Take Back Your Time (and Life!): How to Spend Less Time Mindlessly Scrolling on your Phone

Does your phone go everywhere with you? Are you often distracted by your phone? Do you spend more time than you would like mindlessly scrolling through social media, videos, articles, and other information available on your phone? Would you like to change your relationship with your phone, but don't know how? You are not alone.

According to this 2024 article:

·       The average American spends 4 hours and 37 minutes looking at their phone every day. That quickly adds up over time to about 1 day every week, 6 days every month, and 70 days every year.

·       According to a small Stanford study, children are getting their first phone around the age of 12. If the average life expectancy of an American is 76 years old that would mean that the average American will spend 12 years staring at their phone screens over their lifespan!

·       About half of Americans feel that their average screen time is too high, and about 40% are trying to cut down on screen time.

Our understanding of the addictive nature of screen and phone use is growing with research that shows the power of the small but powerful hits of dopamine (brain chemical involved in rewarding behavior) we get when we access digital media. This article explains more about what makes phones so addictive.

The impacts of high screen, phone and social media utilization impacts us in more ways than taking away our valuable time - it has been linked to increased levels of mental illness, especially anxiety, and lower levels of life satisfaction and happiness. The 2024 book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, explains more.

While time on all screens including tablets, computers, television, and phones is of concern, phones are easily accessible and can be carried with us wherever we go. As such, they represent a significant source of screen time - and thus a great place to focus if you would like to reduce your time using screens.

What can you do if you want to spend less time on your phone or on screens? Here's what experts suggest:

·       Monitor screen time stats: Use your phone’s screen time stats to see where you are spending most of your time. Use this information to strategically set limits on specific apps, time periods, etc. and to monitor the impact of changes that you are making to reduce screen time.

·       Make reducing screen time fun: Use screen time stats for a contest—see who can record the least amount of weekly screen time and at the end of the contest, have a prize for the winner like a gift card, spa day or a dinner out.

·       Set realistic goals: You don’t have to give up on screen time or phone scrolling cold turkey. If you spend two hours on social media, cut it down to one hour. After some time, you might find that you can cut that down to half an hour. 

·       Digital detox: Remove yourself from your own space and do a digital detox to remind yourself how it feels to be offline. Or set designated days or periods of time to be fully unplugged, like Sundays, or Sunday mornings. Put your phone away during these times.

·       Turn off notifications/use “Do Not Disturb” Mode: When your phone lights up and notifies you, you’re more likely to open your phone and check apps. Turn off notifications for distracting apps. Use Do Not Disturb mode, not just at night, but during the day when you want to be focusing on work, school, or other activities.

·       Utilize Focus Mode: You can create custom settings to silence or allow certain notifications during designated times. For example, you can set a focus mode for work and select which people and apps to receive notifications from. That way, you can get calls and texts from your kids or mom, but block pings from Instagram or TikTok that could be distracting.

·       Set time limits and rules: Set daily limits, schedule "scroll breaks," set a goal to stay off your phone between 8 pm and 10 pm, use bedtime modes, challenge your friends or family to see who can stay off their phone the longest after dinner.

·       Use apps to set screen time rules and blocks: It’s hard to rely on willpower alone. Put an app on your phone to help reduce your screen time. Some apps will block use of specific apps or turn off access after a certain amount of time.

·       Don't use your phone as your alarm: Get a physical alarm clock, so that your phone isn't the last thing you see before you go to sleep and the first thing you check when you wake up.

·       Create phone-free zones: Designate some spaces in your home where phones/screens aren’t allowed – good ideas are the bedroom and the dining table.

·       Remove your phone from the bedroom:  If you want to take things a step further, you can even leave your phone in a separate room.

·       No phones at the table.  Place a basket in the middle of the kitchen table and require that all phones are muted and placed in the basket during mealtimes. Or, if you’re out to dinner, all the phones get piled in the middle of the table. Anyone who grabs their phone during the meal buys everyone else a round of drinks!

·       Turn on Grayscale Mode: You can use grayscale mode in your phone’s settings to make looking at typically colorful posts less appealing.

·       Use the out of sight, out of mind approach: Delete apps you don't want to use as much and remove others from your home screen to tap into the "out of sight, out of mind" approach.

·       Work only from a computer when you are working from home: This reduces the likelihood of responding to emails at the dinner table, and it helps create separation between your professional and personal life.

·       Bring a book or a Kindle with you everywhere you go: Default to reading instead of scrolling on your phone when you are waiting in line, waiting for your food at a restaurant, or taking public transportation.

·       Swap scrolling for something else that is rewarding: Read a book, do a hobby, call a friend or go for a walk when you are bored or tired.

·       Unsubscribe and unfollow: Let go of accounts that drain your energy, and ensure that you are only following accounts that inspire and uplift you, or provide solid information that helps you in your life.

·       Set auto-responses: You can utilize auto-responses for text messages during certain times of the day! Simple responses like, “I’ll reply after work” or “I’m driving right now but will get back to you soon” are great ways to take off the pressure off of constantly needing to check your phone. It will also let people know that you're not ignoring them—you’re simply not glued to your phone! Some additional times to consider setting auto-responses would be overnight, during meals, and while attending an event with family or friends.

·       Wrap a hair tie or rubber band around your phone: This acts as a physical barrier between your finger and the screen. A rubber band or scrunchie will stop you from automatically scrolling without even thinking about what you’re doing.

Start small - choose one or two of the above ideas to start with and expand from there. Some ideas won't work as well for you as others - see what works best for you, and keep an eye on changes in your mood, energy, activities, and relationships that may result as you reduce the time spent on your phone (and other screens).