Phone & scrolling addiction

Notifications, endless feeds and “just one more” videos are built to grab attention. In one study of 11- to 17-year-olds, more than half got 237 or more notifications a day, and teens checked their phones over 100 times a day on average.

That is why changing your setup usually works better than trying harder. This guide is mostly about setup.

It may be worth acting if

• Hours disappear that you meant to spend on other things
• Sleep keeps getting pushed later
• People close to you say they miss you, even when you’re in the room
• The phone is your main way to calm down or escape
• You’ve tried to cut back and keep sliding back

In a 2023 Pew survey, 47% of U.S. parents said they spend too much time on their phone, and 38% of teens said the same about themselves. More than a third of teens said they had already cut back.

Boredom is uncomfortable, and the phone ends it instantly. The trouble is that small moments add up, and you lose the quiet time where ideas and rest usually happen.

Swap ideas

• A book or magazine in your bag
• A short stretch or a few slow breaths
• Looking around and noticing five things
• A podcast you choose on purpose, then phone away

Problematic phone use often travels with low mood, anxiety and stress. Sometimes the scrolling is a sign of something underneath that deserves care too.

Try instead

• Name the feeling out loud or on paper
• Text a person, not a feed
• Go outside for five minutes
• Use the “Riding out the urge” steps in this guide

In one large study, when people blocked mobile internet on their phones, they spent more time socialising in person, exercising and being in nature, and that shift helped explain why they felt better.

Picking up the phone when a task feels hard is very human. A short break is fine. It turns into a problem when “five minutes” keeps becoming an hour and the task gets bigger and scarier.

Try instead

• Put the phone in another room while you work
• Break the task into a 10-minute first step
• Use a timer: work, then a planned phone break

Being without a phone can feel uneasy at first: in a 2023 Pew survey, 44% of teens said it made them anxious at least sometimes. But even more said it made them feel happy (74%) or peaceful (72%).

Some apps leave you calmer or more connected: a video call with family, a maps app, a meditation timer. Others leave you drained, jealous or wired. Your plan should protect the first group and put limits on the second.

Good first targets

• No phone for the first 30 minutes after waking
• Phone charges outside the bedroom
• No scrolling during meals
• One app gets a daily time limit

Once one change feels normal (often after a couple of weeks), add the next one.

In a 2025 trial with 467 adults in the U.S. and Canada, people used an app to block internet on their phone for two weeks. They could still call and text, and use a computer. Daily phone time roughly halved, from about 5 hours to under 3.

Mental health, wellbeing and the ability to stay focused all improved, and 91% of people improved on at least one of these. Gains in mood and wellbeing were still there after the block ended.

Only about a quarter of people kept the block on for most of the two weeks, yet the group as a whole still benefited. You don’t have to do it perfectly for it to help.

Cutting back doesn’t mean cutting off. Decide in advance which uses are “keepers” (calling family, directions, a meditation app, a health app) and which are “limiters” (feeds, autoplay video, games you play on autopilot).

From gentle to strong

1. Notifications off for everything except people
2. Daily time limits on one or two apps
3. Feed apps removed from the phone (use a computer instead)
4. Mobile internet off for set hours, like evenings
5. A two-week mobile internet break

In one study, more than half of teens got 237 or more notifications a day, about a quarter of them during school hours.

Try this

1. Open notification settings.
2. Turn off alerts for social, shopping, news and games.
3. Keep calls and messages from real people.
4. Use a focus or do-not-disturb mode for work, school and sleep.

In a small 2026 study of medical students, switching the screen to grayscale for a week cut phone time by about 28 minutes a day on average.

Grayscale is usually in the accessibility or display settings. You can set a shortcut to switch colour back on when you need it.

Ideas

• Keep only tools on the first screen (calendar, maps, camera, notes)
• Put feed apps in a folder on the last screen
• Delete the app and use the website instead (it’s clunkier, on purpose)
• Log out after each use so you have to log back in

Most phones let you set a daily limit for an app or a group of apps. When time’s up, you get a screen asking if you want more. That pause is the point: it turns autopilot into a choice.

Blocking mobile internet while keeping calls and texts was the change behind the two-week trial in this guide. Even doing this for a few hours each evening can give you a taste of it.

Problematic phone use is linked with poorer sleep. Keeping the phone out of reach at night protects both your first and last minutes of the day.

Make it easier

• Buy a cheap alarm clock
• Charge the phone in the kitchen or hallway
• Read, stretch or listen to music before sleep

Popular choices

• Bedrooms
• Driving
• Family meals
• The first 30 minutes after waking
• Time with friends

When people cut mobile internet, they spent more time with others in person, exercising and outdoors, and those changes were part of why they felt better.

Swap ideas

• A walk or a bike ride
• Cooking something new
• Drawing, music or a craft
• Calling someone instead of scrolling past them
• A library card and a real book

A watch, a paper notebook, an alarm clock or a music player can take over jobs that otherwise lead you into the phone. Fewer reasons to unlock it means fewer chances to drift.

Examples

• If I wake up at night, then I’ll stay off the phone and do slow breathing
• If I’m waiting in line, then I’ll look around instead
• If I feel lonely in the evening, then I’ll call one person
• If I open the app without meaning to, then I’ll close it and stand up

Ask yourself

• Why am I picking this up right now?
• What do I actually want?
• Is there a better way to get it?

You can make this your lock-screen image, so the pause is right there.

Ask

• What was happening just before?
• Which part of my setup wasn’t there (phone in the bedroom, alerts back on)?
• What’s one small fix for next time?

In a 2023 Pew survey, 46% of teens said a parent is at least sometimes distracted by their phone when they try to talk. Changes work best when the whole household joins in.

Ideas

• A family charging spot
• Phone-free meals for everyone
• A family media plan you agree on together

Ways to do it

• Share your weekly screen time numbers
• Agree on phone-free time when you’re together
• Cheer each other on, and laugh about slips

What helps

• Start with what you miss (“I miss talking at dinner”), not blame
• Ask what they get from their phone, and listen
• Suggest a change you’ll both try
• Offer something fun to do instead

What tends to backfire

• Grabbing the phone or snooping
• Shaming or lecturing
• Rules you don’t follow yourself

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