I am not proud of the 4 digit hours I spend in counter strike on steam, but I am in the 3 digit hours I spend doing vocab. Paradoxily I look forward to long waits in the train station or at the doctors office, because I get more time in this positive feedback loop.
- remove social media apps, only use via browser, if at all
- deactivate all but the most relevant notifications
- remove all games and other addictive crap
- use daily time-limits for undirected "inspiration" sources like HN
The remaining phone is a tool and still very useful (or useful again).
Disable all notifications. Don't publish your phone numbers. Be careful who you give out your contact information to.
Separate channels, e.g: dependants, friends, work1, work2. Mute as needed.
Teach your connections to stop and think before they ping you. Get them to limit it to important stuff. For me this has required several chats which can be uncomfortable to some, so keep it friendly.
Learn Discipline. Just because it sits in your backpack does not mean you have to look at it.
Maps + GPS are a great example, but generally any usage through which the phone gives you access to information in the right context (as opposed ti having to look up everything asynchronously from a computer) is invaluable. Being able to read email on the go to find an info (address, meeting time, previous interaction with someone, that time XX mentioned YY in an email, etc.), to check reviews on the quality purchases from the store (e.g. am I buying the right book books), to adapt and find a kid's playground/restaurant/transportation when travelling after having deviated from plans, etc.
It seems to me there is little debate in the fundamental benefits smartphones bring to the table, and what we need to work on is our relationship to the phone: querying it for info when we need it, and not letting it push useless info to us, as well put by the parent comment. Also, under that premise, any sort of entertainment should be avoided (it's just screentime with all it's negatives). Not sure how I'd classify Hacker News :)
HN is pushing information to us.
You typically don't visit HN to solve a specific problem. Compare to visiting Maps to find a route.
Also, I have been training myself to do st least some things phone-free. Such as taking walks or running errands without my phone. It’s crazy how in just a few short years, it feels impossible to leave home without a phone!