I worked for a federal government agency where no phones were allowed in the buildings. There were carrels located outside each building and you locked your phone inside before entering. I find it astounding that phones are EVER allowed in meetings. I'd like to ban them from all types of workplaces -- hospitals, construction sites, caretaking facilities, medical offices -- basically anywhere anyone should be paying attention to their work, which is not on their phones.
Agreed! At a minimum, we should leave all phones outside of the meeting rooms (physical or virtual), and, have a "laptop down" policy for anyone who is not presenting. I used to do that with my team meetings and had so-so success rate, but it was better than nothing.
Speaking with federal government, I had an opportunity to visit a top secret federal office building in D.C. and I was THOROUGHLY impressed with the security measure and its policy of leaving all personal electronics at the entrance. :)
Let's work on taking our lives back from electronic devices and be a little less connected.
I've been teaching English overseas for about 14 years, most of it in SE Asia. And I can tell you the transformation that phones have brought into the classroom is a little heartbreaking. In the past, you'd walk into the class and the students would be chatting and socializing. Now, they sit quietly on their phones, or just sit there. Some schools have a no phone policy, while others allow them to use it during their breaks, etc, but where I'm at the kids are allowed to bring them and while most of them don't look at them, they are a distraction, and you can see the kids peeking down at their devices.
I applaud you trying to use your phone less. Yes, they are damn amazing and convenient. I, too, use it for everything, it seems, but for me I remind myself that it's a tool. I use it, not the other way around. Airplane mode is your friend ;)
I give lecture to my boys when they are on the iphone or ipad for too long, but the screen time summery prompted on my iphone shows I am guilty too. Like it or not, our life is forever changed by it. Adults can try to use our will power not indulge in it. It is the young kids I am concerned about.
I don't judge all screen time the same. Some screen time (i.e. when we use it read and research) is good. Excessive social platform browsing is to be frowned upon.
It made me reflect that I have more or less stopped worrying about how much time I spend on my phone. It's more for me about what I'm doing with it. A lot of it is looking up information or catching up on the news, and I'm ok with spending time doing that. The fact that I basically don't use social media (outside of Notes on Substack) and have my phone's sound switched off means I don't feel constantly interrupted by it.
I agree with you completely - when it comes to technologies, it all depends on how we as users decide to use it, be it smartphones or social media or AI ...
As for the Substack Notes, the jury is still out for me. I recently quit Twitter/X and have been cutting down on Instagram and Facebook. I have not quite figured out how (and if) to use Notes so it does not just become a replacement for X/FB/IG ... :)
I read that NYT article the other day too, I thought about it and there is no way I’m going back to flip phone, but I admit that I’m wasting a lot of time checking the phone. Pls keep me posted if you find a good way to get it under controlled :)
I already shared my first step, which is to limit the distraction from all email, social networking, and video conference apps by turning off notifications and move them to a less accessible phone screen. 😊
I worked for a federal government agency where no phones were allowed in the buildings. There were carrels located outside each building and you locked your phone inside before entering. I find it astounding that phones are EVER allowed in meetings. I'd like to ban them from all types of workplaces -- hospitals, construction sites, caretaking facilities, medical offices -- basically anywhere anyone should be paying attention to their work, which is not on their phones.
Agreed! At a minimum, we should leave all phones outside of the meeting rooms (physical or virtual), and, have a "laptop down" policy for anyone who is not presenting. I used to do that with my team meetings and had so-so success rate, but it was better than nothing.
Speaking with federal government, I had an opportunity to visit a top secret federal office building in D.C. and I was THOROUGHLY impressed with the security measure and its policy of leaving all personal electronics at the entrance. :)
Let's work on taking our lives back from electronic devices and be a little less connected.
I've been teaching English overseas for about 14 years, most of it in SE Asia. And I can tell you the transformation that phones have brought into the classroom is a little heartbreaking. In the past, you'd walk into the class and the students would be chatting and socializing. Now, they sit quietly on their phones, or just sit there. Some schools have a no phone policy, while others allow them to use it during their breaks, etc, but where I'm at the kids are allowed to bring them and while most of them don't look at them, they are a distraction, and you can see the kids peeking down at their devices.
I applaud you trying to use your phone less. Yes, they are damn amazing and convenient. I, too, use it for everything, it seems, but for me I remind myself that it's a tool. I use it, not the other way around. Airplane mode is your friend ;)
You got it: it is a tool, no need to ban it and but absolutely should not allow it to take control of our lives!
Airplane mode is indeed the friend and also just leaving it in another room with the door closed. :)
I give lecture to my boys when they are on the iphone or ipad for too long, but the screen time summery prompted on my iphone shows I am guilty too. Like it or not, our life is forever changed by it. Adults can try to use our will power not indulge in it. It is the young kids I am concerned about.
I don't judge all screen time the same. Some screen time (i.e. when we use it read and research) is good. Excessive social platform browsing is to be frowned upon.
A really interesting post, Yi Xue.
It made me reflect that I have more or less stopped worrying about how much time I spend on my phone. It's more for me about what I'm doing with it. A lot of it is looking up information or catching up on the news, and I'm ok with spending time doing that. The fact that I basically don't use social media (outside of Notes on Substack) and have my phone's sound switched off means I don't feel constantly interrupted by it.
I agree with you completely - when it comes to technologies, it all depends on how we as users decide to use it, be it smartphones or social media or AI ...
As for the Substack Notes, the jury is still out for me. I recently quit Twitter/X and have been cutting down on Instagram and Facebook. I have not quite figured out how (and if) to use Notes so it does not just become a replacement for X/FB/IG ... :)
Enjoy Japan and what it can offer!
I consider Notes just another iteration of Facebook. Not sure what the point of it is and have no plans to figure it out!
I read that NYT article the other day too, I thought about it and there is no way I’m going back to flip phone, but I admit that I’m wasting a lot of time checking the phone. Pls keep me posted if you find a good way to get it under controlled :)
I already shared my first step, which is to limit the distraction from all email, social networking, and video conference apps by turning off notifications and move them to a less accessible phone screen. 😊
I will check back with you in one month :)