Ask HN: Mobile phone addiction help?

I don't have problems with phones but I have problems with computers - I was usually ended up with HN and YouTube when I tried to learning/writing/programming for side projects.

Then I recall I read from somewhere that Donald Knuth prefers pen and paper to computer. I tried it and it did work for me. I just turn off the computer and use pen and paper/book/printed stuff most of the time. When I have to use the computer I leave the network cable unplugged and finish it quick; When I have to use the internet, I write down what I going to do and do it then turn off the computer; I only check HN or YouTube on meal breaks or before sleep.

I found programming with pen and paper is surprisingly effective, and arguably makes the system better designed. Reading printed code and take notes in diagrams like half a century ago make me understand better (I don't actually print everything, just collect those parts I find important to an editor then print). Turn-on computer on demand feels like going back to the lab from the dorm when the idea struck. All are slower but make steady progress, and it's enjoyable. Much better than time wasted in vain.

As in hindsight, I don't think I'm addicted because I don't have withdrawal symptoms - I don't get uncomfortable when I'm not using a computer or the Internet. It's just those websites are good at grasping my attention. If that's your case, just turn it off or lock your phone away and only get it when you need your online bank. But if you do have withdrawal symptoms, you probably need to ask professionals to address them.

I am inclined to agree with the others than a technological solution is not likely what you need. The trick is to segregate these areas mentally, so that you are acutely aware of when you are "on forbidden ground". The "rubber band" trick has been mentioned here already, and it's based on helping to re-enforce that awareness. Technological solutions can help do this. Timer apps that give you a regular notice to "GTFO THE PHONE FOR 15 MIN NOW" for example, are building the same kind of awareness, just as a software tool to do so.

In my case these bad habits predate the iPhone's existence. What we call phone addiction now was the "Internet addiction" of 15 years ago. Some strategies that have helped me, I think:

One: The phone never comes to bed with me. It never comes out in real-life social interactions either.

Two: During the day I keep it physically separate from me if possible. In my drawer at work. Just on the table on the other side of the room here at home right now. Checking it requires physically standing up and walking over. More likely this will percolate up into conscious awareness.

Following from that, stand when you're on the phone. Don't sit down and slump and relax.

Three: Purge all the dopamine-ticklers. In my case, if you'll excuse the bluntness, that means: No Twitter or other clickbait feeds. No outrage-driven news. No porn. No hookup apps. No endless-browsing online shopping.

Hell, even Hacker News warrants some caution. You're just such a rewarding bunch.

And this is not just on the phone. In all of my life. As a general mental cordon sanitaire. I cross into the quarantined zone often, I must admit, but the key is to be aware, to have a niggling sense of unease, when you're in the danger zone. Check your dosimeter regularly and have a planned exit.

Any technical advice about how to block yourself is beating around the bush IMO. Not only is it easy to bypass most of that stuff, but you'll be way better off learning how to deal with this psychological issue directly instead of trying to avoid triggering it.

Edit: They are not mutually exclusive by any means, I just mean that you will benefit in the long-run by addressing the psychological problem that leads to this behavior and manifests in this way. It probably manifests in other ways too, outside of phone addiction.

~The Triple Ziploc Bag method.~

I dedicate a few days a month to being absolutely phone-free. The key point is I'm allowed to use Reddit/IG but I have to use a laptop/desktop to access them. This method requires a key ingredient: three ziploc bags.

I wrap both my work phone (when not oncall) and my personal phone in three nested ziploc bags and put them in a drawer. This acts as a great deterrent most of the time.

I've started doing this on/off since last December. Each month I aim to have at least like 6+ completely phone free days. This isn't to say I still don't have bad days where I'm completely addicted to my phone, but overall I feel so much better with this habit.

My therapist who deals with other software engineers has mentioned me as a positive case study for people with similar problems :)

> I will always end up downloading “scroller” apps - Twitter, Instagram

Start reading the journals of the ACM and IEEE:

https://dl.acm.org/journals

https://www.ieee.org/publications/

Afterwards, branch out into other fields and read their journals.

Lastly, realize that nearly all of the information on Twitter, Instagram, HN and most of the web is of low quality and should be avoided.

A lot of folks are saying a technical solution isn’t the answer, but I’d say it’s a core part of getting to the next stage.

I’d recommend reading James Clear’s Atomic Habits to get a high-level view of what your body/mind is doing when you reach for certain apps/impulses.

Personally, I’ve found that installing blockers like Freedom and setting up timed schedules has significantly increase my productivity and cut back on wasted device time. Fwiw, the “fun” parts of the internet turn off at 10pm and don’t go back on until noon the next day.

You can also set a timed block at the router level, set a password for the setting via a password manager, give the password to a friend, and then delete it from your manager.

I find by simply removing the easy option to engage, the impulse to do so significantly diminishes. It’s only after you’ve felt what that diminished impulse is like and see the effects on productivity that you can then take bigger steps to change your habits.

So, I’m a big advocate for technical solutions because they help reduce need for self control / impulse control by removing the option on a schedule you define when you are your “best” or “most optimistic” self. (Yes, they can be circumvented, but you can also make that significantly onerous as to be usefully frictive.)

Turn on the system-wide parental controls and have someone else set the password. You can set time limits for apps (x mins per day), designated hours for apps (only between 6-8p), and block apps outright.

If you live with someone who can be your password-holder, this is easy with little downside. If you don't, you need to think about the possibility of emergency use of the phone. But I think it will let you call 911 at any time of day regardless of parental controls.

One thing I will note from when I set this up years ago for a friend's family: there aren't persistent preferences, and once you disable parental controls (even just for a minute), you have to re-enable every single control manually. This may well have changed in the last 5 years though — I certainly hope so!

I spent a while on this path - removing apps, hiding others, setting personal time limits or other restrictions on my phone usage. At each step on the way, all I learned is that I need to go further. Short of getting rid of your smartphone (which I have now done), the most effective thing I found was to make sure you put your phone in some fixed place in the house where you won't typically look at it (a shelf in the kitchen, in my case), ideally with it turned off. Even then, I would find after a few days that my phone was back in my hand and I had been wasting a lot of time on it.

There are no easy answers, sorry. You'll always find a way around any lockdown you do.