Tag Archives: undigitize.me

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August 27, 2013

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The People's Voice

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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.

Orange. Phone Faced Down.

Orange. Phone Faced Down.

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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August 18, 2013

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Kids

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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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August 6, 2013

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Kids, The Future

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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

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.

 

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July 13, 2013

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Smartphone Addiction

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Many British Columbians Are Addicted To Smartphones

A new poll taken by Insights West in British Columbia, Canada, found some interesting stats on Smartphone addiction in BC:

  • 18% consider themselves “addicted” to their smartphone (3% an “unhealthy addiction” and 15% “a strong addiction, but manageable”), and another 43% consider it very important to their lives.
  •  Among 18-34 year olds, the addiction rate rises to 27% (compared to 17% of those 35-54 and just 3% of those 55).
  •  In an average week, these self-described addicts spend 2.5 hours a day actively using their smartphone (compared to 1.6 hours for those not addicted) and half (51%) check their smartphone at least once every half an hour (compared to just 24% of those not addicted).
  •  If they left home for the day without their smartphone, nearly all smartphone owners (76%) would return home to retrieve it – 31% would travel 10 or more minutes to do so.
  •  Smartphone users were asked to choose hypothetically between giving up their smartphone for three days, or from a series of other small sacrifices instead. Only 30% chose to “lose” their smartphone. A majority (56%) would prefer to give up Facebook for three days, and 17% would prefer to get stood up on a date.
    • Only 18% of younger (18-34 years of age) smartphone users would give up their device (compared to 26% of 35-54 year old smartphone owners and 57% of 55 years +). 70% would rather give up Facebook, 25% computer Internet, and 25% get stood up for a date.

See the full results of the poll here.

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July 10, 2013

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Internet Addiction, Smartphone Addiction

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Don’t text while watching a movie – the ninjas will get you

The Prince Charles Cinema in Londons Leicester Square is taking matter in their own hands by employing so-called ninjas to stop rude texters. A semi questionable method, but at list they look great in leotard.

Cinema-Ninja

read more http://www.slashfilm.com/wtf-london-theater-employing-volunteer-ninjas-to-confront-rude-moviegoers/

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July 7, 2013

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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.

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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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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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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.

Read more here.

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June 30, 2013

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Smartphone Addiction

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South Korean doctors warn smartphones cause ‘digital dementia’

South Korean doctors have found that increasing use of smartphones among young Koreans has led to a surge in incidence of “digital dementia” characterized by deterioration of cognitive abilities and symptoms found in people who have suffered head injury.

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…heavy reliance on smartphones creates an imbalance in brain development which leads to the left side of the brain becoming overstimulated while the right side suffers and becomes relatively stunted. Heavy use of smartphones engages the left brain at the expense of the right, leading to deterioration of right side-leaning cognitive abilities and symptoms of “digital dementia,” which include loss of memory, short attention span and problems regulating emotion.

Gi-won said: “Heavy [technology] users are likely to develop the left side of their brains, leaving the right side untapped or underdeveloped.”

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353047#ixzz2XhO0v21y

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June 30, 2013

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Smartphone Addiction

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Smartphones Induce Dumb Behaviour

In this nice blog post from the Bangkok Post, Sukhumaporn Laiyok is writing her opinion about Smartphone addiction.

One of her stories in that post really caught my eyes:

People find it hard to tear themselves away from these little gizmos. The other day I saw a woman using her smartphone when exercising. As she was working out on a treadmill she used one hand to hold the…

Wherever you are in the world – New York, Tel-Aviv or Bangkok – people see the same sights, and feel the same about the Smartphone Addiction.

 

// Lior Frenkel