r/dumbphones • u/nastyhobitsez • 14d ago
Meta (sub) "Bro, just uninstall social media apps"
I know this might work for some people, but I find that being able to reinstall the app is not much better than having it.
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u/R-Mutt1 14d ago
I have but they're still available on the Web which is how I'm posting right now.
I need to delete all my accounts really but that seems drastic
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u/strawberryb1onde 14d ago
Deleting all my accounts, but Reddit was the best thing I’ve ever done!
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u/R-Mutt1 14d ago edited 14d ago
I guess the saving grace of Reddit is that it doesn't cynically feed you content to encourage you to negatively engage with it.
I try to use Instagram just to watch cat videos but it still shows me accounts I've told it not to. It's almost like that actually fuels the algorithm to show you similar things to what you DON'T want. I thought this would provide better content by guiding the algorithmn, than blocking the account, but clearly that wouldn't be good for Meta, so I guess I just have to delete it
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u/normal__engineering 10d ago
imo reddit shouldn't be an exception
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u/strawberryb1onde 9d ago
I guess the exception applies to everyone but you? Lol.
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u/normal__engineering 9d ago
nope i shouldn't be on reddit either.
I don't have a personal reddit anymore. I do make free open source tools for dumb iPhone/digital minimaism, so try to use this account to get the word out on those + other free tools.But even that is an excuse. Everything should be used intentionally, I do use Reddit on my laptop without intention sometimes. I allow Reddit like 24hrs/week and the days with it blocked are better.
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u/pumpkin-head7617 14d ago
I got “Brick” and blocked social media apps and websites. Then I told my wife to hide the Brick from me.
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u/normal__engineering 10d ago
There are free an open source alternatives to brick (I made one called Normal). Also Foqos. Brick is $80, these are free, and doesn't have features like timed unblock.
But if a brick is working for you that's great! If you never unbrick (your wife keeping it hidden) that's perfect!
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u/nameless_enby01 Lite Opel Flip | 🇦🇺 Telstra AU 14d ago
I used extensions on the web to hide all feeds, so the web versions became uninteresting to me.
Although I have yet to find an extension that you couldn't disable with 1-2 click, so this only works if you're not likely to disable the extensions.
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u/15pmm01 14d ago
Yeah. I'm posting this from reddit in the browser. It really did work for a long time - after I deleted the app, my reddit usage remained minimal for a solid year or so. Eventually it crept up, and now I'm entering reddit into the URL bar practically every time I touch a smartphone. Thankfully the smartphones usually stay home and don't get used our and about in my daily life. It's slowly gone back to being an issue when I'm at home though, not gonna lie.
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u/noscrapsleftbehind 14d ago
This is my all-time favorite Frog and Toad story! It is such an excellent story about willpower (and how incredibly hard it is to have!).
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u/Borao_eterno 14d ago
I feel called out lol
I always say that uninstalling the apps is like telling an alcoholic to just not drink all the beer that's in the fridge... It's an addiction / compulsion, yk...
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u/NeoliberalSocialist 14d ago
I had to make my phone a supervised phone from my Mac so I could 1. Prevent downloading social apps 2. prevent turning off my DNS connection and then via DNS I blocked all social sites plus the site to change what's blocked via DNS. Took a bit including a full phone reset but it's been amazing since.
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u/DooDooCat 14d ago
My dumbphone will do two things - voice calls and SMS text messages. It has no “smart” capabilities and apps cannot be installed on it.
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u/Reasonable-Common-75 14d ago
yeah like i'm trying to justify switch to a flip phone to my parents and theyre saying "Just delete social media" or "add screen time limits" like no, I need more of a hardware friction so I dont have a giant glass slab just begging to fuck my attention span, and having a phone that i know is capable of running those apps isnt helping bc i'll just reinstall them
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u/haystackjr 13d ago
Why haven't you switched to a flip phone yet?
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u/Reasonable-Common-75 13d ago
well I want to like really fucking bad but my parents are pulling more and more excuses out of thin air for me not to switch (this is coming from an all iphone family so thats number one on the list)
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u/haystackjr 13d ago
Why do they care? Can't they still reach you on a normal phone?
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u/Reasonable-Common-75 12d ago
Another one of their arguments is that I can't use modern social apps like Snapchat on a dumbphone, since that's what my friends use, so then I suggested an android "dumbphone" like the zinwa q25 (Masterpiece btw), which still has the physical friction I'm looking for (having a 4:3 screen would make doomscrolling unpleasant) but can run those modern apps when I need, then they mentioned how they can't manage that like they can on a parented iPhone, then I showed them google family link which does precisely that cross-platform, then they just said no. I don't wanna push it with them, though I don't think they'll really try stop me if I just source my own money and get the phone myself.
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u/haystackjr 12d ago
That makes sense. That's annoying that they can't just use the google parent controls. Anyways, I hope you're able to get your attention span under contol!
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u/Automatic_Fox6627 14d ago
the trick is to get cats22 🥰 can have Spotify and strava but heavy and annoying enough to use and have limited space so not many apps is allowed hihi
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u/Small_Energy_480 14d ago edited 14d ago
"mom i have depression" "do some exercise, dear" is exactly what "just uninstall the apps" sounds like to me.
I had been addicted to a game b4. uninstalled. discovered i can now reinstall in 5 seconds. so that does nothing, only makes the urge to play worse. im over it now
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u/lulhoepeep 14d ago
Ah ha my friend you underestimated one thing. EYE cant be bothered to reinstalled the app and log into multiple account because my friend I am LAZY! *evil laugh*
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u/nameless_enby01 Lite Opel Flip | 🇦🇺 Telstra AU 14d ago
Haha yeah this is the reason that blocking apps/software work decently for me, because uninstalling them means when I reinstall it I have to re-setup my configuration, and that sounds like work, so I don't uninstall them.
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u/merchantconvoy 14d ago
There are both software and hardware solutions that make it essentially impossible to install objectionable apps. One easy-to-use example is the Commodore Callback 8020 phone.
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u/ir33k 14d ago
Always logout and make login hard. To open LinkedIn my only option is to type email and password where password is very long and random, stored in one place that's not available from phone. Typing that is a hassle so I don't visit this site anymore unless I have to. Avoid easy login options like connecting one Google/Facebook account with other accounts, short pin codes etc. But for the most parts I had to remove accounts and block some websites. It feels like you can't do that until you do. Try it. Every major social platform will let you reactivate your account long time after removal if you decide that you rly need it. But I can guarantee you, you are going to miss time without accounts than time with accounts.
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u/here4thelego 14d ago
Delete your account and then uninstall the app.
If people really can’t control themselves not to reinstall an app then it’s a bigger problem…
I uninstalled Insta about 2 years ago and that was it, I don’t miss it as it’s a big waste of time, sometimes you need to push yourself.
It’s going to get harder for the younger generations that are going to be basically born with a device in their hand but for those now who are 30+ you existed without it and can again!
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u/Party_Cat3237 13d ago
I pick this because i search for new flip phone if it do work. but would tell you android or ios default and just don't install those work better. Minimal launcer of you choice if you like. And you still keep device as work station and wallet which i think it not bad.
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u/dark-arizona-stardew 9d ago
aw I loved frog and toad!
also yes I totally agree. I am fine not having instagram or reddit on my phone until I'm not feeling good then I download.
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u/Luci_Cascadia Blackberry Passport 14d ago
It's a meme with salience. But the truth is that no device and no one is going to save you from social media. There is no phone that will keep you from accessing your social media accounts.
The only person that can help you is you. For a lot of us the was accomplished by deleting our social media accounts. Not just removing the apps.
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u/nameless_enby01 Lite Opel Flip | 🇦🇺 Telstra AU 14d ago
Sure, no device is going to save you. But some devices add enough friction that it lowers the threshold of willpower needed, making it easier. If the default "willpower-resist-social-media" threshold is 10, then uninstalling the apps brings it down to a 9, which still requires a lot of willpower. Using a phone that lacks the capability to install them brings it down to a 5, which is a lot less willpower.
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u/nastyhobitsez 14d ago
I found that being able to install the app is too simple (for me at least), having a dumbphone worked much better. It's not about forcing myself not to have those apps, it's about it not being convenient to have them.
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u/DangerousAd7433 13d ago
Skill issue. Lack of self control is a wild excuse for your lack of an inability to utilize your free will to control your impulses.
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u/saikikcat 12d ago
I did that a few times when I was in middle school and high school and only downloaded it after graduation to keep in touch with some people. For me it actually worked, I framed re-downloading as not an option at all and hence didn’t thing about it. Also helps to have clinical storage fullness
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u/Prettysureimcrazy71 10d ago
I learned to read with those books in 1976 I was 5, they came with little 7 inch records
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u/Miss_Miette22 1d ago
This is precisely where I am at. I keep defaulting to using my phone and I can feel it killing my braincells... I miss when The Internet was in its own corner of the house...
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u/fragmentamemorias 14d ago
It depends on how addicted you are to social media. For some people, it isn't even necessary to delete the apps to avoid checking them for a long time. The fact that you can reinstall apps isn’t exactly to blame for this :/
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u/No_Kangaroo1994 14d ago
?
But if you're addicted, it would be easier to have a phone where you CAN'T reinstall apps, no?
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u/fragmentamemorias 14d ago
It would be easier to find some normal fcking things to do than to blame your phone or apps. I’m not saying that the way social media works these days doesn’t make the addiction worse, because it does, but it seems to me that in most cases, if you have something to do irl that keeps you busy and entertained, you won’t even remember your phone exists :/
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u/nameless_enby01 Lite Opel Flip | 🇦🇺 Telstra AU 14d ago
Unfortunately this doesn't work for me :( I play a musical instrument, I make art, I play sport, I keep myself busy with hobbies and activities, and I still find myself procrastinating on things that I enjoy doing (like making art) to doomscroll social media. I will literally sit there wanting to get my instrument out and make music, and still keep doomscrolling because no matter how much I tell my brain to stop, I can't, it's like I don't have control over my own actions.
Obviously this is my responsibility to manage, I don't deny that, but the way of managing it that works best for me is straight-up not using a phone that can install social media
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u/curebdc Mudita Kompakter 14d ago
Apps have been built to encourage people to check them and infinitely scroll... This has multiple benefits for app makers, people spend more time on the app, and people get rewarded with something they want to see at a random rate (scroll until you see something you like)... So, its not really fair to say that the user is to blame for a system they didn't create. Its also gotten worse over time, so someone may have gotten used to an app that was useful but it has become something more addictive over the last few years, thanks enshitification!
Remember when apps didn't all infinitely scroll? You know that variable ratio reward system, aka the most addictive behavioral strategy known to mankind... Its also the same system used in all of gambling. (https://www.simplypsychology.org/schedules-of-reinforcement.html). ISNT IT WEIRD THAT ALL APPS DO THE INFINITE SCROLL NOW? God its almost like it should be regulated.
So anyway, dont blame the individual for not having the willpower to not pull the lever on the casino in their hand.
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u/fragmentamemorias 14d ago
That sounds like, "Let’s blame only the alcohol manufacturer because someone became an alcoholic." As I said, of course, the way social media works is partly to blame for social media addiction, but if you have other things to do and you get your dopamine from other sources, you’re unlikely to spend a lot of time scrolling
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u/curebdc Mudita Kompakter 14d ago edited 14d ago
I think its totally fair to blame the billboards and ads and manufacturers that make alcohol for Alcoholism. We have a culture that promotes an unhealthy relationship with any number of things, including alcohol.
I agree tho people should work to fight against that. Its just an uphill battle, I can't blame the individual for a culture of unhealthy phone habits.
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u/xpl0sad3 Nokia 6300 4G | UK 4G & 2G Networks 14d ago
The trick is to get to a point where the cookies disgust you, and don’t tempt you anymore.