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Checking your phone dozens of times a day indicates unconscious behaviour, which is "extremely repetitive" say psychologists. A study by Lancaster University and the University of Lincoln is unique in that it is one of a few studies that examined smartphone usage based on what people do rather than what they can remember.
Existing research is yet to conclude whether people really are 'addicted' to their smartphones due to over reliance on people's own estimates or beliefs.
But new research into smartphone behaviour has revealed that while people underestimate time spent on their smartphones, their behaviour is remarkably consistent, thus enabling a more rigorous approach to the study of smartphone behaviours. The researchers analysed usage over 13 days using a simple smartphone app which time stamped when usage began and ended. From this data, they were able to calculate the number of total hours usage and the number of checks for each day, with a check defined as any usage lasting less than 15 seconds.
For example, the researchers found that if you check your phone 80 times today, you are likely to repeat this behaviour every day.
[...] Dr Ellis said: "To fully understand the effect of screen time on health and well-being, we probably need to consider measures of smartphone behaviour as well as self-report.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday May 25 2018, @11:16PM (9 children)
Your hammer doesn't have a web browser, GPS, camera, music, etc. Soon to feature a digital assistant, other AI features, augmented reality using the camera, and more.
The web browser alone is enough to replicate any compulsive behavior that specific social media sites could cause. I reload SoylentNews admin.pl (condensed listing of stories and comment counts), Google News (last week's redesign is much slower, thanks Google), etc. a lot.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday May 26 2018, @12:28AM (4 children)
What we need is a dumbphone, revisited. A dumbphone with bluetooth, GPS, and reasonably powerful and modern cameras but with a smaller screen and only the numeric keypad with that nice mechanical haptic feedback to write text messages. You can do GPS directions with speaker or voice instructions and blinking text. You can keep it as a cheaper and more rugged alternative backup to concerts and pool parties and you can easily integrate a mode to make it friendly for the old folks while still having the more advanced functionality should they want to get frisky. You may say something like, "Smartwatches can fill this niche." No they fucking can't, smartwatches are stupid-looking if they grow to the size that the person you're talking to can tell you're wearing a smartwatch.
Who knows, maybe people would grow to like the convenience and simplicity, especially when out with friends and not needing full-on internet stimulation. And with that simplicity would come less off the dependence of smart-shit such as is seen with morons walking down the sidewalk watching Youtube* vids.
* Youtube's day are numbered. Google, like Amazon, is gradually being dismantled-by-regulation for being a spying tool of the CIA and the Jews.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday May 26 2018, @01:32AM (2 children)
Samsung makes that stupidly high-end flip phone:
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/12/1/16724656/samsung-w2018-flip-phone-android-china [theverge.com]
It can be used like a normal smartphone, or a flip phone. The specs are similar to $800-1,000 phones.
Making it closer to your suggestion is obviously doable.
Or, people can just exercise self-control. If they need to downgrade in a major way to make that possible, then they were destined to fail anyway.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday May 26 2018, @01:52AM (1 child)
" Or, people can just exercise self-control. "
When the hell will that ever happen?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday May 26 2018, @01:57AM
Never. So enjoy seeing a rehash of TFA over and over again. :-/
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 26 2018, @09:35PM
I upgraded from a smartphone to a Kyocera S1370 [kyoceramobile.com]. Best thing I've done in a while.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday May 26 2018, @03:25AM
Exactly.
Consolidating multiple functionality into one device does not suddenly mean that we are addicted nor that we need self appointed mental health busybodies trying to get us to stop doing something.
We used to have a clock on the wall in every office, plus one on a wrist, people brought newspapers to the office, maybe had a radio playing softly somewhere.
Not ONLY for the music, but also for the news and weather. Every time you returned to your desk you had message slips waiting or the voicemail light blinking. You had to check your email box every hour, and when the mail boy came around you wanted to be at your desk. You'd haunt the fax machine, and couldn't wait for the arrival of the next Byte Magazine.
You chatted with your S.O. pissing of both your bosses, called the weather forecast recording, and your broker.
We put that all in one package an put that in our pocket, only to have some busybodies tell us we are addicted.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Saturday May 26 2018, @03:49AM (2 children)
Thanks, tachyon:
I thought I had picked up another goddangl persistent JavaScript virus and was still fishing through my machine to see what else was impacted.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday May 26 2018, @11:13AM (1 child)
It's text and thumbnails. Same basic collapsible sections as before. It will load a seemingly infinite amount of stories, but only if you scroll down on a search or World/Tech/Science/etc. subsection. All the big stuff happens on the back end. So how does the initial page load get slower?
I also left a search open for a few hours and got a small message that prompted me to reload the page due to Google News being updated. Which is weird, but maybe it means they will fix it up.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by anubi on Saturday May 26 2018, @12:00PM
My guess its their analytics and trackers chatting back and forth to my machine trying to figure out whose eyeballs they connected to.
Whatever it is, I feel its not nearly as elegant as the previous version.... especially on my phone.
I figure many businesses simply don't want to become an Amazon or an AliExpress - rather they want to bask in the glory of telling me that I need to update my browser, which to me is the business equivalent of a businessman telling his customer that his pants are out of fashion and will he please visit the menswear store and buy somthing made in the last year or so.... while the customer knows the latest fad has fleas in the crotch.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]