Has anyone out there tried this? My phone is my primary window into viewing P and seeking out unhealthy relationships. I've tried setting the phone up with parent blocks, but if the urge is strong enough, I'll bypass the blocks. I use my phone mostly for music and it's pretty cool to have my email in my pocket. GPS is always handy too. The availability of Google is a blessing and a curse. Other than that, it's just a phone. No social media. Curious to hear if any of you have gone back to using a dumb phone in an effort to stamp out the temptation?
I've thought about it too...although I just chose instead to delete all social media apps from my phone. Its easier to avoid temptations when you aren't constantly bombarded with pictures of broads trying to impress guys with selfies. I can always choose to ignore texts and can always choose not to answer a phone call. Interesting topic!
I really love the idea of getting rid of my smartphone sometimes. Even independent of porn, I find myself spending way too much time with my nose in my phone. However, I feel like that's really difficult to do since it's the assumption that people my age have one. It might differ depending on who you are and what you do for a living, but as a 22 year-old working in a profession with a lot of younger people, I don't think I could get away with getting rid of it. In context of socializing, many of my friends prefer Snapchat to texts or calls, and I'm part of a lot of group chats, that would be extremely difficult to maintain if I were just using text messages. And even though it's dumb, I had a friend who didn't have a smartphone for the longest time and she would get confused in conversations because emojis showed up as question marks. More importantly, as a professional, I'm in group chats, it's expected that I have access to my email throughout the day, and I'd be lost if my calendar didn't sync to my phone. Hence, I have taken steps to get rid of apps that waste my time without bringing me any sense of fulfillment, but I can't conceive that downgrading would be feasible in day-to-day life.
I suppose. Personally, the day I put that much trust in a machine is the day that machine helps me breathe. Again - has anyone out there actually TRIED downgrading their phone to one without immediate internet access? Or should I be the one to lead the way?
I have. Tried and failed. Once you are on a smartphone ऊ can't go back. It is very tough. If you survive then good. Good luck.
Right on; thanks for the insight! Seems the true test is in the self-discipline of having the phone and electing to not use it for dastardly purposes!
The last smartphone I owned was a Samsung Galaxy S2. I gave it away, and haven't owned any mobile phone whatsoever since. Felt like a big mental unburdening to me, at the time; a lot fewer brain cycles wasted on checking trivial stuff again and again. Recently I ditched Twitter for similar purposes, and to similar effect. It's been years without phone now, and I don't miss it at all. Get the occasional weird look when you tell someone you don't have a mobile phone, but unlike expectations it's never been a practical handicap. I rather like not going for my phone when in waiting rooms and such, and instead feeling more like a real person actually being there in the moment.
Tried a flip phone for a week but it really blows, why not block chrome with app lock then use a text only web browser?
When the urge will be really strong, nothing can stop it. The perks of not using a smartphone are endless. But when you live in a society you will start to see more people with smartphones and your focus will shift to observing their phones. You will start hating that normal phone you will own and become more than ever attracted to smartphones. It happened and still happens to me. But the thing again is either learn to use it in your favour than watching P or start growing yourself so willfully strong that you won't mind the normal phone that you have. Either way, it is going to be tough and I always recommend to keep yourself occupied. For example I worked out in gym so hard today that I slept for 5 hours. Now normally there is vacation going on,and I would give myself to P thus repeatedly RELAPSING . BUT as I slept today and am still tired my mind is not going to P. Thus I am successful today. So keep your mind occupied and make your will stronger day by day by making decisions more and more and you will see the results in your favour. I recommend no social media and internet surfing for the initial 30 days. If you can surpass that, you are everyone's hero and you will have things come your way. Peace out!
As has been mentioned, actually getting rid of your smartphone can be very difficult. What has worked extremely well for me, is getting a filter that limits access to sites and apps that you don't want - both pornographic and simply those that waste your time. I'd recommend Netspark for your phone, and K9 protection for your computer. Find a trustworthy friend to help you install them with a password that only he knows. Unfortunately, Netspark costs. However, for me at least, it is more than worth the benefit, as it has been a massive element in helping me distance myself from porn.
I used to use my phone for lots of bad things, but then I fixed it by deleting the browsers and chatting apps, and then finally deleting the app store. The only way I can install a new app is to get a cable and transfer an installation file from my computer. Takes a lot of work so it weakens my temptations most of the time. I feel much more secure after neutering my phone.
Don't demonize technology. Everything is a tool. A smartphone comes in handy in many situations. You have to work on youself, not on the smartphone.
I agree this is the case. However, things like smartphones, unfiltered internet etc. have very strong neurochemical associations in your brain, which are extremely difficult to get past in the early stages of rebooting. An addict becomes used to triggers, such as unfiltered internet, just before a relapse. Addictions such as porn weaken the power of your frontal cortex to make active decisions when confronted by triggers, and instead very strong 'addictive loops' hard wired in your brain take control. It's a bit like handing a bottle of whisky to an alcoholic and telling him 'he has to work on himself, and shouldn't be afraid of bottles'. Certainly technology has a lot to offer, and I don't think anyone's suggesting never using the internet again, filtered or not. Simply in the early stages of recovery, even if that takes a few months, you don't necessarily have the ability to be able to resist those conditioned urges. With time, you gain more conscious control over these things - the filter etc are like training wheels to rebalance your brain. I would recommend 'Your Brain on Porn' by Gary Wilson - a short, highly informative, scientific and practical boom in which he covers this and more. Really helped me understand the issue much more.
I was on a flip-phone from last September until about a week ago. It was a bit of an adjustment. The biggest things I missed were mobile e-mail, my music, and GPS. It felt ridiculous going to MapQuest and printing out maps like it was 2004. And T9 texting takes for-eh-ver. That's part of the problem. If porn is that big a problem, you shouldn't be the one with the administrative privileges on your phone. Someone else--an accountability partner--needs to have the code for that. I mean look--you're at a point where you're thinking about going to a flip-phone. That's a pretty drastic movie. And while I commend you for considering it, you might try getting a trusted friend to help you lock down your phone with a code that you don't know. If you use an iPhone by chance, the first link in my sig shows you a 100% bulletproof way to lock it down that can't be circumvented.
I completely agree with this. When people on NoFap aren't using filters, I just shake my head. I mean, to each his own ... but for most of us, technology has been a brutal enemy when it comes to this addiction. Might as well make technology our friend and give us a fighting chance at getting some traction.
In my "war" agains NoFap, I've done (almost) everything to get PMO out of my life and in many ways those helped me immensely. For almost 3 months, I never used a telephone, I mean I had a smartphone but just I went out of the grid and I used it only for emails, Gps. And it worked great, having no wifi and getting offline of social media gave me a break and could just enjoy nature and the moment passing by. Then I got hooked with a girl and then I had to get a phone, immediately a week or so later I relapsed. Now, I use a NOKIA. Yes, you heard right And It is good, but definitely you get bored a lot when everybody is on their smartphones. Plus I miss GPS like crazy, this is fucked up. So I'm considering another option: I have a smartphone home, I already installed a great filtering app and hopefully this time everything goes dandy. But defnitely, I recommend everybody to use a simple phone in the first days. It's just so liberating.
For me, I finally have an iPhone with 100% restricted internet access. So I can use all my apps--weather, GPS, music, e-mail, Yelp, banking, my Bible app, etc.--but I can't browse the web or download new apps. It's perfect setup for me because it allows me all the benefits of having a smartphone without the threat of me using it to view porn. I have a good friend who set the restrictions code on my phone. Whenever I need to update my apps, I just wait until I see him again, have him punch in the code, then I update my apps (along with installing any new ones that I've decided I want since last time). Once they're updated, I just have him re-set the code. To see how I set it all up, click the first link in my sig. I know everyone says, "there's always a way around blockers", but this one is 100% bulletproof. If you're an iPhone user and you do this, you'll have zero access to internet porn.