I didn’t realize I had a problem, and the problem I’m referring to is social media.
One of my classes this semester offered two extra credit assignments aimed at reducing screen time. The first option was to set our phones to grayscale for five consecutive days, which is a color filter that turns all content on your phone black-and-white. The second option was to limit all social media usage to a total of 30 minutes per day for five consecutive days.
For context, I love my phone, and I am what some would consider chronically online. Still, I was determined to earn the extra credit points and prove something to myself. The week of March 23 marked my first attempt to use the grayscale filter on my phone, an effort that lasted approximately six hours. Scrolling TikTok in black-and-white was a new experience I never want to repeat. The purpose of switching to grayscale is to make your phone less stimulating, ultimately reducing the urge to constantly reach for it. My second failed attempt came the following week, after I received the results of my second quiz and realized how bad I needed those extra credit points.
The third time was, in fact, the charm, and I lived to tell the story of how I successfully reduced my social media intake. The grayscale option wasn’t working, mostly because I kept cheating, and I wanted to earn the points without lying to my professor. After a few days of ignoring my app time limits and burning through all of my screen time in one single doomscroll, it became clear that something needed to change. That’s when my friends introduced me to a different solution.
They showed me a device called Brick, designed to limit distractions on your phone. The concept is simple but effective: You choose which apps you want to temporarily disable. In order to regain access and visibility to the most distracting apps on your home screen, you must physically tap your phone against the “Brick,” a square-shaped block. My friends have given the app such positive feedback, even going as far as to say, “The app helped me realize how addicted I must be to spend $50 to lock my phone.”Â
When using the app while studying, I noticed a change immediately. I often alternate between studying and social media, but becoming more conscious of this has shifted my phone use patterns. I know my habits are not going to change overnight, and limiting myself to 30 minutes total of social media usage per day is not a realistic long-term expectation for me. Still, this experience has encouraged me to set more practical goals and to be more aware of when I’m scrolling out of habit rather than intention.
Ultimately, what started as an extra credit assignment (which I never would have attempted on my own time) has uncovered just how dependent I am on my phone. While I may not be fully “detoxed” yet, I’ve gained perspective on my habits and a better understanding of how to manage them.