This App Has Really Helped Curb My Doom Scrolling Habit
I love TikTok. From viral dances and human fairies frolicking through meadows to deep dives into reality TV and ScienceTok, it is my endless source of entertainment and distraction. But it’s also a toxic friend who keeps me up past midnight, searching for that elusive last dose of dopamine that never comes. It’s clear that I need boundaries, but setting them is easier said than done. It’s too easy to set a limit on your iPhone and then endlessly ask for another 15 minutes.
Clint Jarvis, co-founder and CEO of the screen time app Roots ( available only on iOS), said he has struggled with phone addiction since he got his first flip phone in high school.
“Creating an app in the screen time space was the perfect combination of passion and experience for me,” Jarvis said.
Application features
Roots is designed to gently guide you to offline activities while maintaining clear boundaries with your app’s time limits.
“Other screen time apps and built-in features are too easy to ignore or put aside. Roots creates an extra layer of friction that helps you stay accountable to yourself and your goals,” Jarvis said. Here are some of the key features:
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Set daily screen time limits. You can set specific limits for different apps, preventing endless scrolling.
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Schedule periods of downtime or “focus.” Want to focus on work without distractions? Roots allows you to schedule screen-free periods.
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Set up restrictions. This is not a one-size-fits-all option; you can block social media during work hours or limit news apps before bed.
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Reports and analytics. Roots provides usage patterns to help you see where most of your screen time is being spent. You’ll see a personal balance score, such as your sleep score while using your phone.
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Monk mode. A special feature of Roots is “Monk Mode,” which locks apps and is unskippable—no hidden loopholes or overrides.
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Scroll replacements. When an app is locked, Roots will offer “swipe replacements”—customized alternative actions you can perform offline.
Getting started with roots
Once you set up the app, you’ll assess your daily screen time and choose activities you’d rather be doing if you weren’t caught in the scrolling vortex, like reading or walking. Then you select the app or apps that distract you the most and for which you want to set a limit. I, of course, chose TikTok and set myself a daily limit of 30 minutes.
When Roots interrupted me on the first day, I thought, “Oh, I’ll just say it doesn’t matter and give me my TikTok back.” I thought, “Where’s the override?” By now you should know that there is none.
Early the next morning, I was scrolling through my TikTok and wondering what else would keep me entertained. After a week, I realized that sticking to my limits bought me a few “cheat” days (frankly, I could do without the diet culture talk) in case I ever felt like, “Oh my God, I need TikTok all day.” . At this point it’s been 20 days and I haven’t used any of my cheats.
Instead, my TikTok scrolling goes like this: Before I even open the app, I ask myself if now is the best time to use my precious limited minutes. Sometimes this is not the case. When I decide to scroll, I rate each video to decide if it’s worth spending a few minutes on. When the Roots screen appears telling me my scroll is complete, I ask myself, “Was this something I really couldn’t put down? Will I be interested enough to release this video tomorrow?” So far the answer is always no.
One of the downsides of the app is that I don’t like it when it judges and tells me how often I pick up my phone (every 13 minutes today) or how much time I spend on my phone (12 percent of my waking life). My professional solution: I don’t often open the app to look at these stats. It simply works in the background to monitor and disable the banned app.
I like that Roots gives you the option to ignore certain apps in your daily use. I spend hours listening to podcasts or music apps while driving and working. I don’t need the ones that count toward my screen time balance, so I deactivated them.
Bottom line
You can use Roots for free and get two app restrictions. To access Monk Mode, cheat day rewards, and more information, you can try Roots Plus for $9.99 per month or $59.99 per year.
I had premium access to this trial, but I think the free mode would have been enough – I wanted to limit it to just one app and never used cheat days. For a more complex digital detox, Roots Plus is probably a better option. Compare the subscription investment to the time you’ll recover for offline activities.
Another bonus of a paid subscription: you get a “Scroll Stopper,” which is like a silicone bracelet that you can put on your phone.
“The idea for Scroll Stopper came from a friend who shared an article with me about fighting phone addiction. One tip suggested using a rubber band around the phone as a physical speed bump to slow down scrolling. I tried it and was surprised how effective it was along with app blocking using Roots,” Jarvis said. “Not only does the scroll limiter remind me to think twice before I even pick up my phone, but it also makes scrolling through Instagram quite annoying. My favorite way to use the Scroll Stopper is to wear it as a bracelet throughout the day, and when I run out of apps or have phone downtime, I take the bracelet off and put it on my phone.”
You can try this trick with a rubber band or hair tie. I put some scroll limiters on my phone to make scrolling as annoying as possible. This is especially helpful before bed: midnight scrolling is a weakness of mine.
Roots solved my problem, and the free version is worth trying if you have a digital addiction or two that’s increasing your screen time. If you’re serious about converting screen time into offline time, the premium subscription’s sophisticated features should save you hours and hours.