my new year's resolution was to get my screen time to under 30minutes a day. the closest i got was 36minutes for a week. every other week, i've been between 1 and 2 hours. although i've significantly reduced my screen time, i still feel like a failure. why is it so hard to limit our screen time?
for many reasons. the first being the system lies. see, even if your phone isn't with you, but you receive notifications, each notification counts as screen time. so if you have message reminders, that's two lots of screen time your phone is docking you for. i've frequently reflected on my screen time and i can't understand it - when i've added up the individual categories compared to the total screen time, there's often a significant discrepancy. where is this extra screen time supposedly coming from? from notifications. from phone calls. from your phone lighting up.
if you have apple car play in your car, beware, that will also increase your screen time. even though the app is designed so you don't use your phone, which you won't need to, it will still count as screen time. when it connects to spotify? ding! screen time. gps navigation? ding! screen time. message notification? ding! screen time.
the addition of the screen time feature on the iphone is a cruel device. this feature gives the illusion that reducing your screen time is entirely within your control; everything on the phone is designed to help you achieve your goal...isn't it?
app restrictions - a great idea, but so easy to ignore. screen time - a great idea, but so easy to ignore. these big tech companies want you to fail. they've even designed these 'helpful' features with the intent to make you feel bad and fail. because if you fail, that means more screen time. more screen time means more money. once you've reached your limit, you're more likely to just say 'fuck it' and keep using your phone. a 'helpful' feature would be to have your phone cut you off, but why would they design these apps to help you? these big tech giants don't care about your life time, they care about your screen time.
we're all addicted to our phones. but it's not our fault. our weaknesses have been exploited for money; the root motivator of capitalism. the only way to 'beat' the system, is to not use the system at all. humans don't have the willpower not to use that which they have access to. that's why alcoholics aren't allowed alcohol in the house. so if you want to reduce your screen time? leave your phone at home and turn off your notifications. it's time to take control of our lives again.