Conquer Your Smartphone: How to Escape Plato’s Cave (For Good)

We Spend Over Half of Our Lives Staring at Screens

The Nielsen Company published its Total Audience Measurement report. The average U.S. adult spends more than 12 hours per day consuming electronic media, and nearly 4 hours per day using a smartphone. Add in 8 hours of sleep, and in total we spend 80% of our lives staring at a screen or sleeping in bed.

That’s not a recipe for a vigorous, successful, and adventurous life.

Welcome to the Cave

You have probably learned about Plato’s cave. However, the 21st century cave is less like a cave and more like a hamster wheel. We are stuck in a cycle of scrolling, liking, clicking, texting, and swiping. Specifically, it’s easy to lose track of time and slide down a rabbit hole of TikTok videos, YouTube shorts, and Instagram reels.

Let me describe 4 moments that made me realize I was trapped in Plato’s Cave. You probably have some similar moments in your life.

Subway

I passed over 50 people in a row staring down at their smartphones on the subway platform. When I got into the car, most of the passengers stared at their screens. It felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone (or Seinfeld).

Zoo

I was sitting on a bench with my mom and sister at the zoo. All 3 of us were texting. We looked up and saw a custodian staring at us. He asked us why we even bought tickets in the first place. I felt pretty lame once I noticed the beautiful hippos, zebras, and giraffes all around us.

Forest

I read an article about an office worker who took a one-week vacation in a Colorado forest to meditate. By day 2, he couldn’t take it anymore. He filled 20 pages of his journal with notes for PowerPoint presentation ideas.

He’s in one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world, and he starts drafting a slide deck for his boss? Then I recalled the countless times I had spent my evenings ruminating about work.

Restaurant

A close friend asked me when was the last time that I went 24 hours without using my smartphone. I was dumbfounded. Moreover, he couldn’t remember either.

The Pros and Cons of Smartphones

Smartphones are powerful tools. Indeed, they are like magic wands (or extensions of your brain).

From the palm of your hand, you can run a business, launch a political movement, listen to every song ever made, or order a bonsai tree with 2 day delivery. The possibilities are endless.

That being said, if used excessively, smartphones can promote downsides such as distraction, lack of data privacy, and mental health concerns.

The Blueprint to Conquer Your Smartphone

There’s a Mismatch between our Technology and our Biology

Although we live very different lives compared to our hunter-gatherer ancestors, we are still almost genetically identical to them. We’re just not biologically equipped to thrive as sedentary office workers.

The Smartphone Should Be a Tool That Works for Us, Not the Other Way Around

Although we can’t go back to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, I believe that actively managing our smartphone usage can help sharpen our focus, reduce stress, and improve our well-being.

It’s challenging to quit your smartphone because they are embedded everywhere in our lives. In fact, not owning a phone means you might get left out of the social loop. Ignoring your phone could mean missing an important work e-mail.

A more sustainable strategy involves extracting value from the time that you do spend on your phone.

How to Escape the Cave

1. Start with a Smartphone Audit

We lament that there is never enough time in the day to work on our dreams. But have you conducted a thorough audit of your smartphone usage? What amazing feats could you achieve if you looked at your smartphone a little less often?

Run the Numbers

Let’s say you curtail your daily smartphone usage by 50%, from 4 hours to 2 hours. That frees up 14 additional hours per week (728 hours per year). That’s 728 hours you could leverage to build a side hustle, learn new skills, pursue a hobby, or make lasting memories with your family and friends.

I use a smartphone and I also use social media. I’m not immune to their addictive effects. During the week of 12/13 to 12/19, I averaged ~3.5 hours per day, compared to my long-term goal of <2.5 hours.

How Much Data Should I Gather?

For the audit, you will want to gather at least 7 days of data. I recommend sourcing from Apple Screentime for iOS and Digital Well-Being for Android. Repeat the audit once every 3 months to track your progress.

Questions to Investigate In Your Smartphone Audit

1. Why do I want to reduce my smartphone usage?
2. What specific apps do I use and log into most often?
3. How many minutes per day do I spend using each app?
4. How many times per day do I pick up my phone?
5. Are there certain times of the day when I use my phone most often?
6. What is my physical location when I use certain apps?
7. Which apps are “must-have” vs. “nice-to-have”?
8. Does an app bring me closer to or further away from my goals?

2. Change Your Phone Display from Color to Grayscale

Changing from Color to Grayscale is a Fantastic Way to Reduce Screen Time

Colors are powerful marketing tools because they elicit emotional reactions and moods. By removing color, you put the focus back on the app’s function instead of its appearance.

Instructions to Set Up Grayscale Filter for iOS Smartphone Users

1. Settings App
2. Accessibility
3. Display and Text Size
4. Color Filters
5. Select “Grayscale”

Note the difference in my two home screens below. You also likely noticed that I am learning a 2nd language (Spanish). Therefore, to reinforce a productive habit, I enlarged the size of the Duolingo and Babbel apps and moved them to the top of my screen. They serve as a “can’t miss” reminder to never skip a day of lessons.

3. Turn Off Notifications and Remove Apps from the Home Screen

Climb Aboard the Hamster Wheel

Social media and gaming companies aim to maximize engagement and ad revenue. They conduct studies to better understand how users form habits and how app design influences behavior.

They won’t say it outright. Yet we all know these companies want to get you hooked.

If your goal is to learn a new language, then getting hooked on Duolingo could be a great. But a Candy Crush or TikTok addiction might distract you from your goals.

What are Atomic Habits?

In his book “Atomic Habits”, James Clear states there are 4 steps to forming a habit: (1) Cue, (2) Craving, (3) Response, and (4) Reward. When we see the cue (a push notification that someone liked a story you recently posted), it elicits a craving (I must know who liked it; could it be my crush?), followed by a response (clicking into the app) and a reward (dopamine high).

Turn Off Smartphone Notifications

To break the habit, you have to break the cue. You can manually turn off push notifications for specific apps. If you don’t see the cue, you are less likely to get swept away by the addictive algorithm. I never realized the volume of notifications I received until I turned them all off (except for critical work e-mails).

Hide or Delete App Icons From the Smartphone Home Page

In addition, you can hide or delete app icons from the home page to reduce clutter.

I categorized my apps as either “must-have” or “nice-to-have”, and managed to fit all of the essentials onto one page.

A cousin proudly told me how she deleted Instagram from her phone, and only logs into Instagram on the web version. She can still keep up with her friends, but on her own terms. She no longer gets sucked into a vortex of reels and advertisements.

4. Invest in Physical and Digital Blockers

You Can Set Daily Screen Time Limits For Free on iOS and Android

I decided to purchase an Opal subscription for $75 per year. Opal is a software app that sets usage limits. I limit Instagram to 15 minutes per day (blocked for rest of day) and YouTube to 30 minutes per day (available again in 6 hours).

Be careful on assigning permanent blocks. Once I accidentally set a “can’t skip” block to my Messages app. That prevented me from sending an important logistical text to a friend.

Adopt Distancing Strategies

For example, I don’t check my smartphone until at least 30 minutes after I wake up. It’s a solid idea to purchase an analog clock so you don’t need to depend on a smartphone alarm. Physically removing the cue (the smartphone) can help make the first moments of your day more productive.

Invest in Physical Smartphone Blockers

School districts are adopting Yondr, a pouch that locks students’ cellphones. You can also store your smartphone in a time-locked container, but be warned that you might need a sledgehammer to get your phone back in an emergency!

5. Set an Example That Others Can Follow

Restaurant

It’s frustrating to see people at a restaurant or the dinner table browsing their smartphones instead of talking with each other.

Set the tone by powering down your phone and storing it in your bag for the duration of your dinner. When you give people your full attention, it shows. People definitely appreciate it.

Hike

The next time you’re on a walk or a hike, put your phone on airplane mode. You don’t need to take a selfie or 57 photos of the trail.

Parenting

Parenthood is one of life’s most difficult and important jobs.

I understand the impulse to hand your crying kid an iPad, or to retreat into your phone after a stressful day of work. However, if done repeatedly this behavior can be harmful to children, especially as they mature into teenage years.

Children are intuitive, and they will imitate and learn behavior from their parents. Let’s normalize smartphone-free times and zones in our households.

6. Form a Support Group

Chances are you have discussed your smartphone usage with family, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances. Some people might not see a problem with excessive screen time, but you have expressed a desire to use your smartphone less often.

Find a like-minded group of people who also want to reduce the amount of time they spend using their phones or playing video games. Start a group text, share best practices, and meet regularly in person if practicable. One trick I learned is to share a codeword with confidants. If they see you hopelessly doomscrolling on your phone, instruct them to say the codeword and it will remind you to snap out of it.

Conclusion

We used to call technology a break from real life. Now, we call real life a break from technology.

Test, experiment and try different approaches – find what works best for you. Before you help others escape Plato’s cave, you must escape first. Not everyone will want to follow you. In fact, they might get frustrated that you decided to leave.

One smartphone at a time; we shall conquer them all!

– Pertinax