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IT’S DAY FIVE of the first week of Live A Better Life.
Give yourself a clap on the back for making it this far – you’re doing great.
This week, it’s been about monitoring our behaviour, and seeing how we react to small changes in our phone usage (next week, we’ll have five more challenges for you).
Today, we’re going to be looking at what makes us look at our phones.
Some of the biggest things that draw our attention to our phones are notifications.
These can include:
Dr Larry Rosen, professor emeritus at California State University and the author of The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World, told us that looking at our phone can bring about different emotions for us.
“If you are using the phone to gain pleasure then that causes your brain to produce pleasure chemicals including dopamine and serotonin which make you feel good,” he said.
“If, however, you are using your phone because you feel you need to keep up with your virtual worlds then you are already producing chemicals that make you feel anxious (cortisol, adrenaline, etc) and you need to check in to remove those chemicals that make you feel anxiety.”
Can people feel anxiety when they try to cut down on their phone usage?
“They absolutely do. Some call that anxiety ‘fomo’ or fear of missing out but it is not as strong as a fear but more on the level of an anxiety,” said Rosen.
When we removed phones from students in a study those who were light users of their smartphone did not get more anxious over a 60 minute period where they were not allowed to do anything (to induce boredom and the urge to check in). Those who were moderate users of their smartphones showed no change in anxiety until about 30 minutes into the period and then showed an increase that leveled off. Those heaviest smartphone users showed an increase in anxiety within 10 minutes which kept increasing throughout the hour-long period.
When it comes to ‘how much is too much’ regarding checking your phone, he added: “There is no rule. When you are doing it out of a need to feel less anxious then it is important to stay aware of the anxiety level and monitor ‘checking-in’ behaviour.”
Why cut down on notifications?
Notifications draw your attention to your phone, which can mean you are picking it up more often than you want – or need – to.
You might need some of these notifications, but others not so much. Are there some you can cull?
First, you’ll need to check what notifications you already receive.
If you have an iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications, and you’ll find a list of all your apps and a description of the type of notifications you get for them. Do you really need all of those notifications?
If you have an Android phone, go to Settings > Sound & notification > App notifications, then look at the apps and see which ones you don’t need a notification from.
Take the time to think about what sort of notifications are the least intrusive, and what apps actually send you useful notifications.
As we’ve pointed out, notifications can take different forms. Let’s take a look at the most common, and see what we can do about them.
Message notifications
Whatsapp and Viber are two popular messaging apps. But getting 60 notifications from your Gals or Lads message group can be a bit of a strain.
You have the option to mute messages in both these apps, meaning you can receive messages but without the notifications constantly popping up.
News alerts
If you have a news app like TheJournal.ie, you’ll notice that most of them (like us) offer news alerts.
Take note of how often you’re getting notifications – are you getting them too frequently? Do you need more than one a day? Are they giving you information you need?
For example, we only send alerts for breaking news that we feel it’s essential you need to know. Other news apps might send a number of alerts a day.
If you decide you don’t need the notifications/news alerts, each app should offer you the ability to switch them off.
Miscellaneous alerts
You may use a range of apps that offer alerts – fitness apps, food log apps, banking apps, health apps.
Take note of which ones send you alerts. Do you really need all of them?
Here’s a more in-depth look at the types of notifications and alerts we get on our phones, and how to cut down on them.
How did monitoring your phone use go?
On Day Two, we asked you to monitor your phone use for the rest of the week. How did you get on with that?
Tell us in the comments.
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Turkey has been threatening this for a while… These people want to get to EU countries mostly France and Germany and former EU country the UK, but Europe is not assisting the Turks, it’s only a matter of time again…. and many of these could be ISIS fighters wanting to return home…. They need to be accessed with proper documentation and all finger printed, just like the EU does with African refugess/asylum seekers.
@Paul O’Sullivan: the EU needs to hold firm against this Turkish blackmail
@Paul O’Sullivan: and where is the database with all the fingerprints of the ISIS fighters?
@SFAnkleTapper: there is none…. Asylum seekers only have to give their fingerprints at the point of application for Asylum. Many of the ISiS fighters will be returning to their home countries UK /Belgium /France men of Arab origin who destroyed their documentation who will be moonlighting as Syrian refugees. Hence my point a record needs to be kept of these individuals.
If they are genuine they have nothing to hide. The fingerprinting is to keep a record of any future incidents.
@Paul O’Sullivan: so no prevention.
@SFAnkleTapper: I agree a disaster isn’t it.
Turkey is chomping at the bit for a land grab & war with Syria, The SAA are battle hardened and have the support of Russia, Erdogan will get his ass handed to him along with his aspirations for Turkish conquest.
Greece should take no more refugees with militants in the mix. The Greeks of Lesbos and Chios have made it clear they will take no more.
@Raven: That’s all well and good, but if the Turks are brought into a War it could lead to them at war with Iran, that will result in an attack on the toxic state of Israel. That will bring in the US and Nato…
Turkey has been asking for assistance with this a long time. The refugess dont want to be in Turkey they want to be in the EU. That’s the problem..
@Paul O’Sullivan: has its stands. Very large amounts of refugees /migrants from the middle east who are mostly Muslims have landed on Europe’s shores and have gain entry into Europe mainland . There is many issues with integration with the local populations,these people would be arriving from strict Islamic society’s.they would have sever problems with western cultures and liberal values. could these people not be relocated to mostly Moslem countries where their culture and religious values would be respected and inforced
@Paul O’Sullivan: Sure, They have been asking for help, but what is the reply from Saudi, The Emirates etc? This is causing social issues within Europe, but you won’t hear about parallel societies, non integration, crime stats via MSM.
@Raven: oh I agree with you Arab nations have never really looked after struggling Arabs..Saudi Arabia is one of the most despicable countries on the planet, if they had no oil they would have nothing…
@Bobby wilson: Agree with you totally, but Europe may need to provide something to keep them out….
@Bobby wilson: think it’s mainly you that doesn’t respect *muslim values. Why does a religion need to be *enforced on anyone? If you’re not Muslim then what does it matter to you?
Standard rhetoric from you eh lad.
@Paul O’Sullivan: You say the refugees want to be in the EU, but where they really want to be is at home in the communities they grew up in and live in. Tens of thousands of ordinary people are being murdered and used as pawns by the Turkish regime and others to further their objectives in the region.
@Paul O’Sullivan: “if the Turks are brought into a War”
Turkey is at war with Syria.
In the past 2 weeks the Turks have destroyed 5% of Syria’s armour, kiled 100s of Syrian government troops, and today they shot down two Syrian jets and destryed several air defence systems.
Here’s is video footage of Turkish troops firing an anti-aircraft missile from a rooftop, shooting down a Syrian government helicopter 2 weeks ago (could so easily have been Russian), with Al Qeada aillied fighters cheering in the foreground (loud warning):
https://twitter.com/Adnan_Alhusen/status/1227857701604069376
Turkey released 10 minutes of footage of them blowing up Syrian army tanks and troops with drones, recorded over the last 2 weeks in Idlib:
@Dermot Foley: so how do you preposed for myself and the Irish people on the island of IRELAND and main land Europe respect our new Muslims populations as refugees /migrants into their towns and cities. like in some parts of Britain where sharia laws are recognized by courts of lands like in their own home lands ..etc …as someone who live and work in a Islamic society over a period time it is completely different way of life if your not a Muslim and saying it very mildly
@Paul O’Sullivan: why does the Irish people and Europe have to offer them anything ! Why not the world how many refugees arrived in Japan which is one of the richest countries in the world….what’s happening in the middle east is very complex is centre around religion its bother fighting brother…
@David Jordan:
So Turkey being a member of NATO would mean NATO are at war with Syria.
@Dermot Foley:
Some rhetoric there at the Greek border, wouldn’t you agree.
https ://twitter.com/BasedPoland/status/1234038726952673281?s=20
@Raven: * So Turkey being a member of NATO would mean NATO are fighting with al Qaeda.
Here’s Turkish fighter jets sky writing over a Turkish base in Syria…
@Bobby wilson: you want sharia law recognised like parts of the UK!?!?
YOU go and live there and take anyone else who wants to be in that toxic cult with you please
@Simon McGunner: definitely not! But their are people out their from liberal west who are proposing that we must look into ways to accommodate Muslim refugees /migrants into the host cummunites. in ways that make their religious practices are valued and respected in equal to western values.
@David Jordan:
I have a link here to a video from yesterday where Turkish military personnel are beating and torturing captured Syrian military personnel, cannot is as it will be deleted by the mods. Not s love heart in sight. Turkey have no business having bases in Syria.
They need to get out, maybe the Russian Navy vessels en route will help them along.
@Bobby wilson: We saw your comments on the balgaddy lucan mosque. your obviously some Islamic crusader. That cult is responsible for FGM and a lot of other sick activities. Look at Rotherham in the UK all those children molested and not protected by the law. We just got he Catholic church under control we don’t need this cult in the West.
@Simon McGunner: I am trying to point out what happens when you have large scale Islamic immigration on to island of Ireland and main land Europe too and the world for that matter, to the local non Islamic populations and how relationships break down between the cultures .because of the strict religious Islamic believes come up against thec non Islamic believes ..that I believe Islamic populations should be relocate themselves to majority countries where their believes and culture is respected and enforced by the state.
If people have made it to Turkey they were refugees and are now in a safe country. If they are now looking to come to an EU country then they are migrants.
@SFAnkleTapper:
*Economic migrants, and if they are storming the Greek border, which thousands have, then they’re called illegal immigrants.
@Raven: correct.
@SFAnkleTapper: Looks like the Greeks have had enough, Greek military personnel and hardware are en route to the borders/. transit points with Turkey, Lesbos locals have burned down the UN migrant centers so no more can be received and today with Erdogans announced threat that he’d release refugees to Greece, Soros NGOs of German origin showed up on Lesbos only to be ran off and told to leave by the local Greeks. More blood and misery that originated with Merkel.
The problem is the war.
The solution is not to just put these people into Europe.They are not entitled automatic entry to Europe, like anyone else.The Greeks need help from EU to keep their borders and people and way of life as they see fit.
What is the response of oil rich middle Eastern countries to this crisis? There are camps suitable for housing millions in Saudi Arabia for example.
Can EU not help build camps in Turkey and when the war is over most people would go home no ?
Yes Turkey may need some help with this refugee side of the war they are in , like the €6 billion from the EU which is probably now spent.
They are seeking aid and at war.
They do deal very generously with millions of refugees from Syria and do need help.
have your say