My problem with my phone.

Hello, my name is Federica. Just like probably all of you reading, I have a smartphone. Over the past years, this object has become the thing I touch, look at and speak to the most, during the day. Everyday. I use it on average 4.5 hours a day. This means that some days it’s less, some days it’s more than that. We can all agree on the fact that that’s a lot of time that could be spent differently. But first of all, let’s talk about the problem.

What do I do on my phone for so many hours a day?

Well, that’s easy to tell you. I downloaded an app called YourHour that tells me exactly what we want to know. My most used app is YouTube, and my most visited app is WhatsApp, which is also my second most used app. On the third place of the podium we have Instagram. Let’s talk about it.

YouTube is my way of unwinding. It allows me to completely turn off my brain and relax while recharging my batteries. I am the kind of person that really focuses deeply and uses all of her energy while working, so when I take a break I absolutely need to stop thinking. This app had a lot of benefits for me in the past, such as teaching me English and allowing me to discover other cultures, but now I mostly watch useless videos as I usually choose to watch the first thing I find. Mostly BTS videos. Shhhht, don’t tell anyone. It’s my guilty pleasure.

WhatsApp is what I use to communicate. It is very important for me as it allows me to stay in touch with people I can’t see very often, such as my friend Chuz who is studying in London and my boyfriend Kareem, that lives in Algeria. Being in a long-distance relationship, this app is pretty much what my relationship is based on. But despite these important uses of the app, I still tend to overuse it by checking it every two seconds, as testified by the fact that it is my most visited app. This is something I can work on.

Instagram is also a way of connecting with my friends. I use it to stay updated on the lives of those friends I don’t really talk to very frequently. My feed is also a sort of visual diary of my life, that I really like updating (in fact I have more than 1800 posts. Yes, you read correctly. 1800.). And let’s not forget to mention the memes. Scrolling through the memes is obviously another thing I do on Instagram. And we can all agree that that’s not necessary. We can definitely cut down the use of this app.

So, what is my plan?

Now that we know the problem, we need to think about a solution. We analysed my phone use and we know the three infamous apps very well, so we can act effectively. Let’s start by setting some rules.

1. In the morning I can only check my phone after I am fully dressed and ready to leave (exceptions: checking strikes and train timetables).
2. Every time I’m bored and feel like checking my phone, I will mark it on a paper instead.
3. I will set a limited amount of time to use my top 3 apps, and I must respect them.
4. I will set a usage goal that I have to achieve by the end of the challenge.

I will adjust the rules as I go and add new ones. The challenge will officially start today, on Monday, so feel free to join!