Are you in control of your smartphone or is it controlling you? It is difficult to answer this question sometimes. Smartphone apps keep owners away from spending precious time with family members, prevent them from fully concentrating on the tasks at hand, or prevent them from living in the moment “in the moment” and enjoying life and leisure activities.
If you find yourself chatting with your loved ones and friends through various applications, whether WhatsApp, Facebook, Tik Tok or Twitter, without being able to focus on anything else, you are drowning in the window of the smartphone.
Users often feel that they can’t distance themselves from the devices, which is something that stems from their design, according to several psychologists and whistleblowers in Silicon Valley.
And many are making efforts to resist their smartphones, and a survey conducted by research company GWI in 2021 revealed that people of all ages are beginning to limit the time they spend on social networks, especially the younger participants.
25% of the 80’s generation and 23% of the millennial generation say they use less social apps; To help them improve their mental health.
But recent studies suggest that the time you spend with technology won’t always be bad. Passively browsing Facebook and comparing your life with the lives of others is certainly not a recipe for happiness. But actively using Twitter to provide social support can be satisfying.
Smartphone control methods
That’s why you can change the settings of some apps to make them less time consuming, rather than making well-intentioned but unsustainable decisions that you feel bad about not implementing:
Options to mute people and topics accounts
Some call it the cancellation process, but it’s a process of “organization” and ways to control the smartphone. You can improve your Twitter experience by muting anything you don’t like to see like diet mania tips, Black Friday deals, and posts with movie stories. It is easy to activate and deactivate this option.
1. Twitter
If you want to mute someone’s account, head over to their profile and simply click on the three dots there, then choose Mute. You won’t see any of his tweets after that, and he won’t even know you did, according to a Life Hack website.
You can do the same with words, phrases, movie names, or anything else in the Privacy and Security settings.
2. WhatsApp
Disable read receipts
Many people get nervous when they send a “leave unread” message, and they get the same nervousness when they receive a message that forces the receiver to stop everything to respond to it immediately.
But disabling read receipts can quickly reduce those stresses and fears. Head to Settings, then Account, choose Privacy, and turn off Read Receipts.
From now on, you will not see the two terrifying blue marks, and the same will apply to those you communicate with.
3. Facebook
neutralize the latest news
Facebook’s platform undermined democracy in the 21st century, but if you can’t leave the platform, then your best bet is to delete the Facebook app from your phone and turn it into a desktop-only experience.
And the flood can reduce random memes and questionable political news at the time by using a browser extension like the News Feed Eradicator on Chrome, which hides the latest news and replaces it with inspirational quotes, according to PC Magazine.
4. Instagram
Hide Like Counts
Head to the desired post, click on the three dots in the top right corner, then choose “Hide Likes Counts.” Then you will be the only one who can see the number of likes on your photos, by clicking on who liked them.
And for more tricks of ways to control the smartphone, it is possible to hide the numbers of likes for all people by clicking on “Settings”, then “Privacy”, choosing “Posts”, then turning on “Hide the numbers of likes and views”, and so Instagram will not become similar to fame competitions as it was .
5. YouTube YouTube
Remove related videos
Uninstall the YouTube app from your phone and stick to watching it only on your desktop computer. You can then add a browser extension to give you more control over the experience. The Improve YouTube extension is a good example for Chrome, as it contains a set of features that improve the viewing experience, the best of which is the feature that hides the “related videos” sidebar.
6. TikTok
Specify a time period
Tik Tok seems to represent an alternate dimension. You think you spent 5 minutes watching public videos; To find out you wasted an hour.
Watching time can be controlled by setting a certain amount of time within the application itself, according to what CNBC published. Go to “Settings”, choose “Digital Wellbeing”, then click “Manage Usage Time” to select 40, 60, 90 or 120 minutes per day.
7. Notices
Take a tough stand
How many times have you been distracted by a new notification that lights up your smartphone screen and has nothing to do with what you’re doing? Usually, notifications are enabled by default for most apps. And you should think carefully about the following: Do you really want your brain to be frequently attacked by various social networking platforms, old acquaintances, and pizza delivery companies?
Decide which notifications you really need, to control notifications that may help you deal with the habit of checking the phone, and you only have to try to stick to it for a few days only. be strong.
8. Email
Check emails twice a day
There are a number of basic methods purported to relieve inbox tension, from the no-unread inbox approach to adding colorful folders and filters. But the new direct email habit is this: check emails only once a day, or twice if needed.
These are among the productivity tips recommended by Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek .
In this case, you will have to turn off email notifications, and set an alarm; To remind you to check your incoming messages Increased ways to control your smartphone.
9. LinkedIn
Unfollow annoying people
This useful LinkedIn feature allows you to unfollow anyone whose updates you don’t want to see. Many people know this feature exists, but they don’t use it enough.
There is no doubt that re-following the person again will be easier than unfriending or deleting them. It is also a good option with co-workers. So that they don’t feel offended, because they won’t know you’ve unfollowed them.
10. Messenger
be unavailable
Get rid of the green dot that appears next to your name on Messenger, and everyone will sweat that you’re online. This point is useful sometimes, but most of the time it’s like putting a sticker on your forehead that says “Please talk to me”.
Head to the Messenger app, click on your profile, then choose “Activity Status”, and disable it.
