A quick browse on Reddit, a look around your friends, or even a reflection within yourself, you’ll see that internet addiction is a real problem in today’s world.

According to Pew Research Center, about 3 in 10 people are “constantly online.” Globally, the average screen time is about 8 hours a day. For Gen Z, the average screen time on a phone alone comes up to a whopping 9 hours a day. That means the average Gen Z is spending 19 weeks out of a year on their phone. 

All of this is okay - I mean who are we to judge. But, it becomes a real problem when we can no longer control our time online and it begins to affect the rest of our life. Internet addiction can affect our mental health, attention span, ability to focus, ability to read - the list goes on. If you’re interested in why internet addictions are so strong, check out our take on what we call “The Golden Age of Distractions.”

If you resonate with this and you badly want to break your internet addiction, we hope we can help. Here are 5 ways we broke our internet addiction and the methods we use to this day.

1. Invest in a lockbox

When you need to focus or when you feel like you’re losing control, put your phone in a lockbox. Set a duration to keep your phone inside and lock the box. The lockbox is unbreakable unless, you know, you smash it with a hammer. This is an extremely cold turkey way to try to break your internet addiction. You’re setting a hard boundary of when you can and can’t use your phone. The first couple of minutes might feel weird or tingly. But, keep going! The feeling will go away over time. 

Tip: For a budget friendly version, put your phone in 5 cascading Ziploc bags. The stronger your temptation, the more ziploc bags you should use. 

2. Install a distraction blocker

When you’re working on your computer, try using a distraction blocker like Ahero. These are really helpful to take the temptation out so you can focus on your task. With Ahero, you can block distracting sites and apps like YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok. You can also time Pomodoro sessions so you can focus on pursuing your studies, completing homework, or achieving your goals. 

Tip: If you need YouTube for a specific reason, try out DFTube. It’s a free Chrome Extension that limits the experience to what you search. You can block out comments, subscriptions, or recommendations so you can stay on track. 

3. Set a time limit and downtime 

It’s really helpful to set rules for your overall usage. We set rules for how much time you can spend on each distraction and when you can access them. This will help you protect your time online. 

To set time limits, assign each of your distractions an amount of time. To set a downtime, identify when you want to prevent your online usage. The most popular downtime is 10pm-10am because you can protect the quality of your mornings and nights.

Tip: On your phone, you can set time limits by going to Settings. On iOS, navigate to Screen Time and press ‘Add Limit.’ On Android, navigate to Digital Wellbeing and parental controls and press ‘Set Timer.’ You can also set time limits and a downtime on Ahero.

4. Turn on grayscale

Make your phone less entertaining by enabling grayscale. This will turn your phone appearance to black and white and thus, take out some of the engagement online. 

To do this on iOS, navigate to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut > Set Color Filters. This lets you turn on grayscale by clicking the lock button 3 times. On Android, navigate to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility menu > Visibility > Grayscale. 

Tip: Automate grayscale on a timer to protect your mornings and nights. On iOS, navigate to the Shortcuts App > Automation > Personal automation > Add action > Search ‘Set Color Filters’ > Select ‘When waking up’ > Toggle on ‘Don’t Ask Before Running’ > Done! Repeat the process for wind down. ’  

5. Use a physical alarm clock

Keep your electronics outside of your room to prevent spending time online right before you go to bed and right when you wake up. This will ensure you sleep better and start your day with the best foot forward. 

You might think, “How will I wake up then?” Try using a physical alarm clock. I love my sunrise alarm clock. It mimics waking up naturally by waking me up with light. Not only does it come free from distractions, but also it wakes me up gently. 

— 

Whatever you try out, we’re proud of you. This is the first step of breaking your internet addiction. It’s really difficult to go against the grain. But, by doing this, you take control and create more time for yourself and for what really matters. So, good luck! We hope you try some of these tips out and they get you closer to breaking free.