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Digital Habit Engagement
Comparison of engagement types for alternative apps.
Primary Sources
Quit Doomscrolling With These 5 Effective Tech Gadgets and Apps
What can screen-time management apps and gadgets be used for? These apps are ideal for individuals who find themselves constantly on their phones and want a more restrictive way to prevent them from using their phones. They're also ideal for students or professionals who need to focus during business and school hours or for studying. Are there data security concerns with screen-time apps? Yes. When you download a third-party app and give it permission to access your screen-time information or grant it other types of access to your phone, it's important to consider how the company says it's handling your data.We asked former CNET cybersecurity and data privacy expert Bree Fowler what she thought of screen-time management apps as a whole. Her suggestion was to look at the app store description, which should tell you what the company is tracking or collecting.Some apps also say they use a local VPN, or virtual private network, but that may not ultimately mean much, according to Fowler. "They're taking your data, and there's nothing stopping them from sharing or selling it," she says of companies that use VPNs.To make sure you're comfortable with what you're potentially sharing, read each company's privacy policy and what's listed on the app store before downloading any app to your phone. For more security content and tips to stay protected online, you can peruse our best VPN services list to help keep your devices safe. Do screen-time management apps work? It depends on the app and how you're using it, but many of the apps on this list claim users have taken hours off their weekly screen time by using a screen-time management app. Like any tool used to help achieve a goal, its success will mostly depend on your intention while using it. Are there other ways I can reduce screen time besides third-party apps? Yes. In fact, there are built-in screen-time management tools for both Apple and Android users. For more ways to limit your screen time, read more on how to use your Apple or Android device settings.There are also more "natural" ways you can spend less time on your phone. Some people really benefit from enabling "do not disturb" mode during certain hours (or all the time) and deleting social media apps, so in order to access content, you have to log in from a browser. Others even physically leave their phones in another room so they're less tempted to grab them out of impulse.
Saskatoon-made app helps beat doomscrolling by walking
What was the first thing you did after you woke up this morning? Maybe during lunch? Or a dull moment at work? If you checked TikTok or Instagram reels, you’re not alone. However, if you’re looking to kick that habit, Saskatoon-based realtor and app developer Rhonda Lavoie has a solution for that. Named ‘Paced,’ Lavoie’s app works by having users select three apps that they want to use less, and then the app gives them 30 minutes of screen time. Once the allotted time is up, a pop-up appears, locking you out of the app for an hour and nudging you to take a break. “It’s kind of like a gentle touch on the shoulder, like, no, it’s time to snap out of it. Ultimately, it gets us out of that trance [of constant doomscrolling],” Lavoie said. “Then, once it’s in what’s called the cool down, the user has a choice.” As Lavoie noted, this isn’t just a standard screen-time assistant. She included a unique way to reduce the time you have before the app unlocks: steps. Image credit: Paced Paced users can reduce the hour lockout by three minutes for every 100 steps they walk. This could be especially useful on a nice Saturday, encouraging users to go for a walk, or if you have a workspace you can walk around in. But why steps? Lavoie says she got the idea to add an extra way to reduce time from her personal goals. “I thought, well, wouldn’t it be neat if you wanted to get in faster? Or if you wanted to get past that one hour, you could just go get your steps in—because at that point I was working hard to get my steps in,” Lavoie notes. “I was like, well, that would be extra motivation for me to do so, right?” Paced also has a pro mode, which unlocks additional capabilities. These include limits for additional apps, custom app groups, customizable timers, schedules for different rules (such as for work or home), statistics, and more. Development assistance from Google Gemini Lavoie is a realtor by trade and only went into development because of her idea for the Paced app. With that in mind, she took up the assistance of what she described as “every expert you could ever want at your fingertips,” in the form of Google’s Gemini. Lavoie explained that she used the AI assistant (which she already pays for) more as a guiding tool than as a shortcut to get the work done faster. “So, when I originally started doing this, I literally sat down with it and said, ‘Okay, this is my idea. I have no idea where to start. Tell me where to start,’ and then I went down the path, and it bec...
Things to Do on Your Phone When Bored (Instead of Scrolling)
Key Takeaways Digital habit loopas typically crystallize within 30 minutes of usage; replacing these reflexive actions with intentional tasks is required to break the doomscrolling cycle. Strategic application of app blockers and removal of 'always-on' notification triggers are prerequisite steps for reclaiming digital agency.
AI Takes Over Doomscrolling: Can Noscroll Fix Your Feed Addiction?
A new startup is taking aim at one of the internet's most stubborn habits: doomscrolling. Instead of asking users to quit social media, it is offering something more pragmatic, letting AI handle the scrolling while users only see what actually matters. What happened According to TechCrunch, a newly launched AI tool called Noscroll promises to "read the internet for you" and deliver only ...
