Going analog to combat digital distractions
Like a lot of people, I am addicted to my phone. I tend to pull it out when I have nothing else on my mind. Instead of just enjoying being idle for a moment, my brain pulls me toward the phone. Is there any new email? Is there a new Reddit post? New messages on Facebook? Instagram? Twitter? Repeat! Maybe now there is an email? Endlessly.
This is not uncommon, and actually by design.
How A/B testing drives addiction
While I was working at Twitter, we used A/B testing on every new functionality. In short, A/B testing presents users with two slightly different versions of the product: the current one and the one containing the update we want to test. We measure users subject to each version across some metrics. Do they click more links? Do they comment more? Do they stay on the app longer? The most important metric is user retention. Is it grappling the user in and not letting go?
This process makes apps stickier, but not healthier. I didn't feel good browsing social medias anymore. I wanted out.
Going analog
I started replacing my digital tools (i.e., my phone) with analog equivalents:
- Pen and notebooks
- Instant film cameras
- Mechanical wristwatch
- Vinyl records
I do this partly because they are enjoyable. I feel better drinking a coffee while writing my plan in my notebook, or feeling the pen strike through an item in my to-do list.
The same goes for listening to music. Listening to a record is a more active and intentional experience compared to just consuming music from Spotify as a background.
In a future post, I'll share more about each of these replacements I use and what I like about them.