Smartphones Aren’t Evil, Notifications Are
Smartphones Aren’t Evil, Notifications Are
Preach. Nothing on my phone is allowed to show me notifications except emails to my main address (which are likely to actually be important and not spam), calls, texts, and a select few Discord channels.
Everyone and everything else can fuck off until I get around to them, which includes my work email inbox.
I am continually disgusted by then number of apps that are not communications related insist on trying to push notifications into your stack all the time. Especially mobile games. That shit can fuck right off.
I can't think of any app that's not FOSS that doesn't ask for permission to send notifications.
They drive engagement at the cost of your sanity 🫠
I'm a caregiver for my mom, so I work in the home. I turned off all notifications. Texts, calls, all of it. If I leave the house, I'll unmute so I know if she calls me, because she may need actual help with something, but even then, it's literally just her on Whatsapp that goes through, nothing else.
I've never felt like I had a healthier relationship with my phone. I tend to scroll a little too much on Lemmy, watch too many YouTube shorts in the bathroom or while I'm cooking, but other than that, I feel like a normal human again for the first time since ~2010
Lol. I just get notification for calls, and evend the calls are limited during my working hours so that only my SO, Brother and parents can call me.
Messaging apps are all muted and zero notification, i anyway open then every time i check my phone.
Emails are especially blocked since if you send me an e-mail you dont really need me
I don't have Google Play services on my phone and I don't get notifications from any app that doesn't support unified push. So I get only calls, texts and signal.
Notifications are bad, but the constant dopamine stimulation of having 24/7 access to stuff like Facebook and TikTok is also bad without notifications.
That's why free will is not enough. You need to set yourself limits or completely uninstall distracting apps. You can get used to it
At the moment I get a new notification I decide if it's useful. If it isn't, the category gets turned off.
My bar for apps is also extremely high. I don't get the notifications if the app isn't installed.
I think that's the intended way to use notifications. If it is there sitting in your status bar it should be because you need to be reminded to do something about it.
Otherwise it's the equivalent of leaving your mail strewn on your dinner table permanently, junk mail and all.
I am starting to uninstall all apps that have websites anyways... not everything needs to be an app
I agree, but I have a problem I don't know how to overcome. Maybe someone here has an idea.
I'm ADHD as fuck.
It's the inattentive type and it cuts both ways. It's not uncommon for me to turn on my phone and get distracted from what I had intended to do by notifications. On the flip side, if I don't have notifications to let me know to check something, I may just forget the app exists entirely. If it's something important, that's not great.
Anyone have any ideas?
Focus mode.
I use it during "work hours". You can take a break for a set amount of time, but it will lock you out again after.
turn off notifications for everything except direct messages to you.
My default is all apps on silent notifications. Can't see em until you pull down the shade (Android). Then give very very few applications access to normal notifications. Then you will check them all only when you check the normal. This still requires some level of willpower but it def helps.
Scheduled summary (iOS feature) has been been a game changer for me