[NietTim]

I recognise the problems this 'dumbphone' trend is trying to solve but I really don't understand many of the solutions people are putting forth. What I did years ago is aggressively manage my notifications settings, deleted the apps that were a problem (twitter, reddit) and I'm assertive about not being in too many group chats + notifications off for those. And it's been working great.

[kemayo]

I think it's worth viewing through an addiction lens. Some people have addictive personalities, and their brains work differently when presented with things like this. I can have just one drink, or play just a bit of a video game. But I know people who will tip into a destructive addiction spiral from a tiny impetus like that, such that completely avoiding what to me would be a harmless thing is the only way they can live a normal life.

It's sort of like people with clinical depression. Advice from people who're not clinically depressed is often terrible, because it's stuff that'll work great if you're a neurotypical person. And it's legitimately hard to get in the mindset of someone whose brain works differently than yours for things like this, and understand what's incredibly difficult for them despite being trivial for you.

[pflenker]

Notifications off by default and apps not on the Home Screen by default already goes a very long way. For me, there is no need to make my phone any dumber.

[walteweiss]

I would add that if you truly want to distract yourself, ‘no notifications’ policy doesn’t work. You may just open your distraction and update it manually, expecting for the notification to arrive. Even when you set it to never bother you. So, the best way is to explore what triggers you to distract in the first place.

I don’t mean turning off the notifications isn’t going to work. It would, and I highly recommend turning off everything, but the urgent stuff. You’ll notice you won’t miss what you truly need anyway. And you still may distract yourself, when you want it.

[pxmpxm]

Feigning being a victim and having no agency is trendy in certain circles.