why a dumb phone won't help your phone addiction

[@bremtreaty2469]

Another thing worth mentioning is that intentionally interacting with media/games etc. feels sooooo much more rewarding. You don't feel hollow afterwords. Strongly agree with this video

[@Taetro]

Absolutely. I’ve always been a console gamer and never really played games on the phone.

[@kiksu1]

Good tips to end doom scrolling and creating more healthy habits! I went the other way and deleted all my social media accounts, except YT. Instagram used to be my doom scrolling app. Never really used X or TikTok etc. It's been very releaving to let go of that. My phone is on vibrate, no notification sounds at all. Got rid of all the distracting notifications and apps. I don't need to be available for others 24/7, I need to be available for me. I'm also creating a small separate studio space where my PC is going to live so it would be the place to concentrate for creative things like music, 3d modeling etc. It's a bit hard in a small single room apartment, but it's coming along 😅 I love your calm and relaxed content. Your Ableton tutorials were so easy to follow and to learn from, thank you! ❤ (You have witnessed a very rare occasion of me commenting a KZbin video) ✌🏻

[@Taetro]

Glad you found your way here from the tutorials. Sounds like you’ve got healthier habits than me!

[@tiffanyanthony]

A great way to make a separate space is with curtains. I’m going to be doing that this weekend, so my bedroom will be like 2 rooms - a studio on one side, and bed area on the other. It’s cheap, and works well.

[@karacoldmusic]

I'm very similar to you. Got rid of everything but youtube as well and it's been life changing to say the least.

[@みかん-m8u4e]

Hello. Thank you for the wonderful video. I'm a Japanese author! Due to my smartphone addiction, I started using a dumbphone for my mental health. I've written a book and videos about my experience. I found your video very interesting. I think digital detox is necessary worldwide. I've heard that dumbphones are experiencing a resurgence overseas, so I'm hopeful. I hope there will be more simple phones like this!

[@reachnandini]

Which book ?

[@joshhoe]

I have this problem for sure.. the problem is not just the doom scrolling and wasting time, but after awhile I've lost the ability to be bored and do nothing. And that means my brain is full of content and news and distraction all the time. It's exhausting

[@Taetro]

Mark Fisher: “No one is bored, everything is boring”

[@karacoldmusic]

Dude same here. I found myself trying to force myself to be bored just to feel it again. I've gotten much better at it but still struggle some time.

[@karacoldmusic]

@@ClaudiaCamarillo-nb1jn get on

[@MichaelScottGordon]

A great reminder to be intentional in our actions and to be present. Thank you! I have taken social media off my phone before when it was a problem. These days I only spend about 20 minutes a day on social sites. Now, KZbin, that's another story. 😂

[@ReubenNinan]

DUDE! Ever since I deleted all of the scrolling/social media/content apps from my phone I've also just randomly scrolled on the google search app. I hate how they added that but I agree completely. Reading or skimming through 3 articles is so so so much better than the random repetitive content on the social media apps. I empathize with you completely and I feel liberated. I sit with my thoughts and my own experiences more. It was like when I was a kid and I only had the family computer. Outside of that desktop I was outside or doing something else altogether.

[@Taetro]

glad this resonated and someone else out there is going with the same approach!

[@ReubenNinan]

@@Taetro Yo something I started to do recently which has helped me stop scrolling even on the google app is using the triple power button shortcut to turn on gray scale. Studies have shown that simply taking out the color from our screens makes the distractions less enjoyable. So I have the grayscale on by default now and if I need color then I'll triple tap the power button. I would recommend it to further this agenda of minimized phone/internet use. (The setting is under accessibility to enable this feature)

[@LoganCruz5021]

I'm glad I've came across to watching your video today. I've had this problem where social media was consuming my life, and simply picking up a hobbie and being outside without my phone has helped me out a lot. I like to leave my phone hidden in my car when I go into the grocery store or wherever I'm at intentially to simply just live in the moment

[@Taetro]

true! If you don’t need the phone in that moment, no need to bring it in!

[@-adc]

Good for you Taetro. I am happy to see this mentality picking up steam. I have not had or used a smartphone for at least 5 years now. And yeah, at times there has been some annoying friction. It is still mildly infuriating when I run into some simple lo-fi life situation that has now been engineered so that you must use a smart phone. I resent that, but the general peace I have otherwise has been way well worth it. And this isn't some luddite anti-tech hater rant. I work in tech. I think it can be amazing and useful. But at the same time, it often moves so fast that we don't have time to balance out what are healthy uses vs. unhealthy. Smartphones are a classic case. We are only just beginning to sort out how to use them in a healthy way. For many people, a good break from them, or perhaps something totally different is needed. The benefits: I just don't think about my phone. It's just a tool now. And I try to be more intentional with video games, my computer etc, cause it's easy to just sub those things in. I hope this keeps spreading.

[@namaste303]

Good for you for recognizing this and taking action to change. Bravo 👏🏼

[@ReneHoffmann194]

A friend of mine teached me that it is ok to not answer immidiatly and if it is urgend people can still call me. despite of that .. disable most notifications and mute the phone by default (disable audio queues/triggers). This really helped me. Now I don't even think about picking up my phone when doing important stuff or meeting with somebody (I find it even impolite if you pick up your phone during face2face meetings with others) as my phone now has a really low priority in my life. Those little adoptions made a huge difference for me.

[@Taetro]

That’s huge - definitely ok to not answer immediately!

[@teentitansrock88]

I really like how excited you got about your new bug interest. I relate to a bunch of the phone related stuff you brought up, but I related most to wanting a nice camera to take pictures of bugs with

[@Taetro]

Haha I really enjoy it! Being able to identify plants and bugs…also being able to tell if something is poisonous 😂

[@teentitansrock88]

@Taetro my friend went on a backpacking trip for an ecology class for like a month. At the start, the professor identified two deadly plant species, the only ones poisonous ones in the area. He continued on to encourage them to eat any other plant, in fact, eat them all. Some might give you a stomach ache, but you won't die. I like that all naturalists seem to have a "But, what does it taste like?" thought.

[@chrisu_XD]

Kicking social media from the phone, and switching off notification, was a big win for me.

[@Taetro]

Glad to hear it worked for someone else too!

[@rustyholt6619]

my phone is not alowed to make any noise exept ring or text,and callender,,, thats it

[@MeyYou123]

I am feeling the same way about my relationship with electronics. I’ve found that making my overall day more intentional and scheduled helps. Some people don’t like the whole crazy structured time thing, and at times I don’t either but I just do something else that is within the same vein as what I am doing if I don’t feel like doing the exact set out task. It should be noted that I’m not super hard on myself if my routine is broken or if I do start scrolling. People need to realize that being tough on yourself for not meeting your expectations only makes you feel worse, recognize what happened acknowledge it and move on.

[@Taetro]

you’re totally right about being to tough on yourself. For sure not productive!!

[@rowanwhile]

Super thought provoking yet simple... You saved me 20 quid as I was looking to get a dumb phone for the same reason.

[@marcfield1234]

It is not a smart phone addiction, it is a social media addiction. I have has a smart phone for over 10 years and have never felt addicted. I have also installed a minimalist launcher that controls the access to every thing.

[@Taetro]

you’re right

[@criiminalis]

Love this, same thing has been bugging me for many years. I was just thinking while watching this that an iPad would be an amazing secondary device before you brought it up, so I was surprised and pleased hearing you came up with the same idea! Will be implementing the same technique + selling my Apple Watch. Thanks T for the vid!

[@karacoldmusic]

Love this topic. I'm definitely around the same age as you and had the similar experience with family computers and T9 phones. I've also deleted almost every scrolling app except youtube. I have a time limit on a whole bunch of other apps that has been nice as I'm really strict with it. its definitely a crazy world we're in but ultimately its our choice how we spemd our time.

[@HansyPants184]

I like this idea of the second device. It's not for me but I respect it. I've found that focus mode on Android has been a godsend. I automate it to come on a half hour before I wake up and turn off when I'm done work. It's not bulletproof and I still hit the 5 more minutes a few extra times now and then but at least it gives me time updates that keep me aware of how long I'm spending. I always hate going into a scroll hole and having no idea when I started but knowing that it's been longer than the 5 min I intended. I also turned on the screen time widget which gives me pretty good feedback on how much life I've actually missed.

[@Taetro]

Yeah I tried the focus mode situation first and i could just bypass it way too easily

[@karacoldmusic]

I love android focus mode. I have it on like legit half the day and it's soo helpful

[@kiwipomegranate]

What does android focus mode do?

[@FightTalkMMA]

For me, better time management and simply self control

[@Jay_Prater]

I wanted an FB detox, so I just took it off the home screen. Just having to consciously open my apps and search for it was enough to derail my craving. Gave me the second or two I needed to realize what I was doing. That alone has kept me clean for 3 weeks. I'll go there if I have to, but I see all the time I've reclaimed and I'm not in a hurry to lose that. It turns out you will never find the perfect cat video anyway. You're just chasing the dragon.

[@chasefive5]

they need these with 4G so badly

[@willhelliwell]

I tried dumbing down my iPhone. The temptation was always there though. I could always go online, get on to websites, go around any blocking. A dumb phone (Nokia 2660 flip) + a GoPro and I'm happy. I still have the iPhone for when I really need it.

[@xeentjelief]

I dumbed down my phone years ago. I still use it for GPS and music. But there is still one thing that makes me want to buy a Dumbphone and that is the TACTILE feel of texting the oldskool way. I had an oldskool Nokia 3210 and 3410 and a few Siemens and Ericsson bricks too... And I seriously wish we could go back to that slower way of life!

[@Taetro]

Yes I miss my blackberry keyboard!!

[@xeentjelief]

@@Taetro a blackberry/iPaq/palmtop was too big for me. I loved phones for one-handed use. All the online stuff happened on the laptop. But then again I never had to have my e-mails at hand all the time. If you really needed that, it was the only option. But then again being able to access your mails anywhere is what started our online addiction and the development of the type of smartphone that we have known since 2007

[@pvndavibes]

what has really helped me is getting an apple watch cellular. When I want to go light I just leave my phone behind and the apple watch can do everything a dumb phone can do while also having the ability to ask siri quick questions.

[@Chris-cf2kp]

I'm imagining someone eventually will try setting something up that incurs a cost every time they swipe on one of those apps, like a shock for each new slide or something crazy - as opposed to just stopping the habit - not saying it's easy at all, it's genuinely a widespread addiction that everyone's inadvertently slipped into. I started to only use social medias on desktop. Having task specific devices is a good idea.

[@helloemile]

Thank you so much for this video Taetro, I ordered a mini iPad and just deleted all my apps, this is great! I also need to post for work so I think having a work time to do that is really good.

[@raphaeldukhan]

you can always turn your iPhone/Android into a "dumber" phone. Usage of Focus Modes/Routines/Shortcuts is fantastic. Your solution is pretty good too!!

[@xeentjelief]

When people talked about the millennium bug, it wasn't about the bios-clocks of computers crashing and computers becoming a big waste because of it.... I'm starting to think our dependency on living an online life is the actual millennium bug that we now are slowly discovering and try to escape from. Is that too fatalistic of a thought?

[@pyram1de]

this is exactly what i’ve ended up doing, i did remove youtube from my phone too but still ended up using safari, so just added that app. ive even started leaving phone at home and just use apple watch instead as it has cellular

[@Taetro]

Yeah I don’t get sucked into the rabbit hole with KZbin like other apps

[@tony1ant]

I've always done this ever since smart devices came out have separate devices for separate things. A great video thank you I was wondering about those Nokia phones, when I was a child we didn't even have wireless or mobile phones. I think in today's modern society there's a fair bit of the human touch that's been lost. For example when I was a child if you wanted to speak to your friend you would go and knock on their door even if it was an hours walk away, only to get there and find that they were not there 😂😂😂, until pinball machines came along . I would love to see what technology looks like in 100 years from now, I bet it will be mind-blowing.

[@andesneko]

I do the same, have for a while. But I gave up on removing certain social media apps, because I tried maybe 3 times and there would always come a time when I would log into them via browser, and that would also become a habit that takes even more time to do than just opening the app. So I keep the apps, no notifications, and they are not in my home screen. The only notifications I get are messages and phone calls.

[@Taetro]

Remove the browser!!

[@andesneko]

@@Taetro 😂

[@sonic2000gr]

Yes, dumb phones won't work for most. People have stopped using SMS and standard voice calls. My phone never really 'rings' and I am receiving maybe a couple SMS per month. What am I supposed to do with a dumb phone? Uninstalling apps and stopping notifications is the way to go.

[@Taetro]

For sure!!

[@20NewJourney23]

It sounds like you don't tend to have people contacting you very much. If your phone doesn't ring very much and only receive a couple SMS per month then somehow you've managed to keep your phone number out of the hands of scammers and telemarketers (also scammers IMHO)... Good for you! I, on the other hand, have many calls per day (scams/spam), and multiple texts from my mom or dad, and sometimes a friend or two. I'm actually in the process of changing my phone number (I have two numbers right now) as I transition most of my life to the new number and let the old number die and go back into the number pool for someone else to have. I am toying with using a dumbphone to help reduce my dependence on messaging apps. I have one ordered, it hasn't shipped yet.

[@NickS-m3h]

They really havent, everyone who has a smartphone still USES the phone as a phone. Although most zoomers default to social media as a primary method of communication

[@dannyatx]

I did something similar with my phone and I customized all the essential app icons on one tab and then customized my music apps on the next tab in one folder. I wanna say that it helps but I still feel like I just have a chronic addiction to my phone

[@Taetro]

sounds like removing a few more apps could help!

[@Eleni_Be]

actually i NOW did remove all my "scroll" and "news" apps from my phone. YT stays, though. As i have an iPad, I'll try this solution, even more as it's a big ipad that never goes to bed (or toilet) with me. thanks for the impulse!

[@Taetro]

hope it works for you! Haha not scrolling on the toilet is life changing

[@tiffanyanthony]

Are you trying to identify bugs to eat? 🤣🤣🤣 I’m old enough to remember when there wasn’t internet. And then it was AOL version 1 on a dial-up modem that disconnected every time a phone call came in. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@Taetro]

It can be a great source or protein! 😋

[@fenbekus]

tbh your take with the iPad mini is exactly why the dumbphone strategy should work. Have a dumbphone that can be a wifi hotspot, and bring around the iPad mini in case you need a smart feature, but generally leave it off.

[@Taetro]

in that case there's really no difference to carrying a smartphone. Also I'm not sure how many dumbphones have a hot spot option

[@fenbekus]

@@Taetro ah okay I thought you meant that you bring your iPad around with you

[@fenbekus]

@Taetro but new Nokias do have hotspot I believe

[@jsonchicas]

Thanks for this vid! I'll try to have a second device for all the distractions haha

[@jigsound]

Thanks for sharing! That's actually a great option to keep in mind when my 2009 Nokia "dumbphone" finally dies one of these days. 😅 - Eero

[@Taetro]

haha for sure - but we all know that thing will never die XD

[@jigsound]

@@Taetro, I believe a 3310 wouldn't! 💪 Mine is newer and menacingly showing some signs of wear and glitches, though 😅

[@Zaccyonline]

The PS Vita was so ahead of its time!

[@naturesrecovery4516]

Hi Tae, I'm going through your Ableton Live lessons now, I also have The VPS Avenger 2 how do I record one of the sequences from Avenger into Ableton, I press record, but when I try to play it back I don't hear anything. Do I still have to select a instrument?

[@Taetro]

Please continue watching the series! It’s a plugin so it opens within Ableton Live which is a topic covered in the series

[@naturesrecovery4516]

@@Taetro Thanks :)

[@priestfictions]

Noooooo waaaayyyy i was thinking about this You are life saver

[@And2-1]

It’s not a dumbphone, it’s a phone.

[@biggiefan4life860]

One of the strongest phones ever made back in the nineties

[@Taetro]

Haha straight up indestructible!!

[@gameconcept1196]

Can't relate. Never had a phone with an internet connection.

[@NickS-m3h]

Based

[@BIG1TOWER]

Man i need one so badly

[@Taetro]

did you watch the full video?

[@astigace]

Super love my PS Vita! What game are you currently playing?

[@Taetro]

It’s great!!! I dip into playing against bots in call of duty and also started Gravity Rush which is craaaazy!

[@nomad1517]

Dumb phones are great if you really just want a break or you don't need a smart phone in your life. But some people do, like nurses, cops, etc. I know there are ways you can make smartphones very minimal and some ways were its as good as a dumb phone. The only reason id use a smartphone for myself is that I have issues with self control. So having a more strict protocol works better for me. I know Punkt is a czech phone company that is trying to educate people on social media usage, phone and computer usage and how it can harm us, and how we can find balance. They have a really dope dumb phone that looks great and is really good for what a dumb phone can be used for. Highly recommend them.

[@NickS-m3h]

Nurses literally use pagers

[@EggZema_]

I was a better typer on a T9 keypad than nowadays on a iPhone with text correction...

[@Taetro]

It’s all about swipe texting!!

[@PooFace2030]

Based and Nokia Pilled!!!

[@Taetro]

I still love the designs of these phones!

[@BrandoLuis]

bro check out your mic gain, the volume is quite low

[@stoneneils]

Guys..you all talk as if you have no agency. Its not very difficult..leave your phone at home, or don't buy a sim card data plan. Me I just use my phone for mp3..no sim..no apps except for textnow in case of phone emegency. Time to grow up. You can do it, atta boys.

[@Taetro]

Apps are built to be addictive which has been studied and proven. So I decided to treat it accordingly by removing the problematic apps from my main device. This for sure did help curb and reset the impulses ie regaining self control. But I never needed to put the apps back 🤷 It’s not helpful to just tell someone to “grow up”. Your situation is not universal but I’m glad you have your situation under control.

[@BruhRlyy]

I think the thumbnail is a bad idea, cause the people who are addicted are the ones spending hundreds or thousands on phones and see this, think "nah I could never use one of those" and will move on when one of your main points is that they dont work

[@Taetro]

I see you’re point but I think many people who are contending with this issue have considered dumb phones so I’m hoping they’ll find an unsuspected alternative in this video

[@BruhRlyy]

@@Taetro ah fair enough

[@hoanganhngo5522]

wtf bro i use the same 1 as your =)))

[@everydaymilk_]

I do something similar using two devices, but I use my Apple Watch as my primary communication device and my iPhone as my secondary device. I can’t switch to a non-smart phone since most of my communication isn’t through call/text. So at home I won’t have my phone in my pocket or nearby, I just have my watch to let me know when people are contacting me. And when I go out I keep my phone in my bag and not my pocket.

[@Taetro]

A few people have mentioned Apple Watch and it seems like a great alternative

[@sunrise.northsea]

just stop it with this nonsense

[@Taetro]

Which nonsense?

[@AA-ge4uj]

I worked for various cellfone manufacturers, mostly in Taiwan, in a Design/Engineering capacity & hate the fkn things with a passion. I saw the Effect you're describing starting in the mid-1990's & software developers promoted that behavior with the battle for the "Killer App', wankers, should've left Computing on Computers & Gaming on Game Consoles. The Cellfone should just be a communication device that you call or text with, that's it, with maybe a Calculator & a Calendar thrown in. When I leave the house, I never take it with me, I treasure my privacy. If it's that important, just leave me a text or voice message & I'll get back to you. I always remind people that just because it's called a Smartphone, it doesn't make you Smarter. Get a Life people & Fear the EMP.

[@Taetro]

Fear the EMP!! 🤖

[@ArnDelaCruz]

Hey man! I sent a message to you on Facebook (your page) hoping for your response!

[@reachnandini]

Im sorry but not everyone has a self control like yours. My intentions are not in my control now 🫡

[@Taetro]

I feel like this is a way of subverting self control tbh