‘Put a rubber band on your phone’: I asked experts how to reduce screen time – here’s what they said

Plenty of advice exists on how to reduce screen time, so we searched for tips that went beyond silencing phone notifications or setting time limits. Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images

I wish time travel were real. If it were, I’d go back to 2006 – the year before the release of the first iPhone. A time when doomscrolling didn’t exist, and the thought of a phone call didn’t cause me a rush of anxiety.

Many Americans agree. On social media, some are already labeling 2026 “the age of analog”, swapping Spotify for a record player and a smartphone lens for a film camera.