kids in daycare which can't be used for much else because I don't want to add more than one friend. This is priceless. I'm not allowed to browse more FB unless I add more friends. This is kind of asshole behaviour. What if I don't have more than one friend? Fuck you Facebook. I disabled all kinds of popups and notifications. I still use Jodel which is fun and anonymous (as much as anything these days). I get mad when reading LinkedIn so I only go there once a week or so. There is nothing noteworthy on linkedin. I use Reddit for news only - private subreddit. I guess that forums are the only kind of interaction that interests me. I just wanted to say that cutting the connection to social media doesn't have to be 100%. Being selective is enough for me.
- matwood 6y ago
  Your LI must be very different from my LI :) I see endless self promotion, but nothing that makes me mad. More like bored, so I rarely go to LI except to accept the odd connection request from someone I met IRL. Everything else is spot on though. I go days without looking at my fairly selective twitter or reddit. HN is probably the only thing I check daily, but if I'm busy I might not even do that. The point is use the tools and don't let them use you. Social media, smart phones, etc... are what you make of them.
  - wojciii 6y ago
    For some reason I get angry when reading LI. Self promotion got worse last year. People now post that they are going to change job a couple of days before job change. I don't understand why. The job offers are crap. I'm not going to move to Switzerland or Germany for 3 months gig and I don't want to work for Uber. I stopped responding to recruiters as they don't understand that I really don't want to do Java for some crappy bank. I would rather starve. End rant. HN is great. People are usually nice and often I learn something new about a topic that I didn't know.
  - nicbou 6y ago
    I found a script that allowed me to unsubscribe from everyone. I also added some uBlock rules. My LinkedIn feed is literally empty. Like the other person who replied, LinkedIn made me angry, but I still returned to it when I ran out of things to check. Now there's nothing there to check. It worked so well that I did the same with Facebook.
AlexTWithBeard 6y ago
Not having a FB account is great, until you want to join a local running club and - !tada! - the only thing you can find is their facebook group name.
busterarm 6y ago
I didn't entirely dump the smartphone, because that's hard to the point of ludicrous. What I did do was get a Pixel 4a and install GrapheneOS on it. The only apps on the phone are one to sync my CalDAV/CardDAV and the other for my one-time passwords. I can use a browser if I'm desperate. It's been the best decision I've made by far.
xwdv 6y ago
What’s the point of this really? Yea you can live like 1999, but the world isn’t in 1999. You’re gonna miss out on the modern human experience, you’re gonna be “that guy”, you’re not gonna be able to relate to anyone, you won’t know about anyone’s life and no one will care to tell you. Retreating to the past isn’t controlling your addictions, it’s giving up. You can own a smartphone, use social media, without it taking over your life, you just need self control. As the world changes you’re gonna be stuck grasping at a past that no longer exists. It will be lonely.
- blain 6y ago
  Giving up a new "cool" few things doesn't mean you will "miss out" on new things. You still can try new things when they come out. I think the biggest benefit of living like in 99s, just like the author pointed out is a "Peace of mind". Also, regarding: > Retreating to the past isn’t controlling your addictions, it’s giving up. as if addictions were a good thing. You can also look at it this way: choosing self controlled addictions over "giving up" a device over a dumber one.
- ueueshitashita 6y ago
  > You’re gonna miss out on the modern human experience Oh no, the horror!
- grillvogel 6y ago
  >modern human experience brought to you on a 5 inch screen
nonameiguess 6y ago
Guy's making too much of this. I finally gave up Facebook and disentangled from all that was left of Google services I still used a while ago, and it's really not that big a deal. Maybe I just have fewer friends and they mostly didn't know me from social media, but nobody thought I was dead. I still have a smartphone, but I barely use it and have always been in the habit of not having it with me all the time because I worked in a SCIF for years and was in an active duty combat arms unit before that and couldn't bring a smart phone with me everywhere I go. It's not that novel. First, more than half the world still lives like this right now anyway. Second, 1999 was barely more than 20 years ago. As late as 2003, there were still no smartphones, no Facebook, and Google was still just a search engine. Going back to the life you had 18 years ago is just like riding a bike. At least if you never made this kind of thing your entire life, but plenty of people never made this kind of thing their entire life. My dad still has never made a social account and doesn't even have an email address. This is maybe hard to realize for someone who maintains a personal blog, but not everyone made the Internet the cornerstone of their existence.
- flatline 6y ago
  It would be no problem for me to go back; I don't really use social media and would probably be fine without anything beyond a land line to maintain social contacts. My kids, by contrast, have grown up in a completely different world. Especially since COVID, so many of their peer interactions are through social media. They are highly dependent on devices for a lot of basic needs. Perhaps this is geared toward a younger audience that has no idea what 1999 was like - it was 22 years ago!
- cannam 6y ago
  > Second, 1999 was barely more than 20 years ago. As late as 2003, there were still no smartphones, no Facebook, and Google was still just a search engine. Going back to the life you had 18 years ago is just like riding a bike. The article appears to agree with you, more or less: A lot of people around me don’t understand how I can live my life like that, they tell me they will never do it. What they don’t realize is that we all used to do it, smartphones have only been mainstream these last 10 years. So unless you’re ten, you’ve lived your life just fine without it. The ability to "just sit" is a wonderful thing. I never thought about it until early adulthood - one day I was pacing anxiously around, while my girlfriend and a friend of hers talked on the sofa, and suddenly her friend looked up at me and said "Men never just sit, do they?" But this was almost 30 years ago, long before smartphones.
bserge 6y ago
> having used a smartphone and a “dumb phone”, I’ve discovered a big counter intuitive truth, that the real problem is being online: it’s the smartphone fault. Is it the truth, though? It probably varies by people. My opinion is social media is cancer. A cacophony of opinions that no one really cares about. And yet here I am, sharing my worthless opinions and reading other people's comments. It's addictive. But a smartphone is simply amazing. It's my flashlight, my GPS, my book reader, my video player, my music player, my learning tool, my communication tool, my note taker, my camera, my personal assistant... it's basically a full fledged computer. Often with features blocked for the convenience of the companies raking in cash from people addicted to vomiting their thoughts online. Why can't I save images and videos in the browser anymore? Used to be real easy, now browsers try their best to hide this feature, Reddit and Imgur have redesigned their shit to actively block downloading the source files, and other platforms require you to log in (no Facebook minions, I don't think I will). But it's an easy thing to solve... for now. I'm trying hard to decouple the damn thing from the Internet, though, it should work in the middle of nowhere imo. Why in fuck's name do I need an Internet connection to send files between my laptop and my phone? Local transfer tools are worse than those made for the cloud bullshit that everyone fell for. Ridiculous. People now watch videos and listen to music online. No, give me my files, I want them available anywhere, anytime. Perhaps I'll need an Internet connection for the flashlight next. This sounds like old man talk, "I want it the way it used to be", but really, too few people notice the risk of losing everything digital if someone cuts a fiber cable somewhere or some automated system decides to terminate your account. Or if you simply travel to some country where getting a prepaid SIM requires a cavity search and you don't have money for the roaming mafia. But I'm getting sidetracked. In short: Reduce or remove social media and keep your smartphone :)
- clipradiowallet 6y ago
  > And yet here I am, sharing my worthless opinions and reading other people's comments But...you clicked the thread. You had a [rough] idea of what type of commentary to expect. Not some endless feed of things an algorithm thinks you'll like/hate/buy. I think of HN as more of a niche community. If we see a story about "acme widgets", I like to read the comments to see what experts have to say.
jccalhoun 6y ago
People without smart phones are the new people who don't watch tv: They can't wait to tell you all about it.
_kblcuk_ 6y ago
> So I started calling people… and quickly discovered that a lot of them have a call phobia, as if human interactions were toxic. > Not in the sense that they’d be busy and would call me later. But in the sense that they wouldn’t pick up, only to text me 5 seconds later to start the conversation. If I tried to call them back, same thing again. They don’t want to talk, they want to text. Problem with phone calls is that they are synchronous, yet quite often things callers want to resolve can be resolved asynchronously (= via text messages & emails), but you can handle those when it's convenient. So at least I'm glad that most of my contacts send me messages in whichever messenger is convenient. We can always agree to call each other if we feel like it will be more convenient, but then it's a much different feeling then just randomly calling. Also personally 100% of "random calls" I got within last 3 years were telemarketers, so guess how often I answer the phone :-D Edit: in general I agree strongly that dropping off social networks and in general reducing notifications noise to a minimum (and not only on smart phone but everywhere) does wonders, strongly recommend.
- pc86 6y ago
  If you call me and I don't answer, but text shortly after, and you call me again, you're just being a jerk.
  - unethical_ban 6y ago
    If you don't answer the phone simply due to conversation anxiety, that is not normal and it should be worked on. But yes, if someone doesn't answer and then starts a text, it should be assumed/checked whether they're busy.
    - nicky0 6y ago
      The problem I have with this is the implication that the only valid reason not to want to talk on the phone is "being busy". Maybe they just don't want to talk to you right now. Take the hint!
      - ryandrake 6y ago
greggyb 6y ago
Just like 99 -- even representing the year with only two digits, just like we did back in 1999!
SamWhited 6y ago
I haven't done the smart phone one (though I really should, the only reason I don't is that I'd miss Conversations, the messaging app I use), but I did give up on social media years ago and had a similar experience. When I first deleted Facebook I did have a few friends who would constantly get mad at me for not being at movie night or something then realize they never invited me because they just spammed an invite out on Facebook. This actually offended me somewhat as much as it offended them that I wasn't there: you care so little about our friendship that you couldn't even be bothered to make sure I had RSVPed or invite me personally? But after a while people got used to it and it stopped changing anything except that I felt better and was less angry day to day. I only recently went back, but instead of any of the big networks I went with a Mastodon account from social.coop. It's similar to Twitter, but the lack of retweet-comments makes me less likely to make snarky replies to things then feel bad about it and wonder why I said something I wouldn't normally say in real life afterwards.
kevwil 6y ago
There's a lot I like here. I agree that the major toxin has been mobile social media apps, and I deleted mine a few months ago. Divorcing the smartphone completely is doable but I'm not sure I want that pain. That's mainly because of niche apps I depend on, contactless payments, and it's my primary camera, not because I talk on the phone with people shudder. The smart watch is worth looking into, but still would need the niche apps and the contactless payments and the camera, and a GoPro would not fill my camera needs. When my current phone is paid off I do intend to look into alternate ideas like this because There's Got To Be A Better Way (tm).
jeffreyrogers 6y ago
This is really neat. I got rid of all social media years ago because I thought the downsides outweighed the benefits for me (well I have a LinkedIn that I almost never sign in to). I've thought about getting rid of my smartphone too but I use maps too much. The Garmin is a good way to get around that. If there were a similar phone to the one he's got that was good for texting too I might give this a try.
motohagiography 6y ago
I could joke that not having social media in my life has made more time for my HN addiction, but I really like not knowing most of you. Benefits of no social media engagement include: - All of my personal relationships have normal adult boundaries based on what we bring to it today, and don't operate on precedents set when we were in middle school. - Freedom from the awareness of people talking about me and the urge to influence that conversation. - I can try things and really suck terribly at them until I'm good enough that I don't anymore, and do them for the pleasure of doing them instead of whether they get me approval and likes. - I'm a refreshing person to be around because the perceived problems of the world seem alien and silly in my environment. - I can engage deeply with complex ideas and problems without being assigned to a "side." The downsides are things like when I have an idea for a product or do something creative, I absolutely lack a channel to put it into to get fast feedback and refine it. It can be a chore for people to "explain" you in business contexts when you don't have a bunch of pictures of your food they can just look up and confirm that you, too, are the sort of person who takes pictures of their food, which creates risk you can't be trusted to just get it that people take pictures of their food now, or you don't value the same things they do. I literally eat 3x+ a day, so it's not like an exotic holiday for me, though I guess with the internet being global, that's not true for everyone, so I can see why they take the pictures. Having to explain why I don't take pictures of it is social friction like being vegan 20 years ago. Anyway, it's a balance, and there are good reasons to stay on it, and sacrifices if you leave it. It's just a disequilibrium right now.
- helen___keller 6y ago
  > I can engage deeply with complex ideas and problems without being assigned to a "side." Without caring what side you are being assigned, it might be more accurate to say.
  - motohagiography 6y ago
    By who? If some extremist wanted to put me on their list, they'd only be elevating and complimenting everyone else on it.
- 6y ago
TrackerFF 6y ago
Smartphones are a godsend as far as convenience goes. I shudder to think how cumbersome a lot of things were just five years ago. Things I use my smartphone for every day, or very frequently - versus what I had to do before: Sending money via apps - Had to go to the bank and do a bank transfer, or login to my bank on my computer, and do a wire transfer from there. I can also pay for stuff in stores, via apps, so I don't need to have my bank/credit card on me. Electronic signing and 2FA - Had to carry an external login chip/dongle. Listen to music - Had to carry an iPod or similar Take photos - Had to carry camera or video camera, and transfer the stuff to my computer Record audio - Had to carry some physical audio-recorder E-tickets - Had to purchase physical tickets/cards, and get them re-filled in stores E-drivers licence - Had to carry my physical drivers licence, which could lead to fine/penalty if I forgot my wallet at home Maps - Had to look up maps beforehand, buy a print, find a public map. Same goes for directions. Real-time public transit maps - Wasted so, so much time standing outside, waiting for the bus or whatever, not knowing if it was late, or I was too late. Coupons - Had to bring physical coupons to store. And the list goes on. I haven't even mentioned the most obvious things, like being able to read emails everywhere, or getting in contact with anyone, almost everywhere. Sure - one can/will get dependent to phones, and losing it can be extremely stressful. But the net result has been overwhelmingly positive for me, as far as convenience goes. I "side hustle" by buying/selling stuff, both domestic and international, and the sheer ease of how things work today is just incredible. 90% of that business happens through my phone, because that's the fastest way.
- ergot_vacation 6y ago
  This is what I was thinking reading this. I've never used social media, smart phone or otherwise. But I DO really like my cheap, incredibly outdated smart phone for the simple things it provides: a camera whenever I need it that's good enough, the ability to check something online quick (but never prolonged browsing, that's just miserable), mapping and GPS, and hell, even really simple "apps" like the calendar (I can never remember anything important). Probably the most-used thing on my phone for me is the stopwatch/timer, multiple times a day. That said, I don't know if there's really a point to these articles anymore. The people who CAN do this, and want to, will just do it. For most of the population meanwhile, trends and FOMO will keep them glued in place until the next corporate SOMA comes along. Put another way, I don't think you can really write an article like this without preaching to the choir. I didn't avoid social media because some article convinced me it was a good idea. I just have a (mildly) weird personality and somewhat unusual priorities, and staying off social media was one inevitable result.
squarefoot 6y ago
I had a smartphone for about one year when Android was at version 2, then ditched it for an older dumbphone. Never been on any social network and don't miss them at all. I only have WhatsApp on a tablet because of some friends and family, but they know it stays home and turned off 23 hours and 50 minutes a day, if not the entire day. The end result is that I don't spend hours staring at a screen while walking (or driving!) waiting for someone to like my new vertical video or political rant; instead my dumbphone rings or beeps only when there is real need, and I can spend those hours doing other stuff. Technology however works actively against people like me: my bank was recently acquired by a bigger one in which users must authenticate through an app for online banking operations. I'm not willing to use highly unsecure platforms for banking, which means all Android/iOS/Windows cellphones on planet Earth, therefore when yesterday I was asked if I wanted to activate that service I hit the "remind me later" button, hoping to never see the day it will become mandatory.
2suY374LPMfemWy 6y ago
I quit all social media in 2015, and reached similar conclusions to those of others. One thing I realized that doesn't get talked about much is that I was watering lots of dead flowers. It turned out that my posts on Twitter and Instagram were prompting others to interact with me. Without those regular prompts, I never again heard anything from those who used to comment on my posts. Without me posting first, in six years no one has reached out to find out what I've been up to or if I were even alive.
- unethical_ban 6y ago
  "Watering dead flowers" This is a wonderful term for the phenomenon, thank you.
ggggtez 6y ago
> Some of them even stopped texting me because they had to open another app on their phone in order to write to me. Yeah, you also read that right. I guess they didn't live through the instant messenger wars. How did they not expect this would happen?
dgellow 6y ago
> A trick I’ve developed, when giving my contact info to new people, is to enter my phone number on their smartphone myself, and install Signal for them. WTF. Don't do this! That's a complete sin, don't modify the device of someone else when they trust you to enter your contact information! You're violating every social expectation when installing something without their consent.
- boring_twenties 6y ago
  Also never hand your unlocked smartphone to a stranger for any reason whatsoever.
- filoleg 6y ago
  Yeah, I am fully onboard with the reasoning for why people hate calls and prefer messaging (sync vs. async), but the passage you quoted describes something that is straight up wrong on human level. They give you their unlocked device for a specific task of entering your phone number, which already implies a high level of trust, and you instantly break that trust by unsolicitedly installing software on their device? That sounds like a quick way to lose your connection to that person. I know I wouldn't want to have any further interaction with the person who breaks my trust right at the beginning by going out of their way and sneakily installing software on my device. Especially since they aren't a close friend of mine to begin with, because if they were a close friend, we would have each other's phone numbers already.
- true_religion 6y ago
  I assume he'd tell them what he's doing since they are standing right next to him and can see he's not just adding his contact info.
socialist_coder 6y ago
It seems like his main reason for getting rid of his smartphone was because he was unable to not use social media apps on his smartphone. For me, I have achieved mostly the same goal by just not using social media apps. No reddit, no twitter, no fb, no linked in, no whatever. I browse reddit and HN on my computer, thats pretty much it. I use my smartphone pretty rarely but when I do need to use spotify or maps or podcasts or some special app, I still can. And you can still text, which like the author noted, is important. So, I say to the author - work on your self control and discipline! Just don't use social media anymore! It's really not hard! I think the trick is to not use it at all. You can't just "use it in small amounts".
heavyset_go 6y ago
I remember hoping that cell phones would just be a fad.
dmortin 6y ago
The no smart phone part seems unnecessary. I have a smartphone for maps, photos, notes, calendar and that's about it. Sometimes looking up info on the net. The smartphone itself is not the problem. The problem is you if you can't stop browsing on it.
- iFreilicht 6y ago
  The smartphone is not the problem, it’s what you put on it. Once you got twitter and instagram and reddit, boy oh boy are you gonna reach for that thing when you’re bored even just a little. So yeah, I agree. My smartphone also handles 2FA, PayPal and bus tickets. None of that is harmful to me, but very useful, and giving it up just for living without a smartphone seems pointless.
  - dmortin 6y ago
    > Once you got twitter and instagram and reddit Yep, that's why I have none of these installed on my phone. I read reddit only when I'm sitting at my laptop.
    - iFreilicht 6y ago
      Interestingly, I don’t really read reddit even on my PC anymore after removing it from my phone. Like I opened it a few time, immediately got bored, and went on to do something else.
  - tertius 6y ago
    Even grabbing it to look at photos, take photos etc. when the physiological need is dopamine is not good. You can get a dopamine hit without those apps. A little harder, but still within reach. The further you are from dopamine laced activity the better. Sure there are exceptions.
Taylor_OD 6y ago
> A trick I’ve developed, when giving my contact info to new people, is to enter my phone number on their smartphone myself, and install Signal for them. This removed a lot of friction. I would then explain my experiment to them and tell them I can only be contacted via this app. I’ve always had a positive reaction. Everybody’s been curious and asking a lot of questions. Yikes. I love signal but if I handed someone my phone and they tried to install an app, even while explaining it, I'd be pretty annoyed with them. Someone else holding your phone is a pretty vulnerable place to be now a days.
ChrisArchitect 6y ago
weird post/experiment. Everything so suspicious, cranky. Certain type of relationships..... alot of this comes down to users on both ends. All can be dealt with via moderation/account choices etc. Also, when did this take place? Not during the pandemic I don't think. Big factor there
at_a_remove 6y ago
I didn't get a Facebook account or a smartphone until 2018. I could probably ditch the former. The latter is occasionally handy.
aeternum 6y ago
Anyone else see the irony in making a big deal about giving up social media but then writing a blog post about it and promoting that post on various social media platforms?
radicalriddler 6y ago
It's coming up to a year of no social media, almost 3 years without facebook. I kept Instagram around to keep in contact with friends, I was posting and lurking 24/7 on Reddit, and also browsing Twitter all the time, refreshing my feeeeeeed for those new posts. Realized I was heavily depressed, and that the stuff I was reading online was having a really negative impact on my mood everyday. Capitalism Bad, Black Lives Matter (what black people went through made me sad, not the movement becoming prominent), Coronavirus all around the world. Reddit and Twitter were a cancer on my brain. I deleted them, after a twitch content creator killed himself and it sent me into a spiral, I didn't realize that the parasocial relationships were that strong. Like the OP, I went through a pretty severe withdrawal period, it actually got worse before it got better, and I had to go speak to a therapist, because I couldn't even get up to go to work. I'd lost my lifestyle, and these senses of "community" that I had. I can happily say I'm better now, but I'm also thinking of discarding my smartphone. Buy a dumb phone, carry it around with me, while leaving the iPhone at home on wifi for entertainment purposes (Chromecast controller, or watching on phone). I've started watching Twitch and reading reddit more regularly the past couple of months and it's starting to worry me again, might need to do another cleanse somehow, and I can't exactly delete accounts that don't exist, so I need to delete the device that I'm accessing it on.
- tertius 6y ago
  If that stops you from being close to your temptation then I highly recommend it. Break that cycle, don't give up the ground you've gained.
k__ 6y ago
Calling people without asking and installing apps on their smartphones. Sounds like a complete sociopath to me. Probably a good thing that they don't use social media...
- tertius 6y ago
  Likely he suggested... A person you've just met wouldn't take kindly to you just installing an app. Highly unlikely scenario you're painting. Also, "calling people without asking"? It's a little extreme to place this social norm you have on the whole of society. Learn to say no. I.e. someone calls, say "I can't talk right now" or don't answer and respond (when you're able) with "I can talk at x time"...
barry27 6y ago
Had me until the gadgets came out.
cuddlybacon 6y ago
I've noticed on Hacker News a tendency where people declare phones to be distracting for them and thus the only solution is to stop using them. I've been listening to the Cortex podcast recently. It is a productivity podcast by CGP Grey (youtuber) and Myke Hurley (runs a podcasting company). There is a big focus on the tech they use and how they make the most of it. There is a large focus their phones and iPads. They both would probably agree that the garden-path with modern smartphones is a distracting mess. But where they differ is that assuming that means all hope is lost. They are quite advanced users of the systems they use but the basics can be done with only a bit of effort and will make a big impact. * Go through your apps and purge ones you aren't using anymore. * Go through the apps you chose to keep and explicitly set the notification settings for them. A lot of distracting apps are distracting because they use notifications to remind you that they exist. * Remove time-sink apps from your home screen. You'll use them less if opening them takes more effort. * Use the spots where time-sinks apps used to exist for apps you want to get into the habit of using. You'll have a few days of muscle-memory to exploit to your benefit. * Take a look at what your calendar and reminder apps can do and start making use of them. They consider these two apps to be the core of the productivity software, and the basic apps will serve people for a long time. * Look at Screen Time (or the Android equivalent) and see what it can do to further help you. You can set app limits and notification free periods (with exceptions). An interesting metric that is worth periodically checking is Pickups. This tracks what is the first app you switch to after unlocking your phone. It can be handy for identifying troublesome apps. There is a lot of simple stuff that can make a big difference. That entire list can probably be done in the time it took me to write this. It seems so weird then to see how much of Hacker News is utterly defeatist and doesn't try. If this did make you curious about the podcast, two episodes I think would make good jumping in points would be: * #101 Productivity 101: An attempt to cover all the basics for someone just getting into productivity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eSCldom1Yc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eSCldom1Yc https://www.relay.fm/cortex/101 https://www.relay.fm/cortex/101 * #109 State of the Apps: This is a yearly overview of the apps they are using and what they get from them. They include screenshots of their homescreens in the shownotes which can make some useful inspiration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIiOfhlBB4A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIiOfhlBB4A https://www.relay.fm/cortex/109 https://www.relay.fm/cortex/109
CynicusRex 6y ago
Enjoyable article with an important message. The only thing that bothered me was the excessive information about his watch.

156 points by betaman0 6y ago

chovybizzass 6y ago

i'm back on irc no more discord/slack for personal use.

ajyotirmay 6y ago
IMO, you can ditch a smartphone and still keep using the services. I normally keep such services on my laptop, and I just open one up when I need to use one. It's a middle ground. I can't completely get rid of a smartphone because I'm into motorcycle touring and GPS is essential to me. I'm trying alternatives to Gmaps, but it's pretty awkward and uncomfortable. One thing that I've done is no notification tone, and I've disable notifications for whatever selected IM apps I've got on my phone

figbert 6y ago

I'm looking into doing something like this. Seems calming.

acd 6y ago

Deleted Facebook, deleting Whatsapp. LinkedIn also considering deleting it. Have a non touch phone. Why are technology which is additive and invades your privacy called smart? Why is a smart phone with gps tracking smart for privacy? Smart tv? Smart speaker? Privacy?

scaladev 6y ago

> The cherry on top was to stop paying each year for a new smartphone, that does nothing more than the previous one Why were you buying new phones every year? This is such a non-argument. I've been using the same Android phone for almost 7 years. It does everything I want it to do. Sure, I spent a couple of days trimming down the system, and carefully selecting applications (for example, the Google Clock from 2015 weighs about 3 MB and is very fast, while the same application from 2020 is about 30 MB and is extremely slow to start, despite having the same feature set).

everdrive 6y ago
Does your 7 year old android phone receive security patches?
- Qluxzz 6y ago
  Maybe I've been lucky here but my Oneplus One (April 2014), now flashed with lineageOS is still receiving updates. Android version: 10. Android security patch level: March 5 2021.
  - techrat 6y ago
    > now flashed with lineageOS Your device is not stock and is, therefore, an exception.
  - heavyset_go 6y ago
    How old is the kernel?
    - Qluxzz 6y ago
      Kernel version: 3.4.113-lineageos-g168ab7a #1 Thu Mar 11 08:34:55 UTC 2021
- techrat 6y ago
  Does an Android phone without security patches cease to function? OS security patches are less of a concern for older devices because the majority of the OS was still moved into Google Play Services and as long as the apps are still updated (eg, Chrome), the risk is very low.
- Spooks 6y ago
  At least for me, I don't do banking on my phone and my main email is not tied to my phone.
  - jjav 6y ago

kristopolous 6y ago

This reminds me of a small company with an non-smart e-ink phone and I'm curious whether there was a market fit ... has anyone tried the Light Phone and if so, does it achieve these goals? I feel like it may constitute a separate device class than a dumb-phone but I don't know how much is marketing versus reality.

motohagiography 6y ago
I almost bought one of these: https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/ https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/ but I realized I barely talk on the phone, I just use it for texting. Thinking old blackberry format would be better, as I prefer the keyboard.
- kdtsh 6y ago
  It's a very neat looking phone and there are probably some economies of scale involved which mean they can't produce a $50-150 phone, but 330€ is absurd, I cannot imagine more than a few dozen people around the world would use this phone as a daily driver for that price. Cut the price in half and then you might have people talking.
alectroem 6y ago
I've had the Light Phone 2 since launch, but just got rid of my old smart phone and switched over to it completely about a month ago. If your goal is to overcome a phone/internet addiction, or just disconnect, then the LP2 will definitively help you achieve that! Your going to have to give some stuff up (No Spotify, no Directions yet), and deal with texting that worse then a smart phone but better then a number pad. But to me its definitely worth it. I think the LP2 will eventually provide the same stuff that the original author gets from his Garmin watch and GSM Calls phone, which is pretty neat!
kweks 6y ago
Try the Cat B26 phone. Nokia 3210 size, 4G + Wifi. KaiOS. T9 interface. Cutdown WhatsApp, cutdown Google Maps. Dual SIM. Can act as a 4G hotspot. Certified water and dust proof. Weeks long battery. 65€. Very solid devices for cutting back internet dépendance or for traveling without but still having the basics.

avmich 6y ago

Social media seems to be useful for a job search. Not everybody still has their own startup, and for those who don't a network like LinkedIn can mean less months sitting without income. Privacy is great, but sometimes it's really hard to see ways to simply exist - eat, sleep - without communicating in ways which erode your privacy.

danaliv 6y ago

I've been tempted to do this. The thing that stops me is how good texting is on smartphones. The author writes about this, and pretty much confirms my fear that it would be a major step backwards and would put me out of sync with almost everyone in my life. I'm awkward enough as it is; I don't need to add new barriers to interacting with me. :) ETA: Honestly if Apple would open up iMessage, I could get rid of my iPhone, which is of course the reason they don't open up iMessage. A couple other things I've thought about, more on the social media angle, are (1) starting a personal web site again, and (2) a different kind of social media site. For (1), I've already got a little VM that runs my email and some quickie web apps I threw together. Why not stand up a personal site too, like a lot of us used to have, where I can share all the stuff I'd normally be putting on Instagram, etc.? Obviously that's adding friction for folks too, but I'm less concerned about that stuff getting ignored. For (2), and bear with me because this is going to sound a bit woo-woo, I think a social gratitude list could be really powerful. Maybe not a big hit, but definitely powerful for people who would use it. I say this because I used to be on an email list with some friends where everyone would write ten things they were grateful for that day and then send it to the list. Now, if this is not a practice you're comfortable with, you're probably dry-heaving right now; I did too at first. But once I got past the fact that it's not very cool, I found that it was a fantastic way to keep up with folks. (That's in addition to the mental health benefits, which I think are evidence-based but I'd have to double-check that to be sure.) Amazingly, I didn't even notice a tendency for it to degrade into performativity or attention-seeking. Overall I just think it would be a structure that would enable some of the positive aspects of social media while discouraging or eliminating the negatives.

everdrive 6y ago
>The thing that stops me is how good texting is on smartphones. There used to be nice dumb phones with physical qwerty keyboards. They were wonderful for texting. It's a real shame they're not made anymore.
- gman2093 6y ago
  I think there's still a market for slide-out keyboards on devices. They felt a bit janky in the 00's but I would still be first in line for the next android (or even ios, unlikely) device with such a feature. In high school I could send texts without having to look away from my counter-strike games.

silvi9 6y ago

The best benefit I've seen is my increased focus and ability to do deep work. I actually feel like I'm getting way more work done, and have the ability to now focus for hours at a time. Before, work usually consisted of surface level attempts at "working" before I was notified on Discord or social media about something. Notifications and the constant desire to check for replies have really hindered my productivity in ways unimaginable. Now, without distraction, I can get meaningful work done. Hugely beneficial and transformed my whole manner of working.

ncfausti 6y ago
Would you say the same level of benefit could be had by simply just turning your phone off and placing it in another room while working? I've done this with pretty great results. Actually, I will do it again right now.
- silvi9 6y ago
  Definitely, I've had a similar level of benefit when putting my phone in another room, it always worked great and helped me get some deep work done. Glad it works for you also, always great to see others doing this too!

standardUser 6y ago

This is great and all. Unless you travel a lot. Or have a wide network of far flung friends and family to keep up with. Or have niche hobbies and interests. Or are looking for a new job. Or just generally like to keep up with modern trends and culture. But yeah, sure, sounds great for the tiny number of people who don't require any of the above.

PenguinCoder 6y ago
Two things I _need_ and get from a smart phone that I can't get from a dumbphone - GOOD GPS/Maps, and NFC/contactless payment.
- tayo42 6y ago
  I would include a camera too. I don't really want to carry a dslr, i like that google photos are pretty much synced and backed up. It not fun for me to run some crappy data back up thing. I like taking pictures, i like looking back on them. I use them for painting inspiration too. I don't really need to be a photographer though with a dslr or whatever is cool now
- grillvogel 6y ago
  you could get a gshock watch with GPS, and don't most credit cards have NFC options now?
  - PenguinCoder 6y ago
    I forget my wallet a lot, but I don't forget my phone. Or, if I'm already pulling out the wallet for the card, miswell use the card.
mixmastamyk 6y ago
All my job searches have been organized over email, and the poster said no smartphone, not no phone. Exaggerating a bit?
jc_811 6y ago
I don't think you need a smartphone and social media to do any of the above listed tasks. The author's qualm isn't with having an online presence, or being tapped into modern society, it's having that modern society constantly tapping you on the shoulder with a bombardment of notifications and algorithms designed specifically to get you hooked. I think you can easily travel, have a wide network of far flung friends, be involved in niche hobbies, look for a new job, and keep up with modern trends & cultures - all without a smart phone and social media. If you have a laptop & internet connection - you're good to go! This allows you to tap in when you want on your own terms instead of the other way around.

jaynetics 6y ago

> People Thought I Was Dead [...] Some of them even contacted my family multiple times. I've been wondering whether something has happened to a few remote acquaintances of me who have suddenly stopped posting. If you plan to quit facebook et al, that's awesome, but maybe post a final status saying "I'm not dead, get in touch via mail or phone".

DyslexicAtheist 6y ago
if you really care why not just reach out. I was one of the first people (that I know of) who decided to live this way so never thought about it. only later after I constantly seen the topic pop up (and finding myself justifying my "odd behaviour" to others) noticed that also now I wouldn't announce it in fear of being called "that guy" who thinks they are special. I didn't want to be seen as "the vegan at the steak dinner" telling everyone that they are better then them. Being so disillusioned with superficial "online friendships" at the time felt it was also my duty to not announce it to all those 95% of my contacts who didn't care anyway.
- spiritplumber 6y ago
  In a lot of cases, because people stopped checking their damn email
username91 6y ago
I dropped off most of the WWW similarly a few years back. I was exhausted and the last thing I had the energy for was composing a post to several platforms and imagining all the incoming replies.

drivers99 6y ago

I switched back to a flip phone between using an iPhone 4 (before) and an iPhone 6 (after), when iOS updates made the 4 slow to a crawl. I decided I was "done" with smart phones. There wasn't a major disadvantage that I remember, however the killer app that made me come back (and buy an iPhone 6) was Uber/Lyft.

Brajeshwar 6y ago

Not to this extreme, but I try to have a leaner digital life as much as possible. I jump early (must have been 10+ years) onto the idea of no newspaper, no news, no cable, etc. I don't try to preach to others to practice what I do, but I believe it is about not worrying about missing out. I was very digitally involved and was one of those early adapters and regular beta-testers of new software, including hardware, etc. People are surprised when I don't carry my phone most of the time, not giving out my phone number when ordering tea; some are even angry when I say "no phone calls"[1]. I use the phone primarily as a camera. One of the best things was to disable all notifications[2] except for the must-haves such as Calendar. I still use electronics and digital devices, and mediums, but I have dumbed them down far enough. I will continue to prune and minimize my attachments. 1. https://no.phone.wtf https://no.phone.wtf 2. [2014] https://brajeshwar.com/2014/missing-step-productivity-activities-stop-notifications/ https://brajeshwar.com/2014/missing-step-productivity-activi...

bszupnick 6y ago

> trick I’ve developed, when giving my contact info to new people, is to enter my phone number on their smartphone myself, and install Signal for them I too have no social media nor smartphone, but this made me cringe...I TOTALLY understand his pain-point and it's tough to not be on Whatsapp, but to go above-and-beyond for privacy reasons, and then install an app on someone's phone without their consent? But it is a great article! I love the watch and it's something I'm going to look into for myself!

enricozb 6y ago
I'd like to assume he meant that he would walk them through installing Signal, and not just install it without them asking. I can't imagine what that interaction is like...

beyondthecut 6y ago

Sadly, the phone mentioned on the website is no longer being made. Anyone have alternative suggestions for a non-Android "wallet phone" that works in the US?

twobitshifter 6y ago
You might try this. I can’t vouch for it but the concept seems interesting to me. https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/ https://www.punkt.ch/en/products/mp02-4g-mobile-phone/ It’s a small candy bar phone but maybe not square enough to fit in your wallet.
zikduruqe 6y ago
https://www.thelightphone.com https://www.thelightphone.com

e2021 6y ago

he problem I have with getting rid of the smartphone is the camera - its so much better than a dedicated camera for its size, and once you have the camera its hard to resist using the apps.

ksm1717 6y ago

This is a super cool article and it’s funny to me how much time was spent detailing the features of the watch (suspiciously similar to a smartphone’s) and how some of the commentary is steeped in 2018 anti social media sentiments that have since become tropes in themselves. Examples like posting pictures of meals and the idea that people use social media to fool people into thinking your life is exciting. I think the types of people interested in making these posts realize that the social media mainstream considers it passé at this point.

syntheticnature 6y ago

The author says they're using Signal, but they obviously aren't on their phone. It looks like getting access to Signal on a "desktop" requires it being on your phone -- which seems like a potential future chicken/egg problem.

Mediterraneo10 6y ago
With signal-cli and perhaps other third-party clients, you can register a new Signal account on an ordinary computer. You do need a phone to receive the Signal confirmation SMS, but that can even be a dumbphone. Obviously signal-cli is never going to be a solution for the mass public, but using it is an option for some HN readers – this is a "news for nerds" website.
mssundaram 6y ago
Yeah that part confuses me too

wojciii 6y ago

I stopped using Facebook a year ago. Deleted the user. I created a fresh one to be able to follow my kids in daycare which can't be used for much else because I don't want to add more than one friend. This is priceless. I'm not allowed to browse more FB unless I add more friends. This is kind of asshole behaviour. What if I don't have more than one friend? Fuck you Facebook. I disabled all kinds of popups and notifications. I still use Jodel which is fun and anonymous (as much as anything these days). I get mad when reading LinkedIn so I only go there once a week or so. There is nothing noteworthy on linkedin. I use Reddit for news only - private subreddit. I guess that forums are the only kind of interaction that interests me. I just wanted to say that cutting the connection to social media doesn't have to be 100%. Being selective is enough for me.

matwood 6y ago
Your LI must be very different from my LI :) I see endless self promotion, but nothing that makes me mad. More like bored, so I rarely go to LI except to accept the odd connection request from someone I met IRL. Everything else is spot on though. I go days without looking at my fairly selective twitter or reddit. HN is probably the only thing I check daily, but if I'm busy I might not even do that. The point is use the tools and don't let them use you. Social media, smart phones, etc... are what you make of them.
- wojciii 6y ago
  For some reason I get angry when reading LI. Self promotion got worse last year. People now post that they are going to change job a couple of days before job change. I don't understand why. The job offers are crap. I'm not going to move to Switzerland or Germany for 3 months gig and I don't want to work for Uber. I stopped responding to recruiters as they don't understand that I really don't want to do Java for some crappy bank. I would rather starve. End rant. HN is great. People are usually nice and often I learn something new about a topic that I didn't know.
- nicbou 6y ago
  I found a script that allowed me to unsubscribe from everyone. I also added some uBlock rules. My LinkedIn feed is literally empty. Like the other person who replied, LinkedIn made me angry, but I still returned to it when I ran out of things to check. Now there's nothing there to check. It worked so well that I did the same with Facebook.

AlexTWithBeard 6y ago

Not having a FB account is great, until you want to join a local running club and - !tada! - the only thing you can find is their facebook group name.

busterarm 6y ago

I didn't entirely dump the smartphone, because that's hard to the point of ludicrous. What I did do was get a Pixel 4a and install GrapheneOS on it. The only apps on the phone are one to sync my CalDAV/CardDAV and the other for my one-time passwords. I can use a browser if I'm desperate. It's been the best decision I've made by far.

xwdv 6y ago

What’s the point of this really? Yea you can live like 1999, but the world isn’t in 1999. You’re gonna miss out on the modern human experience, you’re gonna be “that guy”, you’re not gonna be able to relate to anyone, you won’t know about anyone’s life and no one will care to tell you. Retreating to the past isn’t controlling your addictions, it’s giving up. You can own a smartphone, use social media, without it taking over your life, you just need self control. As the world changes you’re gonna be stuck grasping at a past that no longer exists. It will be lonely.

blain 6y ago
Giving up a new "cool" few things doesn't mean you will "miss out" on new things. You still can try new things when they come out. I think the biggest benefit of living like in 99s, just like the author pointed out is a "Peace of mind". Also, regarding: > Retreating to the past isn’t controlling your addictions, it’s giving up. as if addictions were a good thing. You can also look at it this way: choosing self controlled addictions over "giving up" a device over a dumber one.
ueueshitashita 6y ago
> You’re gonna miss out on the modern human experience Oh no, the horror!
grillvogel 6y ago
>modern human experience brought to you on a 5 inch screen

nonameiguess 6y ago

Guy's making too much of this. I finally gave up Facebook and disentangled from all that was left of Google services I still used a while ago, and it's really not that big a deal. Maybe I just have fewer friends and they mostly didn't know me from social media, but nobody thought I was dead. I still have a smartphone, but I barely use it and have always been in the habit of not having it with me all the time because I worked in a SCIF for years and was in an active duty combat arms unit before that and couldn't bring a smart phone with me everywhere I go. It's not that novel. First, more than half the world still lives like this right now anyway. Second, 1999 was barely more than 20 years ago. As late as 2003, there were still no smartphones, no Facebook, and Google was still just a search engine. Going back to the life you had 18 years ago is just like riding a bike. At least if you never made this kind of thing your entire life, but plenty of people never made this kind of thing their entire life. My dad still has never made a social account and doesn't even have an email address. This is maybe hard to realize for someone who maintains a personal blog, but not everyone made the Internet the cornerstone of their existence.

flatline 6y ago
It would be no problem for me to go back; I don't really use social media and would probably be fine without anything beyond a land line to maintain social contacts. My kids, by contrast, have grown up in a completely different world. Especially since COVID, so many of their peer interactions are through social media. They are highly dependent on devices for a lot of basic needs. Perhaps this is geared toward a younger audience that has no idea what 1999 was like - it was 22 years ago!
cannam 6y ago
> Second, 1999 was barely more than 20 years ago. As late as 2003, there were still no smartphones, no Facebook, and Google was still just a search engine. Going back to the life you had 18 years ago is just like riding a bike. The article appears to agree with you, more or less: A lot of people around me don’t understand how I can live my life like that, they tell me they will never do it. What they don’t realize is that we all used to do it, smartphones have only been mainstream these last 10 years. So unless you’re ten, you’ve lived your life just fine without it. The ability to "just sit" is a wonderful thing. I never thought about it until early adulthood - one day I was pacing anxiously around, while my girlfriend and a friend of hers talked on the sofa, and suddenly her friend looked up at me and said "Men never just sit, do they?" But this was almost 30 years ago, long before smartphones.

bserge 6y ago

> having used a smartphone and a “dumb phone”, I’ve discovered a big counter intuitive truth, that the real problem is being online: it’s the smartphone fault. Is it the truth, though? It probably varies by people. My opinion is social media is cancer. A cacophony of opinions that no one really cares about. And yet here I am, sharing my worthless opinions and reading other people's comments. It's addictive. But a smartphone is simply amazing. It's my flashlight, my GPS, my book reader, my video player, my music player, my learning tool, my communication tool, my note taker, my camera, my personal assistant... it's basically a full fledged computer. Often with features blocked for the convenience of the companies raking in cash from people addicted to vomiting their thoughts online. Why can't I save images and videos in the browser anymore? Used to be real easy, now browsers try their best to hide this feature, Reddit and Imgur have redesigned their shit to actively block downloading the source files, and other platforms require you to log in (no Facebook minions, I don't think I will). But it's an easy thing to solve... for now. I'm trying hard to decouple the damn thing from the Internet, though, it should work in the middle of nowhere imo. Why in fuck's name do I need an Internet connection to send files between my laptop and my phone? Local transfer tools are worse than those made for the cloud bullshit that everyone fell for. Ridiculous. People now watch videos and listen to music online. No, give me my files, I want them available anywhere, anytime. Perhaps I'll need an Internet connection for the flashlight next. This sounds like old man talk, "I want it the way it used to be", but really, too few people notice the risk of losing everything digital if someone cuts a fiber cable somewhere or some automated system decides to terminate your account. Or if you simply travel to some country where getting a prepaid SIM requires a cavity search and you don't have money for the roaming mafia. But I'm getting sidetracked. In short: Reduce or remove social media and keep your smartphone :)

clipradiowallet 6y ago
> And yet here I am, sharing my worthless opinions and reading other people's comments But...you clicked the thread. You had a [rough] idea of what type of commentary to expect. Not some endless feed of things an algorithm thinks you'll like/hate/buy. I think of HN as more of a niche community. If we see a story about "acme widgets", I like to read the comments to see what experts have to say.

jccalhoun 6y ago

People without smart phones are the new people who don't watch tv: They can't wait to tell you all about it.

_kblcuk_ 6y ago

> So I started calling people… and quickly discovered that a lot of them have a call phobia, as if human interactions were toxic. > Not in the sense that they’d be busy and would call me later. But in the sense that they wouldn’t pick up, only to text me 5 seconds later to start the conversation. If I tried to call them back, same thing again. They don’t want to talk, they want to text. Problem with phone calls is that they are synchronous, yet quite often things callers want to resolve can be resolved asynchronously (= via text messages & emails), but you can handle those when it's convenient. So at least I'm glad that most of my contacts send me messages in whichever messenger is convenient. We can always agree to call each other if we feel like it will be more convenient, but then it's a much different feeling then just randomly calling. Also personally 100% of "random calls" I got within last 3 years were telemarketers, so guess how often I answer the phone :-D Edit: in general I agree strongly that dropping off social networks and in general reducing notifications noise to a minimum (and not only on smart phone but everywhere) does wonders, strongly recommend.

pc86 6y ago
If you call me and I don't answer, but text shortly after, and you call me again, you're just being a jerk.
- unethical_ban 6y ago
  If you don't answer the phone simply due to conversation anxiety, that is not normal and it should be worked on. But yes, if someone doesn't answer and then starts a text, it should be assumed/checked whether they're busy.
  - nicky0 6y ago
    The problem I have with this is the implication that the only valid reason not to want to talk on the phone is "being busy". Maybe they just don't want to talk to you right now. Take the hint!
    - ryandrake 6y ago

greggyb 6y ago

Just like 99 -- even representing the year with only two digits, just like we did back in 1999!

SamWhited 6y ago

I haven't done the smart phone one (though I really should, the only reason I don't is that I'd miss Conversations, the messaging app I use), but I did give up on social media years ago and had a similar experience. When I first deleted Facebook I did have a few friends who would constantly get mad at me for not being at movie night or something then realize they never invited me because they just spammed an invite out on Facebook. This actually offended me somewhat as much as it offended them that I wasn't there: you care so little about our friendship that you couldn't even be bothered to make sure I had RSVPed or invite me personally? But after a while people got used to it and it stopped changing anything except that I felt better and was less angry day to day. I only recently went back, but instead of any of the big networks I went with a Mastodon account from social.coop. It's similar to Twitter, but the lack of retweet-comments makes me less likely to make snarky replies to things then feel bad about it and wonder why I said something I wouldn't normally say in real life afterwards.

kevwil 6y ago

There's a lot I like here. I agree that the major toxin has been mobile social media apps, and I deleted mine a few months ago. Divorcing the smartphone completely is doable but I'm not sure I want that pain. That's mainly because of niche apps I depend on, contactless payments, and it's my primary camera, not because I talk on the phone with people shudder. The smart watch is worth looking into, but still would need the niche apps and the contactless payments and the camera, and a GoPro would not fill my camera needs. When my current phone is paid off I do intend to look into alternate ideas like this because There's Got To Be A Better Way (tm).

jeffreyrogers 6y ago

This is really neat. I got rid of all social media years ago because I thought the downsides outweighed the benefits for me (well I have a LinkedIn that I almost never sign in to). I've thought about getting rid of my smartphone too but I use maps too much. The Garmin is a good way to get around that. If there were a similar phone to the one he's got that was good for texting too I might give this a try.

motohagiography 6y ago

I could joke that not having social media in my life has made more time for my HN addiction, but I really like not knowing most of you. Benefits of no social media engagement include: - All of my personal relationships have normal adult boundaries based on what we bring to it today, and don't operate on precedents set when we were in middle school. - Freedom from the awareness of people talking about me and the urge to influence that conversation. - I can try things and really suck terribly at them until I'm good enough that I don't anymore, and do them for the pleasure of doing them instead of whether they get me approval and likes. - I'm a refreshing person to be around because the perceived problems of the world seem alien and silly in my environment. - I can engage deeply with complex ideas and problems without being assigned to a "side." The downsides are things like when I have an idea for a product or do something creative, I absolutely lack a channel to put it into to get fast feedback and refine it. It can be a chore for people to "explain" you in business contexts when you don't have a bunch of pictures of your food they can just look up and confirm that you, too, are the sort of person who takes pictures of their food, which creates risk you can't be trusted to just get it that people take pictures of their food now, or you don't value the same things they do. I literally eat 3x+ a day, so it's not like an exotic holiday for me, though I guess with the internet being global, that's not true for everyone, so I can see why they take the pictures. Having to explain why I don't take pictures of it is social friction like being vegan 20 years ago. Anyway, it's a balance, and there are good reasons to stay on it, and sacrifices if you leave it. It's just a disequilibrium right now.

helen___keller 6y ago
> I can engage deeply with complex ideas and problems without being assigned to a "side." Without caring what side you are being assigned, it might be more accurate to say.
- motohagiography 6y ago
  By who? If some extremist wanted to put me on their list, they'd only be elevating and complimenting everyone else on it.
6y ago

TrackerFF 6y ago

Smartphones are a godsend as far as convenience goes. I shudder to think how cumbersome a lot of things were just five years ago. Things I use my smartphone for every day, or very frequently - versus what I had to do before: Sending money via apps - Had to go to the bank and do a bank transfer, or login to my bank on my computer, and do a wire transfer from there. I can also pay for stuff in stores, via apps, so I don't need to have my bank/credit card on me. Electronic signing and 2FA - Had to carry an external login chip/dongle. Listen to music - Had to carry an iPod or similar Take photos - Had to carry camera or video camera, and transfer the stuff to my computer Record audio - Had to carry some physical audio-recorder E-tickets - Had to purchase physical tickets/cards, and get them re-filled in stores E-drivers licence - Had to carry my physical drivers licence, which could lead to fine/penalty if I forgot my wallet at home Maps - Had to look up maps beforehand, buy a print, find a public map. Same goes for directions. Real-time public transit maps - Wasted so, so much time standing outside, waiting for the bus or whatever, not knowing if it was late, or I was too late. Coupons - Had to bring physical coupons to store. And the list goes on. I haven't even mentioned the most obvious things, like being able to read emails everywhere, or getting in contact with anyone, almost everywhere. Sure - one can/will get dependent to phones, and losing it can be extremely stressful. But the net result has been overwhelmingly positive for me, as far as convenience goes. I "side hustle" by buying/selling stuff, both domestic and international, and the sheer ease of how things work today is just incredible. 90% of that business happens through my phone, because that's the fastest way.

ergot_vacation 6y ago
This is what I was thinking reading this. I've never used social media, smart phone or otherwise. But I DO really like my cheap, incredibly outdated smart phone for the simple things it provides: a camera whenever I need it that's good enough, the ability to check something online quick (but never prolonged browsing, that's just miserable), mapping and GPS, and hell, even really simple "apps" like the calendar (I can never remember anything important). Probably the most-used thing on my phone for me is the stopwatch/timer, multiple times a day. That said, I don't know if there's really a point to these articles anymore. The people who CAN do this, and want to, will just do it. For most of the population meanwhile, trends and FOMO will keep them glued in place until the next corporate SOMA comes along. Put another way, I don't think you can really write an article like this without preaching to the choir. I didn't avoid social media because some article convinced me it was a good idea. I just have a (mildly) weird personality and somewhat unusual priorities, and staying off social media was one inevitable result.

squarefoot 6y ago

I had a smartphone for about one year when Android was at version 2, then ditched it for an older dumbphone. Never been on any social network and don't miss them at all. I only have WhatsApp on a tablet because of some friends and family, but they know it stays home and turned off 23 hours and 50 minutes a day, if not the entire day. The end result is that I don't spend hours staring at a screen while walking (or driving!) waiting for someone to like my new vertical video or political rant; instead my dumbphone rings or beeps only when there is real need, and I can spend those hours doing other stuff. Technology however works actively against people like me: my bank was recently acquired by a bigger one in which users must authenticate through an app for online banking operations. I'm not willing to use highly unsecure platforms for banking, which means all Android/iOS/Windows cellphones on planet Earth, therefore when yesterday I was asked if I wanted to activate that service I hit the "remind me later" button, hoping to never see the day it will become mandatory.

2suY374LPMfemWy 6y ago

I quit all social media in 2015, and reached similar conclusions to those of others. One thing I realized that doesn't get talked about much is that I was watering lots of dead flowers. It turned out that my posts on Twitter and Instagram were prompting others to interact with me. Without those regular prompts, I never again heard anything from those who used to comment on my posts. Without me posting first, in six years no one has reached out to find out what I've been up to or if I were even alive.

unethical_ban 6y ago
"Watering dead flowers" This is a wonderful term for the phenomenon, thank you.

ggggtez 6y ago

> Some of them even stopped texting me because they had to open another app on their phone in order to write to me. Yeah, you also read that right. I guess they didn't live through the instant messenger wars. How did they not expect this would happen?

dgellow 6y ago

> A trick I’ve developed, when giving my contact info to new people, is to enter my phone number on their smartphone myself, and install Signal for them. WTF. Don't do this! That's a complete sin, don't modify the device of someone else when they trust you to enter your contact information! You're violating every social expectation when installing something without their consent.

boring_twenties 6y ago
Also never hand your unlocked smartphone to a stranger for any reason whatsoever.
filoleg 6y ago
Yeah, I am fully onboard with the reasoning for why people hate calls and prefer messaging (sync vs. async), but the passage you quoted describes something that is straight up wrong on human level. They give you their unlocked device for a specific task of entering your phone number, which already implies a high level of trust, and you instantly break that trust by unsolicitedly installing software on their device? That sounds like a quick way to lose your connection to that person. I know I wouldn't want to have any further interaction with the person who breaks my trust right at the beginning by going out of their way and sneakily installing software on my device. Especially since they aren't a close friend of mine to begin with, because if they were a close friend, we would have each other's phone numbers already.
true_religion 6y ago
I assume he'd tell them what he's doing since they are standing right next to him and can see he's not just adding his contact info.

socialist_coder 6y ago

It seems like his main reason for getting rid of his smartphone was because he was unable to not use social media apps on his smartphone. For me, I have achieved mostly the same goal by just not using social media apps. No reddit, no twitter, no fb, no linked in, no whatever. I browse reddit and HN on my computer, thats pretty much it. I use my smartphone pretty rarely but when I do need to use spotify or maps or podcasts or some special app, I still can. And you can still text, which like the author noted, is important. So, I say to the author - work on your self control and discipline! Just don't use social media anymore! It's really not hard! I think the trick is to not use it at all. You can't just "use it in small amounts".

heavyset_go 6y ago

I remember hoping that cell phones would just be a fad.

dmortin 6y ago

The no smart phone part seems unnecessary. I have a smartphone for maps, photos, notes, calendar and that's about it. Sometimes looking up info on the net. The smartphone itself is not the problem. The problem is you if you can't stop browsing on it.

iFreilicht 6y ago
The smartphone is not the problem, it’s what you put on it. Once you got twitter and instagram and reddit, boy oh boy are you gonna reach for that thing when you’re bored even just a little. So yeah, I agree. My smartphone also handles 2FA, PayPal and bus tickets. None of that is harmful to me, but very useful, and giving it up just for living without a smartphone seems pointless.
- dmortin 6y ago
  > Once you got twitter and instagram and reddit Yep, that's why I have none of these installed on my phone. I read reddit only when I'm sitting at my laptop.
  - iFreilicht 6y ago
    Interestingly, I don’t really read reddit even on my PC anymore after removing it from my phone. Like I opened it a few time, immediately got bored, and went on to do something else.
- tertius 6y ago
  Even grabbing it to look at photos, take photos etc. when the physiological need is dopamine is not good. You can get a dopamine hit without those apps. A little harder, but still within reach. The further you are from dopamine laced activity the better. Sure there are exceptions.

Taylor_OD 6y ago

> A trick I’ve developed, when giving my contact info to new people, is to enter my phone number on their smartphone myself, and install Signal for them. This removed a lot of friction. I would then explain my experiment to them and tell them I can only be contacted via this app. I’ve always had a positive reaction. Everybody’s been curious and asking a lot of questions. Yikes. I love signal but if I handed someone my phone and they tried to install an app, even while explaining it, I'd be pretty annoyed with them. Someone else holding your phone is a pretty vulnerable place to be now a days.

ChrisArchitect 6y ago

weird post/experiment. Everything so suspicious, cranky. Certain type of relationships..... alot of this comes down to users on both ends. All can be dealt with via moderation/account choices etc. Also, when did this take place? Not during the pandemic I don't think. Big factor there

at_a_remove 6y ago

I didn't get a Facebook account or a smartphone until 2018. I could probably ditch the former. The latter is occasionally handy.

aeternum 6y ago

Anyone else see the irony in making a big deal about giving up social media but then writing a blog post about it and promoting that post on various social media platforms?

radicalriddler 6y ago

It's coming up to a year of no social media, almost 3 years without facebook. I kept Instagram around to keep in contact with friends, I was posting and lurking 24/7 on Reddit, and also browsing Twitter all the time, refreshing my feeeeeeed for those new posts. Realized I was heavily depressed, and that the stuff I was reading online was having a really negative impact on my mood everyday. Capitalism Bad, Black Lives Matter (what black people went through made me sad, not the movement becoming prominent), Coronavirus all around the world. Reddit and Twitter were a cancer on my brain. I deleted them, after a twitch content creator killed himself and it sent me into a spiral, I didn't realize that the parasocial relationships were that strong. Like the OP, I went through a pretty severe withdrawal period, it actually got worse before it got better, and I had to go speak to a therapist, because I couldn't even get up to go to work. I'd lost my lifestyle, and these senses of "community" that I had. I can happily say I'm better now, but I'm also thinking of discarding my smartphone. Buy a dumb phone, carry it around with me, while leaving the iPhone at home on wifi for entertainment purposes (Chromecast controller, or watching on phone). I've started watching Twitch and reading reddit more regularly the past couple of months and it's starting to worry me again, might need to do another cleanse somehow, and I can't exactly delete accounts that don't exist, so I need to delete the device that I'm accessing it on.

tertius 6y ago
If that stops you from being close to your temptation then I highly recommend it. Break that cycle, don't give up the ground you've gained.

k__ 6y ago

Calling people without asking and installing apps on their smartphones. Sounds like a complete sociopath to me. Probably a good thing that they don't use social media...

tertius 6y ago
Likely he suggested... A person you've just met wouldn't take kindly to you just installing an app. Highly unlikely scenario you're painting. Also, "calling people without asking"? It's a little extreme to place this social norm you have on the whole of society. Learn to say no. I.e. someone calls, say "I can't talk right now" or don't answer and respond (when you're able) with "I can talk at x time"...

barry27 6y ago

Had me until the gadgets came out.

cuddlybacon 6y ago

I've noticed on Hacker News a tendency where people declare phones to be distracting for them and thus the only solution is to stop using them. I've been listening to the Cortex podcast recently. It is a productivity podcast by CGP Grey (youtuber) and Myke Hurley (runs a podcasting company). There is a big focus on the tech they use and how they make the most of it. There is a large focus their phones and iPads. They both would probably agree that the garden-path with modern smartphones is a distracting mess. But where they differ is that assuming that means all hope is lost. They are quite advanced users of the systems they use but the basics can be done with only a bit of effort and will make a big impact. * Go through your apps and purge ones you aren't using anymore. * Go through the apps you chose to keep and explicitly set the notification settings for them. A lot of distracting apps are distracting because they use notifications to remind you that they exist. * Remove time-sink apps from your home screen. You'll use them less if opening them takes more effort. * Use the spots where time-sinks apps used to exist for apps you want to get into the habit of using. You'll have a few days of muscle-memory to exploit to your benefit. * Take a look at what your calendar and reminder apps can do and start making use of them. They consider these two apps to be the core of the productivity software, and the basic apps will serve people for a long time. * Look at Screen Time (or the Android equivalent) and see what it can do to further help you. You can set app limits and notification free periods (with exceptions). An interesting metric that is worth periodically checking is Pickups. This tracks what is the first app you switch to after unlocking your phone. It can be handy for identifying troublesome apps. There is a lot of simple stuff that can make a big difference. That entire list can probably be done in the time it took me to write this. It seems so weird then to see how much of Hacker News is utterly defeatist and doesn't try. If this did make you curious about the podcast, two episodes I think would make good jumping in points would be: * #101 Productivity 101: An attempt to cover all the basics for someone just getting into productivity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eSCldom1Yc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eSCldom1Yc https://www.relay.fm/cortex/101 https://www.relay.fm/cortex/101 * #109 State of the Apps: This is a yearly overview of the apps they are using and what they get from them. They include screenshots of their homescreens in the shownotes which can make some useful inspiration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIiOfhlBB4A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIiOfhlBB4A https://www.relay.fm/cortex/109 https://www.relay.fm/cortex/109

CynicusRex 6y ago

Enjoyable article with an important message. The only thing that bothered me was the excessive information about his watch.