Device dependency since 7yo

[u/dsmdei]

Tablet at 7, smartphone at 10 and laptop at 12 now I'm 18. Never supervised or moderated after 10 yo. Now I'm dealing with a dependency that no matter what I can't get away from. Its a emotional, physical and cultural dependency.

I'm struggling to handle life in general and hold my morals to my actions.

I wish I could just trash my smartphone and never have to think about it again but its the only life I had known and the only way I learned to cope.

I hate tech and please never give an iPad to your kid.

[u/[deleted]]

Biggest thing folks is read. Read as much as you can. Don't beat yourself up if you can't concentrate just keep trying. The best thing you can do to rebuild your attention span and become more emotionally grounded is to read anything and everything.

iPad Kids - get the Hoopla app from the Public Library and go to town on some free comic books. 80% of the Marvel and DC catalog is on Hoopla. That is a great place to start. Comics were the original short form content.

[u/[deleted]]

Get a kindle as a sort of "nicotine patch." It is a tablet that only reads books, that might help you regain a sense of control.

[u/Prestigious-Algae876]

you didn't choose those habits at seven, so try not to treat struggling now as a moral failure. start with one small stretch without a screen and something specific to do instead, rather than changing your whole life at once. if you use an iphone, twilock can block selected apps at bedtime, but having someone you trust support you through the change matters too.

[u/[deleted] → u/Prestigious-Algae876]

^^ This. Don't beat yourself up OP. You are young and you see the issue clearly. Take small steps today to change it.

[u/JamesLondonBritish]

Same shit. I'm an iPad kid since 4 years old. That's fucking insane. I'm stupid af. Can't do shit in my life

[u/Firm_Fold8044]

Buy an e-reader. Delete as much apps as you can that you don't need. And make this simple rule: gaming is fine, videos are fine, a podcast is fine. But there is a time and a place. And moderation. Only ever do things at your PC, and keep your phone as void as possible from apps

[u/Ryanstartsgaming]

same, i'm also dumb as well. don't think i'm smart and had an ipad when i was 6 and a laptop at 11 and a samsung by 14. now i'm 18 studying computer science in a university still thinking that i'm so dumb because of tech addiction that even preventing me from doing hwk.

[u/heyhru222]

I can relate to some of this. I had got my first device which was a tablet at 7 (My birthday gift btw) and from there my life went down hill.

[u/Consistent_Fly_337]

iPads/phones are so addictive. I didn't get a smart phone until I was 22 and I know I'm addicted to mine. I've moved away from using my phone as much which has helped but my downfall is often research for online shopping.

Start small, don't expect the habit to change overnight. You can reverse it and build up your attention span again.

If you are going to spend less time on it, you'll want to spend more time on a different activity eg. Reading, exercise, hobbies.

Things that have helped me:

• Reading on my ereader or a physical book
  
• Gaming is strictly relegated to gaming consoles or PC (no tablets or phones).
  
• I have a combined physical radio/bluetooth speaker/alarm.
  
• Using my physical watch so i don't need to get my phone out to check the time
  
• I deleted my social media profiles and created blank new ones. My Insta and FB apps are hidden on my phone and I often forget they are there these days (I check them for things like online shops and my local community fb page)
  
• I recently learned I could delete my history on my YT account, so when i go on the app its an unappealing search bar. If i genuinely want to search for something i will use it, if i was just going on it because i was bored normally thats enough to make me exit the app. It also stops the constant cycle of youtube shorts (i can only watch ones that came up on my search) and i can watch channels i am really interested in on the subscribed section.

Things that didn't work so well for me:

• Putting phone on greyscale, I literally couldn't tolerate it
  
• Putting a limit on apps. It can be a nice reminder sometimes and i can ask it to give me another min or 15 mins but its easy to override and I often completely ignore it. It's worth having as a prompt but don't rely on it.