Parents and teens alike are trading in their smartphones for "dumber" models to help stay offline.

Adults and teens concerned about their screen time are turning in their smartphones for “dumber” models.

Buried in the settings of many smartphones is the option to look up how much on average you are staring at your phone per day.

It can bring an uncomfortable realisation, that what was supposed to be a useful piece of technology has become an obsession.

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According to a study by Harvard University, using social networking sites lights up the same part of the brain that is also triggered when taking an addictive substance. This has raised concerns about phone habits among youth.

In the UK, research by Ofcom estimates that around a quarter of children aged five to seven years old now have their own smartphone.

Links have been shown in some studies between use of social media and a negative effect on mental health - especially in children.

  • Q*Bert Reynolds
    27•19 days ago

    Didn’t say it was offensive. Just pointing out that you are, in fact, using a lot of social media.

      • Q*Bert Reynolds
        -1•19 days ago

        OP absolutely thought so. Their exact words were “Sorry my wanting to have the small amount of human contact I have outside my own family on a daily basis is so offensive to you.”.

        That’s not even what I was implying. I don’t care how much someone uses social media. I saw a comment on a social media platform about not using social media and couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Then I clicked their profile and saw that they’re averaging more than 100 comments a day for almost a year.

        Was it flippant? Absolutely. Was it a gotcha moment? Maybe, but only in the sense that I was planning on pointing out the hypocrisy in implying they don’t use social media on a social media platform, and instead found the exact kind of social media addict that the article describes

        • @[email protected]
          3•19 days ago

          You should probably rethink how you communicate if you have to write all of this just to try and prove you were not being rude/kind of a jerk.

          • Q*Bert Reynolds
            -3•19 days ago

            If anything I need to rethink how I communicate that I’m not offended by people using social media, but I am offended by hypocrisy. I thought for sure that’s what I typed out. I don’t care that it came off as rude.

    • Aniki 🌱🌿English
      1•19 days ago

      Message boards are not social media no matter what the revisionists say. They are wrong.

    • Flying Squid
      -6•19 days ago

      I never said I wasn’t. So it sounds to me more like you wanted to point it out for another reason.

      • Q*Bert Reynolds
        6•19 days ago

        You caught me. I’m biased against people who play Word Cookies.

        • Flying Squid
          4•19 days ago

          People sure seem hell-bent on giving me shit on a regular basis for posting a lot, so I’m sorry if I assumed that was your intent.

      • @[email protected]English
        -1•19 days ago

        Man, you really blew the fuck up over a tiny comment. Is this why you have zero social contact? Because youre an asshole?

        • Flying Squid
          3•19 days ago

          Maybe that’s why or maybe because people are constantly giving me shit for posting a lot. Or maybe both.

          You are certainly free to think I’m an asshole and people are right to not spend time with me if you wish.