Google advises against using Google: sometimes
Google makes products that it is not equally behind in all areas, it turns out. It likes you to use its smartphones, but not always. Smartphones can have a big impact on how we interact with each other, but sometimes it’s too much. Google warns about this.
Digital wellbeing
It doesn’t stop there, because according to the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy, it wants to do more. For example, Digital Wellbeing on smartphones is mandatory, otherwise manufacturers are not allowed to use the Google Play Store. Digital well-being helps you set a kind of kitchen timer so that you don’t spend too much time on your phone and gives you insight into how much screen time you have. There are also tools that allow you to be offline for a while and of course there is the Do Not Disturb mode, with which you can ensure that certain apps do not bombard you with notifications (WhatsApp, for example).
On the blog The Keyword, Google has also shared some tips to improve your well-being. Number one advice is to simply not use your device that much. If you stare at screens a little less, that would save stress. Occasionally offline: for example, don’t take your phone to bed. Google also thinks it is good to go to bed at the same time every night and to switch off devices a few minutes before you go to bed.
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Working on your well-being
Google acknowledges that stress is a normal part of life, but it thinks stress could be reduced a bit for some. For example, by ignoring e-mail and social media for a while. Plus, it continues to work on new ways to ensure Android phone users do so in a sensible, healthy way. For now, you can already start using Digital Wellbeing on your device, but you can also set rules for yourself: how long before you go to sleep do you put your device away? Do you invest in an alarm clock so you can keep your phone out of your bedroom? Take a screen break every now and then to be alone with your own thoughts, make sure you get enough sleep and think about your sitting position when you’re staring at your phone curled like a shrimp again.
So Google advises not so much against its technology, but against its excessive use. We do know that anything with ‘too’ in front is not okay, but sometimes it’s hard to live by that too. Hopefully these tips will help you feel better.
Do you ever notice that you suffer from mental or physical problems after using your smartphone for too long? Leave it in the comments.
