Using my smartphone for good, not evil

Actually it would be more fair to say I’ve been using my smartphone (currently an iPhone 8) for harmless nonsense, which is still better than using it for evil.

I’ve made a few recent posts to the blog during my morning commute, using the Ulysses app to slowly tap out a post and then upload it directly to my blog. I marvel at the technology, even as I lament how few will see my carefully-considered nonsense. I even just recently had a two-day stretch of zero visits on June 21 and 22. This is bad even by my own sad standards. I clearly need to work on the SEO and other acronyms to boost hits. More clickbait! More gossip! More whatever it is people want. Maybe just a redirect to Facebook.

It feels like the writing muscles are finally starting to halt their atrophy, as I am using more little blocks of time to write errant thoughts down, moving ever-so-slightly closer to perhaps engaging in some fiction writing again.

Mainly, though, I am not using my phone for social media, except for using Slack at work, which is not really in any way fun, so doesn’t count. There’s hardly any clickbait.

What do I use my phone for? Here’s a list. I like lists.

What I use my smartphone for, in order of most to least

1. Listening to music
2. Sending and receiving text messages with my partner. A lot of this includes Bitmoji nonsense, which I love and adore.
3. Logging food/water in the MyFitnessPal app
4. Adding or removing stuff in the Reminders app
5. Checking stats in the Activity app
6. Occasionally checking email, either personal (Gmail) or work (Outlook)
7. Checking calendar appointments (almost exclusively work-related)
8. Adding errant thoughts using the Drafts 4 app
9. Adding errant and less-errant thoughts using the OneNote app
10. Sometimes checking the weather or news
11. Using the flashlight function
12. Making or receiving an actual phone call
13. Playing a game
14. Writing a blog post (this one may move up the list over time)
    

What I never use my smartphone for

1. Making the world a worse place (to my knowledge)
2. To smash open walnuts
3. As a level
4. To play music without earbuds or earphones. Seriously, why do people do this? Do you do this? Don’t do this.
5. To plug in a nice set of headphones (zing!)