What do most normal people do on their phones to pass the time?
Not Lemmy. Not Reddit.
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View original on lemmy.worldNot Lemmy. Not Reddit.
96 replies
How the fuck is anyone here supposed to answer that? There's nobody normal here!
It is important that we observe humanity, that we may less noticeably walk in the midst of it. By comparing notes, we maximize our observations.
The way normal works, if everyone here on lemmy does something one way, then that becomes the normal. There's no universal normal, because normal is always relative to context. The broader the context, then the wider and more diverse the normal becomes.
Or as my statistics professor liked to say “normal is a curve, get over it”.
Recently I watched a guy in a movie theater before the movie started fiddling with his phone. In rapid fire, he was scrolling Instagram, liking things and stopping on hot ladies. Switch over to facebook and quick scroll that. Send a link to a friend. Then doomscroll reddit.
I don't think he stopped to read a thing beyond the headline except for boobs.
(Sam Elliott voice) He too is god's handiwork.
wait...is this not how the internet is supposed to work?
Me:
Lichess best chess
https://lichess.org/ is great even on a computer, not just on a phone. I don't play on my phone, but I do like to play from time to time on lichess :)
I think you have ADHD, right?
Officially, no. I only have Depression and Anxiety.
Sorry to hear that, friend. ❤️
Reminds me of the days I wasted my whole afternoons on Wikipedia while at work.
Neurodivergent? I am lol and this resonates. I write a lot more now that I have an ereader (that can also be a notebook!) I get it out rather than my phone sometimes and there's less distraction on it. It's either read, write or browse the bookstore 😅
Most normal people? Instagram, tiktok, facebook. Maybe twitter.
Yeah I used to go on the reddit app and now its just fb and insta
Open phone. See if new email. Check here. Check YouTube subs. Adds up to less than an hour a day. Unless I feel like sudoku. Thats my time sink.
They ask about normal people and Lemmings mostly answer about themselves. 🤦♂️
So, normal Lemmings?
This is a oxymoron. Lemmy is not mainstream media.
Normal is a baseline for a system. The average Lemming is an outlier by the fact that they are using Lemmy.
Exactly! Lemmings are very tech literate on average. And have different usage patterns than the average phone user.
We only know our own selves.
Normal people scroll social media. Instagram. Maybe buy something the ad tells them they need. Then send messages or videos to friends and chats. That's about it.
I just started Dungeon Crawler Carl on my phone.
Short form videos and social media?
Is anybody truly "normal?" Whenever I pick up my phone to waste time, I bounce between:
̶L̶e̶m̶m̶y̶ nevermind you said we're not allowed to mention that
YouTube
Email
Excel spreadsheets
Amazon shopping app
VA app for appointment reminders, medical records, messaging with my doctors
Add a bunch of app to look for home properties or fishing spots and that’s me as well. Maybe add kindle app if I forgot the device home.
Many seem to watch short vertical videos of people talking to the camera about stuff I couldn't care less about.
YouTube. Also that stupid mobile Pokémon card game for like 3 minutes, twice a day.
Before I had an existential crisis and lost my damn mind it was instagram, discord, and snapchat (literally for 2 people). Now it's just Lemmy.
I'm sorry if your friends hurt you. Me too. That's why I prefer to have conversations with anonymous strangers. I'm done with real people.
It wasn't their fault. They didn't hurt me, I did.
my wife: short-form video (mostly insta reels, I think).
me: language learning app or ebook.
i don't do anything on my phone. it's a flip phone with data and wifi disabled on the device, and sms disabled at the carrier. it's quite literally just a 'telephone'.
if i go somewhere where i might expect a long wait alone (like to a doctor's appointment), i'll take a paperback with me.
They waste hours scrolling too but instead it's billionaire tuned brainrot machines and a handful of predatory games but also Wordle. Holy shit do they love Wordle.
Panem et circenses.
I'm off all social media (over 10 years) off reddit for 6+months (banned), closed LinkedIn (2-3mo ago and sick of the data siphoning) closed Imgur about 4-5 months ago (just because). It- honest to God, is SO freeing!
I'm only on my phone for work calls, maybe a few email (use rotating addresses to cut spam), and a game or two from F-Droid if I have spare time. Otherwise it's just a few Lemmy pages about privacy, security, or self-hosted... My 4+ year old phone battery still lasts about 1.5-2 days with mostly WiFi and BT, some GPS and data. It's nice it lasts so long.
Most other free time is family or maybe hobby stuff.
Pornhub and redgifs.
Oh yeah and occasionally emails.
I have an ebook reader and I download epubs. I also have an audio book player so it looks like im working.
As you did forbid the main time killer and i got banned from the other.
Then YouTube or watching some movies/TV shows, some phone games, maybe googling/looking something up.
Of course music and audiobooks, but that's not really spending time on phone, those are just playing on the background.
I'm not normal, but I'm guessing some mix of Instagram, TikTok, and Shorts. But, maybe there's more casino / gatcha games, too.
i play a lot of solitaire
Yeppers, me too. Lots.
Wordle and a number of other similar puzzles around the web.
Weather, my hobby groups some of which I admin, email, looking up various parts and how-to’s for a car I’m working on, messaging, and occasional housecleaning of the phone itself - getting rid of unnecessary photos, email, SMS and all that.
Mostly tumblr, Lemmy, reddit, and occasionally Wikipedia for me. Most people I know would be on Instagram, but I can't stand it.
Moonreader or play books, when reddit removed 3rd party api access, I never installed the official app, so I replaced it with reading. That is, until I found Lemmy ;) I still read more than I scroll tho.
Idk. Goon.
Read articles I’ve saved to my self hosted readeck.
Oh you said normal people …
Normal people don't need a phone to pass the time.
With that being said, the amount of brain rot competing for our attention is staggering.
weirdly enough they do. when I go to pick up some take-out food, every other MFer waiting along with me is pulling out a phone and staring at it.
Local current and future weather forecast
What plants do well in my zone this time of year.
Contemplate on getting another rain barrel
Read patch notes for whatever game I'm currently playing
Check forums for posts about patch notes complaints.
2048 set to a 7x7 grid.
RSS
I leave it in my pocket or in my messenger bag, unused safe when I really need it.
Instead, I will either read a book, look/walk around for something or some scene to sketch, or will spend time talking with people.
And, yes, I consider myself 'most normal people' ;)
Masturbating
Do you have a flared phone case?
Open Termux, open Qt Creator and VS Code, write code, compile code, test code, fix bugs, git commit.
On your phone? Writing code on a virtual keyboard is awful, how do you do that?
I attach my wired Deltaco WK90b to it. Bada bing bada boom. 🙂
Hacker's Keyboard and a Pixel Fold.
Why not Reddit? I've found more reddit users irl after I left than anytime before. Seems plenty normal. Otherwise, facebook/tiktok/Instagram/YouTube scrolling. I assume Tumblr and Twitter, too. A myriad of endless mobile games based around bubbles, blocks, or tower defense. I've also seen cross stitch and paint by numbers type apps. I'm sure there's people that doomscroll regular news sites.
I'm guessing you're looking to use your time better and want recommendations though, not just a list describing how every cohort is doomscrolling their little diminishing dopamine box.
Lemme, TikTok, Instagram (where I follow mostly artists, friends and crafters), and Libby
I might not be normal but other than Lemmy, lately
My sister and younger nephew seem to spend a lot of time on shortform content on YouTube and TikTok. Sister also ends up on Facebook I think. Mom is Facebook, YouTube shorts, and puzzle type mobile games.
Do you mean normal "phone" people? Are people who don't have a phone or don't play with them abnormal?
Read a book on Libby (library app).
Read manga, read porn, listen to books, or music, sometimes watch porn
you read porn ? Don't think I've ever tried this
Literotica.com is a pretty safe and minimalist place to go. You may even be able to still sideload their old app, though not sure if its up to date or if not. Enter at your own risk and learn the check the story codes if they are present BEFORE you start reading a story. For your own health and sanity.
You could also search for clitorides awards too
Thanks for the pointers !
Just don't tell Violet...
Who ? the mysterious user that I heard people were suspecting of being a horny bot ?
You got it. It was a lame attempt at a joke sorry.
looks like we all suck at jokes this weekend
Dude, AO3.
Hackernews & lobsters
Listen to music
Play chess or read about history
Slice and Dice
Been playing for years now. Still not tired of it!
Any short form media tiktok, reels, youtube shorts
Shop. Notes. Pictures. Social media. News.
Not what I do, just what I've noticed normal people in my life do.
when i get tired of reddit, lemmy, imgur, i just play tetris
For other people its a mix of the following, talk to people on whatsapp/wechat/messanger/facetime and scroll instagram/tiktok/x/facebook/reddit
For me I dont have mobile data so if im out of the house im listening to music or listening to a video I downloaded on Grayjay. If for some reason I am using my phone at home im probably using it as a tv remote(kde connect to my steamdeck) or watching porn.
Backgammon
I mostly read news via an RSS reader or listen to podcasts or solve Nonograms.
Somehow I am a linkedIn addict. It probably come from a receny unemployment period, but even before I used it frequently to keep updated on company news.
Listen to music which is popular with the masses. Watch sportsball games. Chat with their normie loved ones. Lick the boots of their corporate puppet-masters.
We're sooo much better than those pathetic people! They're probably jealous of us, and that's why they go about their lives pretending not to notice us. Having their "relationships" and enjoying their "interests" and "hobbies." I bet deep down inside they can't stand the hollow shells of the lives they lead.
They secretly seethe and loathe and act in their minds like terrible, ugly people who think they're better than 95% of others. But when the revolution comes, they'll be shocked at how little "according to their needs" turns out to be and how much "according to their abilities" ends up being expected of them. That's when we're in charge, and then we can rub their faces in it!
Mwhahahahaha!
Wait.... Are we the baddies?
Cracking the Cryptic 🙏🙏🙏
I avoid using a phone in that capacity.
Plenty of proper games (read: not mobile games) have ports on lots of app stores, particularly deck building games. I've been playing Slay the Spire, Dicey Dungeons, and Balatro.
Depends, at home on WiFi.. I might watch videos. If I'm out and about..
I read wikipedia pages, ars-technica articles, read the news, scroll through pics of my cats.
You're lookin' at it. I have no time for the vapidity of Facebook, 'gram, Snapchat, etc. I only hit FB now for the messaging with my family and some short-reel dopamine.
Not porn. Not staring at the home screen hating myself wanting to end my life until I feel hungry enough to eat some uninspired shit from yesterday or taking a shower to act like I'm preparing to go somewhere and that my life has purpose. Not that. Hm... I guess I don't use my phone to pass time. I do use my rooted and nuetered tablet to learn programming from time to time though. 😊