Apps
Say no to your phone addiction with NoPhoneZone
NoPhoneZone is a new app that helps you disconnect your mind by proving your worth via Twitter.
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The average person checks their phone about 150 times a day, according to a study conducted by Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. That’s the premise on which Ben Broca founded NoPhoneZone, a simple app that disconnects you from the world.
It’s not as scary as it sounds once you learn how it works. Once you have a good enough reason to go off the grid, NoPhoneZone publicly announces via Twitter why you’re going phone-free, along with a timer. This way you know how long you’ve resisted the strong temptation of using ‘your precious’ phone. NoPhoneZone claims to bring you back from your Gollum to your Sméagol state (for any Lord of the Rings fans out there).
When discussing our addiction to smartphones, NoPhoneZone’s founder, Ben Broca told KnowTechie in an email:
“Tweeting that you are offline gives you extra motivation to not check your phone a minute later. It’s surprising how many excuses we make up to check our phones, but being completely phone-free for a few hours is so liberating!”
Liberation from a digital life is becoming more important in a society which is constantly relying on a connected environment. At KnowTechie we saw the fruition of this desire for an offline lifestyle with the Light Phone.
NoPhoneZone also includes a few fun features that may improve its effectiveness. It has a leaderboard based on how long you’ve remained phone-free, where you can see how you rank against your friends and the rest of the smartphone addicts that use NoPhoneZone. I particularly enjoyed NoPhoneZone’s suggestions for not using your phone, such as not bringing it to meetings, leaving it face down while reading, or at home when going to the gym.
My personal suggestion for activating NoPhoneZone would be while standing in line somewhere or sitting in a waiting room. If you’re like me, on the first instance that you’re bored, you take your phone out. Instead of browsing through Instagram pictures, activate NoPhoneZone and put your phone back into your pocket. We no longer spend time being bored, which for me is the best time to let your mind run free and produce creative ideas. Think about it, you wouldn’t have hilarious thoughts in the shower if you where using your phone at the same time.
While you wait for Apple to finish reviewing NoPhoneZone’s imminent App Store release, you can download the beta version currently available for iOS for free.