WhatsApp notifications in the middle of the night were the final straw. I switched those off – and every other alert – and it helped my wellbeing, sleep and parenting
Seems a lot of comments are arguing about this as if it’s an all-or-nothing. I use a dumbphone (for many reasons), but even it allows me to configure DND settings to allow certain phone numbers to audibly ring or vibrate. Surely smartphones can do the same? I find being with someone whose phone is constantly making noises to be very irritating–and more so if they interrupt our conversation to check it every time.
My not-so-dumb flip phone also has 3 indicator lights on the closed cover – red if battery is low, a green envelope if I have a message or other notification, and a blue phone if I’ve had a call (even those can be disabled). So I don’t have to touch it or do anything other than glance in its direction to know I have a message. “Smart” phones can do such simple things as this, can’t they?
I have my phone set to DND at all times, and I can confirm that you can allow certain notifications to come through. Only important notifications and calls from contacts come in. My peace of mind improved quite a bit with this change.
That’s good. Some of the comments were making me wonder!
I think some people may not realize how detrimental it can be to their quality of life or stress level, to have something constantly interrupting their attention or that it’s something that can be controlled without having to completely cut themselves off.
I miss blinkenlights on smartphones. They went out of style circa 2015, and now all you get is the screen turning on momentarily, or some variant of a dim always-on view that wastes battery.
They don’t blink except for the red one when it’s charging and stops when it’s full. The notification ones are solid. Yes, they are really nice to have!
Seems a lot of comments are arguing about this as if it’s an all-or-nothing. I use a dumbphone (for many reasons), but even it allows me to configure DND settings to allow certain phone numbers to audibly ring or vibrate. Surely smartphones can do the same? I find being with someone whose phone is constantly making noises to be very irritating–and more so if they interrupt our conversation to check it every time.
My not-so-dumb flip phone also has 3 indicator lights on the closed cover – red if battery is low, a green envelope if I have a message or other notification, and a blue phone if I’ve had a call (even those can be disabled). So I don’t have to touch it or do anything other than glance in its direction to know I have a message. “Smart” phones can do such simple things as this, can’t they?
I have my phone set to DND at all times, and I can confirm that you can allow certain notifications to come through. Only important notifications and calls from contacts come in. My peace of mind improved quite a bit with this change.
That’s good. Some of the comments were making me wonder!
I think some people may not realize how detrimental it can be to their quality of life or stress level, to have something constantly interrupting their attention or that it’s something that can be controlled without having to completely cut themselves off.
I miss blinkenlights on smartphones. They went out of style circa 2015, and now all you get is the screen turning on momentarily, or some variant of a dim always-on view that wastes battery.
They don’t blink except for the red one when it’s charging and stops when it’s full. The notification ones are solid. Yes, they are really nice to have!