How to balance my smartphone on my chest when lying down

October 13, 2024 10:07 AM

Would like to watch the commanders ravens game without having to hold the phone the entire time. Need a make-shift stand to balance the device upright, using common household items. Suggestions?
posted by BadgerDoctor to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

Best answer: Fold and tape a piece of cardboard about 8" wide and 10" long into a triangle at a comfortable viewing angle then use an inside out loop of tape to stick the back of the phone to it. You can adjust the angle by bending the cardboard a bit. If it falls over, put something heavy inside the triangle like a can of soup or something.
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:15 AM on October 13 [1 favorite]

I just put a pillow on my chest and prop the phone against the side of the pillow. The flexibility of the pillow allows for a lot more shifting than something flat/solid that will tip over if I move a little. YMMV depending on the density of the pillow in question though.
posted by brook horse at 10:21 AM on October 13 [3 favorites]

I've used a shallow bowl for this in the past. If you want the phone at a sharper angle, you can put something like a washcloth behind it against the wall of the bowl.
posted by rpfields at 10:55 AM on October 13

If you feel like buying something, a Flippy works well.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:58 AM on October 13 [2 favorites]

I use a big, orange octopus plush doll that I bought in IKEA. Particularly nice as it hugs me with its tentacles as I watch.
posted by Zumbador at 12:12 PM on October 13 [2 favorites]

IDK about the ergonomics of putting a phone on your chest, but: convert otherwise worthless plastic cards into phone stands.

or here's 5 other tricks
posted by pwnguin at 2:38 PM on October 13

Once your phone or book is balanced, a pair of angle glasses let you watch or read while straight-spined and limp.
posted by clew at 6:39 PM on October 13 [2 favorites]

A grain or cherrystone pillow works great. If you don't have anything like that, putting sand or dry legumes into a bit of cloth is pretty easy.
posted by toucan at 2:36 AM on October 14