🔌 Unplug
✦
Feb 5, 2024
✦
4 min read
Recently, you've heard about the trend among some people to exchange their iPhones for old-fashioned phones. No apps, few features, sometimes not even a camera. But what could possibly be motivating so many people to turn back the clock?
At the core of this movement lies a shared desire to regain control over one's time and attention. Modern apps, meticulously designed to maximize user engagement, often succeed in hijacking our attention for hours on end. This article explores the ins and outs of how smartphones manage to capture our attention and suggests strategies for a more mindful and productive use of technology.
The Smartphone: A Pocket Candy
Our brains, while remarkable, are not without their flaws. Cognitive biases, inherent imperfections in the way our brains function, can be exploited to manipulate behavior. Smartphone apps, optimized to captivate attention, often succeed in consuming hours of our day. The allure lies in the vivid colors and enticing features designed to tap into our cognitive biases.
The Brain's Love of Color
Color plays a pivotal role in our addiction to smartphones. Research indicates that the composition of our brains and the correlation between sight and perception make color a potent tool for capturing attention. Popular apps leverage vibrant and flashy colors to attract users, prompting them to consume more content mindlessly. But are there other —less radical than choosing a dumbphone, of being less affected by color? Of course, there are:
🖤 Switch to Black and White
A simple yet effective solution is to switch your phone to black and white. By eliminating colors, you reduce distractions and make the phone less visually stimulating.
🍬 Remove Candy from Home Screen
Rearrange your home screen by removing distracting apps. Placing them out of immediate reach makes accessing them a conscious decision rather than a reflex.
Always More Impact
Beyond colors, studies reveal that a brand's communication, often visual in nature, can significantly influence consumer behavior. Striking visuals, vibrant colors, and compelling slogans saturate our daily lives, influencing our decisions. The retro phone movement suggests ways to combat this marketing impact without completely abandoning modern devices. If you’re not ready to leave your iPhone here are some strategies you can adopt.
🗑️ Sort Out Content You Follow
There's no need to follow every brand and product out there. Try to follow only the brands that truly bring value to you. Whose content isn't solely focused on advertising, but rather provides something extra. An excellent example of this is the Greengot brand. Whether or not you choose their services, you have to admit that their content is very insightful and provides lots of useful information about the environment.
🛑 Disable Personalized Advertising
Do ads seem like they were made for you? What a funny coincidence... or not. In fact, if the products on offer seem to suit you so well, it's because you've been perfectly targeted. Networks collect data about you: age, gender, profession, interests... all while you're scrolling. And then, all this data is shared with companies who will pay to show you these ads. The best thing to do in these cases is to refuse personalized ads, so the algorithm will only recommend things you don't care about.
🧾 Choose Your Subscriptions Wisely
Once again, networks are excellent ways of selling you products. And who better to recommend your next must-have than your influencers? Beware of accounts that only promote, especially for dubious articles/sites. Don't trust them blindly; it's all about business. Also, beware of "UGC" (User Generated Content) accounts, which are paid by companies to promote certain services on a massive scale. Their aim is to sell for a fee!
Notifications to Lose Your Mind
Another reason for the shift towards retro phones is the overwhelming barrage of notifications that modern smartphones deliver. Timed strategically, these notifications aim to catch users when they are most vulnerable—tired at the end of the day, idle in the morning, or during breaks. As you can imagine, by opting for a retro phone, you give yourself freedom from all those sharks. But how can you fight back without being so radical?
🔕 Disable Notifications
Be selective about which notifications you allow. Services should earn your time and attention, not demand it. Disable unnecessary notifications to reclaim control. For a more in-depth exploration of this topic, check out our full article on simplifying life in the face of notification overload.
🔒 Block Distractions
If you find yourself scrolling mindlessly, consider blocking distracting apps. The Jomo app, available on iPhone and Mac, offers a comprehensive solution to regain control over your time and attention.
Having a dumbphone may seem like a good solution, but you don't have to take the plunge to be less radical—there are other solutions! Fight the lure of candy apps, resist the temptation of marketing gimmicks, and block them once and for all! Let Jomo do the work for you.
