I use mine way too much for everything like social networks, gaming, web browsing, news, etc. :P
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The question is not how much you use it, but why you think itās too much. And if you think itās too much, how you can reduce that usage to a point where itās just right.
Someone (in my real world, I think) commented recently that the iPhone replaces a vast number of things of the past. That made me think, yes, I use the iPhone a lot, but Iām using it to do things like the following, all of which required separate objects in the past:
- Read books (books)
- Listen to music (stereo, car radios)
- Check the weather (weather radio, TV weather report)
- Take photos (camera)
- Look at photos (photo albums)
- Follow recipes (cookbooks)
- Get directions (maps)
- Set alarms (alarm clock)
- Store credit cards (wallet)
- Take notes (notebook)
- Watch videos (TV, although realistically, I mostly use an Apple TV for that)
- Manage my calendar (appointment book)
- Look up contacts (address book)
- Log workouts (physical workout calendar)
- Follow weightlifting workouts (printed workout cards)
- Read the news (newspaper, magazines)
- Check email (computer with email app)
- Make phone calls (landline phone)
- Converse with far-flung friends (phone, letters, though thereās a lot more now)
This is the all-encompassing utility of the general purpose computing device.
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That would not be me. I hate using the damn thing.
;-}
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I definitely do. To use Adamās list:
Music (though I prefer my Shuffle when biking or hiking)
Weather/Radar
Some pix - I prefer my camera
Directions
Alarms & timers
Wallet
Notes & Reminders - I usually use/edit these on the computer but will often āHey Siriā something to start. Sometimes I have a todo list in a Note
Phone (dropped the landline nearly 20 years ago)
Solitaire
Security Camera app, but they did finally add web access. I donāt think itās the same
Mobile bank deposits (going into my bank is an exercise in extreme frustration)
I have the Garmin Connect app because my newest Garmin would no longer connect to my old computer app (Ascent) though itās probably time to go back to the alternate way as itās just as convoluted to get the Garmin and phone to sync. I use zero of the public features.
I have an ancient, 4S-era app called MotionX-GPS that Iāll use to record an activity if the Garmin battery dies or I forget it.
Soundhound - always looking for more music to add
IMDB to look up random TV/movie things in random conversations
Amazon Shopper Panel
Shipping tracker (can just as easily get this on a computer but I did have a package stolen before so I like to grab them when they arrive)
CVS app for the once a month I go there, but no idea why as the app always needs to be reinstalled at that moment and access is nonexistent in the store
That said I have a million and one apps, most of which are unloaded because I rarely touch them.
And really, what is critical in my list above? Music, weather, maps, alarms & timers, phone
Even music is questionable, I can put a USB stick in the car deck and I have Shuffles (which I really really love and am still mad they are discontinued)
I removed most of my email accounts a few years ago. The last one came off when I was trying to do an update and needed more space. I donāt miss it at all
I removed the FB app in 2018 and that was the only social media app I ever had. I do still use Safari for FB and spent admittedly way too much time on that while waiting for sleep.
In addition to general research and things that pop in my head once I try to settle in for the night
The last is what I need to stop. I use the phone as an āIām boredā device. I used to use books for that and need to start doing that again. Or carry a real notepad with me.
The biggest storage hounds on my phone are music and photos
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I set my home screen to greyscale, not sure if it has reduced my usage, everything kinda blends into a common mush, perhaps it reduces exploration.
When I set everything to greyscale including the apps when up and running it definitely reduces the appealā¦. But also functionality. I turned that off.
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I almost posted some paragraphs in reply, but self-edited and moved to a new topic inspired by this one, as the comments were not as relevant to the Topic as they should be.
That said, if I may, Iād offer a subtitle to the OP title, āand what (if anything) do you do about it?ā, as Iād find the replies enlightening.
I think @ant has identified where I despair over my use. Itās the consumption of whatever, social media, news, browsing and flicking mindlessly through videos.
I feel good about using the iPhone in relation to audio consumption, my favourite medium by far from podcasts (PocketCasts) to Music to audiobooks (Audible) to meditation/sleep (Endel) to old-fashioned radio (Broadcasts).
I enjoy using it as a camera, limited as that is. Beyond that, I find it supplements my practice even when I shoot film - planning (Maps, PhotoPills, TPE 3D, Windy.app) previsualisation (Mark II Viewfinder, Lumariver DoF) to evaluating exposure (Lightme, Recipricocity Timer) and logging shots (Logbook) through to darkroom timing (Massive Dev).
I am using Bevel and HiWater to manage health and find it prompts some good behaviour modifications, or certainly aids me in focussing on them.
Yes, it is handy to be in touch with everyone everywhereā¦ but I do wonder if we have lost something. I often recall when during my college years I would go to the Netherlands to work over the summer and when I got on the plane, that was it, I was gone for two or three months, a postcard from time to time back home. I wonder if todayās youth would welcome that level of freedom, no phone calls or texts, no tracking you on Instagram, no continuous feeding back and forth of personal details.
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I donāt use my phone much. Weekly screen times suggest less than an hour a day, and often less than 30 mins.
My primary use is Maps when driving, the local radio station or Music when walking, and the Weather app when Iām out.
The Stocks, Banking, and Superannuation apps are handy for quickly checking balances, and my rock climbing membership card is on the phone.
I still use physical credit/debit cards over the Wallets on my phone or watch. My watch handles exercise and fitness, and I tend to respond to messages on my Mac (unless, of course, Iām not home). I tend to use a ārealā camera for photos.
Whilst I appreciate the phoneās utility and convenience, itās not a user experience I enjoy.
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ScreenTime can help with this, if only to give you a nudge to stop and make you override it manually.
One of the things I like about TidBITS Talk is that itās finite. I really can read everything and be done. General social media (which I treat as write-only, and only on Mastodon) and news is infinite, but my time is not.
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Iām back trying that.
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iPhone usage says 28 minutes a weekā¦
- Make phone calls (landline phone)
- I have one alarm (alarm clock)
- Notes ( I only read them )
- Shopping list ( AnyList for groceries )
- Take photos (camera)
- Listen to music ( in the car )
- Get directions (maps in the car )
If it was not for Apple Message App - I would no longer have an iPhone.
90% of my texting is done on my Apple Computer.
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I definitely use it a lot more. Total screen time for the past week is about 20h, 3/4 of which are video games:
- Games (15h)
- Social (29m)
- Which surprised me, since I donāt do social media. But it is counting a survey-taking app and Messages (which I only use for one-on-one messaging with friends and family, not as a social media app).
- Information & Reading (23 m)
- Utilities (22m)
- Productivity & Finance (20m)
- Mostly e-mail
- Other (10m)
- Shopping & Food (14m)
- Entertainment (7m)
- Health & Fitness (3m)
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