Posted by articsputnik 10/13/2025
Nowadays when waiting for something I might take my iPhone 15 Pro out of my pocket and unlock its boring-ass greyscale screen. There are no new notifications from any apps whatsoever, because I keep my phone on Do Not Disturb all the time.
I’ll first peek over the Mail app: no red notification badge. Still, I’ll sometimes compulsively open it and check my inbox. There is no new mail, there is almost never any new mail aside from Google sign-in notifications. (I unsubscribed from all marketing emails).
Then I might check WhatsApp. Nobody important texted me. If they did I’d receive a notification. I didn’t receive a notification in the past few hours. There are no infinite content feeds on my phone. Even my web browser only allows a specified set of websites.
Sometimes when waiting for something, and if I ran out of books I pre-downloaded for free from Internet Archive, I’ll open the Maps app and go all around Antarctica trying to find scientific bases. It can be kinda fun. Especially when you don’t have any social media or unrestricted internet on your phone.
I have ADHD.
Before implementing Screen Time restrictions on my phone, I was glued to the screen all day and night long. These restrictions were the difference between functioning and not.
> I'm an adult, I know how to circumvent these limits, and I will if motivation is low.
It's impossible to build systems that perfectly prevent you from doing this, but it is possible to build systems that can perfectly deter you from doing it. You could set up one - for example - that texts your spouse if you delete it. Or charges your bank account. Or whatever other doomsday device you want to rig up.
> Time limits don't affect the underlying addiction. You don't quit smoking by only smoking certain hours of the day.
Yeah but if you could encode cigarettes to ween you off of them by force, that'd be a big help. Also cigarettes don't have any real utility, so cold turkey is a reasonable strategy. Unfortunately the social media platforms have real utility, so a guardrail strategy makes more sense.
> The companies that build these apps have tens of thousands of really smart people (and billions of dollars) trying to get me hooked and keep me engaged. The only way to win this game isn't by trying to beat them (I certainly can't), but by not playing.
When it's all said and done, someone is going to build the right set of digital environment modification tooling that does beat them. It has to be possible, the internet is intrinsically customizable
I'd strongly question that assumption. Based on what I've heard from friends (and also personal experience), I think there is quite a large number if people who spend too much time on the phone, but also still want to do activities/work on projects, etc - all in addition to work, family life and chores.
The result is that the time is taken from the activity that appears most "compressible" at first glance, which is sleep.
Hard books are the real soma: I have all these books that I want to read because I want to understand and know what's in them, but there are so many charts, graphs, maps, equations and simply complex-ass thoughts that they're hell to get through during leisure time without waking up falling out of your chair.
That's perfect night table insomnia reading. Either they put you to sleep just by a couple glances at the page you left off at; or you in fact have real insomnia, and that's going to be your wings to get you through them. Added bonus: sometimes you fall asleep and have complex dreams, and understanding that argument ends up like when you're debugging in your sleep.
To reverse the trend, I’m trying to read physical books or ebooks on a dedicated ereader as much as possible. No one seems to care, they are on their phones.
When I do use social media, I try to use a computer where I have much more control over what’s happening. So far I’ve read a ton more books this year.
- A do not disturb mode that is noticeable: no wallpaper, no clock (black on black), no notifications, battery saving mode. If I'm around others, my phone is in that mode.
- No social media apps, and stay logged out of the mobile website. Don't remember the password.
- No email app. I thought it would be a problem, but I've been logged out of Gmail for over a month. I forget to check email. It's great!
- A wrist watch. Get the time, not the notifications.
- Something to keep busy, but only for medium periods. I like reading articles queued in Instapaper.
- Ad block rules and other delays for the things you really struggle to stop doing.
- Ad block rules to remove the distracting elements of websites you must use. Remove the feeds wherever you can, or redirect the feed page to the notifications page.
- Turn off ad blocking. I never use the internet on my iPad because the unfiltered internet is unbearable. I see a cookie banner I can't skip and it takes me right out of it.
- Keep your phone in your backpack or in a separate room.
- Paper books
Also, here’s a (mostly just for fun) project I did related to this: https://github.com/andrew-noble/doomscroll-detector
That point can be easily fixed as there are various online timelock services where you can put in your security code or password that will not reveal it to you within a certain timeframe [0][1].
[0]: https://lockmeout.online/ [1]: https://password-locker.com/
No social media. No videos. No Music. I don't click on links in texts except the one that will show me where my taxi is.
At restaurants people around me sit together with food going cold on plates whilst staring at their phones. People walk around and into me whilst staring at their phones. I saw someone nearly step on a nesting Bush Stone Curlew, despite the protests from the bird's mate, because they were staring at their phone.
I do not believe we are cognitively capable of dealing with interruptions that demand our attention every 30 seconds. I know that despite a long list of life threatening illnesses I am the least anxious person I know, and I think that everyone else is stressing because they are staring at their phone.
* Anecdote, one person's experience. YMMV