Web services, notifications and intrusiveness

Smartphones are evil. We endure endless demand for our attention in exchange for instant access to unlimited information. The biggest problem is satisfying the need (or desire) to be up to date with many different streams of data without being glued to the 'hunk of bastard glass'. Here are the options that I've tried.

1. Manual polling

Don't install anything that has a web version (Twitter, Facebook, Facebook messenger). Use web version as need arises, not all the time.

Pros:

• Less chance of randomly opening streams while engaged in a meaningful activity.
• Easier to hide less important streams from attention for prolonged period (hours, days).
• No unread notifications. Knowing that you certainly have mail create more anxiety to actually read that mail.
• Engaging with streams one at a time. Less simultaneous novelty stimulation.
• Crude web apps make it less appealing to spend much time on them.

Cons:

• More time needed to manually check all streams.
• High risk of falling into polling loop while not engaged in a meaningful activity (check all streams one by one, then check to again to see if something new has been posted while you’ve been checking).

2. Manual polling with apps installed (no notifications)

Modified version of 1. The concept: install everything on the phone, disable all notifications, check everything manually when you need it.

Pros:

• Better experience with native apps.
• Caching, background updates.

Cons:

• Even higher risk of falling into polling loop.
• Better app experience reinforcing polling as pleasurable activity.
• Apps as visual triggers, prompting for gratuitous check in unsuitable circumstances (still have this problem in 1. for websites in Top Hits in Mobile Safari).
• More visual complexity on the phone, more stress on the perception with every check of the screen.

3. No notifications, but badges on app icons

Disable banner notifications, but enable number badges on apps. Terrible idea.

Pros:

• You know you have mail, but can postpone it for later (supposedly).

Cons

• You know you have mail. You can’t ignore it.
• Red badges with numbers create stress every time you look at the phone.
• With multiple apps in a folder impossible to tell which app has a badge without opening the folder.

4. Full on notifications

I thought, instead of wasting time polling multiple apps or webapps, maybe it’s useful to actually enable all notifications and use Notification Center as catch-all for all incoming streams.

Pros:

• No need to manually check all apps (supposedly).
• Less risk of falling into infinite scrolling mode (i.e. open Facebook to check messages, start scrolling news feed).
• All relevant information in one place.

Cons

• With manual polling every app is a little slot machine which you activate periodically in hopes of catching jackpot. You can put this on hold for a while and use the phone for other purposes (read, write, etc). With all notifications enabled the phone itself becomes a giant slot machine with many possible jackpots awaiting on the first screen. The urge to press the home or power button just to check if there’s anything new becomes overwhelming.
• Intentions led astray. Need to do something specific, pick up the phone, see notifications, react to notification, forget the intention. Repeat.
• Can’t put streams on hold for a while. Some apps allow it (‘snooze notifications for x hours’), but others don’t. Not implemented on system level, no uniform implementation in different apps.

5. No apps, no browser

Delete all apps, disable the browser, disable email. Use web on the desktop, use phone for phoney things and utilities (maps, notes, music, etc).

Pros

• No streams, no distractions. As simple as it gets.

Cons

• Boring.
• Disconnected from the network. You might actually miss something important.
• Less utility. No browser means no instant access to web pages when you need it.
• What do you actually need a smartphone for?

Possible solution to it all

• Use web apps or otherwise hidden or hard to reach apps for streams.
• Use different layers of connection for different purposes and levels of urgency.
• Manage other people’s expectations about when you are supposed to react to messages on different layers (phone call is urgent, text message is urgent, Facebook message can be answered hours or days later).

Possible problems

• No explicit standards for urgency on different levels of communications.
• People (and brands) will still find out what channels you react to instantly and will assault you on these channels.
• It’s still all terrible.