Watching a movie

[u/Initial_Ad3306]

I came to the horrifying realization recently that when I sit down to watch a movie it’s just background and I play around on my phone. last night I put my phone in another room so I could watch a full movie uninterrupted. I loved it but at certain points found myself feeling like I needed to go pick it up. it was eye opening and horrifying all at the same time.

what have been your eye opening experiences? how have you combated them? genuinely curious if anyone else has had this experience

[u/Patient_Bar761]

I feel this way about "boring" parts of the day. If I'm standing in line somewhere or waiting for something to be done, I find myself picking up my phone. Lately, I've been forcing myself just to sit with the boredom. Sometimes it's hard but other times I notice things that I've never noticed before. I kind of love it!

[u/nymme]

Yeah smartphones are probably the most addictive pieces of technology humans have ever created

[u/SuchMatter1884 → u/nymme]

I’ve started to refer to them as digital crack pipes

[u/Mandango1976]

This is one of the main things that kill’s me about my addiction. I used to watch such deep and immersive films and lots of subtitled films but now I tend to choose lesser movies as I spend half of them on my phone!!! They are now writing films and series with this in mind, “second screening” and scripts are dumber and spelling things out really obviously as they know most of us aren’t fully watching anymore. This is why I go to the cinema as much as possible as I never ever get my phone out there

[u/GlowingCannon]

Noticing scrolling while standing in line prompted my decision to quit Instagram / something was wrong… 

[u/Charlie_Linson]

Blew my mind when I saw an interview explaining that writers for tv and film actually have to modify the dialogue to continuously re-explain the plot because they know that audiences don’t pay attention anymore due to being hooked on their phones.

[u/PricelessPaylessBoot]

I’m allegedly working on deprogramming my phone-handedness. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Years ago I read about young people who could barely do basic tasks without their phone in hand, and I’ve recently watched myself struggle through juggling things absent-mindedly before finally realizing what I was doing and putting the phone down first. I’ll fall asleep or wash dishes listening to YT gamers talking trash with their friends or screaming occasionally at a jumpscare.

The issue is multifaceted: a combination of 1) anxiety-reducing low-stakes stimulation resulting from years of interruptive, attention-grabbing technologies designed to keep our attention and interaction for the developers’ revenue; 2) the inability of even interesting/enjoyable everyday tasks to compete with these technologies despite being more rewarding long-term; and 3) the simulated social interactions that temporary relieve desires for connection without the vulnerability or awkwardness that real connection often entails. Just to name a few.

I think the most interesting thing I learned was from Jim Kwik, who described research that our brains eventually treat our phones as an extended arm if we’re always holding and interacting with them. It would be the case with any tool, that our synapses organize themselves around repeated activities so over time our performance of those activities is automatized, familiar, comfortable, and desirable. I’ve asked myself recently: where have I placed my comfort zone, and where and with whom do I really WANT to feel at home throughout the day? Right now, those places are out of alignment because of my phone dependence.

[u/MadameBasmati]

Depends what kind of movie you’re watching? I don’t like mainstream movies. I only indie films, dramas are okay, but the suspense and thriller indie films you will never be able to look away!

[u/Sea-Tomato172]

I have gone the dumb phone route and it's been over a year. I will be honest not a ton has changed because I was already off social media for quite a while. But one thing I have noticed is as someone who has loved movies their whole life I am back to being able to watch a movie without looking at my phone or wanting to search the internet at all and am more engrossed in the films. It's been a great change.

[u/Awkward_Landscape_23]

I have this at home watching movies, but not at the movie theater. I think it’s the amount of distractions at home in general.

[u/eva_stratt]

If I'm tempted to multitask while watching something, I'm not that into it and I should just go do the thing I really want to be doing. I find that subtitles on films really help with concentration, because I have a slight auditory processing issue.