I used to do it. Didn't have a smart phone until 2018ish, then when I got one I restricted my data package to 512MB per month for years but that kind of willpower's fallen by the wayside now - my newish phone/contract has a 125GB monthly limit. I think the most I've ever used is 3GB. I knew if I got one I'd read less on my commute and constantly refresh the badger instead, and that's pretty much what's happened. For all my moaning I wouldn't go back to buttons now though, tbf.

Good luck.

[justify]I turned all notifications off apart from voice calls. I still use it as a smartphone but it's me proactively doing stuff rather than acting on a notification. That includes texts - I only voice call these days. I still use it as a smart phone but it's always to either go on here or look something up like the weather, never as a result of being prompted to use my phone because of a message. [/justify]

[justify]I'm not on social media anyway apart from in here.[/justify]

Davy added a new AI system that alerts you when you need to justify your arguments.

Anyway, I really recommend the no texting thing. Annoyingly, it has led to a busier social life but in a sweet way I guess. People phone when it's important or they're missing you so you end up having longer but more meaningful conversations which often end up with an invite to somewhere. 

I've noticed people are on time more when you do meet up at a pub because they can't text to say they're running late. I'm more on time too.

g.man wrote:

 
That's the one I was thinking of, nice one. I've just enabled this mode and also put the phone into black and white mode. Looks drab as anything and really restricted. I think this might be a winner. I will report back after a week.

Blue Swirl wrote:

I was a gnat's chuff from going feature phone a while back, but I've basically just uninstalled all social media apps from my smartphone. I just log in via browser when I get home. TwitXter has 2FA on it, and usually I can't be bothered going through that to post whatever random thought crossed my mind. It's done wonders. I've never had a smart watch. Thought about it; it'd be nice to use one to navigate when I'm on my bike. But that's a bit niche. My Casio does fine. Got a calculator on it and everything. #tehfutur

I found the smartwatch useful for tracking bike rides and runs and that's about it. Having to charge it every night is just another thing to do. Casio, here we come! I would say that for some people, having a smartwatch makes them less tied to their phones. You made a good point about 2FA being a barrier to accessing certain things in a positive way. A while back Facebook wanted me to log in via 2FA on the web and I didn't have my phone to hand so just couldn't be arsed, then something clicked and I just decided not to log in any more. I eventually logged in after a month or so and I realised I'd missed fuck all. Not really bothered with it since.

I use a Firewalla router at home and have blocked Twitter on the network as I've found myself scrolling there recently, usually off the back of a link I've clicked elsewhere.

Another thing on 2FA. I've started to move from a 2FA app on my phone to a desktop based app. But the keys themselves are stored on a Yubikey (with a backup), so not actually tied to a computer or phone.

I have a smart watch and it's utterly pointless and just needs charged all the time.

Every time I look at it I'm reminded of the joke about digital watches in the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and what a fool I was for thinking it was a useful thing to spend money on.

an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea...

I found that ditching all social media cut down on my phone use. I still use the phone/pc all the time but reading news, articles etc is ok by me. It was mindless scrolling that was such a life waster.

Ain’t no way I’m getting rid of phone or watch they both serve great purposes and as I use my own phone for work I don’t think not being in touch would be good.

I got rid of Facebook in 2017, great move. I also got rid of eBay even earlier.

Instagram for family pics.

Twitter for the laughs and some selective follows.

This place for games.

YouTube for everything else (mainly tech, cooking, the lawnmower guy, AI stuff, games and people camping in really inhospitable places)

Most of this stuff can be well controlled. Focus modes look good on iOS but I’ve not really made enough use of them.

Not everybody’s dependent on social media though. Plenty of people just use it for occasional entertainment in a perfectly manageable, sane way.

And there’s no need to conflate phones and social media as if you can’t use a smartphone for other things.

I have never had to give a shit about my emails, and I doubt I ever will.

I reckon a good exercise would be to leave your phone at home when you go on holiday. Bit of a hassle as you might need to print shit out for travel but it'd be worth it.

b0r1s wrote:

I don’t need to be involved with and when I go on holiday I usually disconnect all work stuff from my phone.

Just don't take your phone and see what happens to your brain. There's a twix in it if you manage it.

I do kinda stress if I leave my phone at home but it's more for the lack of a music player if I'm honest.

b0r1s wrote:

Yeah cos I’m gonna not have my tickets insurance docs, emergency contacts etc. it also means I’d need to buy a printer which means you’re asking me to buy MORE tech. It seems like your argument isn’t detox usage of tech but to just get rid of the phone and that solves problems. It doesn’t. It just introduces other problems that need to be solved by some older tech.

You can print stuff at the library ya big wuss. Massive psychological fail at the first hurdle!