The world is a war for our attention
People are spending more and more time online. The Internet can be an amazing tool for creation, enjoyment and socialising. Many companies such as Instagram have taken advantage of their useful products to hook us to our screens. I’m sure you are well aware of the infamous ‘algorithm’; the adaptive code that chooses what we will see next on our feed. It is designed to keep us looking at screens for as long as possible with tailored content. Company app designers want us to look for as long as possible. Why? Because it makes them lots of money, as the famous quote from the documentary Social Dilemma said: “If you aren’t paying for a product you are the product.” Companies are taking your hour of scrolling and making money from advertising. This scrolling can cause us all to easily gain unhealthy addictions from hours of screen time from mindless watching; affecting our moods, productivity and mental health. So here are a few ways to help you spend less time glued to a screen:
1: Reset the Algorithm
Your phone keeps you hooked for hours through an algorithm of tailored suggestions so that you are most likely to watch and stay constantly engaged. Some work by just looking at the videos you watch and how long you watch them (such as Youtube or Reddit) while newer models are more complex and look at hundreds of factors to suggest the next video. The problem with this is the more you watch the better the algorithm gets at predicting your interests and therefore keeps you engaged for longer. One of the easiest ways to spend less time scrolling is to delete your account and make a new one. This will reset the algorithm and make it much less interesting and addictive to watch consequently reducing your screen time. This may be much harder in places where you are in contact with friends and can’t delete accounts.
2: Move Apps
Algorithmic consumption is an addiction and we have to treat it in that way if we want to reduce it. Most instances of mindless scrolling start with simple visual cues. If a smoker sees a pack of cigarettes they start to crave one, the brain associates the visual cue of a cigarette with the dopamine released when smoking, therefore, we crave it. Similarly, the visual code of an app on the home screen triggers our brain into craving the dopamine release of scrolling. If we can eliminate these visual cues to some extent we can reduce the urge to click on an app and start watching a video. Removing apps from your phone’s home screen may seem self-explanatory but can make a huge difference to screen time.
3. Change to Black and White
Changing your phone to black and white may seem strange but hear me out. It’s the same reason why black and white films are so much harder to watch than new movies. Firstly it’s less real, making us not feel as immersed so we are less engaged and pay less attention. Secondly, our monkey brains love colours. The colour red for example is hard-wired into our brains to grab our attention because of its primal relation to ripe fruit, meat and danger. This is why almost all notifications on the corner of apps are red. So changing to black and white levels the playing field for your attention and makes your phone seem more boring. I recently did this as an experiment with myself: for one week I turned all my devices to black and white. My screen time went down by 43%; I ended up reading more (very rare for me) and cleaning my room for once; simply because my phone wasn’t interesting anymore.
4. Detox
A break from almost anything is good for you. A break from work to go on holiday, a break from your house to go for a walk and a sober period are all examples of this. So why can’t we apply this to your devices? Having an hour, day or week break from socials or your phone altogether can help you reset and live without your phone. This may not work for everyone but it can help you get a better perspective on your relationship with technology.
5. Go Dumb
Sometimes less extreme changes don’t do the job. Getting rid of your smartphone completely may seem drastic but it is becoming more and more popular as a ‘detox’. Dumb or burner phones can seriously change your relationship with technology for the better without affecting your communication with friends and family. The digital minimalist approach to the problem of algorithmic media consumption is to eliminate all visual cues and the ability to scroll entirely. You can still access social media through a laptop but your usage will drop to almost nothing. I again tried this out on myself to see how it would affect me. I sold my smartphone and got a burner; the first month was quite strange because I found myself subconsciously pulling my phone out of my pocket, only to realise that I was holding a Nokia. After a month or so of urges, my brain gave up and started to forget the urge to look at my phone. After only planning for a month I found myself doing it for over nine months. During that time I generally felt happier, less anxious and more productive. One thing you do notice when you don’t have a phone is just how much time people spend on theirs. So, have a go – what have you got to lose?
written for Bexclusive Magazine by Adam Leake
