Ever since smartphones hit the markets, human beings have had enough time to interact with the devices and form peculiar habits around these gadgets. We have become so attached to our devices that we cannot function properly without them. However, there are certain habits that need to stop as they are either damaging to our loved gadgets or worse, they affect us directly.
I have put together a list of five peculiar habits associated with the use of smartphones with the hope that this will help some people if not all that will come across it. Not all heroes wear capes you know, some of us just type on keyboards.
- Sharing chargers and USB Cables
Well, we have all heard this question, “Please help me with your charger”. A normal human being would simply reach out for your cable and/or wall adapter and genuinely help out. However, I am warning you against this. There are various reasons why you should avoid sharing your chargers, the number one reason being that more often than not, the person you have lent to will probably not take care of it as good as you would and even worse, there’s a high chance your charger and the other person’s phone are not compatible.
Each manufacturer uses technologies and accessories that are specific to them. For instance, Samsung adaptive chargers have an output of up to 9V/1.6A, Sony on the other hand have an output of 5V/1.5A and 12V/1.2A with their fast chargers, TECNO charges have an output of 5V/1.2A and 5V/2A for their fast chargers, Xiaomi’s chargers are clocked at an output of 5V/2A and my OnePlus Dash Charger has an output of 5V/4A.
The difference in voltage output can be the difference between a working device and an explosive one. This is why manufacturers always insist that you use the charger that came in the box. So next time someone asks to use your charger, including the cable, politely decline and send them a link of this article 🙂
- Manually closing apps
We all do this. I do it too, even with my 6GB RAM device. The idea behind clearing running apps is to free up RAM space and in turn reduce battery usage. Well, newsflash, that is false. Having apps in memory does not translate to a slower device, on the contrary, it actually allows your device to run much much smoother. Android and iOS both load apps in memory to allow for a seamless user experience. When you close these apps, it means that your device will take longer to open them again and your operating system will most likely just reopen them again thus using up more battery.
Devices such as the Huawei Mate 9 have in-built AI to learn which apps you use often and at what point you use them, so as to load these apps in memory before you open them. So, to ensure that you enjoy using your device, don’t tap that “Clear All” button.
- Using battery-saving apps
This is actually more harmful than you might think. A few years ago, say in 2013, I would have recommended you use battery-saving apps but the far that Android has come, you do not need them at all. The purpose of battery saving apps is to clear apps in memory and also close apps that are using a lot of battery, well, one thing that you will not find in these apps’ description is how much RAM and power they themselves need in order to keep up such kind of monitoring.
Battery saving apps are always running and monitoring your system in search of these apps that supposedly use a lot of your battery, thus they end up using a lot more battery power than the perpetrators they aim to tame. In short, your phone is smart enough to kill apps that are consuming a lot of power, plus if you are concerned, my advise is to use lite apps such as Facebook Lite, Messenger Lite and such as opposed to the full version of the apps.
- Loud ringtones
Yes. This one is personal. I honestly don’t get why your ringtone volume should be set to the max. Especially for people with “budget” devices that have speakers that sound worse than crusade loudspeakers (no offense). It is even more annoying when the notification tone is set just as high and the person is some sort of socialite and their phone is always buzzing with notifications.
Have some etiquette. If for one reason or the other you have to have your volume so high, ensure that when you are in the office, a meeting, church and even in public transport vehicles, put your device on vibration or lower your volume.
This applies to those who watch videos or listen to music through their loudspeaker in public places. Stop it or…
- High brightness in low light
Another personal sore point. Ever been in a low lit room, say a movie hall and them someone just decides to start using their phone with the brightness cranked all the way up? No? I want your boring life.
The habit of people not regulating their brightness according to the ambient light is annoying and harmful to the user as well. If your display is too bright, it uses a lot of battery and also harms your eyes. Smartphones now come with automatic brightness option, please use it and if your device doesn’t just take a second or two to lower your screen’s brightness.
Plus it is harder for someone sitting next to you to be snoopy and read your texts if your brightness is low.
- One More Bad Habit: Using your own selfie as your wallpaper
