ptrbs

Yesterday I started down a road again that I've tried to go down quite a few times in the past: reducing my screen time on my phone. Over the past couple of weeks, I've noticed I've been spending more time on my phone than I should, especially when I should be spending quality time with my son. There is something about phones, and especially the brain-rot apps, that keeps dragging me back in and having me pick up the phone. Once again, I am going to make an effort here to drastically reduce my screen time and spend more time in the now. How? Well, keeping it quite simple.

Why do I care about this in general?

Well, I see it everywhere around me; people are glued to their phones. Mindlessly scrolling Instagram/TikTok or whatever other app they have open. I don’t know; something in there doesn’t sit well with me. Why can’t we go somewhere, or be somewhere, and simply enjoy being there? Have real connections instead of always digital ones. I don’t even mind a little phone use; that is really not the problem, but it feels like our whole lives are currently being lived digitally.

For myself, it simply doesn’t work. I am so easily distracted, so easily mentally overloaded, that I consider my mobile phone and some apps in particular to be a net negative for me. I want to go back to a simpler time when I am not always glued to my phone, or feel the need to pick it up every 10 minutes to look at something that is definitely not that important.

Why did my last efforts always fail?

I mean, I expect the answer to be that these apps are so effective and addictive that I always cave in. I never really had the biggest problem with social media apps; I don’t care too much about Instagram, I don't have TikTok, does anyone really still use Facebook in 2026? For me, my worst enemy has always been Reddit. Opening the feed multiple times a day, just reading random stories to kill time. It's probably not the WORST thing to do with my time, but it still had me glued to my phone for a long time each day. Whenever I tried to remove them, I'd reinstall them again a couple of days later.

How will I try to reduce screen time?

It should be quite simple; don’t use the apps that are so addictive. I did some research on several apps yesterday, and wanted something simple but effective. For now, I have settled on https://screenzen.co to give this a go. I had a look at my current screen time, and I am currently around 4-5 hours a day; I aim to cut this down to 2 hours a day in the upcoming month.

On top of the general “trying to reduce screen time,” I also limited some specific apps that give me the most problems. I set a 30-minute-per-day timer on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Reddit. Other apps are still unrestricted, but I still track my overall screen time.

Hopefully, this will reclaim some time; otherwise, there is always a next time. Wish me luck.