How I Am Trying To Decrease My Phone Screen Time in 2026
It is perfect practice at this point. I wake up each morning and the first thing I do is reach for my phone and open social media. My go-to app is usually TikTok, always providing me with short, entertaining clips. Whether they’re edits, hauls, or recipes, my thumb gets trapped in the constant rhythm of swipe, like, repeat, swipe, like, repeat. After what I think has been 15 minutes, I find that an entire hour has passed. My eyes burn from the screen, my pinky holding up my phone aches, and I have wasted precious daylight. I want this to change.
I’m not going to go into all the details about why social media is bad or good for you. We may not all agree on those facts. Social media is, however, very addicting. One five minute burst of picture-perfect lives turns into thirty, and then forty-five, and then suddenly, hours have passed. There’s the saying that “idle hands are the devils workshop,” and though your hands aren’t necessarily idle while doom-scrolling, this saying still has some truth to it.
I find myself saving creative videos with projects I would like to try or recipes I would like to make, but nothing really happens with them. At the end of the day, they are just stored in a filing cabinet, locked with a key I lost ten scrolls ago.
With all of this dreadful truth laid out, and my own practices exposed, I recognize that I would like to fix this factor of my life. Communities online are wonderful and they bring people together, but living the life in front of you also provides some comfort. Here are some ways I am trying to combat doom-scrolling in my own life, and maybe these things can help you too!
Junk Journaling
I received a nice journal for Christmas. It is a Leuchtturm 1917 bullet journal in a beautiful red-wine color. I have many-a-journal in my possession, but each one I have forgotten about and they now collect dust on my shelf. With a need to express my feelings, and have a creative outlet, I thought I would give junk journaling a try.
This is a form of journaling that has no rules. I gather materials from my everyday life and stick it on a page. It can be done haphazardly or with precision. The choice is yours! This idea was given to me by one of my fellow staff writers. She wrote about her experience with junk journaling and I was really inspired.
I had always wanted to consistently journal, but always felt there were heavy expectations to do it perfectly or to commit every single day to the act. It often felt more like a chore than an outlet. I find that this form of journaling allows me to be more flexible with my style and to creative cohesive, or incohesive, spreads! I love the flexibility with it and you should definitely give it a try.
Reading
If you have read any of my other articles on my page, you’ll probably notice that I talk a lot about books. I love reading and discussing the stories I read with other people. Their interpretations from the text are some of the best parts of reading. Being in a book reading community is like a discussion based class but on your own terms.
Last year, one of my new years resolutions was to not buy any books, as I had so many unread books already. The one exception to this rule was Sunrise On the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. This, however, was not held up. I attended an archaeological field school in the summer of 2025 and got so many nonfiction recommendations that I purchased them all. I also bought many fascinating books last semester.
This halt of buying books (though still not necessarily successful) actually made me feel less motivated to read. I felt trapped behind all of the books I already had and weren’t craving. Yes, I was saving money, which is always a good thing in this economy, but I felt stuck. It felt like a restriction on my own knowledge.
That being said, I am still attempting this in some way. I am reading my unread or unfinished books to keep off of my phone, but I am still allowing myself to purchase one book a month. Particularly a book I have thought about for a while and would like to purchase with intention.
I have already read all of the unfinished books I had started last year and have brought quite a few unread books to school from home to keep me entertained this semester in my free time. I also switched from Goodreads to Fable over winter break where I hope the reading streak will keep me motivated. Who knows, maybe I’ll implement rewards based on milestones!
Movies
The list of movies I have been wanting to see is probably miles long. Blockbusters and classics have plagued my mind for years. I have seen countless trailers from DVDs, been given recommendations, and have even gotten ads during my doomscrolling hours. However, I haven’t watched any of them.
I am a repeat offender on movies. I love what I can predict and what is comfortable to me. I don’t hate trying new things, I just find it hard to stray from the constants in my life, and movies are one of those constants.
I told myself that this year I was going to watch new movies. Just since New Years Eve I watched seven new movies. A good chunk of them were fabulous recommendations by my mom, who I finally listened to, giving them a chance. Some of the titles include When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, and Sleepless in Seattle. Hmmm…there seems to be a trend here. Any Meg Ryan fans in the house?
I really enjoyed those movies. All of these great movies I have been watching have made me realize that I have been missing out and that I need to take a step out of my comfort zone and try some new things. After all, I find that TikTok content (or any social media content) can get repetitive and I need to embrace the new.
Will this work?
Humans always change. Perhaps my interest in reading or junk journaling will not carry to the next day. Schedules change and lives change, but I am prepared to be flexible to ensure that I adapt in a way that won’t affect my goals of having less screen time. I am excited to see what creativity this year brings me!