This IPhone App Can Really Help You Break Your Social Media Addiction
I just have a ton of advice on social media, most of which can be boiled down to ” put your phone down ” and ” stop chatting .” Which is funny because I’m incredibly bad at both of these things despite my best efforts (downloading a small app that grows trees while you’re not using your phone, setting a goal to read more books, having the same conversation with my therapist again and again). But I finally found a trick – a smart iPhone app – that seems to work. At the moment.
Ironically, I made this discovery while mindlessly scrolling through Twitter on my iPhone, which I do in every moment of inactivity, from taking the dog to the toilet to waiting for the elevator to putting the kettle on to boil. At times like this, I don’t really want anything Twitter has to offer; it’s just a mindless habit and that lack of purpose will never stop that quick touch from turning into 10 useless minutes. But this Shortcut Automation app, dubbed ” one second” by its innovator Frederik Riedel ( @f rederikRiedel ), aims to bring a bit of mindfulness to this mindless habit. To use it, you set up an automation that fires one second when you try to open any social network, game, or other app that consumes your day. It’s a simple, soothing animation that interrupts the process, prompting you to take a deep breath before you tap a second time to confirm if you really want to open this app or not.
You can see how it works in this tweet from Riedel:
I realize there are many other tools that encourage you to limit your social media usage, from Apple’s own focus modes to screen time alerts , but one second worked best for me because it turns me off at the right moment; it’s easier to make me think on purpose (“6 attempts to open Twitter in 24 hours”) than to scold me for stopping what I’m already doing (any pop-up saying my app usage for the day has expired). immediately ignored). You can lock one app for free and unlock additional features (use with multiple apps, more effective breathing exercises, time tracking, website blocking) with a premium subscription ($14.99/year).
Don’t get me wrong, I still have a pretty serious internet addiction. But I also managed to keep from staring at my phone while waiting for the dog to defecate five days in a row. It’s not nothing.