There is nothing to do without a phone
- autorzy: Joanna i Jarek Burdek - założyciele projektu Offlajnowi.pl
- August 7, 2024
Table of contents
“I have nothing to do without my phone” – is what my friend recently texted me. It made me worry a little bit, because he is quite a smart man. So I consulted a brain replacement – Chat GPT what one can do without a phone. Even it provides a lot of things that can be done without the Internet.
What can you do without the Internet?
Read
Studying: learn new things
Craft: create something
Move: go for a walk, run, preferably outside
Cook something
Meet with friends
Find a hobby
Help someone
I will personally add that you can also do nothing at all. Lie down, take a bath. Think. Write. It is also fun. The problem is not that you have nothing to do without your phone. Your brain just does not take other activities into consideration. Why? Why is it so hard for us to live without a phone?
Habits
Firstly, because of our habits. We teach little children that when they are whiny, for example in a car, they will instantly get a phone. As a result, a phone is something which allows us not to experience more serious emotions since childhood. Only run from them. We are bored – tap, on the phone. We feel bad – tap, on the phone. Stress at work – you guessed it: a phone! It is our tiny pill, for when it gets less pleasant.
Can it be changed?
Learning a new habit on average takes 66 days. You can change the habit of being on the phone to a different one. Just start today. If you feel the urge of reaching for your phone – try to realize that it is a habit. Try do something else then.
Dopamine
People have looked for new information for generations. This is how evolution works. When we acquire new knowledge, we are flooded with dopamine. Dopamine is the hormone of pleasure anticipation. When you use the Internet and social media, your brain is flooded with it, making you want more and more of it.
It is addictive, especially for children, whose brains are not fully developed and they cannot fully deal with dopamine or temptations.
How to deal with it?
Uninstall applications and turn off notifications on your phone. Notifications alone make your brain produce dopamine like crazy. It wants to know: what is it, what is going to happen? Is it something nice, someone liked my post, messaged me? Make your phone less accessible. Control your time online.
Do you want to learn how to live without a phone? Here is what I did (it helped):
I use applications only when they are the best option to complete a given action. For example, I try to call my friend (instead of only texting). On the other hand, it is hard to replace digital maps with paper ones, so I use them.
I turned off all notifications (excluding text messages).
I uninstalled social media apps from my phone.
I uninstalled messaging apps from my phone.
I use social media exclusively on my laptop (exception: LinkedIn, although I’ve realized that I do not feel so well after using it, because of constantly comparing myself to others).
I also often log out of social media on my computer so it doesn’t tempt me during work.
Are you a digital zombie?
I noticed that everyone is on their phones in the tram. This person scrolls Youtube for 30 minutes, that person plays a game of some sort. Both focused so hard as if they were in the middle of a heart surgery. Endlessly gazing in their little screens.
I reminded me of a saying about a turkey. The turkey thinks that the person feeding it is its friend. It is similar with a person and a phone. We also think that applications are our friends, because they give us a tasty way to spend time (often brainlessly). But it is completely the other way.
Applications consume our time!
They grill our brain, which is constantly at work, searching, scattered. The brain doesn’t rest, it’s exhausted, and as a result we are often nervous and sad. That is (also) why unplugging is so important.
Believe me that each day of such unplugging helps. Today, being offline is a symbol of wisdom and taking care of yourself.
Are you addicted to your phone? Find out!
Who are we?
Thank you for taking time to get to acquainted with Offlajnowi. Our names are Joanna and Jarek. We are a married couple of marketers. In recent years of the development of the Internet and Artificial Inteligence, we have observed what influence technology has on our life and people close to us. For years, we have been teaching companies how to create content for the brain to believe in.
We have found out about the influence our work has on people. Because the more content you produce, the more content there is in the world, the more it reaches clients, taking up their attention.
We have walked the path of addiction to the Internet and social media. We know what influence the constant checking for content and notifications has on work and life. That is why we decided to speak up about it. In our opinion, it is currently one of the most important topics.
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