In August 2021, I wrote that my smartphone screen time had reached five hours a day. My response was physical: I moved the SIM cards from my iPhone into a basic Nokia and left the smartphone at the office.
I did not stop using every app. I kept WhatsApp, Telegram and the dua app for testing on the iPhone, using Wi-Fi. The boundary was where and when I could reach it: at the office, during working hours, Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 17:00.
The four weeks I recorded
These are the daily screen-time figures I reported in the original article, not independently audited device data:
- Before the change: five hours.
- Week one: one hour.
- Week two: 40 minutes.
- Week three: 21 minutes.
- Week four: 15 minutes.
Five hours is 300 minutes; going from 300 to 15 is a 95% reduction. That calculation describes the figures I gave. It does not establish a reduction in all screen use across computers and other devices, or promise the same result for someone else.
The moment I remember describing
One morning, I came to the office and did not check the phone for about two hours, even though it was beside me. I wrote that I had simply forgotten to touch it. That felt more revealing than a rule on paper: the immediate urge to check was no longer running that morning.
I also reported reading two books and reaching an empty inbox. Those were changes I noticed around the same time, not proof that the Nokia caused every improvement. I have left out the wider health claims and old global screen-time averages; they are not needed to explain the experiment.
What someone else can take from it
The transferable idea is a boundary you can observe, not a requirement to buy the same phone. Identify what you genuinely need the smartphone for, where it tends to interrupt you and one period when it can stay elsewhere. Keep essential communication available.
On an iPhone, Apple’s Screen Time guide explains how to review app use and device activity. Compare the same devices and time periods before drawing conclusions.
This is my 2021 account, not a statement about the phone I use today. Its useful question is still simple: what would I make room for if checking my phone were less automatic?
