Scrolling All Day? Control Your Social Media Use With AppBlock

15.7.2024 • How to Use AppBlock • Well-being •4 min read

If you are here, you likely spend too much time scrolling social media AND want to change that. Great job! You made the most important step – identifying the problem. Let’s celebrate that for a moment. Getting here took you some inner work.

Now, let’s crack the second part of the job together – changing the unhealthy scrolling habit into a mindful relationship with your phone.

What are The Negative Effects of Social Media?

Well, there’s plenty. 34% of adult Americans identify negative effects of social media on their mental health [1]. Let’s point out some of the most common ones:

Increased anxiety and depression
Social med ia addiction
Disrupted sleep
Sel-confidence issues
Cyberbullying
Social isolation
Fake news and misinformation spreading
Growing confirmation bias

You might see yourself in some of these points. Or you might just be annoyed with how much time you spend on your phone. Either way, there’s a solution, so let’s cut to the chase.

Introducing AppBlock: Your “Cutting Down on Socials” Ally

Making new habits can be tricky. We all know it. From making our New Year’s resolutions to starting a regular run, reading daily or (fill in your “try and fail”). And it’s completely normal. That’s why we use different tricks and tools to sustain the habits we so desire.

One of these tools is AppBlock. A handy app that lets you control how much time you spend on socials by simply blocking your social media apps.

Oh, and it also saves our users:

2.74 hours per day after their first week of using AppBlock.

Save me those hours

This is how to cut down on socials with AppBlock:

1. Tap to block, tap to unblock.

Whenever you need to take a break from your phone, tap “Start” on a Quick Block. When using AppBlock for the first time, we will ask you to select social media apps you want to block. You can add other distracting apps or websites to help you stay off your phone. And you are all set.

Need to check something on social media? Stop blocking with one tap to gain access. Easy peasy. And effective.

Tip: Bring Quick Block directly to your home screen! By activating AppBlock widgets for your phone, you can start a blocking session before you say “Instagram”.

2. Block apps in selected time frames.

Choose times you want to be social media-free. Whether before going to bed, during your work hours or when having a family dinner, select times you need to stop that scrolling wheel.

3. Block according to your location.

Checking those reels at work? Or anytime you reach home? Set blocking based on a location and have all distractions disabled once you enter the area. Or – flip the script with “Inverse Radius” and start a blocking session once you leave a selected location.

4. Set a daily social media limit.

You can set up a daily limit, like 1 hour (we encourage 30 mins; wink, but really just any time you want) per day for social media that keep you scrolling.

5. Bypassing your own blocking? Go for the Strict Mode.

This is the favorite hack of our users. And yes, old habits die hard and we get it. That’s why we came up with the ⚡️ Strict Mode. Whenever you try to leave an ongoing blocking, Strict Mode gives you a couple of extra steps for you to make a mindful decision. And ideally – to give up on leaving the blocking and keeping up your screen-free time.