It’s World No Smartphone Day: Too Late, You’re Already Addicted

It is a modest tradition which nevertheless celebrates its 22 years. Since 2001, February 6 has been World Cell Phone Free Day. In reality, this day was not really decided collectively. If the UN lists 140 “international days”, the designation of a “world day” is a much more crazy affair, and an individual or an association can decide to celebrate the cause of his choice, the day of his choice. Then just add the mayonnaise.

To come back to our sheep, the world day without smartphone has been celebrated on February 6 since 2001, on the initiative of the French writer Phil Marso, who wanted to invite the public to think about the use they make of mobile phones. Not devoid of humor, the author chose for this day the date of Saint Gaston, in reference to the refrain of Nino Ferrer “Gaston, the phone is ringing, and no one ever answers it”. Since then, the world day without smartphone has evolved a little, covering the period from February 6 to 8.

All with nomophobia?

You may learn it from these lines, but you are probably suffering from nomophobia. Or let’s say in a very light form. This recent expression, a portmanteau word constructed by contraction of the English expression “no mobile-phone phobia”, designates an excessive anxiety at the idea of ​​being without a mobile phone. A bit like what you probably feel when you leave home with an empty pocket, even if you’re just going to buy a loaf of bread.

More seriously, this disorder, which mainly affects adolescents and young adults, is characterized by certain attitudes: excessive checking of messages and notifications on social networks, difficulty in getting involved in daily tasks for fear of losing connection and access to information, or the fear of losing your smartphone and running out of battery.

If the international scientific community does not yet recognize the abusive use of mobile phones as a disease, some studies put forward worrying figures. For example, in the UK, 53% of mobile phone users, and up to 76% among young people aged 18 to 24, tend to be anxious when their phone is lost, out of battery, or without network coverage. .

Tools that promote disconnection…

In recent years, mobile manufacturers and publishers of mobile operating systems have developed applications and features that are supposed to make you aware of the time spent on your smartphone. It must be said that, according to certain studies, a French person spends an average of 3.9 hours a day with their eyes riveted on their screen, while this duration was only 2.7 hours in 2019.

Since iOS 12, yet unveiled in 2018, Apple has offered a tab dedicated to “digital well-being” in its settings. Called Screen time, this tab allows you to view the duration of use of the mobile compared to the previous week. It is possible to define time slots where only certain functions will be available, to limit the time of use of certain apps, to define these same limits according to contacts, and even to share everything with different devices (iPad, MacBook) logged into the same iCloud account. The Concentration tab also allows you to define time slots where the terminal is muted, and to authorize notifications from certain specific applications and contacts.

The same obviously exists on Android, even allowing you to view the number of mobile unlocks and the number of notifications received. There’s also a Look Up option, which plays reminders to stay aware of your surroundings as you walk and scroll down the street. The Shush mode of Google Pixel mobiles also allows you to mute the phone when you put it on the front side, for example when you are drinking coffee with a friend.

There are also applications on download portals for those who wish to go through third-party tools, such as Digital Detox on the Play Store, which offers challenges to motivate themselves to disconnect.

…but not too much

Still, despite the apparent goodwill of mobile manufacturers, the heart of their business strategy lies in sharing your (our) data, and the attention you pay to products and applications. It should be remembered once again that manufacturers obviously have an interest in ensuring that users spend as much time as possible in front of the screen, which makes it possible to increase the use of their products and associated services, such as applications , online games, online shopping, media consumption, etc. The more time users spend on their devices, the more they are exposed to targeted ads and the more likely they are to make online purchases.

Another economic cliché: by promoting an increase in the usage time of their products, the manufacturers hope to push us towards new, more recent models, thus reinforcing the update cycle. In short, current and future nomophobes don’t have their hands out of brambles, and Gaston answers his smartphone non-stop.