Parents and teens alike are trading in their smartphones for "dumber" models to help stay offline.

Adults and teens concerned about their screen time are turning in their smartphones for “dumber” models.

Buried in the settings of many smartphones is the option to look up how much on average you are staring at your phone per day.

It can bring an uncomfortable realisation, that what was supposed to be a useful piece of technology has become an obsession.

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According to a study by Harvard University, using social networking sites lights up the same part of the brain that is also triggered when taking an addictive substance. This has raised concerns about phone habits among youth.

In the UK, research by Ofcom estimates that around a quarter of children aged five to seven years old now have their own smartphone.

Links have been shown in some studies between use of social media and a negative effect on mental health - especially in children.

  • @bolexforsoup
    2•17 days ago

    Still dependent on google/YT and adblockers, so I’d start working on a backup plan!

    • Sabata
      1•17 days ago

      The only other option is to torrent everything but thats a bit of a pain. If YouTube can stop me from blocking ads, they would have actually done it by now.

      • @bolexforsoup
        2•17 days ago

        Personally I wouldn’t bet against the multinational corporate juggernaut with no moral scruples lol but you do you. Going full on yar with music is easier than ever now with services like sonarr

        • Sabata
          1•17 days ago

          My bet is they know they would cause an YouTube exodus and thats why all their attempts so far have been passive aggressive annoyances rather that slamming the door.
          They can’t give any potential competition that kind of advantage.

          • @bolexforsoup
            1•17 days ago

            They’ve been gunning for adblockers for like a year. Each project has had to increase their update frequency to keep up and browsers like brave/firefox have been encountering issues as well. So far they’ve managed to stay ahead but you’re wrong saying they wouldn’t try to stop it - it’s already underway. Adblockers have impacted their revenue enough over the last few years that they are now actively trying to break them.