{"id":723215,"date":"2026-06-08T15:17:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/723215\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T15:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:17:08","slug":"i-was-addicted-to-my-phone-but-one-screen-time-hack-actually-made-a-difference-smartphones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/723215\/","title":{"rendered":"I was addicted to my phone \u2013 but one screen time hack actually made a difference | Smartphones"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently learned through Apple\u2019s Screen Time app that I was spending about eight hours a week on my phone browsing Reddit and Instagram. That\u2019s 17.3 days a year spent consuming entertaining but ultimately pointless fluff. So my piece looking for solutions for phone addicts<\/a> was highly personal.<\/p>\n

The Guardian\u2019s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.\u00a0Learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The warning signs are if your phone is the first thing you look at in the morning and the last thing you look at in bed, says Prof Marcantonio Spada, emeritus professor of addictive behaviours and mental health at London South Bank University and chief clinical officer at Onebright, who I spoke to for my article.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a tick for me and, I suspect, a lot of readers. Too many of us have \u201coutsourced our brain to California\u201d, Spada says, but that\u2019s not completely our fault: \u201cThere are behavioural scientists and neuroscientists who are working daily to ensure that it\u2019s outsourced. I know some of them really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our writer outlined several techniques for limiting smartphone use. Among them, simply not having your phone so close to you. Photograph: karetoria\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The point of using any of the techniques outlined in the piece is to see what we\u2019re missing, he says, not just to act on a puritanical urge to purge technology from our lives for the sake of it. \u201cI\u2019m generation X, so I had the benefit of access to the real world, real emotions, the heart racing in anticipation of meeting somebody, which has been numbed by virtual existence,\u201d he says. \u201cStay there [in the real world] long enough, and you can get massive rewards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phones also suck our time. \u201cWe all complain: \u2018I don\u2019t have time to exercise, cook healthy food or read novels,\u2019\u201d says Hilda Burke, psychotherapist and author of The Phone Addiction Workbook<\/a>. \u201cBut then we look at how much time we spend on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram \u2013 we find there is time to do those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Changing habits can be daunting, she says, but, like Spada, she insists that the rewards are worth any early discomfort. \u201cInitially there\u2019s that twitchiness, but I guess what happened [for me] was a kind of a positive reinforcement where I was like: \u2018Actually, this is quite nice.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

What worked for meBlock party: the Brick can be set up to prevent you from using your smartphone apps. Photograph: Alan Martin\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The trick that worked best for me was Brick, a small, grey, magnetic square<\/a> you stick to a metal surface \u2013 in my case, the front door, because it\u2019s reinforced with metal. It\u2019ll set you back \u00a354, which is undoubtedly a big ask for something so simple, but if time is indeed money, you can make a case that it will quickly justify the outlay.<\/p>\n

Touch your phone to it, and apps that rely on you opening them without thinking can\u2019t be tapped. To regain access, you have to physically get up and unlock your problem apps with another touch \u2013 which is just enough of a pain to make you reassess your priorities.<\/p>\n

You can choose what to lock down, and I\u2019ve been quite conservative. WhatsApp is a social lifeline for those of us who work from home, for example, and Gmail is essential for work. Podcasts expand the mind, and even Netflix is something I only use in the gym, so it\u2019s a wellbeing positive overall.<\/p>\n

But Reddit, Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook? I have them locked all day except when I leave the house (what else am I going to do on the tube?). I\u2019m especially vigilant at bedtime, so there\u2019s no temptation to doomscroll in bed or delay getting up in the morning.<\/p>\n

The friction that Brick adds has made all the difference, and I\u2019m already feeling the benefit. I feel more focused, and my brain feels calmer. I still check in on social sites on my desktop work PC, but these are easily closeable tabs rather than full-screen, infinitely scrolling apps. It\u2019s genuinely a quick break \u2013 after all, who wants to sit at their desk any longer than they have to?<\/p>\n

By my earlier back-of-an-envelope sums, I\u2019ve already lost about three days of 2026 to mindless scrolling. But I\u2019m excited about what I\u2019m going to do with the recovered 15.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s picksEditor\u2019s pickThe ultimate goal \u2026 accept your sweepstake team won\u2019t win the World Cup and just make sure you get the snacks and drinks right. Photograph: MilanMarkovic\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The men\u2019s World Cup is almost upon us. According to recent research<\/a>, 73% of us are planning to watch the games at home. So, rather than buying a few four-packs and emptying some ready salted into a bowl, why not take inspiration from the cuisine of the 48 qualifying countries to serve something more adventurous?<\/p>\n

Filter food and drink writer Joanne Gould has spoken to locals to find out what they snack on in every nation, from Turkey to Tunisia, Scotland to Spain \u2013 and where to buy everything. Don\u2019t watch a game without reading her guide<\/a> first.<\/p>\n

Hannah Booth
Editor, the Filter<\/p>\n

In case you missed it \u2026Tooth be told: our electric toothbrush guide has been updated, and a new overall winner has cleaned up. Photograph: Johner Images\/Getty Images\/Johner RF<\/p>\n

Alan Martin has also been busy testing to update our guide to the best electric toothbrushes<\/a> \u2013 and has been impressed with the latest models. His new favourite<\/a> left his mouth feeling \u201ccleaner than ever\u201d.<\/p>\n

Get involvedDon\u2019t be tong tied \u2026 share your barbecue equipment secrets with us. Photograph: Ja\u2019Crispy\/Getty Images\/iStockphoto<\/p>\n

Finally dusted off the barbecue for the summer? What kit do you swear by, whether for cleaning, cooking or taking your food to the next level? Let us know by replying to this newsletter or emailing us at thefilter@theguardian.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I recently learned through Apple\u2019s Screen Time app that I was spending about eight hours a week on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":723216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,61],"class_list":["post-723215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}