Phone no as i leave it off for days at a time but computer yes

No. But also. Yes. But also. No

Fine. Sometimes. 😆

I got off of social media five years ago and I still check my phone frequently. It’s something to do to distract from pernicious thoughts but ironically only diverts my attention away to other pernicious thoughts. I would say no, I’m not addicted though. I love every opportunity I get to leave my phone behind and don’t return to it with desperation. But because I don’t want to miss being contacted, these opportunities don’t arise often enough

Not even a question

Yup

Before there were smart phones, I was addicted to a PDA velcroed to a Ricochet modem.

I’m addicted to my laptop and basically any social media platform. Block one and I’ll find plenty of others to waste my time on.

If I could get away with not having a cellphone, I would honestly much prefer to not have one. Unfortunately, the modern job market and my wife wanting to be able to reach me make it unlikely that I could do so without suffering some fairly major issues.

Initially, I quite liked the idea of being able to consolidate multiple devices, like an e-reader and music player into a single device, but I’ve really come to resent the expectation that I should always be available to contact at all times.

If I could ditch mine, I’d really rather just have some sort of portable device in a similar form-factor that could play connect to WiFi, play music and podcasts and work as an e-reader. Bonus points for some sort of offline map/navigational capacity. I don’t want to get texts or phone calls, and only be able to access email and the broader internet when I’m somewhere with WiFi.

I like to think I’ll eventually get to a point where I can do that without having to worry about being unable to get jobs for not responding quick enough. Unfortunately, it seems like more and more things are trying to make cell phones an unavoidable aspect of participating in society, whether it’s banks only offering OTP texts for 2FA, or so many venues no longer even offering the option to print your tickets at home, but instead requiring you to display your ticket in an app on a device with an active data connection.

Yep, and we’re surrounded by enablers, too. I left my phone at home accidentally when I went out with the fam. “Fuckit, I don’t need a phone. Let’s just go…”

And not only did it become quickly obvious how much I use my phone (NFC payment, looking up store hours, nearest grocery store, etc) but how much everyone expected me to have a phone and everything on it. Use my phone to pay. I don’t have it, I gotta use a card. Give my kid cash for when we drop her off to hang out with friends with apple pay. Can’t do it, no phone. Here’s $15 cash. (Eye roll, carrying change is a burden now) Use loyalty card at the store. Nope, it’s on the phone. Wife has to use hers. Can’t get my daughter’s text messages, and even though she knew I’d left my phone, she still texted me.

People expect you to have all the conveniences on a phone, including the ones that are convenient to them.

Screen time says yes.

Yes. I recently took my son to an appointment where my phone died as we pulled up. My phone dying is incredibly rare. I proceeded to clean my car while I waited. I went through the center console, the glove box, the side door pockets, under the seats, behind the front seats, basically everywhere in the cabin of the car cleaning and organizing while I waited. If my phone had a charge, I wouldn’t have done any of that. So yes, I’m addicted to my phone.

Looking at my usage, especially last Sunday, yeah.

Yes, I know, I tried both Firefox and Vivaldi, both had some things I quite didn’t like, I keep trying them like every 3 months.
Sorry, I can’t name them, I keep forgetting the specific issues.

Is that what it is? Addiction?.. Or am I just absorbing information as I would?

For that matter, is it a detriment that I sit here, scroll, read, investigate, research, find random topic I never expected and learn something new?

My phone’s just a tool. Replace it with a book, and I’m still doing the same thing for myself, if it’s out of boredom.

Phone? Nah. It’s only a tool, used for photography, maps/navigation, messaging while on the go, shopping lists and phone calls for that one time a month you need to make one. Maybe other stuff sometimes, like making a bank transfer when not at home or editing OSM.

I used to be indirectly addicted to it. It was actually doomscrolling Reddit, but now that I’m off it I don’t get the urge anymore.

My desktop is a different story, I’m kind of addicted to it while I’m at home; when outside I don’t really miss it.

A phone is just a shittier computer. Please don’t ask about my computer.