Brick

“no phone/socials for the first couple of hours (if you can). i recently bought a Brick and it's been a HUGE help, very much recommend. coffee + breakfast outside, get sunshine on your face. bonus points if you have a cat that enjoys supervised outdoor enrichment time too. sudoku or any brains puzzle. it really feels like giving your brain its first deep breath of the morning lol some kind of morning movement; a walk, gentle yoga, mat pilates, weight lifting, anything you enjoy. key point: something you enjoy.”

“I use this almost everyday and it actually works. You can specify which apps you use the most and need a break from. When you tap the brick, it locks you out of those apps until you tap back in. I put mine on my fridge and tap out before I leave for the day. Works amazing for trips too, you can completely be social media free!”

“I hate that I had to spend 60$ to get off my phone but this thing really works. I “Brick” before work and then leave the house for the day so I can’t be scrolling on my breaks! I bricked for 24 hours yesterday! I did not scroll! All day! I just want to be off my phone and in the world and I have no self control. I must Brick.”

“Gave to my chronically online gen-z sister. When I Brick, I know peace. I actually sigh when all of my social apps (including this one) are Bricked.”

“The Brick helps but you HAVE to turn on schedules. I have my problem apps blocked all the time; I only get YouTube access if I walk over to the kitchen and unbrick. And I have schedules that come on and kick me off if I’ve unbricked, so there’s no world where I have endless access.”

“Have this and highly recommend!”

“Single-handedly took down apps to teach me to get offline. Ties app access to an RFID block in a physical location. Great tool for the family.”

“i almost don’t want to recommend it, as i know you have heard about it (and maybe even tried it) - but.. brick. TBH! i don’t think this is perfect for everyone, and i don’t even know if it’s truly perfect for me. i allow myself only 30 minutes of social media a day by having a “schedule” on; and from 7:30-8pm my phone is fully open for me to browse any app. in a lot of ways it helps me as i feel way less addicted to social media, as i literally blocked access to it. instagram is not that interesting anymore. BUT MY PHONE STILL IS!! i find myself googling random things, really getting lost in researching a specific thing i want, looking at my own photos etc. so my screen time kinda has not changed, just shifted. so.. it did help! by shifting my attention to other things, but i’m still working towards getting off my phone!”

“I use the “brick” which blocks selected apps from being accessible- I have a schedule set so it automatically is on from 8:30pm-10:30am. I go to bed early and this gives me time to read after getting into bed, or in the morning if I have extra time. Building reading into my routine is the only way I’ve been able to stay consistent! I average two books a month, which is more than I was ever reading 5 years ago. Not being able to access a quick dopamine hit through social media is a must for me in those before bed/AM hours.”

“I resisted this for so long because it felt ridiculous to pay $60 for a piece of plastic to stay off my phone rather than just use WILLPOWER, but this has honestly been so helpful. Helps me avoid falling into a distraction pit at work, but I also use it a lot to stay off my phone while reading/watching movies, as well as to keep my mornings and evenings phone-free. I’ve started keeping a little notebook where I write down the things I want to Google/remember while Brick’d which has felt pleasantly analog”

“unfortunately this shit really works. allows me to stop scrolling out of boredom and focus on more life-giving pursuits”

“I got a Brick to help get my screen time down but it's been most effective for sleep. Every night all my social media gets locked out a few hours before I want to be asleep and I notice a big difference in how hard it is to fall asleep on nights when I turn the Brick off. The link is a referral link with a 10% discount.”

“started using this in January and it’s been v helpful for my screen time and my brain/heart/soul.”

“It’s a little magnet you put on your fridge and can program via an app to block certain apps. Blocking social media during the work day makes me more productive and not in a toxic girl boss way but like a “I can’t just mindlessly scroll bc I’m delaying sending an email that would take me 30 seconds to write and send” which then frees me up to do more fun things(yap to my coworkers, make a fun lunch, go on a walk). I also brick my phone at night so if I can’t sleep I just have to Lie There.”

“super intrigued by this! it’s location based screentime? would be awesome if i had to leave my bedroom for my nyt app to work…”

“Lock yourself out of social media and feel a weight lifted off your mind. Experience the world as it was intended. I literally have my life back!!!! Thank you Brick!!! I am so productive and happy and freeeeeee”

“tried so many tech tools to curb my phone use when i'm with my kids, out in the world and open to making new friendships, or feeling twitchy/down. this is the one that is my favorite.”

“decreasing my screen time by any means necessary (except for getting rid of my phone)”

“just got bricked up and gotta say that it f*ckin rocks. i wish there was a way to have exceptions for some things, the way there is on do not disturb - i.e., that i could brick whatsapp or iMessage except for my husband and parents in case of emergencies - but i love the physical element of it, and it's obviously extremely easy to use. amazing and absolutely worth it imo”

“Get your life back!!! Go to sleep and wake up not scrolling on social media. I needed a physical barrier to TikTok”

“Absolutely insane and depressing but truly changed my life and relationship with the internet. Can not recommend enough. The best thing is that you can set up schedules. 8pm-8am I can't do anything except get important phone calls (unless I somehow make it downstairs to the refrigerator to unbrick, which hasn't happened yet 3 months in). Amazing! 9-3 (school day > my workday) I can only do work things. I have 7:30-8 ish to doom scroollll”

“and it goes faster all the time :)”

“I set an automated schedule so I can’t forget (or “forget”) to brick. This has massively decreased my scrolling and mindless phone consumption.”

“It transformed my relationship to my phone—the only thing that has helped break the addiction.”

“The schedule function has been really helpful for my sleep, interrupting scrolling habits when I’m tired, cranky and not at my best”

“Block distracting apps on your phone!”

“I have such little self control when it comes to limiting my social media use at work/school. This is a physical object that forces me to focus by not letting me use my phone from the moment I make contact with it until I make contact with it again”

“I was skeptical of the Brick but it has genuinely helped stop the endless scroll. I set mine to “brick” 5pm-7am, and it turns off all social media. It took me a couple months, but now I never un-brick during the schedule, and I usually don’t even try to open instagram. I think you can get a lot more specific with how you use it, but this is a win for me for now I currently don’t have it block RL, as I don’t get stuck scrolling eternally here.”