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Technology reporter, BBC News
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| Smart Phones |
Many consumers are increasingly concerned about the amount of time they spend on smartphones.
Google officials have reported that about 70 percent of Android users are looking for a better balance in their technology use.
But this puts the technology sector in a strange quandary. How can technology take consumers away from their mobile phones when many companies' business models depend on doing the opposite?
This year, Apple introduced apps called 'Screen Time' and Google 'Digital Wellbeing' to allow iPhone and Android users to track the time they spend on different apps and how much they spend in a day. Bars use their mobile phones.
However, many Android users cannot avail this feature as it is part of the Android Pie operating system which is currently released by only a few mobile phone brands.
For those who have used this app, the results can be surprising.
'After using the digital well bang tracker for the first time, I found that I unlocked my mobile phone 200 times and spent more than three hours using the phone. I did this while working long shifts in the BBC newsroom and being a mother. I'm sure I didn't just spend my days reading funny posts on WhatsApp and looking at cats on Instagram, but I was pretty horrified to see these results.
Rose LaPriere is an engineer at Google in London and was part of the team that created the app.
He told me that the technology company knew that showing people their phone usage data for the first time might make them feel embarrassed or regretful, so it was important to create an open-minded interface.
"It was important that we didn't make big red arrows or big green arrows, we didn't try to evaluate or tell people what's good and what's bad," he said.
As far as talking to people is concerned, it depends on yourself, what is good for me is not necessarily good for another person.'
LaPriere says most people should self-regulate their habits using the app.
He says that for some people, just seeing their data will be enough. This data will remind them how they spent their time and what they did on their phone.
"I would include myself in the group that will need more reminders than most."
People like us can benefit from features like turning off notifications on the dashboard, turning the phone screen black and white during bedtime, and setting an app to alert you when certain screen time passes.
But using your own mobile phone doesn't benefit Google.
"Good experience"
Apple's business model is focused on hardware but Google's is dependent on ads and it is very important for people to see those ads on screen.
La Perrier says: 'We care more about users having a good experience using this app.
"People want to know how they can use their devices differently and we want to help consumers do that."
Consider that they didn't ask to hang up.
The mobile industry's response to this issue is interesting. Some companies believe that they will take us away from big screen smartphones with smaller screen smartphones.
sense of regret
I often find myself picking up my mobile phone to check the weather but ten minutes later I find myself on social media and have no idea if I need an umbrella or not.
Other than that I really use the phone for work, to find my way around and to keep in touch with the kids' school endlessly. I told LaPriere that I wanted to know the difference between time spent on the phone and time wasted.
Apparently I'm not alone.
He told me: 'We use things knowingly and unknowingly, and people worry more about unknowing use because it gives them a sense of regret.'
Will we disconnect from our mobile phones in 2019? Analyst Wood is not convinced.
He says: 'For me, 2019 is the year that people will be more conscious of the time they spend on their phones.
But will people be able to disconnect from the phone? It is very far away.
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