Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?

I gave up on social apps keeping only Youtube for now. Because I enjoy listening to stuff while working. Helps me fall asleep at night too. The
only social app I have left is probably github, if that's considered a
social app. But I do follow people and checks it pretty compulsively
during the day. So I guess it counts. It's not exactly work related 100%
of the time.

Not being on any social platforms has helped me regain control over my
time, and better at "living in the present".

But I still use my stupid phone too much. Now mainly the web browser.
I check forums and e-mails way too many times than strictly necessary.
It's a bad habit, built over a loong long time. Over 15 years I think.

I have an android. I've heard of minimalist launchers and other
techniques to "dumb it down". Still need banking apps, and digital ID.
Yes, in Sweden you REALLY need those things. But I can easily strip the
rest. At least in theory.

Main goal are - being in the present together with family, less brain rot,
less stress overall, you know, the usual downsides of the current era.

Any thoughts or experience on this?

Cheers

Peter

... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...

--- SklaffKOM v1.33rc2
* Origin: Twilight Node, Solvesborg, Sweden (21:3/242)

Hello Peter!

15 Aug 26 14:35, you wrote to you:

Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?
I gave up on social apps keeping only Youtube for now. Because I enjoy listening to stuff while working. Helps me fall asleep at night too. The only social app I have left is probably github, if that's considered a social app. But I do follow people and checks it pretty compulsively during the day. So I guess it counts. It's not exactly work related 100% of the time.

Does the FTN reader count as social apps? It's the only thing I check pretty compulsively throughout the day.

Checking the awkward stuff like FB or IG just isn't interesting - they seem to be built for bots and algorithms, not humans.

Yegor
--- AmberEdit/linux 0.1
* Origin: Somewhere in the world (21:3/228)

Peter London wrote to All <=-

Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?

Yes.

I gave up on social apps keeping only Youtube for now. Because I enjoy listening to stuff while working. Helps me fall asleep at night too.
The only social app I have left is probably github, if that's
considered a social app. But I do follow people and checks it pretty compulsively during the day. So I guess it counts. It's not exactly
work related 100% of the time.

I'm a visual person, love architecture and cityscapes. I've kept
Instagram on my phone but try to spend most of my unconscious "pick up
my phone time" reading books on Kindle. Between those free offers on
Amazon and buying books on Amazon and Kobo, I've got close to 1,000
books in my Calibre library.

(Before Amazon removed the ability to easily download books, I
downloaded all of mine into Calibre. I also import PDFs into it and
then onto my Kindle, but they're not as easy to read on a phone
screen...)

Not being on any social platforms has helped me regain control over my time, and better at "living in the present".

But I still use my stupid phone too much. Now mainly the web browser.
I check forums and e-mails way too many times than strictly necessary. It's a bad habit, built over a loong long time. Over 15 years I think.

I have an android. I've heard of minimalist launchers and other
techniques to "dumb it down". Still need banking apps, and digital ID. Yes, in Sweden you REALLY need those things. But I can easily strip the rest. At least in theory.

Main goal are - being in the present together with family, less brain
rot, less stress overall, you know, the usual downsides of the current era.

Any thoughts or experience on this?

Cheers

Peter

... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...

--- SklaffKOM v1.33rc2
* Origin: Twilight Node, Solvesborg, Sweden (21:3/242)

... SURELY NOT EVERYONE WAS KUNG FU FIGHTING
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Hello Peter!

Hi back Yegor :).

Does the FTN reader count as social apps? It's the only thing I check
pretty compulsively throughout the day.

It probably does, but just of out curiosity, which app is that?

I use JuiceSSH to check my bbs 500 times a day. But it's not optimal.
Been wanting to vibe code somerhing better, but it conflicts with my idea
of reducing screen time, that's a problem... :).

... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...

--- SklaffKOM v1.33rc2
* Origin: Twilight Node, Solvesborg, Sweden (21:3/242)

Hello Peter!

15 Aug 26 20:45, you wrote to All:

Does the FTN reader count as social apps? It's the only thing I check
pretty compulsively throughout the day.

It probably does, but just of out curiosity, which app is that?
I use JuiceSSH to check my bbs 500 times a day. But it's not optimal.

I used to use GoldED+ for many years, but it's not very convenient on a smartphone over SSH. So now I'm vibe-coding my own AmberEdit, but it's pretty far from production-ready.

Been wanting to vibe code somerhing better, but it conflicts with my
idea of reducing screen time, that's a problem... :).

In particular, the vibe-coding process itself will take a lot of screen time. :-) AI keeps messing up constantly, so it's just endless checking and double-checking.

Yegor
--- AmberEdit/linux 0.1
* Origin: Somewhere in the world (21:3/228)

On 15 Aug 26 14:35:01, Peter London said the following to All:

Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?

A long time ago I did the following to my Iphone...

- No more noise or vibrating on texts.
- No more noise or vibrating on emails.
- Unknown callers not in my contacts are shitcanned to voicemail.
- The "focus time" of absolute silence between 10pm and 7am.

.... And its been nicely quiet since.

I don't use any social apps whatsoever.

Atreyu

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)

Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Peter London to All on Sat Aug 15 2026 02:35 pm

Howdy,

Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?

Main goal are - being in the present together with family, less brain rot, less stress overall, you know, the usual downsides of the current era.

Any thoughts or experience on this?

So you are probably fighting a loosing battle, unless everybody is on board.

I dont have any social media apps on my phone, nor have I used them much over the last few years. I drop in to Facebook when I'm selling something, I've had pretty good success getting rid of stuff. I've probably lost some buyers though because I forget to check it to see if anybody has responded to an item being sold.

I travel to work everyday by train, and in a train carriage it is hard to find somebody else who is not gawking at their phone 100% of the time. I listen to music and my phone stays in my pocket for the journey, and look out the window to see what's going on ...

I do the same when I travel for work, and I'm in a restaurant for dinner - all the other table for one's are glued to their phone, I'm busy watching what's going on around me... It's pretty sad when their is a couple having dinner and they are both glued to their phones and not each other...


...δεσ∩
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (21:2/116)

Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Yegor Gluhov to Peter London on Sat Aug 15 2026 09:58 pm

In particular, the vibe-coding process itself will take a lot of screen time. :-) AI keeps messing up constantly, so it's just endless checking and double-checking.

I've found that if you try to vibe-code an entire project, it often doesn't save you much time because you have to spend time checking and correcting it. But AI coding tools can save you time if you at least use it for smaller tasks (or perhaps simpler tasks).

Nightfox

I used to use GoldED+ for many years, but it's not very convenient on a smartphone over SSH. So now I'm vibe-coding my own AmberEdit, but it's
pretty far from production-ready.

Yeah, I know, I've tried that as well :). Congratz on getting your own
project going :).

In particular, the vibe-coding process itself will take a lot of screen
time. :-) AI keeps messing up constantly, so it's just endless checking
and double-checking.

Haha :). Yes you're absolutely right. Yeah, I'm ignoring the temptation to revolutionize smartphone FTN-capabilities for now. The format fits better
in a terminal anyways. Preferably on a crt.

... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...

--- SklaffKOM v1.33rc2
* Origin: Twilight Node, Solvesborg, Sweden (21:3/242)

Hi Nightfox!

I've found that if you try to vibe-code an entire project, it often
doesn't save you much time because you have to spend time checking and correcting it. But AI coding tools can save you time if you at least
use it for smaller tasks (or perhaps simpler tasks).

I agree. I think AI can be truly helpful with the syntax in languages you
may not be 100% comfortable with. For small fixes it's great. And a time
saver, it can analyze large code trees on a fraction of the time human
eyes would do it.

The engineering part though, not so great. Human brains still have an
advantage there.

... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...

--- SklaffKOM v1.33rc2
* Origin: Twilight Node, Solvesborg, Sweden (21:3/242)

Hi Atreyu,

A long time ago I did the following to my Iphone...

- No more noise or vibrating on texts. - No more noise or vibrating on emails. - Unknown callers not in my contacts are shitcanned to
voicemail. - The "focus time" of absolute silence between 10pm and 7am.

.... And its been nicely quiet since.

Good idea. In fact, I don't have sound on any notifications except texts
and calls from my wife. If she asks me to buy groceries on way home from
work I don't want to miss it (in that case I definitely will have to go
out again, once home and when she asks "did you see my texts" haha).

I don't use any social apps whatsoever.

Wise choice :).

... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...

--- SklaffKOM v1.33rc2
* Origin: Twilight Node, Solvesborg, Sweden (21:3/242)

Hi deon!

So you are probably fighting a loosing battle, unless everybody is
on board.

I have made the same observations as you. It's dystopic, especially
seeing couples and especially with kids, like 5 people glued to their
phones, not saying a word during dinner. What happened? Years ago I
stopped bringing my phone to the table. At least that.

2 of my family members are the most screen addicted individuals I've ever observed. They both get physically ill when the network is down. And of
course, I am tech support, so their stress affects me too. I've learned to build pretty solid network solutions for them, though. Because it makes my
life easier too, haha.

Two members of my family are the most screen addicted individuals I've
ever observed. One of them is 84, and the other is 12, so this is not
exaclty a generational problem either ;). They both get physically ill
when the network is down. And of course, I am their tech support, so
their stress affects me too. I've learned to build pretty solid network solutions for them, though. Because it makes my life easier too, haha.

My wife fortunately has a healthy relationship with her screen, so we're
able to hang out, still. My kid is three and I can still influence him
to the better. But again, all his future friends are gonna be glued to
their screens most likely, so there's only so much you can do. It's a
worry for me. One amongst many worries. :).

Cheers

Peter

... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...

--- SklaffKOM v1.33rc2
* Origin: Twilight Node, Solvesborg, Sweden (21:3/242)

Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Peter London to All on Sun Aug 16 2026 07:55 am

Howdy,

My kid is three and I can still influence him
to the better. But again, all his future friends are gonna be glued to
their screens most likely, so there's only so much you can do. It's a
worry for me. One amongst many worries. :).

You can do a lot, and you'll have to if you want to win this war...

So I have two teenage kids, and they can complain all they like (they dont so much anymore), but the phone is for my benefit not theirs. Because of busy extra curricular activites, I have two low cost phone services, that they take with them to so I know where they are, and they can call home if they need to.

One service doesnt have data, its PAYG, and I've told them if it runs out of credit (because of data usage or text messages), they are on house duties for the month, and that will be used to fund the credit top up. (Kids dont like house duties.)

I've been through the "its not fair johnny has a phone", but they've heard my point of view on phones so many times that they are probably sick of hearing it. They also dont like it when I tell them to go ask Johnny's parents to buy them a phone service...

They only reason my kids have got laptops, is because its required for school (and I resisted on that one too), and even then they are locked down, can only be online between specific hours, to do specific school work and *never* in their room. Unless parents hold back on devices, especially for school, it'll be an ongoing war. Your energy will decide if you win it.


...δεσ∩
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (21:2/116)

On 16 Aug 26 07:40:01, Peter London said the following to All:

Good idea. In fact, I don't have sound on any notifications except texts and calls from my wife. If she asks me to buy groceries on way home from work I don't want to miss it (in that case I definitely will have to go
out again, once home and when she asks "did you see my texts" haha).

I've been on the receiving end of "Did you see my email" or "Did you see my texts"... both questions are nonsense.

If someone wants your attention, have them call you.

Atreyu

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)

Hi deon,

You can do a lot, and you'll have to if you want to win this war...

That I have understood :).

And, seriously. Hats off. It sounds like you're a great parent, deon. I
really mean it. You got this.

Your energy will decide if you win it.

Yes, I'm aware. It's so easy to give in. Because we parents have our own
shit to worry about also. We can't control everything but for the things
we actually can control, we better try to be consistent.

I think it also helps to choose our battles carefully. Screen addiction is definitely one of the battles worth fighting against.

... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...

--- SklaffKOM v1.33rc2
* Origin: Twilight Node, Solvesborg, Sweden (21:3/242)

Peter London wrote to All <=-

I think it also helps to choose our battles carefully. Screen addiction
is definitely one of the battles worth fighting against.

When my daughter was younger, we had more options. She didn't have a
phone, so I could turn the wifi off for her at a specific time each
night.

She's got an iPhone now, and between cellular service and Apple
changing MAC addresses it's harder to block the wifi.

We did turn on screen time and let her see how much time she spent on
her phone. Impress on her that time spent on the phone was time not
spent doing other things.

Tried to impress on her the difference between consuming and creating.

She's turned out with a pretty healthy use of social networks, but
she's addicted to group chats and texting and will drop everything for
them.



... Take away the elements in order of apparent non-importance
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Hi poindtexter!

Tried to impress on her the difference between consuming and creating.

Good. But how do you explain to a teenager that creating has more value
than consuming? :D

... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...

--- SklaffKOM v1.33rc2
* Origin: Twilight Node, Solvesborg, Sweden (21:3/242)

Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Peter London to All on Sun Aug 16 2026 07:55:01

2 of my family members are the most screen addicted individuals I've ever observed. They both get physically ill when the network is down. And of course, I am tech support, so their stress affects me too. I've learned to build pretty solid network solutions for them, though. Because it makes my life easier too, haha.

Two members of my family are the most screen addicted individuals I've
ever observed. One of them is 84, and the other is 12, so this is not exaclty a generational problem either ;). They both get physically ill
when the network is down. And of course, I am their tech support, so
their stress affects me too. I've learned to build pretty solid network solutions for them, though. Because it makes my life easier too, haha.

You know these two paragraphs say the same thing, right?
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (21:2/101)

Re: Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Atreyu to Peter London on Sun Aug 16 2026 10:04:25

If someone wants your attention, have them call you.

I'm just the opposite. I hate voice calls. Texting gets my attention a lot quicker.
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (21:2/101)

You know these two paragraphs say the same thing, right?

It was obviously a mistake made either when copying / pasting from
somewhere else, or while editing the whole thing.

... The problem is usually between the keyboard and the chair ...

--- SklaffKOM v1.33rc2
* Origin: Twilight Node, Solvesborg, Sweden (21:3/242)

On 18 Aug 26 14:05:12, Mortar M. said the following to Atreyu:

If someone wants your attention, have them call you.

I'm just the opposite. I hate voice calls. Texting gets my attention a lo quicker.

To each his own... Some people I know enjoy spending time typing paragraphs of text nonsense that I ignore as it could have been articulated verbally in less time and got my limited attention span better.

Yes, I'm aware of the irony of my words.

Atreyu

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)

Re: Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Peter London on Mon Aug 17 2026 07:35 am

She's turned out with a pretty healthy use of social networks, but she's addicted to group chats and texting and will drop everything for them.

I've got zero room to talk. In the early 2000's this was my attitude toward group calls and group sessions on Yahoo! Messenger, and the group chat is basically just my modern equivalent. In my defense, I was in a VERY isolated Appalachian town so communication with friends was extra important to me.
----------------------------------------------------
Comic Commie Criminologist with a C in Alliteration ----------------------------------------------------
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (21:1/183)

If someone wants your attention, have them call you.

I'm just the opposite. I hate voice calls. Texting gets my attention quicker.

To each his own... Some people I know enjoy spending time typing paragraphs of text nonsense that I ignore as it could have been articulated verbally in less time and got my limited attention span better.

I hate voice calls for a variety of reasons, and like text for a variety of reasons.

Voice calls:
Cause me anxiety
Require immediate shifting to call
May be something I'm unprepared for
May come with a video component that I'm unprepared for
Have a greater chance that I mis-state something

Text:
Is what I grew up with
Allows for time shifting
Can be edited to make it better
Gives me time to think through the topic
Lowers the chance that I'm mis-stating something

Mind you, you don't get verbal tone with text, and lots of people read extra tone into text when it isn't there. So I know it's not all positive.

And, yeah, low attention span is hard. Especially when people ask questions that I had already typed out an answer for.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)

Re: Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Adept to Atreyu on Thu Aug 20 2026 08:37 am

I hate voice calls for a variety of reasons, and like text for a variety of reasons.

Voice calls:
Cause me anxiety
Require immediate shifting to call
May be something I'm unprepared for
May come with a video component that I'm unprepared for Have a greater chance that I mis-state something

I know what you mean; these days, I feel like voice calls can be something I'm unprepared for too and might not be in a great place to take a call - but I grew up before it was common to have cell phones, so I was used to occasional phone calls. I don't get many phone calls though (at least, not many from family & friends - I do sometimes get calls from job recruiters & such, as well as spam calls).

Text:
Is what I grew up with

You must be younger than me. :) I didn't grow up with text, and I didn't get my own cell phone until I was 21.. But since then, I've always found texting to be very convenient.

Allows for time shifting
Can be edited to make it better
Gives me time to think through the topic
Lowers the chance that I'm mis-stating something

Mind you, you don't get verbal tone with text, and lots of people read extra tone into text when it isn't there. So I know it's not all positive.

Yeah, there are times when I prefer texting myself, for the same reasons.

Nightfox

Re: Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Nightfox to Adept on Thu Aug 20 2026 10:38 am

You must be younger than me. :) I didn't grow up with text, and I didn't get my own cell phone until I was 21.. But since then, I've always found texting to be very convenient.

Right after I saved that message, I remembered that I did use texting as far as instant messenger apps on the internet, such as ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Mesenger, etc.. The first one I had used was ICQ in late 1995 or so. So I was texting a lot that way, but at that time, that was mainly for online internet chat at a computer.

ICQ had a feature where you could fill out a little profile for yoruself and have it find you a random chat partner online - It was a bit like having pen pals. I talked to a lot of people that way, and I miss that sometimes. I wonder if people would still do that if that feature existed these days.. And I feel like as I've gotten older, it seems more rare for people to do that - Maybe for people in my age group. Maybe younger people would be more apt to hang out and chat with people like that. It was definitely a thing I did a lot in my teens and early 20s.

Nightfox

Hello Nightfox!

** On Thursday 20.08.26 - 10:42, Nightfox wrote to Adept:

ICQ had a feature where you could fill out a little profile for yoruself and have it find you a random chat partner online - It was a bit like having pen pals. I talked to a lot of people that way, and I miss that sometimes. I wonder if people would still do that if that feature existed these days.. And I feel like as I've gotten older, it seems more rare for people to do that - Maybe for people in my age group. Maybe younger
people would be more apt to hang out and chat with people like that. It was definitely a thing I did a lot in my teens and early 20s.

I remember the ICQ random option too. I may have tried it a few times when I had a few minutes to kill during a CD burn, a morning coffee, or before going to bed.

Today, the feature could be easily abused and you could end chatting with an AI-bot. What good is that?


--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: \o/ (21:3/110.10)

Text:
Is what I grew up with

You must be younger than me. :) I didn't grow up with text, and I
didn't get my own cell phone until I was 21.. But since then, I've
always found texting to be very convenient.

Eh, maybe a bit, but I meant "text", not "texting". Since most of my communication is through Teams/Signal/WhatsApp/Discord, and there's invariably a desktop app, I wind up using a keyboard much of the time anyway.

Since I grew up with BBSs, I spent _way_ more time typing and reading things than I did having a non-digital phone call.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)

Re: Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Adept to Nightfox on Fri Aug 21 2026 08:13 am

You must be younger than me. :) I didn't grow up with text, and I didn't
get my own cell phone until I was 21.. But since then, I've always found
texting to be very convenient.

Eh, maybe a bit, but I meant "text", not "texting". Since most of my communication is through Teams/Signal/WhatsApp/Discord, and there's invariably a desktop app, I wind up using a keyboard much of the time anyway.

Since I grew up with BBSs, I spent _way_ more time typing and reading things than I did having a non-digital phone call.

Ah, I was basically the same. But I used to spend considerable amounts of time on the phone too, compared to now. Since cell phones and texting (especially smartphones), phone calls are more rare these days.

Nightfox

Nightfox wrote to Adept <=-

I know what you mean; these days, I feel like voice calls can be
something I'm unprepared for too and might not be in a great place to
take a call - but I grew up before it was common to have cell phones,
so I was used to occasional phone calls. I don't get many phone calls though (at least, not many from family & friends - I do sometimes get calls from job recruiters & such, as well as spam calls).

As much as I prefer phone calls for being able to quickly resolve
issues, the intrusion factor bothers me more now; in a support role
calls tend to be trying to jump the line, so to speak. It's important
to set expectations and not drop everything for them.

There's got to be a niche in teaching companies how to communicate with
modern tools. just off the top of my head, I've seen:

1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat it
like a synchronous comms method. Instead, include your request or
pertinent information in the intro and I'll have the information needed
to prioritize this. The only benefit of chat over a phone call is the asynchronousness of it.

2. Having hybrid remote/in-person meetings and hauling out the white
board. There are collaborative tools out there like Microsoft Whiteboard
that present well and improve the experience for remote users.

3. Raise your voice! I've seen people whose jobs involve communications speaking in a large room with a hybrid audience muttering as if they
expect anyone at the edge of the room (or online) to hear.

3b. If you're at a podium taking questions, repeat the question for the
people online.

4. Talking over people in meetings is getting bad. I sometimes feel like
I'm viewed as being quiet in meetings. I'm introverted, but sometimes
I'm waiting to get a word in edgewise? Stop for comments.

5. Use status messages!

6. My personal pet peeve - set an outgoing voicemail message. Especially
when hiring, I hate it when I call the number on a resume and get a
generic message. I have anxiety that I misdialed and the person won't
get the message.

Maybe I just defined my side hustle?





... "Unlocking Paradigms, one blockchain at a time..."
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Nightfox wrote to Adept <=-

ICQ had a feature where you could fill out a little profile for
yoruself and have it find you a random chat partner online - It was a
bit like having pen pals. I talked to a lot of people that way, and I
miss that sometimes. I wonder if people would still do that if that feature existed these days..

ChatRoulette took it to a different level, if memory serves, it was
totally random.


... Keith spoke in ALPHANUMERALS
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Re: Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Fri Aug 21 2026 02:20 pm

As much as I prefer phone calls for being able to quickly resolve issues, the intrusion factor bothers me more now; in a support role calls tend to be trying to jump the line, so to speak. It's important to set expectations and not drop everything for them.

Yeah, I agree that phone calls can interrupt work flow.

1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat it like a synchronous comms method. Instead, include your request or pertinent information in the intro and I'll have the information needed to prioritize this. The only benefit of chat over a phone call is the asynchronousness of it.

I haven't really done this (at least, not very much), but one thing I've noticed with asynchronous communications like instant messaging and email is that sometimes, there are people who seem to be unresponsive - There are people in past jobs I've messaged and/or emailed and won't get a response, at least not for days, requiring me to check in with them again. Years ago, I was copied on a thread where someone was emailing a co-worker of mine with a question, and they had to keep asking repeatedly because my co-worker didn't reply for several weeks..

4. Talking over people in meetings is getting bad. I sometimes feel like I'm viewed as being quiet in meetings. I'm introverted, but sometimes I'm waiting to get a word in edgewise? Stop for comments.

Sometimes I feel like that too (and I'm also introverted). I think it's good when people stop for comments; conversely, one of my pet peeves is when people continually talk on and on (sometimes talking over people) and don't let you get a word in edgeways.

6. My personal pet peeve - set an outgoing voicemail message. Especially when hiring, I hate it when I call the number on a resume and get a generic message. I have anxiety that I misdialed and the person won't get the message.

Yeah, sometimes I also feel worried I have the wrong number when I call someone and get a generic voicemail message.

Nightfox

Re: Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Fri Aug 21 2026 02:20 pm

ICQ had a feature where you could fill out a little profile for yoruself
and have it find you a random chat partner online - It was a bit like
having pen pals. I talked to a lot of people that way, and I miss that
sometimes. I wonder if people would still do that if that feature existed
these days..

ChatRoulette took it to a different level, if memory serves, it was totally random.

I've heard of ChatRoulette, but I never used it. I think ICQ was also random. From what I recall, ICQ would show you the person's ICQ profile and you could choose to message them or choose another chat partner. I don't remember if ICQ let you set some parameters to the search or if it was just random.

Nightfox

On 20 Aug 26 08:37:08, Adept said the following to Atreyu:

Voice calls:
Cause me anxiety

I'm afraid you lost me at voice calls causing anxiety...

Atreyu

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)

Voice calls:
Cause me anxiety

I'm afraid you lost me at voice calls causing anxiety...

I hear that some people even enjoy them.

But it wasn't exclusively a list of what's objectively true, as I'm sure you understood with, "me".

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)

1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat it like a synchronous comms method. Instead, include your request or pertinent information in the intro and I'll have the information needed

I do hate this one. Heck, nohello.net is a go-to for explaining why it's terrible.

I've gotten used to it, with some people, but I still tend to treat a "hello" as something where I wait for the person to send the next line of text.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)

1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat like a synchronous comms method. Instead, include your request or pertinent information in the intro and I'll have the information need

Ugh, people at work do this sometimes! Often times I just won't even respond until they then type what it is they want to talk about or what they want from me. And almost every time they won't!

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--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Boneyard @ boneyard-bbs.com:8073 (SSH:8074) (21:3/248)

Re: Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Adept to Atreyu on Thu Aug 20 2026 08:37:08

Mind you, you don't get verbal tone with text, and lots of people read extra tone into text when it isn't there. So I know it's not all positive.

That's what emogies/emoticons are for. :)
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (21:2/101)

Re: Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Fri Aug 21 2026 14:20:38

ChatRoulette took it to a different level, if memory serves, it was
totally random.

I rember that. It was popular with the "show all" crowd, IYKWIM.
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (21:2/101)

On 22 Aug 26 08:43:28, Adept said the following to Atreyu:

I'm afraid you lost me at voice calls causing anxiety...

I hear that some people even enjoy them.

I never said I enjoyed them... 8-)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I was "Director of IT" for a medium sized business where emails and texts were the norm.

I absolutely hated it. With a passion.

I would be constantly CC'd on absolute nonsense... Or people would write me novels when one-sentence replies would've been better, or writing paragraphs
to say absolutely nothing... that still happens to me in Fidonet sometimes.

But really... My role wasn't of that much importance. The only thing that I "directed" was to the CEO to please don't spill wine on your laptop; these gadgets cost us money... And to please not text me while drunk, I will not respond to BS, infact I had shut off ALL text/email notifications on my cell.

Yes the company made a stink about it, but got the message, so to speak.

Atreyu

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)

1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat like a synchronous comms

Ugh, people at work do this sometimes! Often times I just won't even respond until they then type what
it is they want to talk about or what they want from me. And almost every time they won't!

I used to ignore them until they asked a question or told me what they wanted. It didn't work out and they would end up coming to my desk and bothering me in person. So I just answer the hello messages now.
"Hey! Nice to hear from you! how can I help?" Also when I message someone first it's always "Hi, {question}" so they answer right away. My emails are also right to the point without any niceness or
nonsense.



..."If anybody sets fire to this city, it's going to be _ME_."
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (21:1/700)

1. "hello" chat messages. They'll wait for you to respond then treat it like a synchronous comms method.

I view instant messaging platforms like Teams as synchronous comms methods. If I wanted to leave a question or thought for answering at your leisure, I'd
send an email.

That said, while "Hey dude, [short question here]?" is always appreciated over simply "Hello", either are better than a cold/unsolicited voice or video call. I can still choose to defer my "Hey, what's up?" until I'm ready to converse.
Cheers,
RetroSwim

--- Ezycom V2.15g1 01FD0295
* Origin: >> Pool's Open - The RetroSwim BBS (21:2/121)

I used to ignore them until they asked a question or told me what they wanted. It didn't work out and they would end up coming to my desk and bothering me in person. So I just answer the hello messages now.

LOL, that made me chuckle. I imagined someone sending "Hello." then you looking at it, shrugging and going back to what you were doing before they distracted you, waiting for them to then type what they actually wanted. Then a few mins later, they walk to your desk personally and say "Hello.".

Classic!

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--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Boneyard @ boneyard-bbs.com:8073 (SSH:8074) (21:3/248)

Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Peter London to All on Sat Aug 15 2026 02:35 pm

Anyone else currently trying to reduce their screen use?

I spend a lot of time working on front of computers but I have never suffered of an excess of phone time. The main reason is that I hate modern phones with such a passion you would think I consider them anti-horses.

My family kind of hates me for that, but the first thing I do when I arrive home from work is to shove my three workphones into the drawer and lock it until the very next day. If you have a problem with phone attatchment that sounds like the best plan to me.


--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Arelor to Peter London on Tue Aug 25 2026 10:59 am

I spend a lot of time working on front of computers but I have never suffered of an excess of phone time. The main reason is that I hate modern phones with such a passion you would think I consider them anti-horses.

What are "anti-horses"?

Nightfox

Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Peter London to All on Sun Aug 16 2026 07:55 am

I have made the same observations as you. It's dystopic, especially
seeing couples and especially with kids, like 5 people glued to their phones, not saying a word during dinner. What happened? Years ago I
stopped bringing my phone to the table. At least that.

This right there is a very serious problem.

I run a weekly retrogaming orgy with friends every friday and we have 2 guys who won't put their damn phones down. The first one is not very problematic because what he does is to mute his phone, place it on a table where everybody can watch the screen, and stream sports events in the background, so in principle he is with us and he also checks the sports from time to time. It is not very different than having a TV in the background.

Then we have a compulsive Instagrammer and sometimes I feel like strangling the guy, because he impacts the group. I am talking such a level that we might be playing a board game and when it is his turn he needs to put the phone down and ask for a recap of what we all have been doing at the table while he was not paying attention. It is annoying and he gets annoyed because everybody else gets annoyed.

Considering I drive from my home (which is out of town) to attend the orgies, I feel like this guy is robbing me of my time.


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gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: deon to Peter London on Sun Aug 16 2026 05:01 pm

So I have two teenage kids, and they can complain all they like (they dont so much anymore), but the phone is for my benefit not theirs. Because of busy extra curricular activites, I have two low cost phone services, that they take with them to so I know where they are, and they can call home if they need to.

My mother gave me a phone "for her benefit" back in the day and it didn't work because I rarely carried it on me. In fact the presure I got for carrying it was absurd, but for me it felt like useless tech. I didn't have enough pockets back then (and I still don't) so if I had to chose whether to pick the phone or a folding blade, I would probably pick the folding blade.

In practice I didn't have real Internet until 2015 but I had full unrestricted access to computers since a young age. I don't know how viable that would be today but when I was a kid I would do my homework on a family computer using locally installed encyclopedias - then I would play videogames as long as I wanted as long as I had no pending tasks for the day remaining.

Granting full device access but no Internet access is something I see some people still do. For example, modern game consoles are Internet gateways that pose lots of risks for adults and kids alike, so if a parent feels they want to grant a console to their kids they opt for a retro console which requires no Internet. I understand the logic but I think the approach has its drawbacks.


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gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Re: Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Mortar M. to Atreyu on Tue Aug 18 2026 02:05 pm

I'm just the opposite. I hate voice calls. Texting gets my attention a lot quicker.

I like being the grumpy weird guy of the bunch.

Texting is cheap. When somebody sends you a text he is likely not putting much effort on it. I am not in a hurry to check texts.

Making a phone call costs money and requires a little bit of a bigger social investment, therefore if I get a call I am likely to pay attention to it because it has a high chance of being important. It also has a chance of being a South American trying to sell insurance to you but since I put the call down instantaneously the moment I realize it is telemarketing I have not been taking a lot of those as of late.

Most people are like that whether they want to admit it or not. I typically text only when my message does not require immediate action - and, very often, it gets ignored. I am talking messages for things that require action in 48 hours and you still have to phone in later because the message got ignored.


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gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)

Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Arelor to deon on Tue Aug 25 2026 11:27 am

My mother gave me a phone "for her benefit" back in the day and it didn't work because I rarely carried it on me. In fact the presure I got for carrying it was absurd, but for me it felt like useless tech. I didn't have enough pockets back then (and I still don't) so if I had to chose whether to pick the phone or a folding blade, I would probably pick the folding blade.

As a kid, what did you need a folding blade for?
And most of the time, any pants, shorts, etc. I wore usually had at least a couple of pockets in front. Normally I wouldn't be carrying so much that I wouldn't have had room for a phone. Cell phones weren't really a thing when I was a kid though - at least, not small or affordable. Most adults at that time didn't even have a cell phone.

Nightfox

Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Nightfox to Arelor on Tue Aug 25 2026 11:34 am

pick the folding blade.

As a kid, what did you need a folding blade for?
And most of the time, any pants, shorts, etc. I wore usually had at least a couple of pockets in front. Normally I wouldn't be carrying so much that I wouldn't have had room for a phone. Cell phones weren't really a thing when I was a kid though - at least, not small or affordable. Most adults at that time didn't even have a cell phone.

If you are working in some place where horses and rope coexist, you carry a blade, because it is guaranteed at some point somebody will manage to get a horse entangled with the rope (and chances are you are the moron who manages it).

I mean, you often see advice about using quick release knots and such, but I have seen horses pull the knots so tight that you are not undoing those with your hand.

I loved trousers and coats with multiple pockets because I tend to carry a lot of things on my person, and I like those things to be in their own pocket in order to avoid fiddling with my fingers in order to pull the thing I want. The problem is my mother seemed to like sporting clothes with no pockets, which made pockets scarce.


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gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
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Re: Quitting the smartphone
By: Arelor to Nightfox on Tue Aug 25 2026 02:58 pm

As a kid, what did you need a folding blade for?

If you are working in some place where horses and rope coexist, you carry a blade, because it is guaranteed at some point somebody will manage to get a horse entangled with the rope (and chances are you are the moron who manages it).

Ah, makes sense.

Nightfox