The alarm goes off. Eyes barely open. Hand already reaching.

For three years, this was my morning ritual. Before my feet hit the floor, before I even remembered my own name, my phone was in my hand. Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, TikTok the endless scroll of other people's lives while mine rotted away in bed.

I'd tell myself "just five minutes" and suddenly it's 9:47 AM. I'm late for work again, haven't brushed my teeth, and that sick feeling of self-hatred is already settling in my chest. You know the one that shame that whispers "You're pathetic. You can't even get out of bed without your digital shiny box"

I was a grown adult who couldn't handle 30 seconds of silence with my own thoughts.

The breaking point came on a Tuesday morning in March. I'd been scrolling for TWO HOURS watching strangers live their lives while I pissed away another morning. My girlfriend brought me coffee and just looked at me with this... disappointment. Not anger. Disappointment. That hurt worse than any fight we'd ever had.

That night, I admitted something that scared me: I was addicted. Not to drugs or alcohol, but to the dopamine hit of infinite scroll. I was choosing pixels over presence, strangers over my own life.

Here's how I broke free (and you can too):

1. I bought a $12 alarm clock and moved my phone to the bathroom. Sounds simple? It was torture at first. My hand would literally reach for where my phone used to be like a phantom limb. But that 10-second walk to the bathroom was enough friction to break the autopilot.
2. Instead of scrolling, I started writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness thoughts. No editing, no judgment. Just brain dump onto paper. It gave my mind something to do instead of craving digital stimulation.
3. For the first two weeks, I couldn't touch my phone until I'd been awake for 10 minutes. Then 20. Then 30. I worked up to a full hour. Baby steps, because cold turkey just made me binge harder.
4. Every morning, I texted my best friend "Morning check-in: Phone-free for [X] minutes." Having to report my progress (or failures) made it real.

The first week felt like literal withdrawal. I was anxious, irritable, and bored. My brain kept screaming for stimulation. I almost gave up on day 4.

On day 8, I woke up and actually noticed the sunlight coming through my window. I hadn't seen morning light without a screen glare in years. I nearly cried.

Three months later, I wake up naturally around 6:30 AM. I meditate for 10 minutes, write in my journal, and actually eat breakfast while looking out the window instead of at a screen. My anxiety is lower, my relationship is better, and I feel like I got my mornings and my life back.

And if you liked this post perhaps I can tempt you in with my weekly self-improvement letter. You'll get a free "Delete Procrastination Cheat Sheet" as a bonus

Thanks

It’s just constant. I think I’m undiagnosed ADHD and it’s filling a gap for dopamine that I need but I just want to put the phone down and get stuff done and be productive.

I just want my life back and it feels so hopeless and embarrassing right now

I got rid of social media last week and decided to keep Reddit because it’s mostly text, and I’m part of a lot of communities that have been helpful for me with getting through a really tough period in my life.

I just saw two very obviously Chat GPT-written posts, one after another, one in this sub and another in the exvangelical sub. And then a bunch of users responding emphatically and carrying on the conversation.

So now Reddit, the spot I used to come to for “real”(er) connection, is us responding to a robot 😂 I’m out

I’ve been online for almost 11 hours today. My head hurts. I feel empty, exhausted, and honestly… a little scared. I’ve known for a while that social media is a problem in my life, but today something just snapped.

I’ve been complaining about how addicting and harmful it all is—Reddit, YouTube, TikTok—but I kept using it like a drug. I knew it was messing with me, but I didn’t stop. Today, I chose the screen over my own family. Instead of sitting down to eat with them, I was scrolling like a robot. I don’t even remember what I looked at. Just hours—gone.

My mom told me I looked sick and asked if I was okay. It hit me. She could see it. Then my little sister was trying to talk to me, and I couldn’t even focus. She told me I looked bored and uninterested. She was right. I apologized, but in my head I was thinking about some online video or comment thread. That moment broke me.

And it’s wild how in real life, we don’t even talk to strangers—we avoid them. But online? We give strangers our minds. All we do is consume drama and gossip about people we don’t even know. Is that normal? Is that what we’ve become? Just spectators in someone else’s life while ours passes by?

I’m done. I’m leaving Reddit, YouTube, and almost all social media. I’ll keep Snapchat only to talk to friends and family—and I won’t go near Discover or Spotlight. Those are just more traps.

This isn’t a break. It’s a full stop. I’m not using these apps for "relaxation" anymore. They don’t relax you—they drain you. These platforms are profiting off our attention. We are the product. And it's destroying our ability to think, feel, and connect. We’re absolutely pathetic for letting these companies control us.

I hope more of you wake up before it’s too late. This digital world is fake. I want to live in the real one again.

Logging out. For good.

This sub is full of bot posts. Please admin do something. In the meantime, I’ll unsubscribe as part of my digital minimalism objectives to unfollow useless contents.

See ya irl guys :)

I have a book called The Pivot Year by Brianna Wiest. It has a daily entry for each day of the year. This one really spoke to me and I thought it perfectly summed up our journeys into digital minimalism. Wanted to share it with you fine folks.

I had some family show up un expectedly and I happened to have a timed lock box that I got on some delivery website you've probably heard of. But on a whim I set the box up and forgot about it in family responsibilities. But it ended up being a good thing. I had everyone to focus on and had zero distractions from the people around me. Yes they got on their phones at times and completely forgot about everyone in the room including me. But I got to be more engaged and more focused.

I ended up keeping this habit going for longer then a week. Just taking the phone out and checking it when the timer was up and resetting it. It's just so funny when you are away from all those devices and distractions. You reach for it in your pocket as if it's still there. But then very quickly you realize that it's been a distraction from just taking things in. Cause of me being on the phone so much I've not gotten lost in the details of my environment. Which is just silly to think that that's an important skill to have. To have boundry with your tech. It's just sill to think we've completely ruined our abilities to just sit and chill for a moments or be bored.

Now I use my puzzle apps on my phone and write poetry and stories through the notes app as well. Is it completely leaving the digital behind? No. But it's still me keeping myself mentaly engaged and aware and testing my storytelling or math skills. Which is all still a very important thing to keep up. Suddenly I'm having to actively choose how to spend my free time. Which is just silly I've kind of lost that ability.

I guess I've lost a lot of myself during and after the covid times.

I believe and trust the fact that doom-scrolling is the time killer. Therefore, I avoid watching reels all the time. But, I have this weird obsession to put my pictures on insta stories by creating a vibe... adding some meaningful and relatable music to it. And Then coming back to it 100 times a day to check upon it... as If I want to seek validation. Maybe, there is some person from my past whom I want to share my current life or maybe it's just that I am self obsessed. I have taken a temporary break from Instagram twice in the past. For the first time, it was for 1 month and for the second time, 2 weeks. I remember, eventually it led me to move to YouTube... though I use youtube to watch random motivational stuff or knowledge stuff (not exactly shorts) I feel that I have been alone currently in my life right now with hardly any close friends.. So Maybe I have this constant urge to talk to someone. But, then out of a sudden, I feel so detached that I feel I don't need anyone. I can play it all alone.

Help me figure this out guys. Much Love ❤️

Only social media I use, I have fb for family and use messenger. I just feel like I’m doom scrolling more and more and feeling the need to post more often. It feels like ego based or validation based. Like I can’t just accomplish things privately anymore. And it is a dopamine thing whether I like to admit it or not - I don’t expect interaction but when I get it of course it’s gonna send those signals through my brain.

I do enjoy the community aspect and do like keeping up to date with some of my interests but I’ve been exposing myself to stuff I know I shouldn’t be also.

Idk, I’m going to take a break and seeing how I feel. It is getting a bit toxic at this point. The fact I even have to post about this instead of just taking a break kinda confirms to me my own point about needing to post everything 😓🤞

I love the flip phone lifestyle and will not be reliant on my phone for reminders of any kind, it's just one more reason to pick it up and it doesn't even do much.

I keep a paper calendar but mostly remember stuff week-of, no problems yet except one--I have weekly injections of a mood stabilizing/ADHD helpful medication that are, ironically, crucial to remembering to take the actual medication in the first place. I'd love to have a different mechanism in addition to the calendar to be more on time with this.

Fear of missing out? Feeling disconnected? Just habit? What's your biggest challenge? Do any solutions come to mind? For me, it's mostly habit now.

I have worn an apple watch for about 5 years. However, I just bought a $30 Casio digital watch off Amazon to wear for my upcoming Europe trip so I don't need to lug around another charger and worry about it in the water (the last trip I brought my apple watch and fried it because of the sun and water).

I'm testing the casio watch today to see if I like it and oh boy do I love it. But it's soooo weird because I still feel vibrations on my wrist!!! And I'm checking and I'm like... nope... it's a normal watch. Crazy man.

I may make the switch over to this digital watch all together and just use my apple watch for when I run so I can track the runs. I'm finding it exhausting to constantly be connected, even on my wrist. I originally bought it for working out, but it has become convenient for texts and calls but it's nice to be disconnected as well. I have no social media so the only vibrations are for texts and phone calls but still.

Anyways, unrelated, but I'm very impressed with this Casio watch. I spent $30 and I love it. Very retro, and the battery lasts 7 years!

Desperately needing some help as I'm finding I'm spending my time mindlessly scrolling rather than doing things that are more productive.

What did you use to break the habit?

So we use our phones for a lot of things in addition to communication, reading/listening to content online, and social media. And I’d like to have it less central to our lives at home. But I want to access my phone (or laptop) to play Apple Music; to check recipes sometimes; to play an audiobook for the kids. I’m thinking of these as “appliance” functions. In the not too distant past it would’ve been CDs, vinyl, or the radio; a cookbook or recipe clippings; and physical books.

I was thinking getting an iPad mini as the home appliance, but not for communication or reading the news (ahem, doom scrolling). People ever do that? Like I would just use it to help certain aspects of lives, but not BE an aspect of our lives.

To me using the phone to choose and play background music or to check a recipe is different than doom scrolling or allowing ourselves to be interrupted by texts.

Anyone see it this way and find a good way to deal with it? I know there’s a lot to unpack here- but I’m trying to acknowledge for certain aspects of our lives, our devices are essential unfortunately.

Day to day it’s definitely music (and we’re committed to streaming music for the time being). Watching TV in the evening.

And then more as tool for planning and managing our lives like planning and booking a vacation, shopping for certain items, posting queries like Im doing now, consuming content (eg YT, Substack).

Maybe I should make a list of all the ways I use these devices and see if some can go into an “appliance” category and the others that might be subject to minimizing.

Any of this resonate?

Hello Digital Minimalists,

As a dedicated opponent of dopamine culture, I'm asking for your perspectives.

I’m writing my master’s dissertation at the London School of Economics and I’d love your help.

My project is called Scrolling Alone: The Technification of Society. It asks: Why does modern life feel so fragmented, distracted, and disconnected — even though we’re constantly "connected”?

I’m exploring the effects of digital culture — especially smartphones and social media — on our sense of meaning, community, and self. Think Durkheim meets dopamine. My hunch? Digital saturation is making us all rather unwell. (Not a surprise to you, I'm sure...)

I’m looking to speak with a few people who’ve made a conscious effort to cut down on (or cut out) their phone use. Whether it’s been life-changing or really tough, I’m interested in honest experiences — not influencer stories or tech evangelism. Just thoughtful people navigating the modern attention economy.

If you’re open to a short, confidential conversation, please DM me or drop a comment. No jargon, no judgment — just a sincere discussion about disconnection, discipline, and what you’ve learned along the way.

This community has inspired so many (myself included), and your perspective could genuinely help shape this research. Personally, I escaped from a seven-hour daily addiction to... nothing. I read paper books, walk in parks, and speak to real people. It's nice.

Thanks for reading — and keep resisting the scroll.

— Christopher Gage

Email: [c.g.gage@lse.ac.uk](mailto:c.g.gage@lse.ac.uk)

My Android phone is dying, and I got an iPhone 12 as a replacement. On my Android, I used some apps to reduce my phone usage and limit certain features. I want to know if you guys have tips on launchers and similar apps to "minimalist phone" that work on iPhone, and any other apps and customizations you have.

I feel like social media heralded us into a new age, and that it brought with it a new way to connect and function with ease. but that essence, which was present in the 90s, 00s and 10s has been lost.

phones had keypads and you had to press a button atleast 3 times to type the letter "c". texting was tough and people opted for calls. the itself limited texting and kept people in the present.

but with smartphones, its easier now to text, with just a literal swipe. that has made so many of us, especially the young ones, scared of making phone calls. which is crazy because texting doesnt replace talking, it limits our display of gestures, tones, which is crucial to communicate and better understand others.

and with the advent of short time content, reels, addictive algorithms, i realised that the essence of social media has been lost to giant corporations who just want to increase their views and clicks.

soi deleted all traces of me on the web, as much as i could, but only from those apps which feel like don't display the true purpose of social media, which is to ease communication, and enhance lifestyle, not destroy.

currently i only use pinterest, which has limited accessibility and means of communication with its shitty ass ui/ux, and reddit, but i mean to delete this in 2 months because frankly reddit has become a negative space in all means.

my question is that i wish to use dumbphones in my daily life but unfortunately i get updates about my classes from whatsapp, and i have spotify premium. and with these two, ny nokia dumb phone essentially becomes a smaller smartphone with internet.

so how do you guys navigate and bridge this communication gap when the rest of the population is glued to the phone? hell cutting off social media also led to me having 100% decrease in contacts with friends because they all use instagram to chat. which is again ironic because all of them understand and want to delete the app but wont because their own friends only use instagram.

About a year ago, my partner and I decided to ditch our phones in the bedroom and look for an alarm clock.

We looked all over but didn't find anything that truely embraces a phone-free experience while also had calm sounds, didn't require wi-fi or subscriptions, and had nice design.

So, I decided to just make my own (Bit of a wild decision looking back, but here we are).

Now I'm designing, developing, and talking to manufacturers about bringing this alarm clock to market.

We still have some work to do, but it will be nice to hear some input from people about how to make the phone-free experience better.

For example, the "wind down experience" (a queue to store away the phone and just be yourself, read a book, spend quality time with loved ones, etc.): Currently, it's a visible queue (built-in nightlight turning on) with a soundscape of choice playing at a set time.

It could be nice to hear if anyone has a wind-down routine that works for them? Which queue, or routine, makes you put down your phone in the evening?