One bite at a time, it seems. Or at least that's how I remember the joke I liked telling in second grade.
I am using a similar logic to be able to reduce my smartphone usage. I am doing it one app at a time.
The smartphone is without a doubt a fantastic piece of technology. Video calling is my favourite feature. I love that my smartphone allows me to travel without carrying my wallet. I can order a taxi in most cities worldwide. I am able to listen to music/podcasts/books as I follow instructions from a virtual fitness coach. I am able to order in groceries or a full meal while running. And when the chaos of life is getting too much, I can use it for guided meditations.
Despite all these advantages, I've found that my smartphone has had a net negative impact on my life. It made me addicted. It reduced my ability to concentrate for long periods of time. It worsened my sleep. It made me less attentive while being in the company of others or alone. It made me believe that I could fill every free moment with something useful (podcast, blogs, books, etc.) I convinced myself that movie trailers on youtube were relaxing and rejuvenating. Without realizing it, I gave up on silence and being bored.
I was never active on social media and rarely had their apps on my phone. Early on, I turned off all notifications for messaging and email apps that remained on my phone. But I still found myself reaching for it with great frequency. The possibility of having received a new message/email (variable reward) was sufficient for my amateur mind to check my phone more than I wanted to. When I experimented with keeping my smartphone in a different room during work hours, I was shocked to see my hands involuntarily search for my phone.
This realization pushed me to rethink my habits, especially as I considered the example I was setting for my children. Apart from my negative experience with smartphones, I am also aware of the negative effects of smart phones on children's minds. How can I expect my children to stay away from smartphones if I can't model that behaviour myself? Mahatma Gandhi's story (or was it Nasrudin?) of giving up sugar himself before expecting someone else to do it inspires me to be a role model first.
While trying to reduce usage, I discovered that I use my smartphone for three broad sets of tasks -
- For things I can only do on my smartphone - Ordering a cab, tracking workouts, finding routes to a destination (maps), etc.
- For things I can do elsewhere (like my laptop), but I do on my smartphone - calendar, professional communication apps, note taking, listening to music or podcasts while exercising, ordering online, etc.
- To avoid being with myself (and listening to my own thoughts) - listen to music/podcast while commuting, standing in line, or walking; watching a video while eating, etc
Breaking my usage into these three buckets made the path to reducing it clearer - though not necessarily easier.
I am already working on getting comfortable and beginning to enjoy my time in silence. For example: I often commute in silence and use the time to be in a meditative space or to reflect on something of my choosing.
For the tasks I can do elsewhere, I am deleting the apps on my phone while consciously choosing to use my laptop or other options instead. For example: Just today, I picked up my phone to set a reminder to charge my watch before my evening run - only to realize that I could set the alarm on my watch itself. (Funny story, I bought a smart watch to use its silent alarm function when my wife threatened to break the mechanical alarm clock I had purchased to stop using my mobile as an alarm clock.)
And for the things I can only do on my smartphone, I will continue to use it. It bears repeating that I am not against the smartphone. I just do not want it to control my behaviour. I am always open to new apps and features that could improve my life in a meaningful way. I will happily embrace them but only after scrutinising their utility thoroughly.
By December 31, 2025, I aim to reclaim control over my smartphone usage - bringing it down to less than 20 minutes per day outside of my workouts. This isn't about rejecting technology; it's about using it with intention, rather than letting it use me.