Google has announced several projects to take us away from our phones.
Google's efforts: Google's Department of Digital Wellbeing Experiments has developed apps that will make your Pixel3a (these apps don't work on other phones) almost useless. The first suggestion is to lock your phone in an envelope and use it only as a camera or for making phone calls. Their first app, Screen Stopwatch, displays a large timer on your home screen when you unlock your phone, with the aim of making you feel about using your phone. The last app, Activity Bubbles, displays your activity in the form of bubbles. The longer you use the phone, the more bubbles will appear on your screen.
Google has made similar attempts in the past. Last year, they introduced a paper phone, along with instructions on how to use the phone and tips on games in print.
Can these efforts be successful? There is no doubt that keeping your phone locked or making it more difficult to use can save time wasted on social media and other activities. Measuring the time spent on the phone is nothing new (there are many apps and plugins out there that do this, including clocks), but it does give a sense of the time spent in front of the screen.
The second solution is to keep your phone separate. Digital Well being Experiences aims to "provide people with ideas and tools to live a more balanced life with technology."
However, digital expert Julie Albright believes that we should avoid downloading more apps or embarrassing ourselves to control our phone usage she says. For example, before going to bed, you can take time to read a book instead of scrolling on the phone for no reason. And yet there is still debate about the disadvantages of screen time.
