At the beginning of each week, my new phone (the one I bought back in March) keeps presenting me with statistics of my "screen time" for the previous week. I've not yet bothered to figure out if there is a way to turn off these reports, even though that thought does pop up in my head every week too. It's also a weekly reminder of the famous quote about lies and statistics... You know: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statitstics..." (Often ascribed to Mark Twain, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that it was really someone else who said it before him.)
To return to my phone statistics, they are all lies as all they might show is how much I've been checking my phone screen. It obviously has no idea that I also own a tablet, a laptop, and a TV - which I look at a lot more. Moreover, the phone doesn't even tell the truth about how much I use the phone, because it obviously also does not count all the hours that I spend listening to audio books from it (with the screen black).
Which all just makes me wonder why they bother about these "digital health" statistics at all. Because I'm pretty sure that even most kids probably usually have access to more screens than their own phone during the week...
Ah well. Just a reflection towards the end of another hot summer day that I've spent mostly indoors with various screens, between turns to the laundry room...
PS. I also haven't got a clue where the phone statistics go once I've seen them; which is why I can't include a picture of them. Instead, I give you a photo of a 'dog rose' from the cemetery. (More worth staring at for a while than the statistics, anyway...)
Funny about the phone statistics, I have not run into that with my phone. I hope they don't start reporting us to the phone police, ha ha, spending too much time on the phone, laptop, etc.
ReplyDeleteTerra, as long as they only go by my phone statistics (and don't include all the other screens) I don't think I really have anything to fear from the phone police...
DeleteThe rose is beautiful. It looks like what we call Knockout Roses here. I have not heard of a phone that does this!
ReplyDeleteGinny, this is a kind of rose that also grows in the wild.
DeleteMy iphone and ipad show the same weekly reports. Like you, I am not bothered enough by them to find out how to turn them off; should be easy enough under "settings" somewhere.
ReplyDeleteMeike, that's what I assume too, even if so far I've failed to find it...
DeleteI get the same thing, and can't figure out how to turn it off and you are right, it does lie. it is not easy, i have tried, there are manynotifications i can not figure out how to get rid of. like a few days ago for no reason the iphone with no phone number started TALKING notifications from the weather thing, no ide why, never did it before and i can't get it to turn off, it even does it when phone is on mute. sometimes i think i might go back to a flip phone that only talks/texts since almost every where I go requires a text number and if I gve them my phone number they send text to that and i don't get them. people cant believe a person has no cell phone. bob has none so I get his text. i am rambling
ReplyDeleteSandra, it's indeed very annoying when apps do things and you can't figure out why or how to stop it...
DeletePS I wish I knew how much screen time I have. Chromebook, 2 phones, desktop and TV it is way to much screen time
ReplyDeleteAs for my total amount of screen time, I'm not sure I want to know!!! (LOL)
DeleteWhat a brilliant colour that rose is - much more interesting than boring old statistics!
ReplyDeleteCarol, I can only agree!
DeleteI chuckled at your reference to screen time and audio books. A friend has hearing aids that are linked by bluetooth to her phone. She can choose the audio book on her phone, link to the hearing aids, and go outside to work in the garden. The garden looks lovely, the story is enjoyable, and any phone calls still come through. I wonder what her phone statistics look like. Personally, I monitor my social media time carefully. I will not fall too far into that pit.
ReplyDeleteThat I call smart technology, Louise. I'm not in need of hearing aids (and I don't have a garden) but I have bluetooth 'earbuds' that I can use with the phone the same way. (I think I've managed to turn off the phone's "screen time" statistics now btw...)
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