It's been just over 12 years since the first iPhone was introduced, the phone that revolutionized the way people around the world approach technology every day. Until then the phone was used for only two reasons, broadly speaking: phone calls and messages (ok, there was Snake too, for those who had a Nokia). But since the introduction of the first iPhone, and then the arrival of all the other smartphones on the market, the phone has become much more, it fills the dead times during the day and often not only those. Think about how many times you open the Facebook or Instagram app for no particular reason, whether it's in the morning as soon as you wake up over coffee or in the evening on the sofa while watching television.
The excessive use of smartphones is a much discussed topic in recent years, to which sociologists, psychologists and other researchers have dedicated several studies. A study from the University of Melbourne, Australia, argues that it is not so much the amount of time spent on the phone that is negatively impacted, but rather the quality: reading an ebook or talking to a loved one are not comparable to having a fight on Facebook with someone in the neighborhood. comments on a post by some politician, for example.
But smartphones have entered people's lives so deeply that in recent years the manufacturers themselves have decided to introduce tools to allow users to limit their use. Both Apple and Google, the two main manufacturers of smartphone operating systems, have implemented systems for monitoring the use of their phone, with the possibility of setting time limits for some or all apps. It's a bit “like when the bartender tells you you've drunk enough,” writes the New York Times about the decision by the smartphone makers themselves to help people stop using smartphones.
What to do to limit the use of smartphones
The first to do so was Apple which in 2018 in iOS 12 introduced the “Screen Time” function (“Screen Time” in English), thanks to which you can keep your smartphone addiction under control, with daily and weekly reports the time spent in front of the phone screen and the apps you use most. If you think you've gone too far, you can set a daily time limit for all apps or just for a certain category of apps. Once the limit is exceeded, the apps icon will turn gray. If you decide to make an exception and continue using it, just select the app, where the message “Ignore limitation” will appear, which allows you to have an extension of 15 minutes: but it could be enough to discourage you.
A similar thing is also present on smartphones with the Android Pie operating system. It is an app called “Digital Wellbeing”, and as in the case of Apple it serves to discourage users from spending too much time on their phone. Even on Android phones, once an app's usage time limit has been exceeded, its icon will turn gray and can no longer be used. Unlike Apple, however, there are no extensions: if you want to continue using that app, you will need to deactivate the entire system of limitations.
And to sleep better
Over the past few years, several studies have shown that bright screens on phones and computers can negatively affect our sleep, especially when used before bed. One of the causes was identified in the so-called blue light. This very bright light, in addition to straining the eyes, causes our body to think that it is still daylight, reducing the production of melatonin. Both Apple and Android have already introduced some functions for some time that allow you to limit the use of the phone in the evening, or to adjust the colors of the screen to warmer shades when the evening falls.
On Apple you can set a “Pause of use” in the menu of the “Time of use” function: you choose the time span in which you want to pause the phone, and in this period you will not receive notifications and only allowed apps and incoming and outgoing calls will be available. To adjust the screen colors in the evening you need to select the “Screen and brightness” option in the settings, and from there go to “Night Shift”: here you can decide from what time to what time you want the screen to change colors, and change the hue you prefer. On Android it is not possible to disable all the apps at a certain time as happens on Apple, but through the “Relax” function (“Wind Down” in English), present in “Digital wellbeing”, it is possible to set an interruption of notifications and adjusting the screen to a gray scale, for less eye strain.
