7 life hacks that will help you return from virtual life to real life

We are all dependent on our mobile devices. In parks, museums, walking, driving, before going to bed, in the company of friends, we are drowning in gadgets without a chance for a normal life. We talk on the phone, we watch news feeds on social networks, we surf an endless number of sites, forgetting about normal life.

Lifehacker's editor-in-chief Slava Baransky has published a book-cry of the soul "Doubt". It is about our life with you in the 21st century.

We have selected seven helpful tips to help you free yourself from mobile bondage.

1. Play Telephone Tower

To free yourself from telephone slavery in the company of friends, you can use a game called "Telephone Tower". Its essence is that everyone puts their phones in a heap - one on top of the other - for the entire time of gatherings. The first one who cannot resist and wants to take and see what is happening in his phone, pays the total bill for all those present. If no one touches his phone, then the bill is divided between everyone in the usual way accepted in your company.

2. Set the modes of "non-worry"

Our phones have features that allow you to take a break from them. For example, the iPhone has a Do Not Disturb mode. For the caller, it looks like you are instantly hanging up the call. He will not be able to disturb you in any way. If you are Android lovers, you can install any of the "non-disturbing" applications on your phone - Llama, Tasker or Agent. For example, the latter has a Sleep Agent function that automatically mutes the sound of the phone at specified hours and days.

3. Remove friends from Facebook

This is a pretty radical solution, but it will save you a lot of time. And that's why. Firstly, irrelevant information ceases to flow on you, and you will not need to clog your brain with all the posts of all people who are somehow connected with you. Secondly, you will no longer be added to groups, to uninteresting pages, to games, applications, events. Thirdly, no one will ever be able to add you as a friend. If you delete all friends, and then enable "Allow friendship requests only from friends of friends" in the settings, then magic will work and no one will be able to send you such a request. And finally, you are no longer influenced by what your friends like - you choose your content yourself.

4. Make a revision of "VKontakte"

We are not talking about complete removal from social media. We are talking about using them intelligently. Chat with people you love, listen to free music, watch movies, publish meaningful posts and photos from your personal life. But stop reading these nonsensical posts about inspiration, great people, wise quotes. Want a quote? Buy the book Speeches That Changed the World. Want some inspiration? Read Remarks or memoirs of athletes, businessmen, spiritual leaders, and politicians. Do you want beauty? Buy a ticket and go 200-300 km from the city, go into a forest or field. It's very beautiful there. Do not trust people of "second-rate" mind to broadcast the great. Use direct access to their wisdom through books and movies. Put yourself above that.

5. Change your phone number

Many people react to the offer to change their phone number with a sincere misunderstanding: "What if someone wants to offer me something and cannot find it?"

Let's be honest with ourselves: if someone really needs you, they will definitely find you. Moreover, in the age of Google and VKontakte / Facebook, hoping that someone will not find you is holy innocence. When you get a new phone number from your carrier, give it to your parents and grandparents. Share it with your friends. Tell the people to whom you have entrusted your number with the rules of telephone communication with you: the convenient time to call, your right to “no answer” and “no call back”. Agree to contact your colleagues only during business hours, and use e-mail the rest of the time.

6. Unsubscribe from unnecessary news

Why are you communicating with brands on social media and via email? This happens when you subscribe to news from "beer", "chocolates" or "vodka snacks". Maybe try to talk to a bottle of beer in the store and hear a fresh anecdote from her? No need to subscribe to news of cottage cheese or toothpaste. They have not changed for many, many years. You don't need car dealer news: you need a car - you will find the dealer you need and buy it, and they will give you a discount, do not hesitate. Unsubscribe from all unnecessary mailings and devote the free time to the real world.

7. Do good deeds in the real world

Slactivists are people who take virtual rather than real measures in response to events. Do not substitute instant repost for reaction to events that shock you. Better think about what else you can do besides clicking the Like or Retweet button. Believe me, your like will do nothing for starving children in Africa. First, do something and make sense of what is happening, and then press Like. When you go out for a walk, look not at the phone, but around. What is happening around you. Maybe there are people a meter away from you who need help in the real world. Even if it's a grandmother who needs to be moved across the road. Understand what is happening. Live in the real world.

And the last thing. By making the "sacrifices" of real communication, you are not actually sacrificing anything, you are helping yourself and only yourself. Today, a successful city dweller does not have a single friend. There is a special "naked photography" test. It consists in the fact that a person is invited to name people whom he would entrust to keep his photo in the costume of Adam (or Eve). A quarter of the respondents usually cannot name a single such person.

Based on the book ""