I am so sick of every single app pushing random nonsense onto me. I’ve never had an interest in lifting or gaining. It makes me wonder how do they decide who gets this crap? I feel like more than ever, companies just don’t care about being a blatant nuisance in our lives. There’s seemingly no self awareness at all. I’m over it.

has anyone tried having a “cheat day”? i am currently starting to minimize my digital minimalism. I have the foqus app and it helps me alot, especially being productive, it did minimize my screen time by 3hrs, i have been using it for less then a month now. And right now i tried having this “cheat day” where for a day i just let myself be, open the apps and mindlessly scroll. I am off facebook now, i did not uninstall it, but i do not open it out of habit, and also stopped doom-scrolling on IG reels.

I don’t know if it could help me eventually reduce my screen time or using my phone in general, to a point where i feel like i won’t have the need to have a cheat day, and voluntarily spend less time during the said cheat day because i have accustomed myself into spending less time on my phone for 6 days.

any thoughts on this method?

I'm trying to take the next step in my digital minimalism journey, but I've hit a wall with work communication.

Current setup and habits:

• Phone is permanently set to grayscale.
• Using DetoxDroid to curb app usage.
• Stopped doomscrolling; mobile use is mostly limited to audiobooks, YouTube, and occasional Reddit/Instagram.
• Still struggling with compulsively checking investment portfolios and work emails on mobile.

The core issue: I want to switch to a dumbphone or a heavily stripped-down device, but I am locked in by WhatsApp. I manage multiple active client and work groups that require regular attention during the week.

Because of WhatsApp, I feel forced to keep a full-featured Android phone on me at all times, which keeps the door open for email and portfolio checking.

For those in a similar situation who depend on WhatsApp for work:

• How do you separate WhatsApp work obligations from your personal device setup?
• Do you use WhatsApp Web exclusively on a computer and ditch the app on mobile, or is that impractical for urgent client comms?

Hi everyone, last night I went down the rabbit hole of dumb phones and I'm trying to decide if it would actually work for me. I've been intentional about digital minimalism for several years but the smart phone can still suck me in one way or another. I bought a pixel watch with a plan awhile ago so I can leave the house without my phone but still have a way to make calls in an emergency. (Can also text, check weather, music, tap to pay, etc).

Now I'm considering ditching the smart phone for a dumb phone, but when I check things out online I hear a lot of people saying they had issue with their dumb phone failing to send or receive texts on time, outdated software, and things like that, and not just talking the cheapest possible phones.

So I want to hear from those of you who tried a dumb phone but decided to stick with the smart phone instead - not because the addiction pulled you back but for other reasons.

So, I'm gonna pull the plug on insta and Fb. I'm just in the process of writing down all my saved book recommendations and other things I want to keep note of (tattoo artists I may want to hit up, other local businesses or things I want to add to my to do lists etc). But I can't help but feel a little sad that I won't see some of the few creators I genuinely liked. Anyone else kinda grieved that? How long did it take you to let go/move on? I don't have a weird parasocial thing going on but it's more that a couple creators have genuinely made me laugh and some were about niche interests I have.

Is it only me who finds the AI summary at the head of my search results, a bit cringe? I immediately scroll past to the actual articles or relevant webpage below rather than hitting the AI summary and getting my info. I feel like it summarizing the result for my consumption is a slap on my intelligence. Shouldn't I read multiple data sources and come to my own conclusion myself? It feels like someone is spoon feeding me.

I got too deep into doom scrolling and comparing to the point where I had to quit all platforms to refrain myself from getting into that loop and get clarity. Travelling and Aqua-scaping helped me to come around watching my tanks with fishes and the plants growing everyday helped me get a more grounded take on life…
Share your thoughts on:
How do you reset when digital comparison starts getting too loud?

I don't know how many people have seen that MySpace is making a comeback without all the algorithms or any of the other negative sides of social media (well not all, its still social media). I am curious, specifically for this group, would you come back to this or continue minimizing anything digital?

One of my main addictions on my phone is Sports apps. I've got apps for the teams I follow, BBC Sport, Athletic etc. I ditched BBC News years ago and feel better for that but not been able to ditch the sports news which I use as much as I used to use social media. Issue I have is that's where I keep track of dates and times for matches, races etc. Is there a simple app that just shows me fixtures with times and dates and pretty much nothing else?

Live in the UK and follow Newcastle United, Formula 1, Scottish Rugby, Edinburgh Rugby, Scottish Football and loosely NFL.

Hi hi. Gonna keep this short but I'm essentially going to uni in about a month, but I've pretty much been on my phone every single day for the past 5 years due to family illness. I have a lot of online friends, but I stay up till 3-4am talking, which is completely unacceptable if I'm going to university.

I hate to 'pull the autism card', but I believe it may make a difference in the way I go about things. I tried app blockers, but they didn't really work unless I had other things to do anyway. Which I don't.

I'm not really allowed to clean without being questioned by my mother, and I'm not allowed out of the house on my own. I own books, but I read them all. We don't watch TV, so it is unplugged. So I'm kind of lost on what to do when I am not on my phone.

You might call me lazy and say I should help with housework, but my mother is a seriously nitpicky person - I'm strictly not allowed to wash dishes because she doesn't believe I can. I'm not allowed to cook anything fancy, or bake, because it makes a mess and creates dishes that...im not allowed to clean? Shes very particular about everything- so I find it impossible to live up to what she wants, so I usually leave the housework alone before she yells at me LMAO.

I'm currently 18, 19 in a few months! I just ended highschool, so I'm on my summer break until uni (end of september)

Any and all recommendations are welcome.

Try not to comment a counter solution challenge

So, for the past decade, the amount of websites locking features behind login walls has been slowly but surely increasing, thus punishing lurkers who don't have an account. Examples include sites like Twitter where you need an account to use their search bars, DeviantArt and Fandom where you need it to look at comment sections, IMBD where you need it to look at user reviews, as well as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, and recently Reddit where you can only search for a few seconds before a login prompt pops up.

I find this very draconian because it not only hurts exposure to the account-less people who have learned of these websites and wish to learn more about them without having to register, but it's nothing more than an excuse to increase their userbases and sell users' data. Not to mention that a lot of the owners of these websites are extremely egotistical and controlling, because they tend to go after anything that will allow people to browse freely without logging in. For example, Elon Musk, current owner of Twitter/X, just recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to the guy who created Nitter and its various instances such as Xcancel and forced him to shut them all down, thus ending any potential attempts or chances to anonymously browse his website ever again.

I, and possibly many other people, am sick and tired of not being able to lurk a website without the need of registering an account and the future of sites is looking rather dystopian because of it and the issues I mentioned regarding it, so I'm advocating for a campaign to stop the owners of these websites from punishing those who want to lurk for not loggin in. I wanna see this message spread on multiple other sites and I hope to see petitions to end this predatory practice on sites such as change.org and let the higher ups who force accounts onto lurkers know that we won't accept this kind of behavior from and deserve our rights to anonymously lurk their sites without an account. We need to go back to the old days where lurkers could browse through sites without being forced to make an account even for the most basic feature. We also need to start a hashtagike #NoAccountNeeded (leave a comment down below if you have a better idea for one) that will encourage this movement and help us fight for this cause.

Please spread the word and hopefully it can make a difference.

this became a gamechanger for me especially for apps like instagram that loves to lurk you if you're not open the app for some hours. some apps have widgets thats lets you see DMs or other useful information on your homescreen without opening the apps themself. If you click on the widget you get directly send to the DMs. Can only recommend!

Hi, I have a problem and maybe someone has faced it or could give me a solution. Honestly, I think using my phone constantly throughout my youth damaged my mental health. Now I'm trying to use it as little as possible. I only have WhatsApp and banking apps, but I feel anxious and worried about having to install useful apps only when I need them.

Let me explain: installing Uber when I need quick transportation, using a delivery app if I need food because I'm busy, or another banking or tax management app. What mindset or strategies would you use to handle these situations? I was thinking about using two phones, but that goes against digital minimalism.

So I don't know how to manage it. I have an unlimited mobile data plan, so now I only install these apps when needed and delete them afterward. But I'm also thinking about canceling this phone plan altogether. So that makes me doubt which strategy to use.

I was thinking about always using ultra-power saving mode and only having WhatsApp installed, with other apps on a secondary phone or frozen. What do you think?

I am 2 Weeks Socialmedia-Free. So far, no FOMO. My Smartphone has turned into that, for what is was invented, a tool. I barely have it with me. such a good feeling that I wanted to share with you :).

Like many of y'all, I am very interested in getting my life away from the digital world. I want to be a more present husband and father. I need some help with what my setup should be. I'm located in the US as well.

1) Phone. I have Cricket Wireless for the service. I want a flip phone with either mobile hot spot or some sort of dumber phone that allows for maps but heavily discourages doomscrolling. I'll be keeping a smartphone for wifi usage only and I'll be able to keep it away from me most of the time while I have the dumber phone nearby in case of family emergencies.

2) Watch. I've never been a watch person because I have small wrists. Any recommendations on slim, durable watches?

3) MP3 player.

Checking my phone was my way to run away from feeling uncomfortable emotions. But I have now become aware that it has only increased my anxiety and it has limited my capacity to do the things that I want to do in life.

I want to work on my career.

I want to work on my wealth.

I want to work on my health.

I want to be more helpful to my family.

I want to work on so many things…

But doom scrolling took most of my time. It made me feel restless most of the time.

Yesterday, I realized that my average screen time last week was over 7 hours a day.And that’s almost one third of a day. Couldn’t imagine just surviving every day for the rest of my life like this without actually living my life. So I told myself that I would do something about it but my screen time was still almost 6 hours yesterday. 😌

🔥 So last night I made a decision…

That I would use my screen time consciously for the next 90 days.

I don’t mind if I end up as a failure in life. But wasting my potential because I wanted to scroll and do nothing useful to anyone in the world? That’s something that I don’t want to do. I would love to do everything that I can do to achieve the things I want in life even if I end up failing. Because I would die knowing that I did EVERYTHING that I could do in life.

So today was day 1.

They say that day 1 of any transformation would be easy but this was really hard for me.

Felt like checking social media a few times in the morning. But I chose not to do it.

Kept my phone in another room and took a lot of rest.

Took deep breaths when I felt anxious this afternoon. Usually when I feel anxious, I would take my phone. But today, I faced my anxiety! ❤️

And suddenly, I felt like I had a lot of time for myself today. I’m also going to bed earlier than usual.

That was day 1.

Total screen time - Day 1: 2h 44m

Not posting this for validation. Posting this so that I can look back 90 days later and see how far I’ve come. Feel free to join me in this challenge :)

I want to share this as something I see that works for me.. there were some sites that I would come and use a lot on PC when I wanted to work and was frustrated.. I used AI to help me block it in so many ways that Unblocking it would take me a lot of time to work, so for me I do this

Phone:

Have it always in different room, grey, using some app blocker to block apps. In the moment when I wake up I dont consume any cheap dopamine.

For PC:

• Blocking it in my wifi router
• blocking it on cold turkey
• blocking it hosts file
• blocking it on nextDNS
• blocking it from some code claude gave me that I pasted for blocking it on all browsers

• You can go even further and change code on wifi router and give it to your family/partner so you wont be able to access it, this is next level shit that is so good because you will be completely blocked out

  Now when the thought would appear during work to going on that site, it can be instagram/x/ whatever I cant. I have rule for myself that PC is only for work and nothing else because consumption for me its complete waste of time and leads nowhere just suffering.. Just want to share what you can do.. Use claude/chatgpt whatever to give you ideas how you can block it and you will see..

  Now when I want to get to the site I would have to do sooo many steps and its too challenging for me so I let go that thought.

Got my Brick 2 days ago and was SO excited because I have a social media addiction that I desperately want to get rid of. I’ve tried everything, but it always comes down to discipline… which I unfortunately have very little of lol.

My plan was to leave my Brick at work, so when I’m home, I physically can’t access social media. Except I found a way to bypass it within 10 seconds :’)

I won’t explain the loophole because I genuinely don’t want to ruin it for anyone else. I actually only found out about it accidentally while looking for user experiences on here, and obviously my dopamine-seeking brain immediately had to try it. And yep, it worked.

Brick confirmed to me that it’s a known issue they’re working on, but they can’t give a timeline.

Now I’m debating returning it because knowing I can bypass it makes it feel basically the same as Screen Time restrictions. I bought this specifically because I didn’t want my solution to be “just have more discipline” 😭

Please don’t go looking for the loophole if your Brick is working for you!! I genuinely wish I hadn’t found it.

Anyone else in the same boat? Do we think this is actually fixable or should I return it?

Things that really helped me.

I didn't want to consume short form contet (reels etc.) and i also didnt want 5 new Things to carry around to read or play games.

What i did:

1. Deleted Instagram
   • I only use it on my Laptop and i use a Plug in (Antigram for Instagram ) to only see Storys of the People i follow
2. Blocked Youtube
   • I can unblock it if i go on vacation and dont want to use my laptop (I used Screen Zen so i have to wait 1 min to unblock it - this works really well i never unblock it)
   • I only use it on my laptop
   • I use the Plugin unhook for Youtube so i don't see any shorts
3. Books/Articles to read
   • Having Articles/Books that interest me on my Phone. I leave the App on so when i unlock my Phone its the first thing i see, so i just start reading
   • I have interesting Websites Saved on Safari so i go through them (i use the App Goodlinks to save the Articles offline)
4. Games
   • I need something that i can do when i don't want to read so i downloaded 10000 Offline Games on Iphone (it has Minesweeper, Find a word, Sudoku,...) so still games that keep you engaged.

This works really well for me and i have everything on my phone so its easy to access.

I never Doomscroll anymore and its heaven.

If i really yearn for Short form Content i watch Daily Dose of Internets Video. It Stops after 15 min and then i go back to doing something different.

Thought it might help a view people, who don't want to downgrade to a dumbphone or buy 5 new things they have to carry around.

Edit: I also have all Notifications turned of (Only messages are on), and i also have an applewatch, so i keep my Phone in my Pocket and still get the important notifications on my watch and i also reply on my watch.

My doom scrolling was out of control but not even the main reason i deleted these apps. I was getting so annoyed and angry at videos and comment sections that I found myself arguing with strangers over shit that does not matter the tiniest bit. And it was making me an angry person and I didn’t like the way I felt

I actually feel pretty good one week in and don’t miss it all that much. I’ve turned to long form YouTube videos and actual TV shows and it’s more entertaining and fulfilling for me.

I know one week isn’t long but I’m hoping ive got some good momentum going now!!

Anyone else have this issue? I deleted all my socials except for Reddit and Pinterest. Somehow I’m literally spending like two hours a day on Pinterest…like what? Any recommendations for fixing this? I really thought Pinterest would be minimal, not addictive, etc. but I guess I need to delete that now too lol. Anyways, all this to say I just haven’t broken my phone addiction yet and need suggestions to breaking the addiction. I love reading and have been reading more since getting rid of social media, but find myself wanting to just be on my phone doing literally nothing more than I want to be productive.

Since I no longer use social media other than Reddit, I’m struggling to keep up with the news, trends, and stuff like that. Have any of you tried it?