Parents and teens alike are trading in their smartphones for "dumber" models to help stay offline.

Adults and teens concerned about their screen time are turning in their smartphones for “dumber” models.

Buried in the settings of many smartphones is the option to look up how much on average you are staring at your phone per day.

It can bring an uncomfortable realisation, that what was supposed to be a useful piece of technology has become an obsession.

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According to a study by Harvard University, using social networking sites lights up the same part of the brain that is also triggered when taking an addictive substance. This has raised concerns about phone habits among youth.

In the UK, research by Ofcom estimates that around a quarter of children aged five to seven years old now have their own smartphone.

Links have been shown in some studies between use of social media and a negative effect on mental health - especially in children.

  • aln@lemmy.world
    125·
    5 months ago

    I don’t understand why you don’t just uninstall what you don’t need?

    • aname@lemmy.one
      92·
      5 months ago

      Just don’t buy more heroin. Addicition solved. Why didn’t anyone think of that?

    • teejay@lemmy.worldEnglish
      94·
      5 months ago

      This is what I don’t get. Just don’t use social media on your phone. I don’t have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. on my phone. But the camera, maps, music and audiobooks, email, calendar, digital wallet, etc. are invaluable to me. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

      • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
        41·
        5 months ago

        Because some people struggle with self-control. Uninstalling apps is reversal by installing them again.

        I forget the names now as I have better control and habits but there are several apps that will block you from using apps you set a time for. For instance if I don’t want to use Voyager for Lemmy during certain hours then it would just not let me.

        There are ones where you can remove them all from your iOS screen and just have borrowing text links to vital apps like Email, Messages, Phone, etc.

      • EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        2·
        5 months ago

        Because social media exploits the same mental addiction as gambling, “retail therapy,” and adrenaline and exercise addiction. You may as well tell a caffeine addict to just stop drinking coffee every morning and cut chocolate out of their diet.

        This is something that people who have never experienced mental health issues like addiction struggle to grasp because they’ve never had the wiring in their brain used against them by companies like this. It takes immense willpower to fight against the physical makeup of your brain and not fall to the temptation of reinstalling social media for the endorphins.