WhatsApp can be useful, but it can sometimes threaten to take over our lives. Going on a WhatsApp-diet can also be a way of taking care of yourself.
- Turn off or mute your notifications – or at least those of group chats. The little blue check marks can also be turned off. Go to Settings in the app, then Account, then Privacy, and turn Read Receipts to off.
- Choose a set time each day to read group chat messages (and respond to them, or not).
- Don’t be afraid to hold a mirror up to yourself, however confrontational it may be, and use an app, such as Moment (free), that keeps track of how much time you’re spending on your phone. Apple iPhones have this function build-in, it’s called ‘screentime’.
- Leave your phone on the other side of the room so that you can’t just reach for it without thinking.
- Turn your bedroom into a Wi-Fi-free zone and leave your phone in the hallway or the living room at night.
- iPhones offer the option of a grayscale screen, which makes it less tempting to keep scrolling your phone. In Settings, go to General, Accessbility, Display Accomodations, Color Filters, and select Grayscale.
*Read in Issue 32 in the story Find me @ nowhere how journalist Anneke Bots discovers if she can live without Whatsapp.
Text Anneke Bots Illustratie Penelope Dullaghan
