Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?
I gave up on social apps keeping only Youtube for now. Because I enjoy listening to stuff while working. Helps me fall asleep at night too. The only social app I have left is probably github, if that's considered a social app. But I do follow people and checks it pretty compulsively during the day. So I guess it counts. It's not exactly work related 100% of the time.
Peter London wrote to All <=-
Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?
I gave up on social apps keeping only Youtube for now. Because I enjoy listening to stuff while working. Helps me fall asleep at night too.
The only social app I have left is probably github, if that's
considered a social app. But I do follow people and checks it pretty compulsively during the day. So I guess it counts. It's not exactly
work related 100% of the time.
Not being on any social platforms has helped me regain control over my time, and better at "living in the present".
But I still use my stupid phone too much. Now mainly the web browser.
I check forums and e-mails way too many times than strictly necessary. It's a bad habit, built over a loong long time. Over 15 years I think.
I have an android. I've heard of minimalist launchers and other
techniques to "dumb it down". Still need banking apps, and digital ID. Yes, in Sweden you REALLY need those things. But I can easily strip the rest. At least in theory.
Main goal are - being in the present together with family, less brain
rot, less stress overall, you know, the usual downsides of the current era.
Any thoughts or experience on this?
Cheers
Peter
... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...
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Hello Peter!
Does the FTN reader count as social apps? It's the only thing I check
pretty compulsively throughout the day.
Does the FTN reader count as social apps? It's the only thing I checkIt probably does, but just of out curiosity, which app is that?
pretty compulsively throughout the day.
I use JuiceSSH to check my bbs 500 times a day. But it's not optimal.
Been wanting to vibe code somerhing better, but it conflicts with my
idea of reducing screen time, that's a problem... :).
Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?
Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?
Main goal are - being in the present together with family, less brain rot, less stress overall, you know, the usual downsides of the current era.
Any thoughts or experience on this?
In particular, the vibe-coding process itself will take a lot of screen time. :-) AI keeps messing up constantly, so it's just endless checking and double-checking.
I used to use GoldED+ for many years, but it's not very convenient on a smartphone over SSH. So now I'm vibe-coding my own AmberEdit, but it's
pretty far from production-ready.
In particular, the vibe-coding process itself will take a lot of screen
time. :-) AI keeps messing up constantly, so it's just endless checking
and double-checking.
I've found that if you try to vibe-code an entire project, it often
doesn't save you much time because you have to spend time checking and correcting it. But AI coding tools can save you time if you at least
use it for smaller tasks (or perhaps simpler tasks).
A long time ago I did the following to my Iphone...
- No more noise or vibrating on texts. - No more noise or vibrating on emails. - Unknown callers not in my contacts are shitcanned to
voicemail. - The "focus time" of absolute silence between 10pm and 7am.
.... And its been nicely quiet since.
I don't use any social apps whatsoever.
So you are probably fighting a loosing battle, unless everybody is
on board.
My kid is three and I can still influence him
to the better. But again, all his future friends are gonna be glued to
their screens most likely, so there's only so much you can do. It's a
worry for me. One amongst many worries. :).
Good idea. In fact, I don't have sound on any notifications except texts and calls from my wife. If she asks me to buy groceries on way home from work I don't want to miss it (in that case I definitely will have to go
out again, once home and when she asks "did you see my texts" haha).
You can do a lot, and you'll have to if you want to win this war...
Your energy will decide if you win it.
Peter London wrote to All <=-
I think it also helps to choose our battles carefully. Screen addiction
is definitely one of the battles worth fighting against.
Tried to impress on her the difference between consuming and creating.
2 of my family members are the most screen addicted individuals I've ever observed. They both get physically ill when the network is down. And of course, I am tech support, so their stress affects me too. I've learned to build pretty solid network solutions for them, though. Because it makes my life easier too, haha.
Two members of my family are the most screen addicted individuals I've
ever observed. One of them is 84, and the other is 12, so this is not exaclty a generational problem either ;). They both get physically ill
when the network is down. And of course, I am their tech support, so
their stress affects me too. I've learned to build pretty solid network solutions for them, though. Because it makes my life easier too, haha.
If someone wants your attention, have them call you.
You know these two paragraphs say the same thing, right?
If someone wants your attention, have them call you.
I'm just the opposite. I hate voice calls. Texting gets my attention a lo quicker.
She's turned out with a pretty healthy use of social networks, but she's addicted to group chats and texting and will drop everything for them.
If someone wants your attention, have them call you.
I'm just the opposite. I hate voice calls. Texting gets my attention quicker.
To each his own... Some people I know enjoy spending time typing paragraphs of text nonsense that I ignore as it could have been articulated verbally in less time and got my limited attention span better.
I hate voice calls for a variety of reasons, and like text for a variety of reasons.
Voice calls:
Cause me anxiety
Require immediate shifting to call
May be something I'm unprepared for
May come with a video component that I'm unprepared for Have a greater chance that I mis-state something
Text:
Is what I grew up with
Allows for time shifting
Can be edited to make it better
Gives me time to think through the topic
Lowers the chance that I'm mis-stating something
Mind you, you don't get verbal tone with text, and lots of people read extra tone into text when it isn't there. So I know it's not all positive.
You must be younger than me. :) I didn't grow up with text, and I didn't get my own cell phone until I was 21.. But since then, I've always found texting to be very convenient.
ICQ had a feature where you could fill out a little profile for yoruself and have it find you a random chat partner online - It was a bit like having pen pals. I talked to a lot of people that way, and I miss that sometimes. I wonder if people would still do that if that feature existed these days.. And I feel like as I've gotten older, it seems more rare for people to do that - Maybe for people in my age group. Maybe younger
people would be more apt to hang out and chat with people like that. It was definitely a thing I did a lot in my teens and early 20s.
Text:
Is what I grew up with
You must be younger than me. :) I didn't grow up with text, and I
didn't get my own cell phone until I was 21.. But since then, I've
always found texting to be very convenient.
You must be younger than me. :) I didn't grow up with text, and I didn't
get my own cell phone until I was 21.. But since then, I've always found
texting to be very convenient.
Eh, maybe a bit, but I meant "text", not "texting". Since most of my communication is through Teams/Signal/WhatsApp/Discord, and there's invariably a desktop app, I wind up using a keyboard much of the time anyway.
Since I grew up with BBSs, I spent _way_ more time typing and reading things than I did having a non-digital phone call.
Nightfox wrote to Adept <=-
I know what you mean; these days, I feel like voice calls can be
something I'm unprepared for too and might not be in a great place to
take a call - but I grew up before it was common to have cell phones,
so I was used to occasional phone calls. I don't get many phone calls though (at least, not many from family & friends - I do sometimes get calls from job recruiters & such, as well as spam calls).
Nightfox wrote to Adept <=-
ICQ had a feature where you could fill out a little profile for
yoruself and have it find you a random chat partner online - It was a
bit like having pen pals. I talked to a lot of people that way, and I
miss that sometimes. I wonder if people would still do that if that feature existed these days..
As much as I prefer phone calls for being able to quickly resolve issues, the intrusion factor bothers me more now; in a support role calls tend to be trying to jump the line, so to speak. It's important to set expectations and not drop everything for them.
1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat it like a synchronous comms method. Instead, include your request or pertinent information in the intro and I'll have the information needed to prioritize this. The only benefit of chat over a phone call is the asynchronousness of it.
4. Talking over people in meetings is getting bad. I sometimes feel like I'm viewed as being quiet in meetings. I'm introverted, but sometimes I'm waiting to get a word in edgewise? Stop for comments.
6. My personal pet peeve - set an outgoing voicemail message. Especially when hiring, I hate it when I call the number on a resume and get a generic message. I have anxiety that I misdialed and the person won't get the message.
ICQ had a feature where you could fill out a little profile for yoruself
and have it find you a random chat partner online - It was a bit like
having pen pals. I talked to a lot of people that way, and I miss that
sometimes. I wonder if people would still do that if that feature existed
these days..
ChatRoulette took it to a different level, if memory serves, it was totally random.
Voice calls:
Cause me anxiety
Voice calls:
Cause me anxiety
I'm afraid you lost me at voice calls causing anxiety...
1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat it like a synchronous comms method. Instead, include your request or pertinent information in the intro and I'll have the information needed
1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat like a synchronous comms method. Instead, include your request or pertinent information in the intro and I'll have the information need
Mind you, you don't get verbal tone with text, and lots of people read extra tone into text when it isn't there. So I know it's not all positive.
ChatRoulette took it to a different level, if memory serves, it was
totally random.
I'm afraid you lost me at voice calls causing anxiety...
I hear that some people even enjoy them.
1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat like a synchronous comms
Ugh, people at work do this sometimes! Often times I just won't even respond until they then type what
it is they want to talk about or what they want from me. And almost every time they won't!
1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat it like a synchronous comms method.
I used to ignore them until they asked a question or told me what they wanted. It didn't work out and they would end up coming to my desk and bothering me in person. So I just answer the hello messages now.
Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?
I spend a lot of time working on front of computers but I have never suffered of an excess of phone time. The main reason is that I hate modern phones with such a passion you would think I consider them anti-horses.
I have made the same observations as you. It's dystopic, especially
seeing couples and especially with kids, like 5 people glued to their phones, not saying a word during dinner. What happened? Years ago I
stopped bringing my phone to the table. At least that.
So I have two teenage kids, and they can complain all they like (they dont so much anymore), but the phone is for my benefit not theirs. Because of busy extra curricular activites, I have two low cost phone services, that they take with them to so I know where they are, and they can call home if they need to.
I'm just the opposite. I hate voice calls. Texting gets my attention a lot quicker.
My mother gave me a phone "for her benefit" back in the day and it didn't work because I rarely carried it on me. In fact the presure I got for carrying it was absurd, but for me it felt like useless tech. I didn't have enough pockets back then (and I still don't) so if I had to chose whether to pick the phone or a folding blade, I would probably pick the folding blade.
pick the folding blade.
As a kid, what did you need a folding blade for?
And most of the time, any pants, shorts, etc. I wore usually had at least a couple of pockets in front. Normally I wouldn't be carrying so much that I wouldn't have had room for a phone. Cell phones weren't really a thing when I was a kid though - at least, not small or affordable. Most adults at that time didn't even have a cell phone.
As a kid, what did you need a folding blade for?
If you are working in some place where horses and rope coexist, you carry a blade, because it is guaranteed at some point somebody will manage to get a horse entangled with the rope (and chances are you are the moron who manages it).
But really... My role wasn't of that much importance. The only thing
that I "directed" was to the CEO to please don't spill wine on your laptop; these gadgets cost us money... And to please not text me while drunk, I will not respond to BS, infact I had shut off ALL text/email notifications on my cell.
Oof. I have a hard time imagining a "good" situation where a higher up is drunk texting/e-mailing/calling me about work-related things, presumably during non-standard hours.
Considering I drive from my home (which is out of town) to attend the orgies, I feel like this guy is robbing me of my time.
Most people are like that whether they want to admit it or not.
text only when my message does not require immediate action - and, very often, it gets ignored.
Retroswim wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-
I view instant messaging platforms like Teams as synchronous comms methods. If I wanted to leave a question or thought for answering at
your leisure, I'd send an email.
Atreyu wrote to Adept <=-
I would be constantly CC'd on absolute nonsense... Or people would
write me novels when one-sentence replies would've been better, or
writing paragraphs to say absolutely nothing... that still happens to
me in Fidonet sometimes.
Tiny wrote to Knight Shadow <=-
I used to ignore them until they asked a question or told me what they wanted. It didn't work out and they would end up coming to my desk and bothering me in person.
So I just answer the hello messages now. "Hey!
Nice to hear from you! how can I help?" Also when I message someone first it's always "Hi, {question}" so they answer right away. My
emails are also right to the point without any niceness or nonsense.
..."If anybody sets fire to this city, it's going to be _ME_."
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(21:1/700)
Arelor wrote to Mortar M. <=-
Texting is cheap. When somebody sends you a text he is likely not
putting much effort on it. I am not in a hurry to check texts.
Making a phone call costs money and requires a little bit of a bigger social investment, therefore if I get a call I am likely to pay
attention to it because it has a high chance of being important.
also has a chance of being a South American trying to sell insurance to you but since I put the call down instantaneously the moment I realize
it is telemarketing I have not been taking a lot of those as of late.
Most people are like that whether they want to admit it or not. I typically text only when my message does not require immediate action - and, very often, it gets ignored. I am talking messages for things that require action in 48 hours and you still have to phone in later because the message got ignored.
--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
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Arelor wrote to deon <=-
My mother gave me a phone "for her benefit" back in the day and it
didn't work because I rarely carried it on me. In fact the presure I
got for carrying it was absurd, but for me it felt like useless tech. I didn't have enough pockets back then (and I still don't) so if I had to chose whether to pick the phone or a folding blade, I would probably
pick the folding blade.
Adept wrote to Atreyu <=-
Oof. I have a hard time imagining a "good" situation where a higher up
is drunk texting/e-mailing/calling me about work-related things, presumably during non-standard hours.
Quoting Poindexter Fortran to Tiny <=-
notes on my monitor that said "Call Me ASAP". I joked that in a world
of varied means of communication, I needed to put a web cam up facing
my monitor...
I'm going to have to send a followup to her email summarizing our
conversation. Annoying.
I know other people who call to respond to emails, primarily so there's
no paper trail to their commitments.
Tiny wrote to POINDEXTER FORTRAN <=-
It was a joke that would have been helpful. LOL My Weekend is Friday
and Saturday, so of course every Friday and Saturday I'm emailed constantly. I won't install outhouse on my personal phone, so they stay unread until Sunday when I weed through about 85-90 email's all with deadlines of the previous day. I enjoy deleting those unread, the auto responce told them who they should have contacted.
Adept wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-
(Incidentally, this reminds me how I changed message retention in
Outlook at some point, because there'd be the occasional times when I needed to find an old e-mail, but I couldn't search for it, because
local retention is such that old messages disappear from the local computer, and thus from search.)
I'm wondering if these people also misuse genAI.
"Misuse" because there's a wild difference from using it and then fact-checking all the output, and using it like a kid cheating on their high-school homework.
...people would write me novels when one-sentence replies would've been better, or writing paragraphs to say absolutely nothing... that still happens to me in Fidonet sometimes.
...went back to my place and were asleep when my phone rang. She was half-asleep and answered it.
Most people are like that whether they want to admit it or not. I
typically text only when my message does not require immediate action - and, very often, it gets ignored. I am talking messages for things that require action in 48 hours and you still have to phone in later because
the message got ignored.
text only when my message does not require immediate action - and, very
often, it gets ignored.
Maybe because you're the "grumpy weird guy"? :)
Mortar M. wrote to Atreyu <=-
So yeah, mega-lengh posts are definitely a problem, as well as keeping them relevant to the topic at hand...Like I did here.
Mortar M. wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-
Don't you hate it when people bring their work home with them? ;)
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