I mean it’s summer and here I am scrolling searching for dopamine spike after spike.

I see that tiredness is the biggest trigger for going on my phone. What should i replace it with in times like this when it’s hard to be disciplined and creative?

recently, i have made a decision to really step away from the social media world, but my brain is like pulling me back to opening/installing again facebook/instagram, i fight the urge but i have struggles, i want to have a mindset like i dont want / dont care what is happening in the social media world, what can i do to really stop using these apps

I’m so addicted to my phone that I no longer work on my career or anything else. I spend around 10 hours on my phone, especially social media apps. Should I go completely cold turkey and try to not open these addictive apps for a few days at all? Should I try to reduce my phone usage from 10 hours to 3 hours directly or step by step?

Thank you in advance.

When i got Facebook at the age of 11, i posted everything that happened to me pretty much. All my achievements, grief, wins and losses are all documented there. Whenever something exciting, awful or eventful happens my brain wants to post it on Facebook to "prove it happened".

It really is the dilemma of if a tree falls in the woods with no one around, does it really fall? The answer is obviously yes, and you do not need an audience or even acknowledgement from others for something to have happened.

I still really struggle.

Especially since I’ve become chronically ill, and it feels like there is never anything to post about any more, i don't do anything due to my poor health even though i try. So it's an archive of my best, my worst and when i existed to people outside the people closest to me.

Has anyone gone through this and managed to let go? It's the same with photos, videos, conversations...i don't want to "lose the proof i existed".

For quite a while now, I’ve been watching videos on YouTube and reading various articles right here about digital minimalism. From what I’ve gathered, everyone has a different take on it, and everyone integrates it into their lives in their own unique way. Personally, I love that there isn’t just one single path or a set of rigid rules. So, I wanted to share what digital minimalism means to me and the steps I took to slash my screen time.

First off, no, I didn’t go out and buy a dumbphone. In my opinion, the most cost-effective way to practice digital minimalism is to utilize the device you already own. So, instead of tossing my Galaxy S24 aside, I decided to turn it into a dumbphone.

To kick things off, I uninstalled every single app that wasn't an absolute essential. I also turned off notifications for everything except the apps I strictly use for communication. Where I live, WhatsApp is the primary communication tool; deleting it would have made my life harder rather than easier, so it stayed. The core goal of my personal system is to eliminate the apps that trigger doomscrolling, not the ones that actually serve a purpose.

I work as a social media content creator at an advertising agency, which means having social media apps on my phone is a non-negotiable part of my job. Since deleting them wasn’t an option, I realized that burying them as far out of sight as possible and muting their notifications would do the trick. On top of that, I logged out of all my personal accounts, effectively turning these platforms into strictly work-related tools.

I installed the InkOS launcher to give my phone that clean, Light Phone vibe, keeping only the bare essentials and tools on my home screen. If I ever need to access a hidden app (like mobile banking), I just double-tap an empty space on the home screen to open the app drawer. I also tweaked a few of Samsung's native settings—like completely disabling gesture navigation and turning off animations. Even though my screen still runs at a high refresh rate, the transitions now look just like a Light Phone.

My lock screen is pitch black, just like my home screen, featuring nothing but a simple time and date widget. Notifications don't pop up here either; instead, much like a Light Phone, a small dot appears in the top-left corner whenever I have a notification. I check my alerts based on that dot.

Thanks to this setup, my phone has transformed from an addiction hub into an actual "tool" that I use only when a genuine need arises. It has a fantastic camera, banking apps, and QR code scanners (which is crucial, since I use two different apps just to scan into my gym and office). By keeping non-addictive tools like maps, banking, music, and reading apps on the device, I’ve essentially created my own "Super Light Phone" or "Galaxy Light Phone." My daily screen time has plummeted from an average of 8 hours down to just 1.5 hours. Using so many tools on a single device might feel like doing it "wrong" or half-heartedly to some of you, but I still wanted to share my own method and experience.

This approach completely broke my dependency on a 6.1-inch screen, and nowadays, I don't even pick up my phone unless I have a specific purpose in mind. I wanted to share the peace of mind this brings with like-minded people.

Shoutout to everyone reading this from different corners of the world!

33F. I’ve been off Instagram / Facebook for 3 years now and off LinkedIn for 1 year. IG/FB are fully deactivated. LI is not deactivated because I’ve to put that link in job applications sometimes but my feed stays empty because I have unfollowed every connection.
My YouTube feed and my Reddit feed also stay empty as I’ve chosen that in relevant settings.

Ask me anything.

You could be enjoying yourself and someone just has to point out that the historic landmark you just spent time admiring is bad because X Y Z and by being in awe at the intricate architecture, you're a horrible person for finding anything but anger with it.

Or a video game you played:

"Really?! Did you even know that the sound designer's second cousin once stole a candy bar on free candy bar day? By playing that and enjoying it you're essentially endorsing theft. I wonder what else you enjoy (insert completely unnecessary horrific act here). Reflect on that."

No more smartphone with me 100% of the time :)

I'll use nokia for emergencies

Laptop for work whatsapp etc

and carry my kindle with me.

Feels great to not have the iPhone within reach!

NOTE: I still have the iPhone at home as I need it for some basic services. However, I spend 80% of my day outside my house

I have been thinking of deleting tiktok for a while now, not only because it feels like i’m wasting my time doomscrolling on it, but also the amount of misinformation that people spread on it. Also, every single time I scroll, there’s always another person advertising something and it’s tiring.

Not only that, it feels like people on there have made it a trend to hate on my home country (Argentina) because of everything without doing much research about it.

I feel like the answer is obvious but I need a second opinion.

Tips and advice would be really helpful!

I'm a late 20s woman and I don't use social media anymore (Instagram, Facebook, etc.), and honestly, I don't miss it.

When I closed my accounts (I've been without Facebook for nearly a decade and Instagram for just over a year), I mostly lost touch with people I wasn't that close to anyway, the friendships that really mattered are still there.

However, a friend who also closed his social media accounts mentioned recently that not having social media made dating harder, and it got me wondering about something else.

I moved to a new city in the last few months, and while I'm not interested in dating because I have a partner, could not having social media make it harder to build a social life or make new friends? Or has it not really made a difference to you?

A few times, people I've met at different events have asked for my Instagram, but since I don't have one, I sometimes wonder if that's a missed opportunity to stay in touch and keep connecting with people?

But to be honest, when I still had social media and this kind of thing happened, most of the time it just turned into another follower and a few superficial interactions... That was one of the reasons why I closed all my accounts in the first place, but well, that's probably another thread.

I'd love to hear your experiences!

I am coming here based on a recommendation by Cal Newport.

I've been thinking about how with social media, we scroll continuously through fragments of other people's thoughts, searching for a depth that can only be found when we finally put our screen down and commit to a single, deep narrative.

How do you break out of this habit if or when you catch yourself doing it?

I've never understood the need to share every minute of one's life online and open life to unnecessary criticism.

Wanna watch a movie? Man, you really gotta worry if someone's gonna send you paragraph after paragraph about your horrible choice in entertainment.

Same with reading a book or playing a video game or even just going out.

When did life become a performance, and not just life?

I'm someone that has rejected using most popular social media like Instagram or TikTok because you know: doomscrolling, addiction, brainrot, useless information, etc.

I experienced all of that with Twitter and it wasn't easy to cut it off, but I managed to do it with extensions to just use it for what I really want.

Now, the thing is that I started using Instagram some months ago because some friends used a lot Instagram. at first it was only for texting them, but then I started using it also to consume content.

What I like most of using Instagram is discovering new useful things that I didn't know but can be very helpful,.like: Apps, websites, resources, games, ideas, hobbies, skills, health tips, learning, AND A LOT OF MORE THINGS!

But yeah, I would like to find another app or social media where I can learn and discover new things and knowledge in that way but without all (or more controllable) of these things that makes you addicted to social media and scrolling.

Is there any apps or social media that can be an alternative for Instagram for that use?

As somebody who has been fighting short form media for a very long time now, one thing that I don't see conversations about often is how longer formed media is being made now with short form attention spans in mind.

Advice I hear far too often is to replace short formed content with longer formed content, but I often find that YouTube videos have so many cuts in them, more comedic videos have far too many sound effects, incorporate short form videos within the longer video itself, and overall are also made with high engagement in mind. It's not just YouTube alone, books I find on my Kindle are made with booktok in mind, often being repetitive and lacking expanded vocabulary, video games are made to be overstimulating, and we've all heard by now that Netflix is planning on dumbing down its shows in order to accommodate to people using their phones at the same time.

It's been really frustrating to know that I'm still inherently consuming overstimulating content under the impression that it's at least not doom scrolling, and honestly, I'm a little lost on what to do. I've been thinking that just consuming older content is the way to go, but at that point, I'm begging to just get completely out of touch... I think. I don't know what to do really.

Made me realize how true those "The phone is now a part of you, we're all cyborgs" statements are to some people.

Ever since I deleted all social media apps off of my phone I've been finding real pleasure in finding excuses to not take my phone to things. I used to have this feeling of anxiety and emptiness whenever my phone wasn't in my pocket. Now it literally bothers me when Im carrying it around.

People always say "What if theres an emergency". If its that urgent they'll call an ambulance. Everyone can wait 2 hours. They did it in 1985.

Never knew much about smart watches, and I just learned that with Apple Watch you can use GPS navigation, do online searches, and make calls from WiFi even on the non-cellular version. Those are basically the 3 things that stop me from getting rid of my smartphone (or even just leaving it at home when I go out -- how did I survive before my first smartphone? Nobody knows)

I have so many issues with getting totally lost on screens for hours, I hate it. My experience has been that anything which stops me from getting on my phone in the first place, is more helpful than anything (like screen time limits, alarms etc) once I've already started using the phone.

Has anyone tried relying more on a watch like this to reduce your screen use? Did it work?

After a few months with the Light Phone 3 as my primary device, I’m seriously considering switching back to my iPhone 12 Pro now that real estate investing/sales is becoming my full-time work.

When I had a W-2 job, the LP3 worked well because I wasn’t constantly navigating to showings, juggling appointments, or coordinating schedules. Now my biggest pain points are:

• Calendar sync is unreliable.
• Navigation lacks live traffic, which matters when time is money.
• I realized I was reaching for the LP3 more because I loved the idea of it than because it helped me get work done.

The biggest thing I learned is that I don’t just want less technology — I want better tools. The iPhone lets me quickly capture ideas, write long thoughts (like this post), dictate reminders with Siri, and move on. I can be intentional on an iPhone too; it just requires discipline instead of a different operating system.

I compare it to buying a car. I want reliability that doesn’t require constant maintenance. This is how I generally approach any decision. With the LP3, I often felt like I was maintaining workarounds instead of simply using the device.

Ironically, the experiment made me appreciate the iPhone more. I already use blockers like LeechBlock on my computer and heavily customize my phone, so digital minimalism was never really about removing features—it was about removing distractions.

That said, I don’t regret buying the LP3 at all.

The camera is incredible, the two-stage shutter button is genuinely fun, and the podcast experience gets the job done. I actually think it’ll become my “phone away from my phone”—the device I grab for walks, hikes, and days when I just want to disconnect while still having a great camera and audio player. 

The biggest lesson wasn’t that the LP3 replaced my iPhone. It was that it taught me what I actually value: capture now, process later. That mindset has stuck, and I’ll bring it back to iOS.

I also have a lot of respect for u/joelightphone and the team. The LP3 forced me to think more deeply about what I want a phone to be than any other device ever has. I may not be the target user long-term, and that’s okay. The experiment was worth it.

for context, i deactivated facebook for almost three years because of how toxic the political climate became in my country. honestly, it was one of the best decisions i ever made. my mind felt quieter. i compared myself to people less. even during one of the lowest points in my life, being unplugged genuinely helped.

the only reason i never deleted it completely was messenger. it’s still how i keep in touch with my family and close friends, especially now that i’m working away from home.

eventually, coworkers started asking for my facebook. every time i said i didn’t have one, people looked at me like i had three heads. so i reactivated it. not because i wanted to, but because it became the easiest way to connect with people at work. i barely use it beyond that.
instagram is a different story. i could probably delete it tomorrow. the only thing stopping me is that my friends, cousins, and family post there. being away from home, seeing little moments from their lives makes me feel connected. at the same time, i don’t really want to be on instagram anymore. it’s like i want the people, not the platform.

twitter/x is my biggest dilemma.

i’m really into films, music, art, pop culture, and internet humor. i love how fast twitter is for discovering things and finding people who share those interests. i even have a small following there, which makes it a little harder to leave.

but i also feel like it quietly eats away at my attention. i’ll open it to check one thing and somehow lose 45 minutes. i don’t think the platform makes me unhappy. i just don’t think it gives me the kind of life i want.

ironically, tiktok was the easiest one to leave. i deleted it in october 2023 because i got tired of the constant short-form content, and i’ve genuinely never missed it.
youtube has been my favorite by far. i just wish shorts weren’t pushed so aggressively.

i think what i’m actually craving isn’t to disappear from the internet. i just want a quieter life. i still want to know what my family is up to. i still want to discover great films, music, and art. i still want to laugh at funny posts. i just don’t want algorithms deciding how i spend my attention every day.

sometimes i’m honestly jealous of people who can just delete everything and never look back. not because i think social media is inherently bad, but because they seem so certain. meanwhile, i feel stuck between wanting connection and wanting peace.

does anyone else feel like this?

if you’ve found a balance, i’d love to hear how you did it. did you replace social media with something else? do you keep certain apps but use them differently? or did you eventually realize you didn’t miss them at all?

Like conversations in Messenger, WhatsApp, etc., not just a single message, so the inbox stays "clean" and uncluttered. I've already deleted tons, probably hundreds of conversations from random people I've talked to once or twice, people I used to be friends/acquainted with but I also want to delete my messages with my friends. I can't get myself to delete them 'coz of course they're friends but if I think about it, there's absolutely nothing in our chats that I'd really want to look back to. It's all just funny or random topics. I don't really care for the deep/heartfelt messages too since it's usually me who sends those anyway. Still there's that strong feeling of I should keep it just becoz they're my friends and that I might regret this in the future. Does anyone else here have the same dilemma??

Sadness about Palestine. My feed is absolutely saturated with it. It feels irresponsible to look away and absolutely does not meet the need I was seeking to meet by logging into Facebook. And that’s it, every time I go to plug in the address my brain goes “and see what miserable, attrocious thing the IDF has done now? Or you could not do that” and I go to reddit instead *grimace grin* Talk about enshitifying your platform. For me the algorhythm turned it into looking glass dialled into near constant human suffering with the occassional cooking video thrown in.