How to Use Your Smartphone Wisely

Vladyslav Nazarchuk

Without exaggeration, the smartphone today is perhaps the Devil’s most profitable weapon, especially against young people. In the past, the most common of the great sins, sufficient to lead the common man into Hell, was sexual immorality. However, I wouldn’t be too far off the mark to say that, in the modern day, that role has almost been taken over by media addiction, and smartphone addiction in particular. By smartphone addiction, I mean when a person spends much of his time and mental energy on his phone, looking at things which give cheap stimulation and entertainment, but do not help, and even hinder, the lifelong work of his own salvation. This addiction is such a great and serious danger because such a person (which is really most of us) unrecoverably wastes many hours of his life, hours which really are our most precious posession. And when, one moment, he resolves to quit, he finds that he physically cannot, and goes back to looking at his phone within a quarter of an hour. Not to mention that after looking at one’s phone for a while, the mind is in no state to pray; and what could be more self-evident, that if an activity prevents us from praying, then surely it is harmful to our souls?

Some people, in light of Jesus’ words “If thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee,” advocate getting rid of one’s smartphone altogether, and instead using a “dumbphone”: a phone that can make calls and send texts, and do not much else. The issue is that, for a person who does not live in the countryside, living without a smartphone is simply not possible, at least not without becoming a burden on other people and their smartphones. Indeed, owning a smartphone is akin to playing with fire, but by following certain guidelines and developing a bit of discipline, we can avoid sin while still getting the utility which smartphones offer.

Note that the recommendations in this essay are meant as an ideal, as something to strive to for a Christian of some aptitude. If you are a beginner in the faith, then perhaps you still gain some use from deviating from these rules, say, by using your phone to follow certain Christians on social media, which is completely fine. But understand that, as you grow in your faith, at some point you will need to take these guidelines to heart.

The golden rule to follow, then, is that a phone should be used for utility and communication, not entertainment. For if we allow ourselves to use our phones for entertainment, we embark on a slippery slope that will most likely lead us to spend half the day lying in our beds, glued to our phones. Realistically, we humans are weak, and the Devil pushes hard to addict us to our phones; moreover, behind every app stand thousands of software engineers who work hard to get us to spend as much time on our phones as possible. These are indeed poor odds for you: you alone against these innumerable hordes.

The first thing, then, is to vet the applications you have installed, and remove the ones meant for entertainment, rather than utility or communication. This includes all games, as well as social media, in almost all cases. (Unless you run a business which depends indispensably on promotion through social media, I would advise deleting all of your social media altogether, but that is beside the point.) A special mention goes to the Youtube app, which absolutely must be purged. As for the browser, you obviously can’t go without one, but I’ve found that it helps if your browser doesn’t save browsing history or autocomplete urls, so that it is slightly more difficult to repeatedly visit a time-wasting website.

The second thing is to have certain times during the day during which you heartily resolve not to use your phone. For example, don’t use your phone while lying in bed after waking up or before going to sleep; in the bathroom; in nature; with friends and family; etc. Sometimes, it is not necessary to have your phone with you, at all.

The third thing is to carefully configure your notifications, such that you are only notified when it is truly necessary, such as on calls and direct messages. The goal is to check one’s phone as few times as possible during the day, so making sure you get notified only when it is truly necessary is key. For example, I see people subscribed to many channels on Telegram, and then their phones are littered with notifications, which they check constantly. But are these things truly so urgent? Surely random news stories shouldn’t have the power to steal your attention whenever they want: let them wait until the time of your choosing. And, as you’re going through your day, if you don’t get any notifications, then tell youself that there is no need for you to check your phone, if you’re about to do so out of impulse or boredom—it can wait.

The fourth, and most important thing, is to actually try—constantly apply effort and discipline towards having a minimal and healthy relationship with your phone. All the above suggestions will be useless without the application of your will. And if you truly try, but still cannot overcome your addiction, then don’t think it too strange—just keep praying to God, and the both of you will be able to overcome this together. After all, defeating an entrenched sinful habit is often a long and winding path. But, always keep the seriousness of this sin in mind.

The overall goal here is digital minimalism: you really don’t want to be spending any more time than is necessary in the digital world, which, ultimately, isn’t real. Attaining mastery over your smartphone will allow you to live more in the real world: talk to real people, attain real things, serve God and your neighbor. It will also help you avoid other sins, as much of what is on the internet only leads us into temptation. (For instance, social media abounds with photos of half-naked women, which are undesirable to look at if you are a young, unmarried man trying to live virtuosly.) Not to mention, looking at your phone too much is simply bad for your eyes.

As you go through this journey, be aware, that when you reduce the time you spend on your phone, there will initially be an empty space in your life, which will drag you back into your old habits unless you fill it with something better. Do you have a regular prayer rule, and do you go to church regularly? If you are single, are you actively looking for a spouse, and if you are married, are you actively working to please your spouse and raise your children? Are you putting sufficient effort towards school or your career? In truth, if you listen to, and follow, the will of God in your life, you will find that there are so many exciting things to be done, that you’ll barely have any time or desire left over for your former time-wasting activities. Besides, there are many wholesome entertainments which you will begin to enjoy as this digital poison gradually leaves your mind, like simply sitting on a bench in the park, or looking out the window on a bus ride.

Hopefully, friend, these little bits of advice can be useful to you in some way. Above all, let us remember Jesus’ words: “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” God forbid that our little hunk of metal should bring us to this tragic fate.