All boxed in, and free at last

Are you always looking at your mobile phone as you're walking, playing with it as you're studying, and reluctant to put it down as you go to bed? Few are as blighted with this affliction as Gen-Zers, but the good news is that many seem to be intent on working out how to overcome it.

A discussion group called the Screen-Free Project set up a year or so ago on Doudan, a popular online community that hosts content related to celebrities, pop culture and entertainment in China, now has a little more than 33,000 members. On it members pledge to "quit" their mobile phones. That generally does not mean they will abandon their phone altogether, but it does mean they will seek greatly to cut down their use of it, one of the basic steps being to log in to the site each day to record how much use they have made of the phone over the previous 24 hours.

The China Security Perception Report (2021) by the Internet Development Research Institution of Peking University says half of internet users say they are keen to escape the internet and stay away from mobile phones. That is a very tall order, particularly when one considers how ubiquitous cashless payments are in China. The difficulty of the task is perfectly expressed in the joke about giving up tobacco:"Quitting smoking is a piece of cake. I do it once a year."

Just as smokers have been provided with all kinds of gimmicks, gadgets and regimens over the years to help them kick the habit, those who regard themselves as addicted to their phones are getting in on the act. The a-la-mode gadget that seems to have everyone at least talking if not necessarily acting is the mobile phone isolation box. Users simply put their mobile phone in the box and set a time lock that will bar them from having access to the phone for a set time. One of its users who enthuses about the box said she bought it as she was preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination. She reckoned that the device, costing no more than 100 yuan ($15.71), was well worth the outlay.

Lin Tianqi, a junior student at Beijing Technology and Business University, says she bought the isolation box recently on the online e-commerce site Taobao.

Once the time that was set has expired, a beep sounds, no doubt, must be like music to anyone suffering from withdrawal symptoms. Lin has affixed several eye-catching stickers to the box aimed at boosting her morale: "God helps those who help themselves" and "The harder you work, the luckier you are". The stickers help remind her of the need to face up to reality, she says.

Many reports in recent years have told of how difficult it is for college graduates in China to find work, and in June this group will set two records: the highest number of graduates in a year and the largest increase in their number compared with the previous year. There were 9.09 million college graduates last year, 350,000 more than in 2020, the Ministry of Education says. This year the number is forecast to shoot up to 10.76 million, about 18 percent more than in 2021.

Lu Feng, a professor in the National School of Development at Peking University, quoted by 21st Century Business Herald, says, "Among those in China who need to find jobs, including junior high school graduates, technical secondary school graduates and military veterans, college students account for about two thirds of the new job seekers."

This summer, Lin says, she will be very busy with internships, preparing for autumn career recruiting and preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam. With so much to do, if her iPhone was constantly alerting her that her active daily time exceeded 15 hours, it would cast grave doubts over her prospects. Lin says that she has, like many others, spent too much time on Douyin, Weibo and Douban.

Though using a physical box to reduce mobile phone use may seem like cracking open a walnut with a sledgehammer, those marketing it appear to be on to a good thing. Those willing to pay 100 yuan for it are mainly students and office workers, says Xianfeng Technology, one of the sellers on Taobao.

A search of the phrase shouji geli he (mobile phone isolation box) on Taobao brings up several stores whose products are similar in what they do, namely requiring the phone to be placed in a box secured by a time lock.

After a phone is placed in some of the boxes, the phone cannot be used or manipulated other than charging it, but some boxes have a panel on the outside that signals when there are incoming calls, including WeChat audio, which can be answered.

A description page on Taobao says these boxes can be adapted to almost all types of mobile phones on the market. The locking time generally ranges from one minute to 12 hours, and the price is generally about 100-200 yuan.

The owner of Xianfeng Technology says: "Our main customers are students, such as those preparing for postgraduate studies, or middle and high school students to a lesser extent. They usually ask for engraving on the box when buying, such as some inspirational quotes or the target colleges they want to be admitted to.

"Some parents who feel their children are wasting time on Douyin and ruining their studies are also buying them."

Market prospects for the store's boxes are good, Xianfeng Technology says.

"As people become heavily reliant on mobile phones, many are realizing they need something that can keep them away from them, and this physical box is much better and direct than software on phones."

Xiangfeng's after-sales comment section is filled with positive comment from buyers who say the box has helped them become more self-disciplined.

The boxes sold by another store, Swift Technology, allow users to respond to emergencies. The clerk in this store says that those who place orders are mainly students, and about 1,000 orders are being placed a month.

However, Lin says, because the lock time is set by users, whether they can achieve their goal depends on the individual. A five-hour lockup is too harsh, she says, but at the other end of the spectrum, one of her friends locks the box for just 30 minutes, something that Lin says suggests the classmate is deluding herself.

A recent buyer, Shen Yichen, says she felt that with the pandemic many people's reliance on mobile phones had greatly increased.

"Earlier I saw the box on Taobao, but at that time there were very few companies making them, and they basically used a square real box with a lock to lock the phone."

They are now much better, she says.

In addition to the isolation box, there are many products or services on the market that are said to help people cut down on mobile phone use. In 2019, BlackBerry phones, once a prestige communications tool, became a topic of conversation because of their lack of interconnectivity.

Suddenly the very thing that had led BlackBerry to the edge of commercial oblivion became a huge plus, and it became the first choice of young people wanting to wean themselves from mobile phones. However, the drawback in China is the ubiquity of mobile payments. A BlackBerry or an old Nokia phone cannot adapt to this basic need, and for the moment the smart isolation box seems to be the ideal choice.

However, Liang Wenyu, another college student, sneers at these "flashy" attempts.

"It is meaningless to replace all of them, and regardless of the effectiveness of the isolation box, you might as well lock yourself up," he says. "As simple as that.

"I can understand why they attach these blood pumping stickers on the box－because they lack discipline. How about simply taking back your time. Self-disciplined people are bound to succeed without such gimmicks."