Four digital detox tricks to stop spending hours on social media – end ‘doom scrolling’ instantly

IT’S that time of year again; where promises of self-improvement flurry around, settle and melt away like snow.

If you want 2025 to be the year you finally stamp out “doomscrolling” – try these four tricks.

Blocking tools

Your iPhone or Android has tools to block apps and notifications for select periods of time.

On iPhones, you can schedule Downtime to occur at the same time every day, such as bedtime or when you wake up.

This is when only calls, messages, and apps you choose to allow are available.

You can select apps and contacts that can bypass scheduled Downtime in case of emergencies.

You can also set time limits for time-consuming social media apps, such as Facebook and Instagram.

Apple has instructions on how to enable each of these features on a help page here.

On Android, you can set app timers to limit how long you lose yourself to doomscrolling each day.

Similar to iPhones, Android owners can also schedule Do Not Disturb to switch on automatically at bedtime—to avoid scrolling late into the night.

Google has all the features, and a breakdown of instructions, on a help page here.

Add a widget

Adding a Screen Time widget to your home screen can force you to confront just how much time you’re wasting on doomscrolling.

It can be even more effective when placed next to the apps you find most addictive.

To add a home screen widget on iPhone, simply follow these steps:

1. Go to the Home Screen.
2. Find the Home Screen page where you want to add the widget, then touch and hold the Home Screen background until the apps begin to jiggle.
3. Tap Edit at the top of the screen, then tap Add Widget to open the widget gallery.
4. Scroll or search to find the screen time widget, tap it, then swipe through the size options.
   • The different sizes display different information.
5. When you see the size you want, tap Add Widget.
6. While the apps are still jiggling, move the widget where you want it on the screen, then tap Done.

On Android devices running Android 9 and later, follow these steps:

1. Touch and hold the home screen.
2. Tap Widgets.
3. Touch and hold the screen time widget. You’ll get images of your home screens.
4. Pull the widget to where you want it and lift your finger.

Do the math

Be it doomscrolling or microscrolling – it all adds up.

Just 15 minutes of microscrolling, four times a day, eats up seven hours of your life each week.

Many people can spend even more time scrolling, chasing short-lived dopamine hits from one app to the next.

Let’s say you’re averaging three hours per day across the apps you’re most addicted to—that is roughly 45 days out of your year.

And that can equate to years over the span of a lifetime.

Crunching the numbers can certainly offer a much-needed reality check.

So do the math – check out your screen time figures and see how much time that consumes each week, each month and each year.

Focus apps

If you need a blockade that is more convenient than switching your phone off or deleting the apps—try focus apps like Opal and Forest.

Opal

You may have seen adverts for Opal during your Facebook or Instagram doomscrolling already.

The app blocks you from using your ‘problem platforms’ – the apps you just can’t stop yourself from spending hours on.

Whenever you go to open one of these platforms, an Opal pop-up appears, stopping you from diving headfirst into a zombie scroll.

You can take breaks for up to 15minutes – though each break you have, the longer you have to wait for the next.

Users can unlock and collect opal crystals based on goals like focusing for 10 hours, focusing during work and inviting friends.

Adding friends on Opal means you can see who has clocked the most screen time – and there’s nothing quite like a bit of public accountability to whip you into shape.

There is a free version of Opal, which is great for beginners.

But for those wanting to be more ruthless with their app blocking, there is Opal Pro.

The Opal Pro subscription is quite pricey, and will set you back £89.99/ $99.99 per year—the equivalent to £7.49/ $8.29 a month.

Forest: Focus for Productivity

Forest encourages users to spend less time on their smartphone altogether – not just on addictive apps.

Users can select an amount of time they want to be offline—be it 10 minutes or two hours.

Over that timespan, a tree of your choosing will grow – helping you to visualise your progress.

There is even a calming selection of sounds that can play in the background, like rain, a Parisian cafe, a beach, or a forest at nighttime.

You can cancel the downtime at any time if there’s a task you need to complete or a message you need to reply to.

But if you do, the tree will die.

Users can buy different trees and sounds with the coins you earn by reforesting daily tiles.

There are no subscriptions involved either – I bought the app for a one-time fee of £3.99 in 2016 and have used it ever since.