I’m considering ditching my phone for an old flip phone, like a Samsung S3600 or Motorola RAZR V3m. All I want is to call, text, email, take photos, and listen to music. My only concern is not having google maps, I’m not good with directions and I tend to get lost easily but whatever lol. I think flip phones are so much cooler and nostalgic, but I’ve been told they’re not practical anymore, I think I’d be a lot happier with one though. could I get away with having a flip phone nowadays? I’m in Canada btw

Just really proud of it I guess. The trick really has been in harnessing the moments that I am high motivation, and "prepping" for my lower motivation moments.

Essentially, I found that at night I was always more highly motivated for some reason (maybe because I was excited for another chance the next day to do better), so I would go and put my phone downstairs near my workout equipment before I sleep.

It's never something I'd do in my lower motivation state, but I was able to do it consistently now. So now I sleep without my phone, wake up without it. It's fantastic. Hope this helps someone!

Do you know an app or website that automatically posts to your social media whenever you miss a goal, skip a habit, or go over your screen time? Like, full-on public accountability 'I watched Youtube for 4 hours instead of doing my homework. Help me stay on track!' vibes.

Does this exist or is this just my wild idea? Let me know if you've seen something like this!

Im a 18 year old student, I was very addicted to my phone in the last two or three years, However this year i've significantly decreased my screen on time, I quit all forms of social media use reddit very less, My problem now is that i spent so much time watching youtube videos, I particularly not watch useless videos or scroll through shorts, I've disabled chrome and youtube on my phone and installed firefox browser where i put extensions like unhook and untrap for youtube, That helped alot but as a student i subscribed to educational channels where i watch lectures, But i feel the compulsion to enable youtube again and watch videos which dont align with my life goals and purpose. What should i do?

I hope this is relevent to the subreddit, I apologise if it isn't :)

I am like two months shy of 20 years old and I am so sick of having the internet at my fingertips all the time. I'm tired of it being a reflex to pick up my phone to check what's happening. I'm tired of accidentally doom-scrolling whenever I get a notification from any app. I am tired of constantly being bombarded with information, brain rot and all the other stuff on the internet all the time. I don't have TikTok, but I have Instagram and holy crap, Instagram reels just ruins my day, but it's like a reflex to keep scrolling. I hate it so much. The only real reason I want to use my phone is for music but even then, I don't like being reliant on this little computer thing for everything. I didn't get a smartphone or ever proper access to the internet until I was 14 and that was for school purposes initially. Of course I am thankful that the internet has given us the ability to connect with people all over the world, but I am tired of it.

I've taken steps to reduce my screentime, like blocking myself from apps and things and it does help, but it doesn't do enough for me.

So, I have decided that (within the next few months because I have some life things to get over with first), I am going to 'regress', you could say. I'm going to get myself a flip phone or just a Nokia phone or whatever and use that as my primary phone. My smartphone will become my burner phone. I'll get an MP3 Player and just download my music. I'll get a CD player and burn my Spotify playlists into CDs (I grew up with limited technology anyway, my family has a large collection of CDs). I want the only time I'm connected to the internet is when I'm on my laptop. And since I have a job and a life, I use that infrequently anyway.

I want to take my life back.

Ever felt like your "productive" screen time is just another excuse to stay glued to your phone?

I used to think, If I’m spending hours on my smartphone, I might as well make it productive. It seemed logical—turn my device into a tool for growth, work, and learning. But this mindset didn’t work for me. Here’s why.

I loaded my phone with "productive" activities:

• Work apps like Slack and Ad Manager.
• Newsletters to stay informed.
• E-books and audiobooks to learn on the go.
• Fintech apps to track my spending and budget.
• Fitness videos to stay healthy.

At first, I thought I had it all figured out. But the more I used my phone, the more I realized I was stuck in a loop.

1️⃣ Productivity Became an Excuse: After finishing something “productive,” I’d slip into mindless scrolling, justifying it as a reward for my hard work.

2️⃣ Stress Spillover: Work-related stress while using my phone bled into leisure time, making me crave the same screen time to unwind.

3️⃣ Old Habits Die Hard: Holding my phone triggered familiar, unproductive behaviors. My intention to “stay productive” didn’t stand a chance against the distractions.

The result? More screen time, not less. My “productive” activities became gateways to endless scrolling, keeping me hooked under the guise of being productive.

Breaking Free from the Trap

I realized the problem wasn’t the apps—it was my relationship with my smartphone. Productivity tools couldn’t compete with the dopamine hits built into the device itself.

Here’s what helped me:

• Separating productivity from my phone by using physical notebooks, offline tools, or dedicated devices like e-readers.
• Experimenting with digital minimalism, stripping my phone down to its essentials.
• Recognizing that my phone’s presence was often the trigger, so I intentionally kept it out of reach when focusing.

Takeaway

Using your smartphone for good isn’t inherently bad—but for some, it can become a slippery slope. The real solution lies in setting boundaries and rethinking how you engage with technology.

Have you struggled with balancing productivity and screen time? How do you manage it? Let’s discuss below—I’d love to hear your story.

TL;DR: Smartphones can be productivity powerhouses, but they’re also distraction machines. Don’t let "productive" screen time turn into another excuse for endless scrolling. What’s your strategy to break the cycle? Share your thoughts!

https://open.substack.com/pub/digitaldetoxer/p/the-productivity-trap

After lots of lurking, I finally downloaded the screen zen and dumb phone app. I was addicted to social media like most. I found I was constantly opening instagram like a reflex. I was overstimulated and irritated most of the time. I started off by giving myself a certain amount of opens per day. Then I deleted Facebook and Reddit, only using them on my computer.

Now I have my other apps blocked and allow a few opens two days a week. I personally don't want to be completely removed from social media, but I'm realizing more and more how people are just looking at nothing. Rage bait videos, pictures of whatever. I was wasting so many hours of your life on that. Anyways, I feel incredible now and I have this subreddit to thank. Life offline is so much better.

I feel so free! A few months ago, I put in the effort to simplify my iPhone. I deleted all unneccesary apps, deleted my twitter, tiktok, and facebook accounts and the associated apps, and removed apps for sites that i could access through my laptop instead to retrain myself in the practice of "logging on" and "logging off" of the internet, just like the 2000s. My final holdout was Instagram, because I keep up with some international friends there and use it to promote my business. Unfortunately I found myself using it more and more, spending time scrolling through my feed and reels, and pressing "remind me in 15 minutes" every time I hit my screen time limit.

Well, I finally pulled the trigger and deleted Instagram from my phone. I told my international friends to contact me through my preferred messaging app instead, which can only recieve calls and texts. I have an old, clunky wi-fi only iPad Air 2 that sits on my desk and can't hold a charge; I logged into Instagram on that device so that I can only use it when I'm sitting at my desk to do work. If I unplug the device, it powers off within about an hour, so I can't really take it anywhere with me. This will hopefully ensure that I use it as a business tool as I originally intended when starting my Insta account. Just wanted to share my accomplishment with people who get it! My friends all think I'm insane, lol.

TL;DR: I had a bad addiction to social media, but I’ve found a way to delay gratification and slowly gain back self-control. I even made a Chrome extension to help with it.

I used to have bad screen time (6+ hours), and the more tired I was, the less control I had to stop opening those sites or scrolling endlessly. I tried several blockers and timers that would block me after a certain amount of time, but it was too easy to turn them off. Somehow, I always got used to that extra step without feeling any guilt.

Then I came across the idea of delayed gratification—basically pausing before acting on an urge to do something addictive. To help and force myself to pause, I made a Chrome extension (with help from ChatGPT) that adds a delay whenever I visit a social media site. It includes a tiny breathing exercise as a short meditation session. After the exercise, I’m asked to choose whether to stay on the site or close it. The extension also tracks how many times I’ve resisted the urge to stay.

So far, it’s been working pretty well! I think the pause helps me get clarity on whether I really want to continue or if it’s just boredom, and choosing to close the site feels like a little boost to my self-control.

First-time poster. I've noticed most discussions here focus on individual solutions - digital fasts, app blockers, dumb phones, willpower techniques, etc. While these can help, I rarely see conversations about systemic causes of digital overwhelm or collective approaches to addressing it.

Has anyone explored frameworks that go beyond individual fixes? Resources that examine the structural forces driving our digital struggles? Or communities working on more systemic solutions?

Curious to hear others' thoughts on this gap between individual and systemic approaches, as well as consciousness raising and collective action efforts.

https://preview.redd.it/r0qve4l23p1e1.jpg?width=1357&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f1529ebd12bcdbf24bb193a65fadb989c2cbeb1

A lot of research has been done into the extensiveness of social media addiction, but most research has either focused on social media addiction in general, or Facebook addiction specifically. Average time spend on social media suggests Reddit is less addictive than other social media, especially TikTok, but it's not that far behind other social media like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat.

Reddit was redesigned in 2018, with the explicit goal to increase user retention and increase the amount of time users spend on the website. To achieve this goal, the redesign was inspired by other social media, specifically making Reddit look more similar to Facebook and Twitter. Seemingly, making the platform more addictive was part of the goal, or at least an impossible to avoid side-effect.

When looking at discussions about reddit addiction online, many people point at the interactivity of the platform, claiming the notifications bringing you back to a discussion or conversation are what makes this platform addictive, but I wonder if this is not just the experience of the '10%' of users who actually contribute. Reddit has a plethora of subreddits dedicated to image and/or video posts, with many not necessarily intended to spark conversation. A lurker could very easily create a home page somewhat similar to what TikTok provides, the only difference is that TikTok has an algorithm designed to create this page for you, on Reddit a user has to decide what they want to see for themselves.

Reddit addiction is impossible to diagnose from anecdotal evidence, but the operationalizations of compulsive behavior are easy to identify in many of the experiences people share about their Reddit addiction. Problem is, it's all anecdotal evidence. So my questions are:

Is there any actual evidence of the exstensiveness of Reddit addiction or compusive use of Reddit specifically, and what elements make Reddit addictive compared to other social media, is quite similar to a platform like Facebook, or are there large differences in the way these platforms capture an audience?

I stopped going on Facebook and found out an old friend died earlier this year. And died in the worst way possible. I had been thinking about him and wanted to make a plan to see him. I checked Facebook; he rarely posts but I saw a post by a friend I do not know about his passing.

I’m going to visit his parents next week.

I don’t like this at all.

Edit: my new plan is to start calling people on weekends to open up lines of communication.

• Family Link: I use it to block all web browsers and set time limits on apps like Reddit and even sometimes WhatsApp https://www.reddit.com/r/familylink/
• yt-dlp: This software lets me download music, videos, or audio so I can enjoy them offline without getting distracted https://www.reddit.com/r/youtubedl/

What are your tools ?

I want to be able to read articles and intentional info available on the web, but not be able to see, at worst, videos, and at best, also images. I also don't want to use an add-on like thing that can be disabled, so, is there any minimalist browser that integrates this? Or some kind of solution with other apps that don't have the option to disable it?

I just posted about setting boundaries for myself with screen time. But then I’m out socially with people (or family) and they are all on their phones while I’m trying not to be. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to manage this? Do you just pick up your phone again? Thx!

Some time ago, I read an article by Cal Newport discussing smartphone usage. Instead of downgrading to a dumb phone, we can utilize our smartphones as Steve Jobs envisioned the original iPhone. In 2007, the iPhone allowed you to make calls, take photos, listen to music, navigate with maps, and do little else. Then Apple released the App Store, which meant that instead of browsing the web for certain tasks, you could use a dedicated app. The issue, I believe, began with the advent of social media, designed to capture our time and attention. Therefore, I continue to use a smartphone for the convenience of its smart features, but I try to use it in the way the original iPhone was conceived.

P.S. I'm not an Apple fanboy; I actually use an Android phone, but you get the idea.

I know so many of us work 24/7, but how do you turn it all off without feeling like you aren’t being responsive to your work team? The only time I don’t feel guilty NOT looking at my phone/emails is when I’m the gym or during meals.

How often do you check email or respond to texts? I have some annoying group chats silenced, but am lost on the rest. Thx!

I have heard a lot about how greyscaling is helpful for reducing phone screen time, but the only option for greyscaling I can find on my android phone is in the "Bedtime Mode" area. Are there apps yall are downloading to accomplish this or is there something else I'm missing here?

Hey folks! Just launched a major update to my app Intenty that now lets you create custom mindful prompts that appear when you unlock your phone.

Think of it as a gentle checkpoint - every time you unlock your phone, you get a full-screen reminder that helps you stay intentional with your phone use. You can create your own prompts or use default ones (like "Is this a tool or a distraction right now?").

It's super minimal, works 100% locally, no ads, no tracking and you can adjust how often these prompts appear.

Answering upfront. No, it's not available for iOS, because it's impossible to make such app with current iOS restrictions.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.actureunlock

No PC, laptop, tablet. Advice for less screen time. Addictive apps on my phone are YouTube, reddit, Amazon, chrome, Amazon prime but I can't get access from nowhere else. So ? Tell me what should I remove. My daily screen time is more than 10 h

Im a student and want to be productive and less discrated by technology. I already deleted Instagram, Facebook etc., but I still need Snapchat because I have class group, where I communicate with my classmates. Can i get a replacment or modifidet Snapchat? Thanks for your anwsers and I hope you understanded everything, because English is my second language.

Like reading, exercise, or language learning.. all of which are activities I feel fulfilled by and which I deep inside enjoy doing, but which requires a lot more effort to do. It feels like I'm counting down the time until I'm done, and I feel like that time could've been spent doing something more "fun" (but which would've just been procrastinating in front of the tv or the computer). Especially with a full-time job, I feel like time is limited and I want it to spend it in the most enjoyable way possible. Doing these things reduces the pool of time I can spend doing more chill things.

Does anyone else feel this way? Any tips on how to stop quantifying time as much?

I've seen this tip around before, but never acted on it. But lately I've been wanting to feel in control of my tech use and use them as actual tools, not have them capture me. As we all know that is easier said than done. Turning your screen grayscale and using a dark theme really does help though! My mobilphone now looks more retro - a reminder of a time where those phones were indeed tools and not little endless entertainment machines. I only pick up it when I need to use it for something now. No more mindless Youtube - it's all back to the 1950's there visually, making random videos less appealing. So my focus while using my phone is much better. If anyone is concerned about turning your screen greyscale, like I used to be, it's super easy to turn that on and off on modern devices if you really need to see colour for a project, photos etc. I'm loving this and recommend it to everyone as a tool in your toolbox to stay focused. It also makes the real world seems so colourful and interesting - unlike how phones are designed to be supercolourful and stimulating so the world seems more boring in comparision. Now that has been reversed again :)

Hi,

The title says it all. Is there anything like Blocksite that allows you to Limit the no. of times you open a site per day? For e.g. if I wanted to open Reddit no more than 2 times per day, I can set a custom limit of 2 per site.

Thanks

Thinking this way may be a way to leave your device at home once in a while:

📱Its just a rectangle. A 3d rectangle with varying levels of flatness, measuing at about 6 1/2 inches in lenght and 3 inches wide. Wieghing a little less than a pound, although some weigh a pound or so. The front is just pitch black and the back is any color the mfg wants to make it. Its full of tiny holes and a scarce number of buttons, mostly along its side.

A boring little thing lying all innocently as i furiously scribble my thoughts on a notepad

Why are we so upset when it is broken? it is one less thing to carry on our daily commute

Also, why did we buy this rectangle to begon with? Why did we see something so plain as interesting? Was it marketing? Why did we belive the hype, thinking we'd all be a big deal if we carried around a rectangle in addition to our wallet and keys. What value does it add, other than serving as a measuring stick or straight-edge should we desire to use straight lines for construction or artwork. Or to measure wood to trim with a circular saw

How could a tiny rectangle shaped thing cause so many problems? And if it causes so many problems, why dont we abandon it in our junk drawer at home...or even better, never buy one to begin with

i hope this at least gets you to think before using your phone or taking it when you leave the house

Also, remember 25 years ago, people didnt have that luxury. The phone was an at-home device

Thanks 👍