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August 27, 2013

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Orange. Phone Faced Down.

Israel – the Startup Nation – leads Europe and US in smartphone use. That is why, when we created the Phone Faced Down campaign, it had a great success all over the country. Radio and TV shows interviewed us and UNDIGITIZE.ME was covered everywhere in the offline and online sources.

Today we got another proof that the message got spread out. Orange – the most popular cellular network operator in Israel – has published a new video, using our exact message: “There are moments in life, when you should put your phone aside”. Click here to see the video.

That was our dream when we first started UNDIGITIZE.ME – spread the word until the cellphone operators and manufacturers themselves will understand us, the users. Of course, it’s a commercial for their new network, but still, it shows that they are aware of our addiction.

If you wish to help spread the word in Europe – please vote for us – so we could speak in the Web Summit in Ireland. You can vote here: http://goo.gl/IMs8vF.

// Lior Frenkel

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Lior Frenkel

Posted on

August 25, 2013

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Smartphone Addiction

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I Forgot My Phone

This video needs no explanation… Just watch what happens to this girl who forgot her phone…

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Lior Frenkel

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August 20, 2013

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Kids

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Doing Kid’s Stuff – Phone Faced Down!

View The Full Campaign

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Lior Frenkel

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August 18, 2013

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Why Writing A Children’s Book is our New Project

Our kids are addicted to screens. TV, computer screen, tablet or Smartphone – kids can spend up to 75% of their day playing with one or the other.

Whenever I visit my nephews, I experience how strong this addiction can be. My 2 year old nephew is browsing the YouTube app on the iPad almost as fast as I do. Well, this is amazing, and I admire this little smart guy, but I have problems to communicate with him because his attention span is so short.

A few months back I started UNDIGITIZE.ME first and foremost for myself. I am addicted to the Smartphone, and I wanted to find ways to get my life back. The deeper I dig, I get to the real problems – and kids’ addiction to screens is one of them. Now, with the “Phone Faced Down” campaign, on family dinners we are no longer allowing the kids to play with any of the screens, and we see the change immediately. They cry and cry for half an hour, but then they get creative and play with us. So I get to know my nephew more and more.

But influencing my own family is not enough – I feel that I want to make a real change. I want more kids, and more parents get aware to the screens addiction. I want the message to spread – that is the whole purpose of UNDIGITIZE.ME. I want parents to discuss it with each other and with their kids. Understanding the good and the bad in the screens. What we can gain, but also what we lose when we are “screening” ourselves so much.

With that in mind, I’m ready for the next challenge – spreading the word to the kids. And what is a better way doing that, than creating a children’s book, that will inspire them – not preaching to them – to try and visit the world outside the screens a bit more. To explore the abundance in the physical world, more than they do today.

I will share this beautiful journey with you in the next few weeks and months.

// Lior Frenkel

To read more about kids and tech addiction, try Michael’s guest post.

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Lior Frenkel

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August 7, 2013

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Do Nothing To Get A Free Beer

We rarely take a break.

Especially if you’re working in an office, you might be in a constant hurry. In the few minutes you’re not in front of the computer, you’re playing with your Smartphone. Never do you take a real break, a real pause. We are either slaves to work or to the Smartphone.

Amstel Pause is a super cool installation in Sofia, Bulgaria, that makes you do nothing, and in return you’ll get a beer. How awesome is that!
Unlike other installations that ask users to dance, pay attention or do stuff, Amstel Pause just wants them to have a three minute break. And to enjoy a cool beer afterwards.

Watch this video to get the gist of it:

Did it work? Yep…

For 16 days, working from 16:00 to 21:00 o’clock in the busy center in Sofia, Amstel Pause collected:
— 4,032 minutes of break or more than 67 hours of rest for different people;
— Average of 84 users per day;
— Total of 1,344 beers given to people who do nothing;

amstel pause undigitize.me

Well kudos to Amstel

It’s not the first time this brand is helping us to cope with our Smartphone addiction. Remember the cool wardrobes for mobile phones in bars?

I can’t wait for it to get to my city. I always preferred my beer with doing nothing at the same time. It’s bad for my diet, but really good for my Digital Diet 😉

// Lior Frenkel

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Lior Frenkel

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August 7, 2013

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Are You A “Phone Potato”?

A new study by researchers at Kent State University found a link between heavy smartphone use and reduced fitness levels among university students.

Phone Potato

Researchers Andrew Lepp and Jacob E. Barkley, associate professors in Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services, found college students who reported the highest smartphone use – averaging 14 hours a day – were less fit than those who used the devices less often.

“There’s no ‘phone potato’ term, but maybe there should be,” Barkley said. “We’re just scratching the surface here. I don’t think they think about the consequences of sitting and playing with your phone.”

Well, that’s a whole new meaning for the term “Digital Diet”…

How to control your kid’s smartphone addiction

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post. Michael Gilin is a husband, father, telecommunications professional and blogger at Maveze. Fascinated by social media, amazed by technology, thinks he has valuable things to say and loves to share his observations and opinions with the world. You can follow his blogs here and here.

Michael Gilin

No doubt we live in a super technological era. And it’s a blessing. It’s what drives all the mankind forward into the future. But in some way, as every coin has two sides, it’s also a curse. Technology is making our lives easier in many ways, but also turns us to be quite dependent on it. It is changing the way we live, influencing the way we behave, altering the way we think. And if by “we” I mean mostly iY, Y and even X generations. You can only imagine the implications it will have on our children.

When I was a 4 years old toddler (in the beginning of the 80s), the most sophisticated piece of technology we had was a black-and-white TV set with manual knob to change the channels and adjust the brightness.

Continue reading →

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Lior Frenkel

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August 5, 2013

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Uncategorized

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20% Are Using Smartphone During Sex

Looking at 1,102 participants, Jumio revealed that 9% of adults admit using their smartphone during sex. And 20% of adults between 18-34 admit to using it.

Other interesting numbers of smartphone use:

-35% in movie theater

-33% on dinner date

-32% at child’s school function

-55% while driving

-12% in the shower

-19% in church

Read more: http://www.jumio.com/2013/07/americans-cant-put-down-their-smartphones-even-during-sex/

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Lior Frenkel

Posted on

July 25, 2013

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Smartphone Addiction

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Andy Bailey: Cellphone can be more a distraction than a tool

Andy Bailey is telling us how he felt when his smartphone was stolen on the way to a conference:

For the first 24 hours, I felt textbook withdrawal: I was anxious, disoriented and a little scared.

He observed himself for the next few days, and of what he named as Cellular Compulsive Disorder (or CCD). Then he got to some positive conclusions:

We can survive without our phones. I’ll admit, when I realized I was phoneless, I panicked. My travel tickets, hotel reservations, calendar and itinerary were all stored in my phone. Further, without apps such as AroundMe or Google Maps, how was I going to choose a place to eat or navigate in a foreign country?

After a momentary freakout, I regrouped. Turns out, airline kiosks can still print your tickets, hotels have your reservations on file, and you can access your calendar and itinerary from any computer. For restaurant suggestions or directions, I resorted to asking the locals — worked like a charm.

• The CCD afflicted are obnoxious. I began my 90-minute speaking sessions by asking the audience of entrepreneurs to turn off their phones. Sure enough, minutes later, I’d be at the crux of a point and a phone would ring. If it wasn’t a disruptive ring tone, I’d look into the crowd and notice several texters completely zoning me out….

• After my personal CCD recovery, I participated in more in-person conversation than I had in years. Since I couldn’t fill my extra time buried in the virtual world, I re-entered the real world. I met fantastic people, and our conversations delved beneath the surface. I experienced true engagement. It was a beautiful thing…

• A CCD-free life bolsters productivity. Although we all rationalize we can accomplish more with our contacts and reference materials in the palm of our hand, it’s not true. If you’re like me, and most I witnessed during my CCD-free week, you’re using your smartphone as a distraction rather than a work tool…

I recommend reading the full piece here.

Source: tennessean.com

// Lior Frenkel

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rinabunin9

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July 12, 2013

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Smartphone Addiction

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No more newspapers in the toilet

The next step in smartphone addiction- toilet texting. According to a new study, the magazines and newspapers have lost their appeal in the bathrooms among 75% of the american people. Nothing says “i missed you”, like a good old fashion text from the toilet of a loved one.

ToiletTexting-infographic

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Lior Frenkel

Posted on

July 9, 2013

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The Future, Uncategorized

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Don’t Stand With Your Phone On

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Lior Frenkel

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July 9, 2013

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Cell Phones Etiquette

Smartphone addiction is not only degrading your quality of life. It also affect others.
Some people think it’s rude when one talks on her phone next to them – “we don’t want to hear about your personal problems” they think. Moreover, when you’re texting someone, you got to remember he might be in a meeting now, or is trying to study or work. So by texting him, you might get him distracted from what he’s trying to do.

Neha Gandhi, on a great post on refinery29.com, is detailing a Cell Phone Etiquette. It is under the title “The New Rules For Real Life” but unfortunately these are unwritten rules, and only a few respect such behaviour. Still, following her suggestions, we could have a much nicer world. Here are few examples:

Unless you are waiting for an urgent call that you plan to take outside, it’s still considered bad manners to leave your phone out at the table. Yes, we do it all the time. But it turns out…

When you’re at a movie, play, or other indoor performance, you can leave your phone on vibrate if you put it away, but it’s definitely not okay to pull your phone out and check or send text and emails during the show…

But basically, here’s where you shouldn’t take a call, unless it’s an emergency: public restrooms (just don’t take it out — it makes people feel weird), theaters, waiting areas, lines, gyms, coffee shops, elevators, trains, buses, and restaurants. If you do have to take the call, be quick and quiet, and try and step away, as quickly as possible…

Read her full post here.

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Lior Frenkel

Posted on

July 7, 2013

Posted under

Smartphone Addiction, Uncategorized

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Cigarettes, caffeine, cocaine and cellphones

Bonnie Tubbs in a detailed and funny post explaining about Smartphone Addiction:

Hi, my name is Bonnie and I am a cellphone addict. It has been about two minutes since I last checked my phone.

…

I personally don’t feel my irrepressible compulsion to check my phone every couple of minutes has affected my work or relationships. I have no doubt my editor would back me up on that, once he has forgiven me for overshooting deadline again. And if I had any real-life friends, I am sure they would attest to it too.

Great read, enjoy.

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Lior Frenkel

Posted on

July 2, 2013

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Smartphone Addiction

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Addicted to Your Smartphone? Here’s What to Do

We see more and more articles about Smartphone Addiction. Some contain tips for “how to stop” the addiction, but more times than none I disagree with those tips.

Susan Davis has published a post about Smartphone Addiction and what to do about that. The post is very detailed, acknowledging some research on the subject. And then there’s the “tips” section.

Your phone is beeping. Be strong, don't answer.

Yeah right…

Here are the tips brought there, and my comments on each of those, as someone who is practicing the Digital Diet on a daily basis, trying different methods:

Be conscious of the situations and emotions that make you want to check your phone. Is it boredom? Loneliness? Anxiety? Maybe something else would soothe you.

Well, that’s an interesting tip, as it drives you to think WHY you want to check your phone so much. A good exercise indeed, but I don’t know anyone who could “think” philosophically about those things 150 times a day when he wants to reach out to his phone. And “Maybe something else would sooth you” – is not a great tip IMHO for any rehabilitation process. Should I smoke or eat out of bordom instead of checking my phone ?

Be strong when your phone beeps or rings. You don’t always have to answer it. In fact, you can avoid temptation by turning off the alert signals.

OK. I always wanted to be strong. Rocky Balboa strong. But I don’t know how to be strong when my phone beeps. I just wanna check out what’s in there.

The second half of the advice is a super smart one, which I personally recommend – turn off the alert signals, and you don’t have to be strong anymore. You can just forget that your phone is there.

Be disciplined about not using your device in certain situations (such as when you’re with children, driving, or in a meeting) or at certain hours ( for instance, between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.).

That’s a great tip indeed. These days when I get in the car, I put my phone into “airplane mode”, so when I’m in traffic, I’m not tempted to check my whatsapp. Same trick at night time, so when I wake up I don’t see those 20 notifications that delay me from starting my day with a great shower and breakfast.

Do you have a great tip for how to overcome your smartphone addiction?

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Lior Frenkel

Posted on

June 30, 2013

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The Future

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5 Tips on How to Stop Being a Digital Slave

Lifehack.org – a great collection of posts about how to improve our lives, wrote about UNDIGITIZE.ME.

Ohad Frankfurt explains:

Put your phone face-down.

I recently had the good fortune of discovering a fantastic project called undigitize.me. This project is a creation of a young entrepreneur who had enough. He wanted to focus on the things that mattered the most, mainly the people he encountered and his thoughts. One day he realized that the phone was his biggest obstacle.

So what does it mean to put your phone face-down? It means that you are preventing your mobile device from capturing your attention every time you receive an email, message, or any other stream of information. It’s not just a statement; it’s a way of life. Keeping your phone face-down means that you are trying to normalize the way you think and act, it means that once again you are in control of your time and focus and will not let any app or service control you.