Destroy your doomscrolling with 4 helpful apps

There’s no denying that doomscrolling can take up a large portion of your day, and I’m guilty of it too from time to time. If you find it’s becoming a real issue, you can take some time away from your phone, but that’s not an option for many people. Whether it’s the need to keep in contact with friends and family through Facebook or needing social media for work, sometimes it’s not possible to take a step away.

What you can do is ensure doomscrolling doesn’t take up every waking second of your life. There are many ways to do this, and while it might not sound like it, installing apps can help. There are apps that you can set a schedule for that completely block you from opening up something like TikTok or Instagram. You’ll find this helps out quite a bit if you doomscroll too much.

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Block your apps from opening

Make it so you can’t open things

AppBlock

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Appblock

Developer

MobileSoft

Subscription cost

Free

There are many apps that prevent you from opening up X, Facebook, Instagram, etc., so it can be difficult to narrow it all down. One that will get the job done AppBlock. The app has a very straightforward name, and that’s because it gets the job done.

AppBlock is available on both iOS and Android, and the way it works is you make a schedule for yourself and it stops you from using specific apps depending on what you choose. You can also set daily screen time limits that stop you from using apps past a specific time. This is a nice setting to make sure you don’t spend all your free time doomscrolling. Instead, you can spend your time doing something a bit more productive.

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Think about what you’re doing

Relax for a second

one sec

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One Sec

One Sec is a screen time management app focused on getting you to change your compulsive phone use as it is blocking the apps and websites that you choose.

Developer

Frederik Riedel

Subscription cost

$2.99 per month, $19.99 per year, $49.99 for lifetime license

You might be surprised how many times you hit that TikTok icon on your phone each day. The one sec app, available on both iOS and Android, has a notification pop up asking you to take a deep breath each time you click on an app. This not only makes you aware of how many times you’re hitting an icon, but it makes you take a second to yourself and calm down.

This app could lead to changing your habits over time, and if you’re trying to cut back on doomscrolling, it’s a solid choice. By giving you the chance to actually think about opening the app, it could eventually lead to using less social media altogether.

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Block specific websites

Cut off the head of the dragon

Freedom

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Freedom

Freedom is a screen time management app that can block apps and websites on your phone, desktop computer, and Chrome browser, and offers white noise you can listen to while you work.

Developer

Freedom

Subscription cost

$8.99 per month, $39.99 per year, $199 for a lifetime license

Going to the same sites over and over isn’t the healthiest, especially if you’re trying to cut back on your doomscrolling. Instead of an app that limits your screen time or asks you to think twice. A good app for blocking sites is Freedom. You can use this app to temporarily block both apps and sites, so it offers a fair amount of versatility. The paid version offers Locked mode, which makes it so you are forced to stick to your schedule as you can’t access anything you have blocked off in your schedule.

This app is available for both iOS and Android owners, so you’re good no matter what platform you’re on. The setup process might be longer than you’d expect, but it’s worth it when everything gets rolling.

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Track your screen time

Test your willpower

Stay Focused

You don’t always have to download a fancy app to block apps or sites from opening to stop doomscrolling. You can simply track your screen time and see how much time you’re spending on certain services, and if you’re shocked by how high the time is, you can make changes yourself. Your phone might have a widget or something built in already that tracks your screen time, but an app works too.

The StayFocused app is a good choice for a lot of people, and you can easily track your screen time and see where it’s being spent. It works a lot like many of the other apps on this list too, as it can be used to limit or block apps entirely.

Your changes have been saved

Stay Focused

The Stay Focused app lets you track your screen time and block apps on your devices.

Developer

INNOXAPPS LLP

Subscription cost

$3.99 Monthly

Ultimately, the choice is yours

There are many options

Doomscrolling can be addicting, and while all of these apps can help you cut back on it, you might still feel the nagging feeling of wanting to scroll longer. If you have tried some of these methods, but they aren’t working, there’s a final step you can take. The biggest thing you can do is just delete the app.

If you don’t have Reddit or X installed on your phone or tablet, there’s no way you can do doomscrolling. Deleting your account on these sites could be another step too. Ideally, it doesn’t have to come to all that. The point of these apps is to make you more aware of how often you’re using them and put a stop to them. Instead of ruining your mental health and scrolling all day, limiting the time to an hour or two a day can do wonders. It all comes down to you, but if you identify doomscrolling as a problem, there are many ways to stop it.

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