thoughts on screen time
and some october favourites
I never thought much about my weekly screen time summaries until I accidentally tapped into it and saw the breakdown of how much time I was logging on each app. My Instagram time gave me a jump scare, despite ignoring the daily limit I’d set within the app every day.
(I’m not going to share the time because the exact numbers don’t matter, and everyone is going to have different personal limits!)
A large portion of the time I’d been spending on IG, I’ve been looking for to spend on other things. Time is a currency! I knew I had been procrastinating but didn’t realize how much it was all adding up to. It’s hard to tell when the phone is being picked up in short (but frequent) bursts throughout the day.
As it was designed to do, my algorithm is perfectly curated to all my interests. My scrolling isn’t mindless: I am engaged and learning. I’m sharing things and saving for future reference. My curiosity is my greatest weakness, I want to know it all! I want to learn how to help others. I want to keep learning about my favourite things. Don’t you love it when your opinions and feelings are validated? My reels usage picked up when watching on 2x speed became possible, because I love to consume at maximum efficiency. Hilariously, there was a time when I couldn’t even watch IG reels because my home wifi wasn’t strong enough to load the videos fully on my phone, and I had to use the desktop site to watch astrology videos.
Like how I always recommend tracking your money before creating a budget to first know your spending habits, I just needed to see the time I was accruing on the app, and then acknowledge that I want to reallocate it. A good exercise in letting go — you’ve got to put things on a scale and decide what’s worth the weight, and I’ve got heavier priorities.
While I haven’t seen all that I could see — I realistically can’t anyway — I feel really good about everything I’ve seen. I can cut back. And I love setting boundaries for myself, because it means I’ve thought about it. At another point in life, I would be totally fine with the amount I’ve been scrolling.
How I’m managing my screen time on IG because I have other things I want to do more
But I still want to consume its content!
Set a time limit inside Screen Time on iOS. Just learned about this — it locks the app and its notifications once you reach the limit, which you can “ignore” in 15 minute increments. There’s the tiniest pause when you ignore and regain access to the app, and that beat is enough friction for me. I’ve also set a much shorter time limit inside the IG app as a reminder and to better keep track of my time. (Something about friction I always think about is how moving cigarettes behind the counter greatly reduced smoking, not because we all learned it was killing us.)
Use the desktop site when possible, because everything looks small and less enticing. I can’t watch reels on 2x speed so it makes me not want to watch them at all.
Give myself set times to scroll. I’ve been using the Flow pomodoro app for years but the notifications have gotten easy to miss, so I tried using my kitchen timer and the physical act of pressing buttons to start and stop the alarm helps me delineate time and tasks more obviously. Makes sense since pomodoro clocks are so widely used and effective.
Focus on only consuming content from people I follow and unfollow accounts that I’m no longer interested in.
Additional ways to reduce or limit screen time
Please share what has worked for you and any additional suggestions!
Adjust your notifications and set up do not disturb/work/sleep modes; curate your feeds and follow list. My phone is permanently on DND with silent notifications and minor exceptions for selected contacts — I pick up my phone enough throughout the day to not need instant notification alerts.
Apparently turning your phone to greyscale makes everything less interesting.
Brick - a physical device and app that’s very high in friction!
BeTimeful - A free app and Chrome/Safari extension that can block social feeds with timed breaks for access, while still retaining creator and messaging capabilities.
A dummy phone - everyone should be able to make a phone call in an emergency or to let someone know an unexpected change of plans. This feels like a good option for people who cold turkey detox and go without a phone outside at the expense of potential emergencies, to prevent mindless scrolling during commutes, and for children. Flip phones and the little brick Nokias are so cute and nostalgic, I love the designs and actual number buttons.
I really enjoyed Search Engine’s episode How to stop being so phone addicted (without self-discipline or meditation)
Our lives have changed, the way information is shared has changed. We will never be in precedented times. How do we navigate a life where so much information, community and joy and negativity can be found on these platforms run by horrible billionaires (who definitely all have blood on their hands) with algorithms specifically designed to manipulate our attention and fuel complacency? How do we live with this?
What kind of person does it make us, whether we are someone who spends a lot or very little time on these platforms? It is to be expected that we are so influenced and distracted by these algorithms.
There’s a lot of moral panic about screen time right now. Shame is never the solution. We’re all in the midst of a big reckoning with technology. It shouldn’t be all bad and we cannot let it be all bad. Social media has become how we cope, engage and escape, and where we get our news from.
Instead, we should all take a moment and consider what we’re looking at and who it serves. You should be having a good time. You should want to be spending the time you’re spending, on whatever apps and activities that are interesting and meaningful to you. (And this includes asmr slime and silly animal videos that bring you calm and joy!)
In the same way that counting food calories is useless because it doesn’t tell you anything about the nutritional value of the food, the discussion around reducing screen time by numbers and as a Moral Good often misses the point. You don’t become a better person disconnected. Humans need information, connection, and validation. Sometimes being connected is what saves you.
Some related podcast episodes:
How nature heals us - Hidden Brain
Why Other People’s Screen Time Annoys You - Culture Study
Should we give toddlers phones? - Today, Explained
How parents can be screen time role models - Life Kit
What are teenagers actually seeing on their phones? - Search Engine
currently on repeat 🎶 — I love this new album!
🧦 Focus Friend
There are lots of pomodoro apps for timed focus sessions, but this one is extra cute and gamified. You get a bean that knits socks during focus time, and you use the socks to buy decorations for your room 🪴 It’s free with no ads, supported by a paid option that grants access to more room decorations. It’s been fun and my room is looking super cozy and pink, but I’ve had to do a lot of work on my phone lately so my bean has not been able to knit for a while :(
☎️ Physical Phones
These are landline-looking phones that connect to your smartphone via bluetooth 😲 New tech mimicking old tech is charming to me, if only so the drama of slamming the phone down to hang up and twirling the cord is not completely lost to future generations. It’s designed to be able to make and receive calls using the actual product, with Siri integration, compared to a basic mic and speaker product as shown in their comparison video. There’s also this super cute viral bluetooth lip phone from Five Below 💋 I can’t imagine how landlines could ever make a comeback, but if they do, I actually own a real landline lip phone!
😚 Lush Lip Scrub
‘Tis the season of dry air and chapped lips. I’ve tried DIYing my own lip scrubs but it’s never good as this. I bought “Sticky Dates” and it’s fine, but will go for a mint in the future to keep all oral hygiene flavours similar. Another tip during dry months, besides an actual humidifier, is to hang a wet towel next to your bed when you sleep for extra moisture in the air 🌧️
🎙️ Florence + The Machine - Which Witch x Abracadabra (Live)
This was so nostalgic and the mash up is really satisfying.
🪷 The Untamed
Six years late to this masterpiece that was released in the pre-pandemic year of 2019… but it was only a matter of time — there’s just no way I could have died before watching what feels like my birthright. It’s adapted from a beloved novel with numerous adaptations and I have basically consumed them all. It's gay with a happy ending, even if it’s subtle. If you’ve watched or would like to watch it, please let me know so we can gush about it together! Should be available on Netflix. Here is another beautiful trailer. My next cdrama watch is Fangs of Fortune!
🎞️ Living proof
I’ve been posting daily videos over on TikTok and Youtube and finally am reaching the end of 2024 content. I now have the daunting task of editing all of the 2025 that flew by 🤡 Mostly food and haul videos — things I personally love to watch. It’s been fun looking back and I know I’ll love it even more in the future. I hope you can find some joy or inspiration in them too!
Let me know your thoughts and what’s got you carried away recently! ♡