Apple CEO Tim Cook doesn’t want people constantly looking at their iPhones. What’s more, he knows how to beat your iPhone addiction, or at least make it less likely to take hold. And as Cook’s job is to make us all buy iPhones, his advice is worth heeding.
Tim Cook Shares Some Words of Wisdom
Tim Cook was speaking at the Time 100 Summit celebrating the people Time regard as the most influential people of 2019. With Apple maintaining its place as one of the most important tech companies in the world, it’s no wonder Cook made the list.
However, it was Cook’s comments (as reported by TechCrunch) about how much people use their iPhones that raised eyebrows. Everyone knows someone who is permanently glued to their phone, and Cook is judging these people as harshly as the rest of us, saying:
“Every time you pick up the phone, it means you are taking your eyes off the person you are dealing with. If you are looking at your phone more than you are looking at someone’s eyes you are doing the wrong thing. Apple never wanted to maximise user time. We’ve never been about that. We don’t want people using their phones all the time. This has never been an objective for us.”
Cook is bang on the money here. If you’re looking at your phone while people are trying to talk to you then you’re being extremely disrespectful. You’re also strongly suggesting your phone is more important than the individual you’re conversing with.
How Tim Cook Beat His iPhone Addiction
So, how do you beat iPhone addiction? Tim Cook recommends severely limiting the number of notifications you’re getting. Which is a policy I have enacted since getting a smartphone. Cook’s proof that this could work is that he has done it himself, saying:
“I’ve gone in and gutted the number of notifications. Because I asked myself: ‘Do I really need to be getting thousands of notifications a day?’ It’s not something that is adding value to my life, or is making me a better person. And so I went in and chopped that. If you guys aren’t doing this—if you have an iPhone and you’re not doing it, I would encourage you to really do this—monitor these.”
This is more good advice. Notifications demand your attention, conditioning you to pick up your phone as soon as you hear the alert or feel it vibrate. Even if you’re in the middle of a conversation when you receive a notification. And that’s a bad thing.
There’s an App for Smartphone Addiction
Tim Cook clearly spends a lot of time thinking about how people are using Apple products. And he’s aware that some people have become addicted to their smartphones. His advice may not make any difference, but it’s good to know he’s at least aware of the problem.
As a backup, here are the best apps to help you fight your smartphone addiction.
Image Credit: Farhad Sadykov/Flickr
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