u/mr_koopa_troopa

I’ve been thinking about how most screen blockers don’t substitute social media with what social media is supposed to be: SOCIAL. Thesis is: instead of just blocking fake social interaction, what if you replaced it with calling real friends?

The idea is pretty simple. You choose your “bad habit apps” (e.g., Instagram) and you have to call someone to unlock them. The gist is: “fine, you can doomscroll, but call an actual human first.”

My hypothesis is that the call itself might scratch some of the itch that makes you open social media in the first place, so you might not even want to go back to scrolling after. 

Started building the app and curious what people think. Would you try something like this? What would make it work / not work?

I’ve been thinking about if the goal should really be less phone time, or just better phone time. I don’t mind spending two hours talking to friends, but I do absolutely hate spending two hours scrolling short-form content I definitely won’t remember tomorrow… Makes me wonder if the better approach is substitution rather than restriction. I would want to redirect my horrible reflex to open Instagram for calling someone I know instead. 

My mind keeps coming back to the idea of an app that incentivizes calling friends rather than just blocking social media. Zero scientific backing here, but it feels like repeatedly doing that could REWIRE (I’m no brain expert so take this with a grain of salt) the reflex toward real social interaction instead of media. Curious if that concept resonates with anyone’s digital minimalism journey?

Should digital minimalism be about less screen time overall, or just cutting out the mindless stuff?

45 minutes on Instagram or other short form video feels waste but 45 minutes reading, learning, or even watching a YouTube video doesn’t feel the same.

What has felt the best for you? Do you try to reduce total screen time, or just replace “bad” use with intentional use?