these simple tricks to keep you away from your phone

It is difficult today to let go of our cell phones. It must be said that they are sources of all attention and have become our television, our GPS, our camera and a privileged source of information and entertainment. Result, according to a study by the April Foundation from 2021the French pass 4h49 per day on average on their smartphones, mainly to check their e-mails, use instant messaging and spend time on social networks. An alarming figure, only 18% of French people say they are able to disconnect from it for several days in a row. Even more worrying for the future, 24% of people under 35 say they don’t feel able to spend more than an hour offline. To preserve our sanity and restore some semblance of control over our attention, it’s time to make some efforts to get away from our screens.

Limit rather than prohibit

It would be tempting to stop everything at once. We drop everything, we stop e-mails, we close our Facebook profiles and we start talking only by calling each other. But this is not really a solution since it can cut us off socially from certain relationships that we have. For some, the smartphone is also a work tool from which it is difficult to be away for too long. It is therefore important to analyze our screen consumption and see where cuts can be made. Scrolling our Facebook walls for 5 minutes might not be the most important part of the day. You can also turn off notifications from some apps. You will no longer be attracted all the time to your phone which rings you constantly. So do a study of your Internet use and find where you can readjust it so that it is less intrusive in your daily life.

Digital well-being

Many modes can also free your time. You will find for example, in the options of your Android mobiles, a “Digital well-being and parental controls” tab. There you will find a graph that will show you what you spent your time on your smartphone.

You can configure several interesting options there. “Dashboard” allows you to set up time limiters per application. “Sleep Mode” puts your phone on silent, the screen black and white, and disables notifications (but not calls from your contacts) for a time period that you predefine yourself. Finally, the “Distraction-free mode” allows you to pause certain applications and turn off their notifications for a predefined time slot. If you don’t want to receive it when you work, it’s up to you to make your own schedule.

The “Hush Mode” allows you to switch to activate the “do not disturb” option simply by turning your phone over the screen. Really very practical since it only requires simple and quick handling.

Ban the presence of smartphones in certain places and at certain times

To avoid being tempted to use your phone, you can also just don’t take it with you if you can.. Are you watching a movie, going to a party with friends, to a restaurant? Leave your phone at home, in your bag or in the next room. We know very well that staying with your eyes glued to your screen before sleeping is also not good for sleep. So you can also ban your phone from entering your room.

Reduce attraction

It has in fact been proven that some settings can make your phone less attractive. This is for example the case of black and white or dark modes. Less light – in addition to consuming less battery – allows you to spend less time on applications. It is finally the same principle as a butterfly which throws itself on a source of light without thinking. If you turn it off, it goes home to read a book.

For the most radical among you, you can also buy you a good old dumbphone, like a Nokia, which is only used to call, send SMS and play Snake. There, for sure, you will not be disturbed or attracted by anything. The market is on the rise, proof that the need for disconnection is great for some.

The “dumb phone” market challenges the smartphone markethttps://t.co/BEPXYes9jt #dumbphone #smartphone pic.twitter.com/OpAjtUAymo

— LesThursdays (@LesThursdays) March 27, 2018

Again, here, it’s up to you to analyze your use of your smartphone and adapt it in order to keep control of your attention and not waste more time than necessary in front of your screen. Unless you’re immortal, in which case, do what you want, but it’s still pretty rare.