‘A lot of people don’t want to admit it because they’re in denial’
11:43, 05 Jun 2026Updated 11:48, 05 Jun 2026
A mum says she cured her smartphone burnout addiction by switching to a “burner phone” – a Nokia brick.(Image: SWNS)
A Cheshire woman who spent the equivalent of two-months-a-year doomscrolling on Facebook ditched her smartphone for a Nokia. Janine Kay, 56, switched to a basic Nokia handset after becoming concerned about how much time she was spending on Facebook, Pinterest and news apps.
A recent study found the average UK person will spend almost five years of their life doomscrolling, with 36 per cent scrolling “unintentionally” without reason. The mum-of-two spent around four hours a day on Facebook alone for eight years before quitting social media, adding up to 1,344 hours a year – the equivalent of 56 days, or almost two months annually.
Across eight years, Janine calculated she spent around 10,752 hours on the platform – equal to 448 days, or almost 15 months of her life. Now approaching a decade without a smartphone, she says she has never been happier.
Janine, from Timperley, said: “Looking back, I had an addiction. I knew I was doing it and it wasn’t doing me any favours. The danger is that it becomes an addiction and I knew that a long time ago because I have quite an addictive personality. I could tell I was getting drawn into it.”
Janine first bought an iPhone in 2009 and said Facebook quickly became her biggest digital habit. She eventually quit the platform after finding herself obsessively checking profiles and comparing herself to others.
Speaking to Talk to the Press, she said: “The most damaging thing about Facebook was that I had really bad insecurity issues. I had just met my partner and I was comparing myself to other people and looking through profiles. I could see all his friends and old contacts and it brought out the worst in me.
Janine Kay, 55, with her Nokia.(Image: SWNS)
“I would see people’s posts and think, ‘Oh, for God’s sake’. All I can say is I got addicted to it and doom scrolling through other people’s lives. I don’t think it makes people feel good about themselves.”
After deleting Facebook, Janine continued using her smartphone for Pinterest and news apps, often spending around two hours a day scrolling on Facebook alone. But in 2017 she decided enough was enough and swapped her iPhone 6 for a Nokia 3310-style handset which can only call, text and play the classic game Snake.
She still owns an iPad but keeps it at home and mainly uses it for YouTube and occasional internet browsing. Janine, who volunteers for charities including Samaritans, believes excessive social media use is having a damaging effect on mental health.
She said: “I work for Samaritans and over the years I have seen the rise in people struggling due to social media. People used to snigger at me when I talked about social media addiction and say it was a load of rubbish. Now it’s a big epidemic. A lot of people don’t want to admit it because they’re in denial. It’s a bit like someone saying they don’t have a problem with drink while having a bottle of wine every night.”
Janine says giving up her smartphone has left her feeling calmer, happier and more present. She describes herself swapping “FOMO” for “JOMO” – the joy of missing out. She said: “I have more hours to do nice things.
“I do yoga, play the piano and when I’m out and about I look at nature. I’ll be on the bus and everyone has their head in their phone, but I’m looking out of the window. It genuinely makes you happier, I feel liberated and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I would firmly recommend everyone to do the same.”