Five products to help your detox from social media doomscrolling

From physical blockers to minimalist phones, here’s five of the best tools helping social media users reclaim their time – and break the horrifically addictive scroll cycle

By Ali Catterall

“If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product,” as tech philosopher – and one of Silicon Valley’s earliest, most clear-eyed critics – Jaron Lanier has warned.

Lanier’s long argued that social platforms are engineered to keep users addicted, with those dopamine-spiking ‘likes’ functioning as the digital equivalent of a fruit machine payout, keeping us hooked in cycles of reward and anticipation, like desperate lab rats.

Before long, time’s melted away like a Picasso watch… all the day’s plans and schedules, fallen by the wayside. Your focus has gone, your confidence has taken a knock – and before long you’re either raging at bots called ‘Billy Patriot 2000’ or doomscrolling before bed, capsizing a good night’s sleep – before reaching for the phone, like a bleary robot, the second you wake up. Anxiety and depression follow. Brilliant, eh? All thanks to creepy, soulless billionaires (and increasingly penitent software specialists), who’ve stealthily rewired our brains to make a buck. But you knew all this.

And yet, for those of us working in the media or communications, so much of our lives revolves around that damn brick in our pocket. In many cases, we quite literally couldn’t do our jobs without it.

But fear not. Help is on the way. A new wave of “anti-tech tech” is stepping heroically up to the plate, designed to give us some small measure of control over our lives again.

Brick

Brick is a small, palm-sized device that helps curb impulsive phone use by physically locking selected apps on your smartphone. Users choose which apps they want to restrict, then simply tap their phone against Brick to activate or deactivate them. And that simple, deliberate, physical action is a key part of the appeal: it adds real friction, making it harder to give in to late-night scrolling. Compact, slightly quirky, and surprisingly satisfying.

Find out more about Brick

Timed phone lock boxes

The ultimate blunt instrument of digital detox: pop your phone inside, set a timer, and you’re effectively locked out – with certain modes offering no loopholes or overrides. Be brave. A wide range of timed lock boxes are available, from budget jobs like the portable self-control timer box and compact models starting around £15, to more sturdy options such as the sturdy Vaydeer Time Lock Box or the well-reviewed Mindsight Timed Lock Box. Many allow multi-hour countdowns and can fit most smartphones, while some even include holes for charging or emergency access. Perfect for evening wind-downs – or just getting that near-mythical ‘good night’s sleep.’

Find out more about Mindsight Timed Lock

Minimalist phones

A male hand holds a Punkt mobile device on his crossed leg. He wears dark trousers, red sock and black shoes. — The Punkt MP02 mobile phone. Image: Punkt

For those requiring a full-life reset, these spartan devices let you stick to calls, texts – and little else. Imagine that! No social media, no notifications, no nada. Options include the premium Punkt MP02 mobile phone, a minimalist 4G device using a T9 keypad with basic tools like calendar/alarm, but no camera, apps, or web browsing beyond tethering; the compact Unihertz Jelly Star Mini Smartphone, a tiny Android-powered handset with a three-inch screen offering basic functionality (just imagine it’s 1998); and the Mudita Kompakt, an eco-aware minimalist phone designed around wellbeing, mindfulness and reduced screen time. A public service, frankly.

Find out more about Punkt MP02

Hardcore app blockers

On a pale green background, four screen shot portraits from the Freedom app.. Image: Freedom — Menu screens on the Freedom iPhone app. Image: Freedom

Apps such as Detox Lock, Freedom or Cold Turkey can block access to selected apps (and in some cases, websites) on schedules you set. Overrides are deliberately tricky, making them the digital equivalent of a timer lock box. Freedom (“Block distractions, unblock your life”) works across multiple platforms, including Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and ChromeOS, letting you sync blocklists and schedules across your devices. Detox Lock focuses on mobile, particularly Android and iOS, with modes designed to enforce unbreakable focus sessions. Cold Turkey, by contrast, is desktop-only, offering rock-solid app and website blocking for Windows and Mac users.

Find out more about Freedom

The decoy phone

A mobile phone shaped piece of clear acrylic on a white background. — The Methaphone decoy. Image: Methaphone

A fake phone might sound absurd, but it works. Clear acrylic ‘decoy’ phones, such as the Methaphone or the Acrylic Detox Tool, cost around a tenner. They’re lightweight, easy to hold – and most importantly, mimic the feel of your real phone without delivering notifications, likes – or anything at all. It sounds utterly ridiculous, but it does tap into something real: much of phone addiction is physical habit. Having something to hold can reduce that twitchy “where’s my phone?” reflex. Just remember not to try and make a call with it, else you’ll be end up talking to yourself like an American president.

Find out more about Methaphone