how billionaires made you addicted to your phone (and how to unrot your brain)

Summary

Highlights

• Billionaires utilize psychological tricks like slot machine mechanics to keep you glued to screens. 🎰🤯
• Smartphones are perfected for engagement, spiking emotions to increase ad views. 🔄📈
• Too much phone time leads to 'algorithmic complacency,' reducing your decision-making power. 🤖🔄
• Shifting brain-rotting activities to computers helps reduce mindless scrolling. 🖥️🌀
• Simple life hacks can break the cycle: DIY hobbies, website blockers, and no phones in bed. 🛌🚫

Key Takeaways

• Billionaires designed phones with addictive features for profit, impacting your mental health. 📱💸
• The secret to dwindling phone addiction is channeling outrage toward tech moguls. 😡💥
• Switch your time-sucking activities to a computer for a more balanced tech experience. 🖥️🌳
• Social media apps are just ad-driven time traps; alternatives exist on computers. ⏱️🕸️
• Practical steps include engaging in computer-based hobbies and lessening phone-dependence. 🎨🧩

Overview

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Overview The chapter introduces the pervasive issue of phone addiction and its impact on cognitive and emotional well-being. It highlights the common feeling that phones are negatively affecting attention spans and emotional regulation, suggesting a broader societal decline in focus and mental health. While acknowledging the ineffectiveness of typical advice like using screen time blockers, muting notifications, or reducing device usage, it sets the stage for a deeper exploration of the problem and potential solutions.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Self-Help Market Commentary This chapter provides a satirical commentary on the self-help market, highlighting its commercial nature. The speaker, who is typically a political commentator, discusses how lucrative the self-help industry has become. They humorously describe a series of exaggerated daily routines such as taking cold showers, meditating, running, and earning immense sums of money, all in an attempt to sell their course on phone addiction and maximize productivity. The chapter critiques the self-help market's tendency to monetize simple advice and routines at high prices, exemplified by the mention of a $400 course.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Political and Capitalism Commentary The chapter titled 'Political and Capitalism Commentary' discusses the detrimental impacts of political radicalization, complacency, and hyper capitalism. The speaker emphasizes the significance of disconnecting from the pervasive influence of phone algorithms, which they associate with storing the worst aspects of these societal issues. Although they speak against these influences, the speaker mentions having a functional relationship with their phone due to their job. They offer personal insights on disconnecting from technology, emphasizing the empowerment that comes from awareness and understanding as the first step.
• 01:30 - 02:00: The Phone's Psychological Impact The chapter explores the negative psychological impact of smartphones on individuals. It discusses the paradox of recognizing phones as detrimental while feeling unable to live without them. The narrator suggests that phones drain users' attention spans, mental health, and overall life essence, potentially for commercial purposes like serving ads. The content humorously implies that this draining effect benefits corporate figures in a metaphorical sense, playing on the cultural figure of Steve Jobs. The chapter highlights the psychic damage phones cause, such as fostering paranoia and complacency, intensified by continuous usage.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Social Media and Its Effects The chapter titled 'Social Media and Its Effects' discusses the primary motivation behind social media platforms, which is to drive advertisement revenue. It highlights that the apps are designed to simulate a psychological response similar to gambling, to keep users engaged and increase ad interactions. The comparison to slot machine psychology suggests that these social media platforms stimulate users akin to lab experiments obsessed with rewards, hinting at their potentially addictive nature.
• 03:00 - 05:30: Phones vs. Computers The chapter 'Phones vs. Computers' discusses the concept of intermittent variable reinforcement, likening it to the addictive nature of slot machines. It also touches on broader societal issues, suggesting that the general decline in quality is partly due to the rise of hyper-capitalist ideologies since the 1980s and the pervasive influence of phones.
• 05:30 - 08:00: Using Computer for Digital Hobbies The chapter discusses how digital platforms, specifically social media, prioritize user engagement above all else, often utilizing emotions like outrage, anger, and fear to keep users engaged. This engagement-driven approach is directed by algorithms that aim purely to prolong user interactions, without regard to users' mental health, enjoyment, or potential exposure to radical content.
• 08:00 - 10:00: Avoiding Algorithmic Complacency This chapter delves into the impact of social media, particularly Facebook, on societal behavior. It raises the concern of algorithmic complacency, highlighting studies that suggest Facebook's role in fostering racism and linking social media usage to anti-refugee violence in Germany. The chapter stresses that these issues are linked to Facebook specifically rather than general internet usage or political affiliations.
• 10:00 - 13:30: Practical Tips to Reduce Phone Use The chapter delves into the emotional manipulation employed by social media platforms, causing heightened emotions such as anger among users. It highlights how algorithms by companies like YouTube, Meta, and Twitter contribute to this by prioritizing content that incites emotional reactions, in turn making users spend more time on these platforms. This is illustrated through the example of racially violent sentiments being stirred up intentionally. The chapter emphasizes the importance of being conscious of how much time one spends on these emotion-driven platforms to better manage one's emotional well-being.
• 13:30 - 15:00: Embracing Alternative Leisure Activities The chapter discusses how technology, especially mobile phones, has become a tool for Silicon Valley engineers and psychologists to manipulate users' emotions and thoughts. It highlights the dangers of being continually connected to these devices, which incorporate design features like the social validation feedback loop to keep users engaged. As a result, these devices have moved beyond being mere tools, becoming instead channels for potentially harmful influences on users.
• 15:00 - 16:00: Conclusion and Sponsor Message In this chapter, the narrative revolves around the negative impact of social media addiction and the influence of tech companies on our behavior. It discusses the common feelings of guilt associated with excessive use of platforms like TikTok and suggests an alternative perspective. Instead of blaming oneself, the author recommends channeling anger towards the companies that design these platforms to be addictive for profit. This re-framing aims to shift the burden of control from the individual to the creators of these addictive systems, providing a sense of empowerment and responsibility.

how billionaires made you addicted to your phone (and how to unrot your brain) Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 You already know that your phone is scrambling your brain like an egg on drugs. It's cooking your attention span. It's ruining your emotional regulation. And you know it's not just you because every day it feels like everybody's getting just a little stupider and just a little more insane. And you suspect that it may just be that damn phone. And now I could tell you to use a screen time blocker or put your phone in grayscale or mute your notifications or go touch grass. Make a quick five bucks in AdSense revenue and bounce. But you probably already tried all that [ __ ] and
• 00:30 - 01:00 that's why you're here. Now, if you're asking why a political creator would make a video about self-help, well, all the money's in the self-help grip now, baby. That's right. I just got out of my cold shower/hour success meditation. Went for a quick 12mile run, answered some emails, made a quick 100k, and now I'm here to tell you how to get unaddicted to your phone for maximal productivity. Sign up for my course. It's only $400. That's four easy claras of $99.99. What
• 01:00 - 01:30 are you waiting for? It's because I know that the worst things that have happened in politics, hell, to the planet, drill, baby, drill, are because of political radicalization and complacency and hyper capitalism and all of that is stored in the phone. So, let's get you off the damn thing. But I have a pretty decent relationship with my phone, even though my job is phone. So, I just thought I'd share what I do to unhook from the evil algorithm. And hopefully that'll help you. And it starts with knowledge. Step
• 01:30 - 02:00 one, get the ick from your phone. So, you know your phone is evil, but you can't live without your phone. But it's making you miserable. How do I know this? Because that's what literally all my friends say, and now you're my friend, too. It was in the fine print of the thumbnail. We're best friends now. But hey, did you know that your time, your attention span, your mental health, your very life essence is being drained from your body just to resurrect Steve Jobs? Wait, no. To serve you ads? All the psychic damage that your phone inflicts on you, making you paranoid and complacent and and giving you type 2
• 02:00 - 02:30 ADHD is just so that maybe you'll see an ad for some cute pants on Teimu and maybe click on it and maybe buy it. That's it. That's the only reason any social media apps exist. The greatest minds of our generation are trying to get people to click on ads. And it's probably not a shocker to you that most apps are built on slot machine psychology, stimulating you like a sad little lab rat waiting for its next heroin pellet as it just desperately pulls on the lever. Bro, this is literally
• 02:30 - 03:00 you, dude. I swear there's more good content. Just one more pull of the lever. Just pull the lever one more time. This is literally you. It can always turn around. It's it's literally intermittent variable reinforcement. It's what gets people addicted to slot machines. But beyond that, have you noticed how everything is kind of bad lately? Well, that's because of the proliferation of hyper capitalist trickle down regonomics since the 1980s, but also because of phone. And phone
• 03:00 - 03:30 above all wants engagement. And you know what gets the most engagement? Outrage and anger and also fear. Those are the best ways to elicit engagement. engineers didn't specifically make Facebook or Instagram to scare you or piss you off. They just outsourced decisions about what to show you to an algorithm. And the algorithm's only job is to get you to stay on for longer, not, you know, caring about your sanity or whether or not you're having a good time on the app or whether you fall into a weird alt-right rabbit hole that turns you racist against one very specific
• 03:30 - 04:00 group of people, Italians. Part of the reason I want to make this video is cuz Facebook makes people racist. There's genuinely evidence to suggest this. Well, correlation isn't causation, but oh buddy, there's evidence that linked German anti-refugee violence directly with Facebook. Not internet use in general, not the political leanings of people, but Facebook use in that area. Social media has also been a decisive factor in several instances of mass
• 04:00 - 04:30 racial violence and in one instance, genocide. They did this by intentionally whipping up people's emotions so that they could show them one more [ __ ] wish ad for a thing they don't even know what the what the [ __ ] even is this. I don't know. But I'm really mad at Italians now. Also, not to mention, you know, attacking us. Can you give us a question? Don't be twice now. I wonder why everybody's so mad all the time is cuz we spend six hours on the mad machine. YouTube Meta and Twitter's algorithms reward quote
• 04:30 - 05:00 inflammatory language and outlandish claims. You're just letting them rewired your brain to be more mad and scared so they can sell you stuff. That's what's happening when you use your phone. And the phone is specifically bad because it's designed for these apps. It is perfect for what the engineers call the social validation feedback loop. If they ever were tools, they're not anymore. They're just portals through which the evilst and richest Silicon Valley engineers and psychologists can reach directly into your sweet little brain
• 05:00 - 05:30 and extract those American dollars. But just like outrage is helpful for engagement on phone, it can also help you change your perspective on phone. You're probably very guilty. Why can't I stop scrolling Tik Tok? Why am I so addicted? Why do I keep checking it? Uh, I don't have any discipline. But instead, and this has genuinely worked very well for me, is I just get mad at the people and the companies who did this to us just to make a quick buck. It has genuinely worked very well for me. I think that's responsible for at least
• 05:30 - 06:00 50% of my reduction in screen time. Guilt spirals don't help you. If guilt moved people to do stuff, they'd be serving you guilt inducing reels all day. There's a reason it's called rage bait and not guilt bait. reminding yourself that you're up against the richest, evilst tech monopolies of all time works. And now on to step two, which is a lot less exciting. Computer. I'm so for real. Okay, you've probably watched YouTube videos about how to quit phone and then they'll be like, "Oh, my screen time is down 80%." But I mostly just use
• 06:00 - 06:30 my computer for things. But seriously, if the phone is the brain rot machine, the computer is just a tool. Computers were made to do stuff, not to suck up your time. Consider just the concept of apps. Imagine if in 2007, if you're old enough to remember that, Twitter for desktop was like, "You can read the tweets, but first you must download an executable file and install our program onto your computer." We'd be like, "Fuck no, you're a website. I'm going to visit you once and maybe come back if you're
• 06:30 - 07:00 cool." But for some reason on phones, that's perfectly fine. We used to visit websites instead of living on platforms. And that's what traps you in the apps in the first place. You can't just do stuff on your phone. You need an app to do the thing. And also usually a free trial that you forget about. And these apps, they're basically walled gardens. Every single app's reason for existing in case you've forgotten is to keep you looking at the app so it can serve you more ads. Like on Instagram, if you try to click an external link to something you find
• 07:00 - 07:30 interesting, it's like, "Oh, you sure? You sure you want to leave the app? You want to leave this app? Are you sure? But what if you just used the inapp browser that sucks absolute [ __ ] and then we could track you on it? Is that okay? Could you do that? Please don't leave. But on the computer, instead of five apps designed to trap you in there and cook your soft, supple brain, each in unique and terrible ways, you have equal access to the whole internet plus a bunch of programs that you can download and pay for legally and also
• 07:30 - 08:00 video games. So, by switching all of your brain rod activities from your phone to your computer, you're not depriving yourself of anything. You can scroll Instagram reels. You can play Bejeweled. You can even watch porn. You just got to do it on the computer. And make sure to aim away from the keyboard for that last one. But the brain rot on the computer, it's kind of kind of sucks. It's kind of not enjoyable, especially thinking of everything else you can do on the computer. When I surveyed my audience, most of you guys use your phone for entertainment, doom scrolling. But for people with digital hobbies like music production, video
• 08:00 - 08:30 editing, art, stuff like that, they use the computers for it because they're tools. Sure, you could brain rot on the computer, but it's just as easy to do something at least sort of worthwhile. If the phone is a walled garden, a computer is a vast forest of information and creativity. There's a reason it was called the Wild West in the early internet. It's because Facebook and Instagram hadn't tamed and enclosed all the cool [ __ ] just to make money. And like this sort of brain rot surfing the internet to oh maybe I should try that
• 08:30 - 09:00 out is basically how I learned everything I know like coding music Spanish video editing crocheting just by seeing something online going hm looks cool giving it a try. And if you're like okay I can move all my brain rot to my computer but what about my DMs? You can download an app like texts or beeper. It aggregates all your DMs including the ones on Tik Tok and Instagram and Twitter. And that means that your friend can send you a funny tweet, but then you don't spend 30 minutes like this. I never thought about how weird it would have to be to make B-roll like, "Oh, look at me. I'm on my phone and I'm so
• 09:00 - 09:30 sad." And doing your brain rodding on the computer gives you an easy way to unhook. With a computer, you just walk away instead of always having it right next to you to check at any point. Anyway, my point is on your computer, you could doom scroll, but it's way less appealing. And that's not to say that computers aren't addictive. for example, Bellatro. And there are a few things you can add to the computer to make it even less appealing, like unhook, which blocks recommended videos in YouTube so you don't fall down YouTube rabbit holes. Uh there's a few filters for
• 09:30 - 10:00 Ublock, which blocks the Reddit homepage because I get real addicted to that. And then there's self-control, which just hard blocks a website, and I usually turn that on after getting mad on X, the Everything app, and then I have to put myself into timeout. Also, add block. Add ad add block. Seriously, add block. If Chrome doesn't let you use it anymore, use Firefox. I swear to God, ad block. Once you've gone a few weeks without being bombarded by ads constantly, when you go back to being
• 10:00 - 10:30 bombarded with ads, you're like, the term algorithmic complacency was coined by technology connections. And it means sort of you're okay with algorithms feeding you content, deciding what content you consume, and ultimately deciding kind of what you think and value instead of you actively choosing what you're engaging with. I love AI swap content. My algorithm knows what's best for you. You're really going to let the Zuck mainline his content right into your dome. You're really going to get an algorithm to make the decisions of what
• 10:30 - 11:00 you consume. And the more online stuff you consume via the computer, at least this is my experience, the less complacent the consumption is. Sure, I could scroll on Twitter until I get depressed. Or I could crack open a Future Funk tutorial on one monitor and a totally legally obtained copy of FL Studio on the other monitor and just go to town and make something weird. I could try free coding classes. I could learn how to Photoshop so I'm not relying on AI for making my memes. I could see a cool crochet project and then open like 10 different patterns on
• 11:00 - 11:30 my browser and skim them until I find one I want to make. I could read video game reviews on Reddit with Steam in the other tab. There's I have so many choices and the phone kind of gives you none choices except for deciding which algorithm makes the decisions for you. It takes some practice to unhook yourself from algorithmic complacency, but it does work. In conclusion, there's a reason doom scrolling sounds depressing, but surfing the net sounds rad as hell. Use your computer for most of your stuff is what I'm saying. Honestly, when I wake up, I check my
• 11:30 - 12:00 phone and I just leave it plugged in. When I get home, I plug in my phone and then I don't really check it and I just use my computer for messages and for doom scrolling and stuff. It's nice. It's great. It works. I swear. In part three, the rest of it, I have a bunch of other miscellaneous tips. Let's just number one, [ __ ] Opal. If you're going to set a screen time password, do it with your eyes closed. Get a friend to do it. I'm so [ __ ] serious. I have no self-control. I did this in my last year of university and then I also blocked the apps on my computer, too. That's the
• 12:00 - 12:30 only way I graduated, man. Just blocked it on my computer, blocked it on my phone. I did miss several parties that I was invited to on Facebook, but it was worth it. Um, number two, replace the social media apps with like a non-brain rot but still like chill replacement. like you don't have to replace it with like books or like math quizzes or something. Uh also ebooks from the library, but you could, you know, replace it with something chill like Sudoku or chess puzzles or ch, you know, it's a music training app or a language
• 12:30 - 13:00 app. Just something that's like not too hard or like a nice puzzle game that doesn't have any microtransactions. Just something that's not too hard but is but also it's not Twitter. When I'm really serious about cutting down on social media, I get so [ __ ] good at Sudoku. Um, number three, use website blockers that aren't browser extensions. On Mac, I use self-control. Um, you got to you got to really delve into the settings to get around that bad boy. Uh, number four, no phone in bed ever. Phone in bed is evil. Phone in bed is the mind
• 13:00 - 13:30 killer. Keep your I keep my phone, which is also my alarm, next to the coffee machine at night. You might have seen me doing this the whole video. If not, sorry. You're going to notice it now. And that's cuz I'm very fidgety. Um, and so a lot of the time when I'm using my phone, it's just because I'm like trying to find something to do with my hands. So find something to do with your hands. I know crocheting is a little girly. Um, my other alternative to this is genuinely unironically butterfly knife. It's not sharp, but butterfly
• 13:30 - 14:00 knife. Um, so whichever one of those calls to you, I guess. Uh, but yeah, no, find something to do with your hands. I'll say, you know what's infinitely better than like a night of doom scrolling is a night of listening to full albums, eat a gummy, crochet all day. And if this doesn't help you, hopefully at least you learned something about how these terrible algorithms work. Anyway, this video is sponsored by piracy. Come on, are you really going to
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