We Have a Problem, So How Do We Fix It
The year is 2018. The world is a place that our great-grandparents couldn’t even dream of. The computers that sent our grandparents generation to the moon can fit in a dollar store calculator now. We have the ability to communicate with others from our pockets and even our own wrists (queue the spy movie montage). This abundance has taken us into a new age. There are advances in every field because of it, from manufacturing and mining to healthcare and education. While this can be a great force of good, it can also be a curse. We have more and more stuff every day to distract us and waste our time but we don’t really have any more time. It can be hard to pull yourself out of the digital world once you’ve been sucked in. I can’t even recall the last time I went a day without my phone or my laptop. I’m always finding that I open my phone if I get bored instead of finding a more enriching things to do (ex. Reading, hiking, relaxing in the outdoors).
So I didn’t come by the idea for this article lightly. As always when trying to figure out something to write about, my first stop was my phone to search what was going on in the tech world. It was there that I came across an article about how technology is consuming more and more of people’s time and smartphones are the lead cause of this. The article, by Macworld was mainly talking about how Apple has successfully created one of the most addictive smartphones ever and how their next step should be creating a way to limit this addiction.
So I didn’t come by the idea for this article lightly. As always when trying to figure out something to write about, my first stop was my phone to search what was going on in the tech world. It was there that I came across an article about how technology is consuming more and more of people’s time and smartphones are the lead cause of this. The article, by Macworld was mainly talking about how Apple has successfully created one of the most addictive smartphones ever and how their next step should be creating a way to limit this addiction.
This prompted me to do a little more research into “smartphone addiction.” This was when I came across an article from King University. It talked about how people are relying more and more on their smartphones and how that is becoming a bad thing (queue the video of teens texting each other on the same couch). The statistics they had compiled were astounding.
On average, a person touches their smartphone a whopping 2,600 times a day. This is from an average of 95 unlocks (80 average for iPhone, 110 average for Android) over the span of, on average, 5 hours a day. In 2016, Common Sense Media surveyed 620 kids, they found that 50 percent of them admitted to having an addiction to their cell phone. They also surveyed 620 parents and found that 59% of the parents believe that their child(ren) have a cell phone addiction.
So, what can we do to cut out some of this addiction? So, in researching this topic, I have come across a few apps (I know how cliche it is that I’m telling you to get off your phone and now I’m saying the opposite) that you might want to download.
The first of these apps is Forest. Forest is free and available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Chrome, and Firefox. It works on the basis of growing a garden. You “plant a tree” by starting the app and it will only grow if you don’t use your phone for 30 minutes or longer. The app will require you to keep it open to get credit for it while the extension version allow you to access certain sites that you don’t blacklist.
The second is called Checky. It is available for both Android and iOS. It revolves around the simple notion of simply telling you how many times you check your phone. It is designed to hopefully make you more conscious of the time you spend on your phone.
The third of the apps is only available for iOS and cost $2 to get. It is called UnPlug. It automatically tracks the amount of time you use your phone and records it in the app. You can use the app to see where you used your phone the most and see a chart of how much you have used your phone over a certain span of time.
Well, if I do an iOS only app, I have to show an Android only app, right? The fourth of these apps will fit that description. Productivity Challenge Timer is available for free in the Google Play store. It “encourages” you to be more productive by insulting you if you aren’t actually being productive.
Well, you did it, you stuck around for the final app recommendation. The final app is Freedom. This app is free and available on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. This app can be used if the above ones fails to work for you. Freedom allows you to create a schedule that blocks you from going to certain sites that might distract you (Ex. YouTube, Facebook, etc.).
I hope this article has given you an idea of just how bad tech addictions are becoming. Hopefully, you will be able to use some of these apps to help you kick at least part of your addiction to the curb and enjoy more of what the world has to offer (like frolicking through meadows in the rain).
The first of these apps is Forest. Forest is free and available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Chrome, and Firefox. It works on the basis of growing a garden. You “plant a tree” by starting the app and it will only grow if you don’t use your phone for 30 minutes or longer. The app will require you to keep it open to get credit for it while the extension version allow you to access certain sites that you don’t blacklist.
The second is called Checky. It is available for both Android and iOS. It revolves around the simple notion of simply telling you how many times you check your phone. It is designed to hopefully make you more conscious of the time you spend on your phone.
The third of the apps is only available for iOS and cost $2 to get. It is called UnPlug. It automatically tracks the amount of time you use your phone and records it in the app. You can use the app to see where you used your phone the most and see a chart of how much you have used your phone over a certain span of time.
Well, if I do an iOS only app, I have to show an Android only app, right? The fourth of these apps will fit that description. Productivity Challenge Timer is available for free in the Google Play store. It “encourages” you to be more productive by insulting you if you aren’t actually being productive.
Well, you did it, you stuck around for the final app recommendation. The final app is Freedom. This app is free and available on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. This app can be used if the above ones fails to work for you. Freedom allows you to create a schedule that blocks you from going to certain sites that might distract you (Ex. YouTube, Facebook, etc.).
I hope this article has given you an idea of just how bad tech addictions are becoming. Hopefully, you will be able to use some of these apps to help you kick at least part of your addiction to the curb and enjoy more of what the world has to offer (like frolicking through meadows in the rain).
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