While it seems there is an app for everything nowadays, smartphone addiction may not be the first thing that comes to mind. Westchester native and Byram Hills alumnus Andrew Dunn has developed an app — named Siempo — intended on halting this addiction. Siempo is an android app that offers a software solution allowing you to control how you use your smartphone.
Dunn says with Siempo’s functions, “you can batch notifications, unbrand and greyscale app icons, calm the home screen and set nudges to prevent you from overusing or unconsciously using the apps you want to use less.” Overall, Siempo makes smartphones less inviting and helps users to be as productive as possible on a device that is normally a gateway for procrastination.
Siempo Developer & CEO, Andrew Dunn
Dunn is no stranger to the idea of smartphone addiction. His inspiration for the innovative software stems from personal struggles paying attention to the world outside his screen. “I got my first phone and computer in my room when I was 12, and immediately became hooked on social media,” shares Dunn. “When I was 23 I had a wake-up call while traveling abroad without an Internet connection. It became so clear that whenever I was distanced from my phone and computer, I felt more relaxed and creative and present and alive. I then sought to figure out how to help others who were struggling to find balance in their relationship with technology.”
Siempo was initially conceived as an entirely new device; however, Dunn and his team ultimately decided to meet users where they were, a concept that they intend on sticking to. “Technology is constantly evolving, so we plan on adjusting our offering to meet new problems it creates,” he says.
The beta for Siempo was launched a few months back in the Play Store and has since been downloaded more than 200,000 times in 50 different countries. The overwhelming interest reveals the intense need for such an app, Dunn says. Siempo’s users, he adds, are mainly “self-aware smartphone addicts who are motivated to change their behavior.”
Siempo stands as the final piece of the puzzle for these individuals. While not currently available in the Apple App Store, Siempo fully intends on making itself available to all smartphone users and eventually to all those who utilize technology as a whole. “We envision a world in which technology supports humans being,” says Dunn. “We aim to be a layer across all your tools — smartphone, desktop, tablet, etc. — that are on the user’s side, protecting their attention and mental health. In the time and headspace we free up, we see opportunities to help people build positive habits around focus, emotional intelligence, deep human connection, mindfulness, self-compassion, and more.”
