These Guardian readers cut back on their phone use by 2024 – but could they keep it up?
If you’ve ever wanted to waste less time on your phone, you know how hard it can be to break old scrolling habits.
Even if you can uninstall your most time-consuming apps, chances are you’ve reinstalled them at some point. It can feel like you’re stuck in a constant loop of steps forward and backward.
But if you’re looking for a new relationship with your phone and really stick with it, you don’t have to feel trapped in this hopeless cycle – and I have the people to prove it.
In early 2024 I edited Reclaim Your Brain, a Guardian newsletter designed to help anyone unhappy with their screen time use. It offers a five-week course that readers can sign up for at any time, and comes with tested tasks from our expert Catherine Price, the award-winning author of How to Break Up With Your Phone.
Since then, it has become The Guardian’s fastest growing newsletter and subscribers’ screen time has fallen by an average of 40%.
When we surveyed subscribers in March, many were delighted with the impact the newsletter had had on their lives. “I’m more present with the people in my life,” wrote Melissa Griffin, 53, who managed to cut her screen time from eight hours a day to two. “I make choices instead of blaming the phone for my habits. I can study now – that was my goal… I’m back!”
It’s now been a year since we launched the newsletter, so with bated breath we reached out to subscribers again to see how they were doing and if they’d been able to track their progress.
Here’s what we found.
For some, the newsletter has reshaped their approach to their phones and helped them make big changes in their lives
“I think the course has changed my fundamental attitude towards my phone,” says Victoria, a subscriber from Scotland. “So I find it easier to put it aside and no longer feel like I’m ‘forced’ to open it up.”
For Felipe, a reader from Northern Ireland, the course gave him space to reflect on his life and make even bigger changes. “I found myself noticing aspects of my life that had long needed my attention but never attracted my full attention, and taking the time to address them,” he said.
“For example, I finally gathered the courage to quit my old job, and also started to pay more attention and appreciation to the people in my life. My reduced phone use wasn’t the only factor that made this possible, but it was a crucial factor.”
He added: “Although my phone use fluctuated over the year, it eventually settled down to a much healthier level. I use it more now than during the course, but the most disruptive behaviors never came back – and I just don’t miss them at all. It’s even strange to think that I once spent time doomscrolling!”
Meanwhile, others reported that their screen time had increased, but they were still able to cope with it much better than before taking the course – with some significant benefits.
“My phone use did increase over the months, but not before use,” says Kieran Healy, a Vancouver construction manager in his 40s. “A big plus for me is that I have rediscovered reading and have read 35 books this year! I don’t think I could have done this without taking my phone usage into account.”
The Reclaim Your Brain Background Still Provides a Useful ‘Speed Bump’
As part of the newsletter, subscribers will receive a custom wallpaper they can download for their lock screens that shows their daily average screen time over a year.
“The most useful part of the course remains the Reclaim Your Brain meter!” said Charlotte Conlin, an Oregon-based subscriber. “It’s still my screensaver and a constant reminder of how much of my life I could be wasting on my phone depending on how many hours a day I use it.”
Laura Silovsky, an English teacher from Tanzania, also found the wallpaper useful. “I kept the Reclaim Your Brain wallpaper on my phone for months, which showed how many hours we lost on our phones – it led to some really interesting conversations with friends,” she said.
after newsletter promotion
We asked subscribers what was the easiest and hardest part of reclaiming their brains. For some, it wasn’t that difficult to uninstall the apps that were killing them the most time. “Giving up social media was surprisingly easy – liberating even,” says Felipe.
This was the same for Laura, but there was a common caveat. “Deleting Instagram was easy. Staying away from it was something else,” she said. “Deleting social media was noticeably beneficial to my wellbeing and productivity, but living abroad actually meant I lost touch with a few people. It was hard to make the choice between feeling at home and feeling grounded where I am, but I’m now glad I chose the latter.
Others struggled with the quieter moments in life when phones are hard to resist. “The hardest part was not using my phone to bridge somewhat uncomfortable and prolonged situations, such as the time spent on public transport,” says Annemarie, a PhD student in Germany.
This was shared by Inês, a 32-year-old archivist based in Portugal. “The hardest part is avoiding the phone when I’m waiting, commuting or just plain bored,” she said. “It’s hard not to mindlessly scroll through apps like X, Reddit, Instagram or short YouTube videos.”
Are you thinking about signing up in 2025? Here’s some advice from subscribers who have completed the course
“I would really recommend that you sign up. Maybe I’ll do a refresh myself in the new year to keep up the momentum.” – Victoria, Scotland
“Don’t think about it in all-or-nothing terms. Every reduction in phone use is a return to your life.” – Kieran Healy, Vancouver
‘Buy a telephone booth. It could be a shoebox or an envelope, but something that tells you, your brain, your loved ones and friends that your phone won’t distract you. Designate phone-free zones in the home and phone-free times of the day, and empower your family to hold you accountable. Set the Reclaim Your Brain meter as your phone’s home screen!” –Andy, Philadelphia
“Think about what you are really trying to achieve. As someone who lives abroad, I’ve never wanted to completely break up with my phone because I want to stay in touch with family and close friends. But this newsletter has helped me reassess and rebalance my relationship with my phone, and therefore with those people.” – Laura Silovsky, Tanzania
“My advice would be to just try it for a day and then keep going, even if it makes you feel a little uncomfortable, but don’t beat yourself up if you make a mistake. Just try again the next day. ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ and all that.” –Charlotte Conlin, Oregon
“I believe it is critical that we acknowledge that screen addiction is an under-diagnosed, under-appreciated epidemic disease that we must address individually and collectively. Taking the challenge of this newsletter seriously was a great first step for me.” – Inês, Portugal
“Do your best to follow the advice – it’s really worth it. At the same time, don’t be too hard on yourself; the forces you face are truly formidable, and you will fail from time to time. I overlapped Reclaim Your Brain with an online mindfulness course and noticed that they complemented each other very well.” – Felipe, Northern Ireland
“It can be helpful to let people know about any planned changes in communications to manage expectations. Tell friends or clients your new time frame for responding to messages and set clear boundaries that people can be aware of and therefore understand why you aren’t responding to them immediately. – Shelley, United Kingdom