Screen time stats don't work

If screen time reports worked, we'd all be cured by now.​

Read time: 4 mins

Hi Reader,

I spent the last week in a co-working space in town. Self-employment doesn't mean being by yourself. Chit chat with people in a similar position, or a few steps ahead of me, is time better spent than the guilt-loaded social media scroll when working alone.

In one of these chit chats, the topic of screen time came up (and no, I didn't bring it up). It was discussed how useful it is that mobiles show us how much screen time we've had. It was generally agreed that it is a positive feature, a reminder to use our phones less.

I couldn't agree less.

But it wasn't the time or place to go off on one. That's what this newsletter is for.

For the last few years I've had the screen time widget on my home screen. It's ended up being a virtue signal as a "digital wellbeing jedi" than actually helping me reduce screen time.

Most of us don’t like how much time we spend on our devices. That's why we track it in the first place. And yet, the tools we rely on to “help” us often make things worse, not better.

We fall short because we think tracking time is enough. We believe knowing the number will lead to better decisions. But data without context doesn’t change behavior. And guilt doesn’t lead to better habits.

Guilty scrolling

Screen time reports have been sold as a solution to digital overload. Apple and Google introduced these tools back in 2018 to help users track and limit their phone use. On paper, they’re adult versions of parental controls. They let us "parent" ourselves with app limits and downtime settings.

Seven years later, I’m not sure they’ve helped.

I’ve tweaked my phone settings, tried third-party apps, and even played with accessibility hacks.

But like many people, I still check my phone more than I’d like. I still find myself being that dad at the playground sneaking glances at emails while my son’s on the swings.

The one thing that’s actually worked? Making my phone boring. And when that doesn’t work, leave it on charge in another room.

Screen time has always been a poor metric

It’s counterintuitive that tech companies would release a set of features designed to make you use their products less.

Apple and Google don’t actually want you to put your phone down. They just want you to like them, Reader.

A video call with family and endless doomscrolling both show up as "screen time," but their effects on well-being couldn’t be more different.

Those two things are equated as screen time, and obviously those relationships to well-being are going to be vastly different.

Apple and Google’s reports give you numbers:

• how much time you spent on your phone
• how many pickups
• how many notifications

But little guidance on what to do with that information. It's like counting calories without knowing if you're eating junk food or vegetables.

If they really wanted to, there's a lot more that could be done to integrate digital wellness into their operating systems.

For now, here are some third-party tools

Escape the algorithm

​Forest - an app that helps you stay focused by planting virtual trees, then real trees. More focused time = more trees! Real trees!

​One Sec - an app that gives you the chance to pause and think twice before you open a mindless scrolling app​​

​Freedom - a program designed to keep users away from the internet for up to eight hours at a time

​How to set your phone to grayscale​

If you got this far,

you're part of 71% of subscribers, so thank you, Reader.

Most of us don’t even notice how much we’re staring at screens without purpose.

In a sense, I had to break my phone to get it to work right.

My home screen has no apps. No colour. I only get notifications when a human is trying to contact me, and when I really want to pay attention to the people around me, I just leave my phone in the other room, on charge, ready for the next doom scroll.

Hmm, maybe I've still got some work to do...

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See you in two weeks.

​Peace,

Has

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