The Secret to Digital Detox? Make Your Phone Boring

Dr Mark van Rijmenam, CSP -

Your phone isn’t just stealing your time, it’s hacking your brain. And no, a weekly “Screen Time” report won’t fix it. If you really want to use your phone less, there’s only one solution: make it too dull to bother with.

Tech giants claim to care about “digital wellness,” but their half-hearted tools do little to stop compulsive phone use. The real fix? Strip away the dopamine triggers: turn your screen grayscale, remove non-essential apps, and silence all but human notifications.

Research suggests screen time alone isn’t the problem—it’s how we use it:

  • Screen time reports lack actionable insights and real interventions.
  • Third-party apps like Forest and One Sec offer better self-control tools.
  • The most effective fix? Make your home screen boring and your phone inconvenient.

If attention is the new currency, shouldn’t we be spending it more wisely? How do we redesign our digital habits before they redesign us?

Read the full article on Vox.

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