Tech Writer Cuts Phone Use for 5-6 Months, Reports Higher Happiness
Updated
Updated · 9to5Google · Jul 25
Tech Writer Cuts Phone Use for 5-6 Months, Reports Higher Happiness
3 articles · Updated · 9to5Google · Jul 25
Summary
After 5-6 months of cutting smartphone and social-media use, a tech writer said he feels happier, healthier and more present after realizing heavy screen time was hurting his mental well-being.
Twitter was the first target, but deleting it only shifted his compulsive scrolling to Threads, Instagram, Bluesky and later Reddit, leading him to conclude the habit was tied to the phone itself, not one app.
His workaround was to add friction: social apps stay accessible only on a PC, the phone is kept out of the bathroom and bed, and a Nest Hub plus a 6-inch e-reader replace late-night phone use.
Movies, TV and idle moments are now filled with cinema trips, reading or gaming on a Switch or Steam Deck, which he says has reduced mindless scrolling and improved focus.
The account frames the change as a personal detox rather than a universal prescription, but argues constant smartphone engagement is widely eroding attention and presence.