Stop the mindless scrolling with these tips to help you put your phone down: Video
Phones make our lives easier in so many ways, but they can also take up a lot of our time. We’re scrolling, liking, texting and snapping so much that the devices can feel like an extension of our hands.
Have you noticed how many times you open your phone and immediately tap your favorite app? It’s a habit, and maybe one you want to break. It’s not always feasible to completely digitally detach from our devices, but there are some simple ways to help significantly cut back the time spent on them.
Watch this video for tips on how to make your phone less addictive.
How to view screen time on iPhone
Many smartphones keep track of how much time is being spent on the device, and in which apps it's being spent. Warning: the number may surprise you.
To find your screen time on your iPhone, find Screen Time in the Settings app.
Here, you’ll see your daily average and find some built-in ways to limit your usage, like setting app limits and scheduling downtime. Using your device’s built-in features is a simple way to set screen time limits. However, some of those are easy to bypass when the notification pops up.
Limit screen time
Another popular way is to turn your phone to grayscale. Turning your phone gray makes the screen very dull and less appealing to look at. The features can be found on iPhone and Android devices.
Watch this video to see how to put your phone on grayscale.
To turn on grayscale on an iPhone:
- Find Accessibility in the Settings.
- Tap Display & Text Size.
- Find Color Filters.
- Turn it on and select Grayscale. This option may be selected by default.
You can add a shortcut to your control center to make it easier to toggle on and off. Just look for Color Filters under the Vision Accessibility section when adding a new control to the control center.
Another option is to turn off or limit the non-important push notifications you get.
However, these things don’t always stop the doom scrolling.
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Alternative ways to reduce your screen time
If you’re looking for a better way to digitally detach, consider moving your apps to a new spot on your home screen. This eliminates the muscle memory that kicks in when you unlock your device and mindlessly open your go-to app. Putting it in a new place means you have to make a more conscious decision to open it.
Social media apps can suck you in with all the catchy content, so turn off link previews, autoplay or limit the cellular data the app can use, which can make images load slower or not load at all. No images make your social media feeds way less enticing! These settings can be changed within the app’s settings or the device’s settings. A one-stop shop would be turning off mobile data entirely, which means you can only scroll when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
The most basic option would be to simply keep your device out of reach. Leave it in the other room when you’re going to the bathroom or during dinner. If you’re on the couch watching your favorite show or movie, leave it somewhere that’s close enough to get if it rings, but far enough away that you can’t easily reach it.