Unphone.

Lessons about how to reset your relationship with your phone.

Philosophy

Carrying a smartphone around in your pocket is like carrying a small packet of cocaine in your pocket. Whenever you feel like it, you can dip in and take a little hit.

But this is not a big secret. Many people are quite open about the fact that they have a bad relationship with their phone. Though most, perhaps, are scared to use the ‘a’ word: addiction.

Thirty years ago, in the UK, people used to smoke everywhere. In carriages on the tube, in pubs, in restaurants. It’s now completely taboo.

I’m an optimist. I think we’ll see a similar shift in how we use our phones.

But, unlike with smoking, this societal shift won’t be aided by state-sponsored comms and government policy. Nor will it be aided by the big tech companies, whose profit margins are buoyed by our addiction to their miniature dopamine factories.

And I don’t think it will happen by installing time-tracking apps, or with app-blocking apps, or by buying physical lockboxes, or by uninstalling Instagram for the 17th time this month.

Instead, I propose using techniques from proven medical disciplines: cognitive behavioural therapy, compassion-focused therapy and mindfulness techniques.

Approach

Once we overcome our fear of using the word 'addiction,' we unlock a world of exercises and techniques that are backed by a wealth of clinical evidence, proving them to be efficacious.

Unphone gathers up these techniques into bite-sized exercises, allowing you to retrain your brain and reframe your relationship with your phone.

Tools and techniques

  • Cognitive-behavioural therapy・Practical and solution-focussed. In the UK, the NHxxx
  • Compassion-focussed therapy・Compassion-focussedxxx
  • Dialectical behaviorual therapy・Dialecticalxxx
  • Acceptance and commitment therapy・Acceptance andxxx
  • Mindfulness・Mindfulness is about training your attention to be in the present moment, rather than being caught up in thoughts about the past or the future. It has roots in Eastern religion, but contemporary practices focus on breath control and awareness.
  • Productivity tools・ There’s a litany of solutions and tools from a whole industry of people trying to help people work more effectively. A side effect of these is often they are about helping you improve your focus and reduce the amount of distractions you have, which can also be useful to bring into this work as trying to become less addicted to your phone.
  • Digital wellbeing device settings・Google and Apple obviously aren’t invested in trying to get you to use your phone less, as that often means devices wear out less frequently, they get less ad revenue, and people spend less money at those companies. However, because of the public perception of the danger of overuse of technology, there are a few controls very limited, but there are some settings in the operating system and with third party apps that will help us here.

Made by Paavan, who is also still trying to learn how to use his phone a little better

Colophon