Utilizing Android's Digital Wellbeing Features

1. Introduction to Digital Wellbeing

Digital Wellbeing is important and needs to be considered by not only device manufacturers, but all companies involved in technology and all of us as individuals. This means we all have a responsibility to respond, engage in the conversation, and welcome ways to address this subject in our digital devices. Our devices are no longer luxuries of the wealthy and privileged; they are essential tools that we need to navigate the modern world. At the time they have the potential to promote, enhance, and facilitate our ethical values. However, this is not guaranteed, and when it is disrupted, the negative effects that are caused by devices can be great. Couple this with the fact that the on-ramp to technology use is only getting younger as the years go by, and we should all agree that there's an urgent need to actively manage and to promote our responsible tech values in our devices.

During the Google I/O keynote earlier in 2018, Google introduced a program that aims to help users manage the time they spend in front of a screen and make them more productive with it. Google referred to this as a part of the company's responsibility to be good stewards of technology. Google called this concept "Digital Wellbeing," and it is the term that Google uses to reference the suite of features that they have introduced or are in the process of rolling out and which help users manage the time spent on their devices. This is a significant first step into an area that many of us have been thinking about. It also comes at a time when Google's peers in the technology industry are under a great deal of scrutiny, largely due to the negative health, social, and political effects of their technologies have had on the world. A re-evaluation of technology, and our relationship with it, is happening globally.

2. Setting Up Digital Wellbeing on Your Android Device

After enabling Digital Wellbeing features on your Android, you may need to set up other basics first, like a personal usage limit. Before configuring a schedule, make sure to select an appropriate screen unlock option to avoid a potential lock screen loop. A PIN or password will allow you to unlock the device whenever needed. Keep reading to learn more about how to enable the advanced features on your device.

Open the "Settings" on your Android device and tap on "Digital Wellbeing & parental controls." Tap on "Your data" and tap Turn on. Tap "Agree" to agree to the terms and conditions and enable usage access permissions when prompted.

To get started, enable Digital Wellbeing on your supported Android device. Below you'll find the steps to get started on your Android device. Please keep in mind that some steps may vary depending on the device being used.

3. Understanding and Using Digital Wellbeing Tools and Features

This feature removes notifications from the lock screen for your device and provides calming images to help the user unwind after staring at the screen all day. The user can set their Wind Down schedule times specifying the range and rotate through a multitude of images on the display to help make the user sleepy and get ready for bed.

Wind Down

This feature can silently block most sounds and allow callers to only hear the vibrate when the Do Not Disturb mode is on. Certain calls and alerts from the user's designated list of starred contacts will be allowed.

Do Not Disturb

This will reduce interruptions from the device by silencing any notification from apps that may entice a user to look. Users may start a Focus Mode for a set of desired periods of time in a day where they would like to fully concentrate on a particular task.

Focus Mode

Activity timers allow the user to set a time limit for specific app usage. Users can create a daily schedule to help monitor and manage the time spent on the app. Notifications will remind the user to step away from the screen and participate in other activities.

Activity Timers

One way to help focus on what is important is to consider a new app in Android called Digital Wellbeing. With a lot of new features in Android 10, Digital Wellbeing can help parents control the screen time of their kids, help individuals limit screen time or engage in physical activities to help refocus their perspective. It features various ways to enjoy your life both on and off your device.

4. Tips and Best Practices for Effective Digital Wellbeing Management

4.4.1 Stall Your Smartphones Within locations where devices are prohibited or not to be used, not only privacy, focus, health, and safety are preserved, but optimal patience is forged. Industries where the highest-paying professionals operate with dependence on kits or tools are, in their most basic forms, set up in locations where the use of electronic devices is prohibited.

4.4 Location Control For digital beginners, your smartphone is your destroying machine. For digital intermediates, your smartphone is your money saver. And for digital experts, your smartphone is your money maker. After your establishment, you can become either the first or the second or both at the same time.

4.3 Reflect. To prevent the congestion of your past and future, meditate for a better and clear future.

4.2 Mental Triumvirate Take down notes by separating productive, neutral, and counterproductive activities.

4.1 Split your time-consuming and time-wasting activities. Time-consuming activities are those that produce tangible, long-lasting, or expanding evidence of your being at your best for a prolonged period after consuming your time. On the other hand, time-wasting activities degrade the evidence of your being at your best at varying rates. Prioritize time-consuming activities. Don't ever replace time-consuming activities with time-wasting activities if possible. If you can afford an expensive car, purchase it, and if you can't, don't fake it and spend recklessly. Train your mind to easily differentiate between consuming and wasting activities to keep your well-being and time investments intact. The sole essence of life is to spend time at given levels, and optimizing your time investment will be of greater importance in your later years.

5. Future Developments and Trends in Digital Wellbeing Technology

5.1. Smartphone Operating System. Android 10 added Focus mode for the Digital Wellbeing features. Focus mode allows users to set custom notifications for particular apps, especially useful for not viewing and responding to personalized content. We expect the operating systems of devices to provide more features related to digital wellbeing. Possibilities include limiting screen usage based on duration or setting screen time warnings. It is imperative for companies to harness the strengths of digital wellbeing and position it as a market leader for user interfacing design and services. In collaboration with the right apps, companies can propose better alternatives to users, for example, suggesting inspirational quotes from news notifications turned off in Focus mode.

It is difficult to predict what digital wellbeing would look like in 5 or 10 years. The trend suggests that activity monitoring and reports will be normal features in smartphone operating systems. The OS vendors are in the optimal position to provide the services. For example, the inactivity report often has information on why the user was inactive during the day (phone was out of battery, etc.), which is often not visible to third-party activity monitoring apps. In the near future, we might see AI driving such services as Next Best Action in wellness apps instead of traditional user research. Furthermore, smartphones are used for much more than activity monitoring, and we anticipate that more technologies, physical, and software features can be developed and used for digital wellbeing purposes. Some of these trends are highlighted in the following sections.