...go on...I have removed 90% of all notification, and my phone screen doesn’t light up unless someone calls me. After 10pm, my screen turns greyscale and I need to unlock any app that isn’t communication-related.
What, with restrictions? The greyscale and screen time management things were part my phone’s Android P upgrade. I can now decide on a per-app basis how much time I allot myself per day, and it also shows me how often I unlock my device. (Which was genuinely an order of magnitude higher than I expected it to be.)
You know, it was only over the last year or so that I’ve come to realize smartphone addiction is a very real thing. I used to laugh at people who even used the term, but this whole digital wellbeing thing Apple and Google have introduced was enough to cement my thoughts about the topic. Now that I’ve restricted my phone so much I feel hyper aware just how often some people around me use their phones. They’re rarely people who are good at focusing and listening.
Day before yesterday, I was awoken by my roommate arising at 5:45 to use the bathroom. I also needed to use the bathroom, but I was sleepy. I dozed until 6:15. The fan was still on. He was still in the bathroom. I dozed until 6:30. The fan was still on. He was still in the bathroom. I got up, got dressed, got my bag ready, checked messages. It was 6:38 and I needed to get to fucking work. I knocked on the door, surprising him. The toilet flushed eventually and he mumbled out apologetically. Mutherfucker sat down to take a shit at 5:45 and browsed Twitter until damn near an hour later. Went to a concert with Other Roommate on Sunday. He was so busy texting someone as he crossed the street that he stone-cold kicked the curb and did an ass-over-teakettle. Dude couldn't keep his face out of his phone while crossing the street in downtown LA. Got another buddy. Brand new Tesla 3. Screen on that thing is an easy 17" of information overload; I had to talk him out of putting up a frickin' stalk so his iPhone could be in Carplay right next to it. 'cuz you know. When you're stuck in traffic for an hour you need two displays to keep you from driving. Shit's real, dawg. What's funny is that I haven't seen anyone in either of my two colleges who has much of a problem... other than millennials. GenZ is fine. GenX is fine. 'boomers are fine. But the millennials apparently got primed for that shit.