DIGITAL LIFE

How can you use your phone less? 7 science-backed strategies to reduce screen time

You pick up your phone to reply to a message, and before you know it, half an hour has passed while you’ve been scrolling through social media. This behavior is becoming increasingly common, turning minor distractions into hours spent in front of a screen. However, science shows that cutting back on smartphone use isn’t just a matter of willpower. Certain changes to your environment, device settings, and daily routine can help you regain control over your time.

While these devices can enhance learning and build community, they can also interfere with everything from sleep to creativity.

Pediatrician Michael Rich, MD ’91, MPH ’97, wants to understand how—and help children and parents manage their online behavior in this ever-changing digital landscape.

“It’s not how long we’re using screens that really matters; it’s how we’re using them and what’s happening in our brains in response,” says Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children’s Hospital, associate professor of pediatrics at HMS, and associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The growing human brain is constantly building neural connections while pruning away less-used ones, and digital media use plays an active role in that process, according to Rich. Much of what happens on screen provides “impoverished” stimulation of the developing brain compared to reality, he says. Children need a diverse menu of online and offline experiences, including the chance to let their minds wander. “Boredom is the space in which creativity and imagination happen,” he says.

A good night’s sleep is also key to brain development, and HMS researchers have shown that using blue light-emitting screen devices like smartphones before bedtime can disrupt sleep patterns by suppressing secretion of the hormone melatonin. Many teens who stay up late texting are not only getting less shut-eye, they’re also lacking the deep REM sleep essential for processing and storing information from that day into memory. “So even if they stay awake in algebra class,” Rich says, “they may not remember what happened in class yesterday.”

The center’s Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders treats young people whose excessive gaming, social media, and other online activities are affecting their health and daily lives at home and school. Rich says these seductive digital pursuits appear to activate the brain’s reward system. “Virtually all games and social media work on what’s called a variable reward system, which is exactly what you get when you go to Mohegan Sun and pull a lever on a slot machine. It balances the hope that you’re going to make it big with a little bit of frustration, and unlike the slot machine, a sense of skill needed to improve.” A young person’s brain lacks a fully developed self-control system to help them with stopping this kind of obsessive behavior.

The experience of growing up today, as youth move seamlessly between online and offline environments, is the focus of an international research project that Rich is leading. The Growing Up Digital (GUD) Study is now underway in Canada, with plans to expand to Australia, Finland, and eventually all six populated continents in partnership with the nonprofit Sesame Workshop. The investigators plan to follow 3,000 to 5,000 youths over 10 years, examining the impact of digital technology on their physical, mental, and social well-being. Because this technology is evolving so rapidly, findings from the Global GUD participatory research will be released in an ongoing way so that health and educational professionals, parents, and youth can implement positive changes in real time.

In the meantime, Rich urges a balanced approach to screen use. “We have to be flexible enough to evolve with the technology but choose how to use it right. Fire was a great discovery to cook our food, but we had to learn it could hurt and kill as well,” he says. “We don’t want to be in a moral panic because kids are staring at smartphones. We need to be asking, what’s happening when they’re staring at their smartphone in terms of their cognitive, social, and emotional development? As with most things, it will probably be a mix of positive and negative. 

One of the more intriguing strategies is to remove color from your screen.

1- Turn your phone screen black and white...Apps use vibrant images, animations, and visual elements to make the user experience more engaging. By switching to grayscale, your phone may lose some of that appeal.

A study from the University of Amsterdam, published in 2024 in the journal *Mobile Media & Communication*, tracked 84 participants over the course of two weeks.

The results showed that using a smartphone in black and white reduced daily screen time by an average of approximately 20 minutes.

Participants also reported a greater sense of control over their own usage. However, the number of times they unlocked their devices did not decrease significantly.

The study is available in the University of Amsterdam’s scientific repository.

2- Disable non-essential notifications...Every alert can interrupt what you are doing and trigger an urge to check your device.

A practical step is to keep notifications enabled only for essential apps—such as those for important messages, appointments, or security services. However, science reveals an unexpected detail.

An experiment involving 205 participants, published in the journal *Media Psychology*, found that disabling notifications for a week did not significantly reduce screen time or the frequency with which people checked their phones.

The researchers did note, however, that participants perceived their own behavior as being more intentional. Therefore, silencing alerts may help manage interruptions, but it does not necessarily eliminate the habit of checking your smartphone.

3-Set time limits for apps...Tools available on both Android and iPhone allow you to track how much time you spend in each app and set daily limits. The first step is to identify which platforms consume the most of your time.

Next, it is worth setting realistic goals. For instance, if you use a particular social media platform for two hours a day, you could start by gradually reducing that time.

An experiment published in the journal *Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking* compared strategies for limiting usage against changes to a phone’s visual settings.

The research showed that digital interventions can help modify habits, though their effectiveness varies depending on the specific strategy and the individual’s behavior.

4-Keep your phone away from your bed...Sleeping with your smartphone within reach makes it easier to give in to the temptation to check messages before going to sleep or immediately upon waking up.

One alternative is to leave the device on another piece of furniture or outside the bedroom, whenever possible.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky investigated an intervention that combined several changes, including moving the phone away from the bed, removing social media icons from the home screen, and enabling grayscale mode.

Participants reported improvements in sleep quality, productivity, and face-to-face interactions.

Because these changes were implemented together and the results were based on participant self-reports, it is not possible to attribute the benefits solely to the distance between the phone and the bed. The study was published in the *American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education*.

5-Make accessing social media more difficult...The easier it is to open an app, the greater the tendency to use it automatically. One strategy is to remove social media icons from your home screen, disable automatic login, or use these platforms only at specific, designated times.

These small barriers are known as "behavioral frictions." The idea is to interrupt the automatic gesture of opening an app and create a moment to decide whether it is truly worth using.

The goal is not to abandon technology, but to transform an impulsive action into a conscious choice.

6-Replace screen time with enjoyable activities...Reducing mobile phone use can be more difficult when there is no engaging alternative to fill the time.

Going for a walk, reading, cooking, exercising, or meeting up with friends are all ways to replace some of your digital consumption.

The importance of this shift is highlighted in a study published in February 2025 in the journal *BMC Medicine*.

The researchers conducted a randomized clinical trial to investigate the effects of reducing screen time on mental health.

The results indicated improvements in indicators of psychological well-being among participants who reduced their smartphone use.

This does not mean that any use of a mobile phone is harmful, but it does suggest that cutting back on excessive use can be beneficial for some people.

7-Start with small changes and track the results...Trying to give up your phone completely overnight may be unrealistic, especially for those who rely on it for work, study, or communication.

One alternative is to begin with short periods without the device—for example, during meals or in the first few minutes after waking up. It is also worth keeping an eye on your weekly screen-time reports to identify any changes.

The most important thing is to set goals that are sustainable.

There is no universal number of hours that defines when smartphone use becomes harmful. One must also consider the context, the activities being performed, and the impact on sleep, work, and personal relationships.

The key takeaway from this research is that reducing mobile phone use does not necessarily mean using less technology, but rather using it more mindfully.

Scientific research and public health organizations—such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and Harvard Medical School—recommend a combination of age-based limits, behavioral boundaries, and environmental modifications to manage and reduce screen time effectively.

Recommended limits by age:

• Under 2 years: Zero screen time (except for live video-chatting with family).

• Ages 2 to 5: Maximum of 1 hour per day of high-quality, co-viewed programing.

• Ages 5 to 17: Maximum of 2 hours per day of recreational screen time (excluding schoolwork).

• Adults: General public health guidance points to keeping recreational use around 2 hours or being mindful of heavy use (exceeding 7 hours daily), which correlates with physical and mental strain.

Science-backed strategies to reduce screen time:

• Establish Screen-Free Zones: Keep phones, tablets, and TVs out of bedrooms to protect sleep quality, as blue light and evening stimulation suppress melatonin production.

• Set Tech-Free Curfews: Turn off or put away all screens at least 1 to 2 hours before bedtime.

• Enforce Mealtime Rules: Make dining areas completely device-free for both children and adults to encourage face-to-face communication.

• Turn Off Non-Essential Notifications: Disable alerts from social media and non-critical apps to prevent continuous cognitive interruptions and "doomscrolling".

• Use Behavioral Friction: Hide social media apps off the main home screen, set screen-time tracking timers, or turn device displays to greyscale to make phone use less rewarding and engaging.

• Encourage Alternative Activities: Replace idle scrolling with physical exercise, outdoor time, hobbies, or unstructured boredom, which science links to higher creativity and better emotional well-being

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