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HAVE YOU A smartphone?
Chances are, you have one – and if you do, you probably use it a lot.
Ireland is a tech-savvy country, and that has benefited us in many ways. Apps have simplified life, connected us to our friends and loved ones, enabled us to buy products quickly and easily, and put the whole world at our fingertips.
But sometimes, it can feel like your phone is using you.
And that’s where Live A Better Life comes in: Over four weeks, we’re going to help you look at how you use your smartphone, challenge yourself to new ways of using it (and not using it), tackle the main phone tech stressors, and cultivate a sense of positivity around using your phone.
Will you be transformed into a person who no longer needs a smartphone by the end of it? Don’t worry, that’s not the aim – and for most people, it’s certainly not practical.
Instead, it’s about putting you back in control, so you have a better sense of how you deal with your smartphone, and how to go about changing elements you’re unhappy with.
How it works
Every weekday for the next four weeks, we’ll feature one article on how to Live A Better Life with your phone. There’ll be information, challenges, and even the odd quiz or two for you.
Sign up by email (see below) and each Friday you’ll get an email with the week’s content.
Day One
For the first day of the first week, we’re keeping things simple: All we’re asking you to do is take a quiz on your smartphone use.
Then, you just have to:
If you want, you can write your thoughts down, as a way of reflecting on the process.
But right now, we’re just getting a sense of what that smartphone-you relationship is like.
Factbox:
If you find you’re a heavy user of your phone, you’re not alone.
Recent stats show that over half of Irish smartphone users check their devices in the middle of the night.
Deloitte’s research found that the top three nocturnal smartphone activities include:
In addition, a study from the University of Derby found that smartphones are addictive - and the more you use it, the more addictive the behaviour can be. The average user in this study spent 3.6 hours a day using a device.
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Smart phones are creating a generation of zombies .It needs to be recognised as a serious threat to human civilization the over reliance on tech. In the not so distant future smart tech over reliance will become an addiction.
@Declan Byrne: i think that day has already come
Unsupervised unrestricted access is doing huge damage to kids and causing arrogant bullying foul mouthed selfish shallow indisciplined behaviour in anecdotal cases I have heard of. All that crap filtering over from The Valley plus God knows what they do be at on Snapgram and Instachat.
@Declan Byrne: They said the same about penny dreadfuls, radio, television, the waltz, rock music and chewing gum…
I use a smartphone but honestly I would use it only for news and Spotify. I do not understand the obsession with social media. People giving out an impression that their lives are so fabulous when in reality they are probably stressed, depressed or anxious about their real life.
Fake it til you make it as I heard a kid say.
@John O’Driscoll: fakebook as I call it. A load of bullsh!t
I don’t have either smart phone or i-phone. I can send and receive text messages, or make or receive calls on my Nokia – just wish mine had come with a camera – maybe next time as and when I need a new phone.
I have a life!!!
@Ally Collyer: All of those people on instagram have such fabulous lives. So good they must be shared.
Is it a Nokia mars bar type? Great phone the Swiss Kinfe of phones did just what you needed and no more you couldn’t build a business empire or watch Hollywoods entire output but it got you out of a hole when you needed it and would probably survived a nuclear attack. Worst thing they did was change the charger plug size. Time was you could go into any pub restaurant doghouse flop house warehouse or outhouse and they’d have a charger to fit. That was where Nokia’s “burning platform” caught fire right there with the charger.
@Eamonn Sheen: Yep – my life is sooo boring ;)
@John O’Driscoll: It’s a Nokia 108, and my husband’s is the 109. So neither that ancient, but still quite basic.
The price charged for data is ridiculous. I use mine for calls and texts only now. I used maps for a few hours and consumed about €150 worth of data.
@Kevin Barry: change your provider…
have your say