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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be annoyed that i'd rather go on my phone rather than read a book

73 replies

malificent7 · 13/05/2019 12:48

I used to read a lot as child and did a degree in English literature. I even taught it for a while.
Howver, since getting a smart phone i am addicted to surfing the net and given the choice between Jack Kerouac, George Elliot or junk on the internet i prefer the latter. Yes, i know i'm being hugely unreasonable.....but .....

OP posts:

DuchessAnnogovia · 13/05/2019 17:39

I still read proper books a lot, but I've a very extensive collection of books on my kindle app, and generally read on the phone. Although I must admit I get hugely distracted browsing the net and being on Mumsnet

lazylinguist · 13/05/2019 17:41

I read every night, but I'm still addicted to my phone and could do more reading, knitting etc if I weren't. I've quit most social media, but tbh MN is by far my biggest time sucker. .

3in4years · 13/05/2019 17:42

Do you have the kindle app on your phone? That way when you reach for your phone you can read a chapter instead of checking facebook or whatever. Join a bookgroup and at least you'll have to read one book a month.

NC4Now · 13/05/2019 17:44

Yep. I annoy myself with this daily. I also did an English degree, fortunately pre internet.
I even find it hard to concentrate on TV.

Gentlemanwiththistledownhair · 13/05/2019 17:46

There is an app, called flourish I think that grows a virtual tree when you're not using your phone. That nudge helps me to put my phone back down.

managedmis · 13/05/2019 17:47

Corporations wanted us to be bloody addicted to these things

Yes. We are stupider and ask fewer questions. The kids are even worse, it's all feckin instagrammers and their nonsense

Redcrayons · 13/05/2019 17:49

And me. I was such a bookworm when I was younger and now I can't remember the last book I read. In fact the only time I do is when I'm sitting in the garden because I'm out of range for the wi-fi.

Addiction to my phone is a major issue, I just don't seem to have the concentration span anymore.

goingonabearhunt1 · 13/05/2019 17:56

I have this problem but with me I think it's more of a time/tiredness issue. I read loads when I was a teen and as a FT student. Not so much now as I just have less time and energy so I'm more likely to quickly scroll MN or IG.

TheFatberg · 13/05/2019 18:33

I definitely get the irony of not having read the book about breaking up with your smartphone yet. But I pledge to read it tonight in the bath!

AloneLonelyLoner · 13/05/2019 18:59

I've definitely noticed my attention span dwindling. What was normal reading during my law degree would be unthinkable now. I have contracts at work and it takes my two times longer than it should. I need a kicking.

maidenover · 13/05/2019 18:59

Good to know I’m not alone, I’m currently sitting next to my book but instead of reading it I’m writing this 😒 am very tempted to go back to my old Nokia.

lazylinguist · 14/05/2019 07:52

Do you have the kindle app on your phone? That way when you reach for your phone you can read a chapter instead of checking facebook or whatever.

This is a really good idea which I was doing for a while. I had a different book on the go on my phone than the one on my Kindle which I read at night. (It was a Spanish one, as I'm learning Spanish.) I must get back to doing that!

alittleprivacy · 14/05/2019 08:03

I have the kindle app on my phone and regularly read books on it. Not as often as I would have pre-children but my life is different now. Parenting means having responsibilities that don't quite end, it means not having hours each evening to luxuriate in a book. Sometimes I just really need an hour of switching my brain off rather than engaging it and browsing about online does that. And right now, I'm in the last few minutes of the part of the morning where I'm awake and having breakfast and coffee in the kitchen before DS gets up. (Actually I can hear him getting up now.) Faffing about online while my brain wakes up and I chill out is easier than reading part of a book at this point in the day. So yes, I miss reading as much as I used to, but I know that in a few years when I'm at a different parenting stage I'll be back to reading books like I used to. It's less internet addiction and more my own brain fuzz.

Sunshineonleith12 · 14/05/2019 12:40

Young kids, lack of sleep and little spare time affects my concentration span. I dream of lazy days whiling away the hours with a good book.....

Haggisfish · 14/05/2019 17:41

Me too! Trying to leave phone downstairs overnight which helped me a lot.

TodayIs · 14/05/2019 17:45

Me x1000.

So annoyed at myself.

DobbysLeftSock · 16/05/2019 21:07

Inspired by this, I took myself into the library yesterday and am now 98 pages into a new book. Hurrah! I am having to put my phone down out of reach while I read though.

Currently on phone because am feeding tje baby to sleep and the noise of the pages turning disturbs her but going to finish my chapter before bed later.

Hurrah!!

Tarahumara · 17/05/2019 13:17

Come and join us on the 50 book challenge thread. Genuinely an internet thread that has made me get off the net and read more real books!

PrincessFabian · 17/05/2019 13:30

Placemarking to read later (sorry but watch this thread does not seem to be working for me at the moment)

ReapersHowler · 17/05/2019 13:42

I read for an hour or more every night before bed. I've done it for so long now though that I literally can not sleep without reading. Maybe you could try building a habit like that? Set a certain time every day that is reading time. Load flourish on your phone and ignore it for 2 hours. If you want to close the app during those two hours you have to kill the tree you are growing in flourish.

likeafishneedsabike · 17/05/2019 13:44

Can we arrange that they switch off MN at 9pm every night so that we can all get some reading done?

PrincessFabian · 17/05/2019 20:34

Another one here who doesn't read as much as I used to.
I don't mind not reading if I have chosen to spend the evening doing something else I enjoy like watching a film or watching some booktube videos. But so often it is just mindless mumsnetting or playing stupid games. I am wasting my life moving coloured blocks around on a screen

I am putting my phone down to read right now not after one more thread or one more game.

TheFatberg · 19/05/2019 21:28

I read the book about breaking up from your smartphone and am about to embark on the 30 day plan to reduce my use. The first part of the book is all about why social media etc is so addictive, and how the tech companies code it to be that way. Lots about dopamine and comparing smartphones to slot machines. Things about how people who think they're great at multitasking actually aren't and how there isn't really any such thing, because really we're switching between tasks rather that doing more than one.

I'd recommend it if anyone else is thinking of doing it. The first bit of the plan is to think about why you want to use your phone less. I think for me it's so I can be more present, and not think about my phone so much. I want to connect more with people again.

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