I'm Addicted to Being OFF my Phone ✨ how my life changed when i stopped scrolling

We're only one month into 2026 and already it feels like the year of less.

Less scrolling, less shopping, less posting, less consuming. And I'm not the only one that has noticed this shift. If

you've spent any time online lately, you've probably seen posts like this or maybe like this one. People seem to be getting offline more, picking up analog hobbies, sharing slower routines, buying bricks, and reclaiming their time and

choosing to live in the moment. Yes,

without sharing it. In short, it's cool to be offline now. And there's a reason this shift is happening. The average

person now spends about 2 hours and 14 minutes per day just on social media.

And researchers have linked excessive scrolling with shortened attention spans, mental fog, and weakened focus, aka brain rot. Studies also suggest that this frequent screen usage trains the

brain for constant novelty, making it harder to engage deeply with long- form reading, sustained task, or real life conversations. Yeah, we can't even talk

conversations. Yeah, we can't even talk to our friends anymore. And this is exactly why so many of us are craving something slower, something real, something offline. Because when AI

something offline. Because when AI begins replacing family recipes or art drifts away from personal expression, when 20 minutes of scrolling could have been a chapter read, and when the news

feels so overwhelming in a world optimized entirely for attention, the best thing we can do is simply step away. And once we do, we notice how full

away. And once we do, we notice how full our life becomes. We stop comparing.

Creativity comes back. ordinary moments

start to feel really meaningful again.

We're more patient, more present, more kind. So, let me extend this invitation

kind. So, let me extend this invitation to build a life that exists more offline than online in a way that feels realistic, intentional, and to be honest, a little addicting. So, here's

the small changes that I've made that have made the biggest difference for me and how being less connected online helped me feel more present in my everyday life. If this feels familiar,

everyday life. If this feels familiar, you're not alone. I think a lot of us are relearning how to enjoy our offline life more than our online one. We're

just going to jump right into it because this is a topic I've been wanting to talk about for quite a while. I've

posted a little bit about it on Instagram and Tik Tok here and there, but I think having a longer form video about my experience, what I've been learning, what I've been doing, and kind of just sharing a little bit about this

whole topic. I was actually quite

whole topic. I was actually quite surprised when I was just doing my typical YouTube scrolling or whatever how many long form videos there already are on this topic and how people have kind of been talking about it since

November, December, but I feel like since 2026 has started, it is on everyone's New Year's resolution to get off of their phones less to spend time offline to get into hobbies. Everyone is

no longer doom scrolling. They are

replacing hobbies with doom scrolling and I love to see it. I think it's so cool that being offline is now cool. And

it's kind of funny that we are influencing each other on social media to get off of social media. But I

personally started feeling the pull away from social media or just like wanting to have a lot more boundaries with my phone kind of like the end of last year.

I think having a toddler specifically has really impacted me because they are so aware and it is extremely difficult to be on your phone trying to multitask while also trying to be present with

your family and with a toddler. I also

started to find how much scrolling on social media led to me comparing myself to other people whether it was like growing on social media or just feeling like my life kind of sucked and it wasn't enough. I didn't have a big

wasn't enough. I didn't have a big enough house. I didn't have the brand

enough house. I didn't have the brand new car. I couldn't afford to buy

new car. I couldn't afford to buy clothes as much as my favorite influencer was. So, I just felt like my

influencer was. So, I just felt like my worthiness was not enough and I felt like my life was not enough. And also, I just felt like because of that, I would

find myself getting like so frustrated, so short with my toddler, so impatient.

I really struggled to find times to be present. I don't know if this has ever

present. I don't know if this has ever happened to you, but I'd be like, "Okay, let me just like, you know, check out what's going on on social media while I'm brushing my teeth or while I'm getting ready for the day." And just

being so disconnected from simple daily tasks and so engrossed in trying to constantly entertain myself and not even allowing my brain for a second to take a

break. So, I feel like I would spend the

break. So, I feel like I would spend the whole entire day just trying to constantly find ways to consume, constantly find ways to keep myself from being bored. And then by the end of the

being bored. And then by the end of the day, I had already listened to millions of podcasts. I had been on my phone

of podcasts. I had been on my phone probably way too long than I needed to be. I just was not spending any time

be. I just was not spending any time actually with my thoughts and getting things out that I started struggling to fall asleep. And I remember Alex Cooper

fall asleep. And I remember Alex Cooper was talking about this, how simply having moments in your day where you are not listening to anything, not watching

TV, not consuming content, not constantly scrolling, how your brain actually has time to process information, to kind of like think about

all the things that it wants to think about. Because if you are constantly

about. Because if you are constantly filling your brain with stuff all day long, you are not spending time being able to like be present, be in the moment. Those are just some small

moment. Those are just some small examples where I feel like something has got to change here. I need to set some boundaries. And while I was doing a

boundaries. And while I was doing a little bit of research for this video, I learned the term brain rot, which apparently is more of a Gen Z term and why I haven't heard of it, but which honestly sounds kind of scary, but it

really is just your cognitive ability starts to decline. So, your like reaction time, your thinking time, your ability to like withhold conversation with people, anything related to

thinking and being able to process what you're doing. Being able to actually sit

you're doing. Being able to actually sit down and like read an article, not skim over it, is kind of what brain rot is.

And I started noticing this happening to me all the time. Like, I would not be listening when my I was having a conversation with my husband, even if I wasn't scrolling. Like, my brain just

wasn't scrolling. Like, my brain just could not sit with something for a long period of time. it always had to be jumping to the next thing or thinking about the next thing and that was kind of a big red flag for me. I also noticed I started getting headaches at the end

of the day and this probably has contributed to like being on my computer and on my phone but just spending so much time on the screen I feel like is so not great for our eyes and our brain.

And another problem that I don't think we realize with scrolling so much these days is how much we are over consuming.

Like like the impulse purchases we are making now. Whether it's because we see

making now. Whether it's because we see it on our favorite influencer, we were served an ad just has gotten so out of control. I mean online shopping has

control. I mean online shopping has already made it so easy to overconume.

But now I feel like we are constantly being pushed ads or we need something new for this season of life and it just is getting like so out of control. And

I've just found myself so easily influenced the more time I spend online and over consuming which means spending more money which means being in debt and not getting to where you want to be in life financially. So that is another

life financially. So that is another reason I feel like I have personally really tried to set more boundaries with my phone and being offline more. So how

do you actually break your addiction to your phone? Because for me personally I

your phone? Because for me personally I thought I had discipline. Turns out I do not. And if you've read Atomic Habits,

not. And if you've read Atomic Habits, in there the author states that if you want to break a habit, you have to make it hard to do. So for me, that was realizing that willpower doesn't work.

And I needed to get a physical device to lock me out of my phone out of certain times of the day so that I literally couldn't go on it. So one of my birthday gifts to myself was actually getting a brick. I've talked about them a lot and

brick. I've talked about them a lot and I get a lot of hate for getting one of these. It works really well for me and I

these. It works really well for me and I love it because it puts my phone on a schedule, which I know you can do in the Apple iOS app, but personally, I just kept hitting ignore. It was way too easy

to just go back on social media. And

this has been really game-changing in setting boundaries on when I can use my phone, when I can go on social media versus having full-blown access 24/7.

So, my brick locks me out of social media between the hours of 4:30 p.m. and

9:00 a.m. So, during those hours, I cannot go on social media. And this has helped so much in just being more present with my family during those times, finding other hobbies, actually cooking and not getting distracted. It

has really helped me realize that I don't need to be on my phone during those times. And during the hours of 9

those times. And during the hours of 9 to 4 is when I can be on social media, respond to comments, post things, scroll if I want to scroll. But during the off hours, it's just it's no social media

time. Okay, now that we made the habit

time. Okay, now that we made the habit of scrolling hard to do, we need to replace it. Feel like you can't just

replace it. Feel like you can't just remove scrolling. You have to have

remove scrolling. You have to have something to do instead. And I have found that reaching more for analog activities has been a lot more calming for the nervous system. Having something

to do with my hands, having something where my brain can kind of just take a break and relax. This not only helps me get off of my phone, but I feel like I'm creating more. I'm making things that I

creating more. I'm making things that I could actually use in real life. It is

more calming. It has just been more fun.

And some really easy examples are journaling, reading, going on a notice walk, where you go on a walk and maybe you notice a certain color, you notice specific sounds, puzzles. I forgot how

addicting puzzles are. This is great if you also only have like 5 or 10 minutes.

Cooking without multitasking, maybe putting on a long form YouTube video if you really need something to watch. And

hobbies, hobbies, hobbies. This has been game-changing for me and just having something else to do and something that I'm working towards or striving towards.

I started with these little watercolor workbooks because it kind of takes a lot of thinking about what to paint, what to create. Gives you all of the

create. Gives you all of the instructions right here. And then on the other side is just a little outline for you to start painting. And this is something I could super easily do in like 5, 10, 15 minute increments, which

I feel like is great when you're starting out a new hobby. Cuz to be honest, I feel like most of us don't have enough time to just spend an hour towards a hobby every single day. So

having something you can do in short little bursts has been really helpful. I

think you'll be surprised with how your love for hobbies grows as you stop scrolling because once you start replacing scrolling with more hobbies and you start getting into different things and your confidence builds, you will find that you will start to reach

for your hobby more than your phone. And

that is such a freeing feeling, especially once you finish your first hobby. When I finished my first little

hobby. When I finished my first little knitting scarf, I felt so confident and inspired to do another one. So, I highly recommend you challenge yourself to just start trying different hobbies. Like,

spend 10, 15 minutes a day on one and see what sticks. But also, don't expect yourself to be good right away. It takes

a while to kind of figure something out.

You're going to make mistakes. My first

scarf has like tons of holes in it and messed up patterns, and it's just part of the process. And I think that's something to remember is you're just having fun. There's no reason you need

having fun. There's no reason you need to make money off of it. You don't have to show anybody. It's literally just for you. And once you get to a point where

you. And once you get to a point where you start finding your favorite hobbies, you can create a little analog basket. I

know a lot of people have the analog bags, but I have a basket and I keep it right in my fireplace actually. But I

think keeping it in your living room or a place where you honestly tend to scroll the most often, maybe it's in your bed, so it needs to be by your nightstand. But anyway, I like having a

nightstand. But anyway, I like having a little basket. It keeps everything all

little basket. It keeps everything all nice and organized. So I'll share a little bit about what I have in here.

Hopefully, it'll inspire you to start getting into some hobbies. Obviously, my

watercolor and my watercolor palette. I

just got this off of Amazon. I can also link all of this stuff down below if you guys want hobby ideas. You can check out their websites and see what you like.

This is a little embroidery kit from Clever Poppy. Create these cute little

Clever Poppy. Create these cute little embroidery patterns and it comes with everything you need. That's another pro tip is if you were starting to get into a hobby, find a kit. So whether it's a knitting kit, an embroidery kit, that

way it comes with everything you need and you don't have to go to a hobby store and be like, "What kind of needle do I need for this or what kind of marker, pencil, or whatever, having a kit that just have has everything you need to get started with a hobby is

super super helpful." I have my little scarf that I'm knitting. This I

definitely have to keep away from my toddler. She loves to play with the

toddler. She loves to play with the yarn. She's like a cat. I have all my

yarn. She's like a cat. I have all my different like knitting projects. I have

a bag full of markers in here. And I

don't have a coloring book in here right now, but I love to have just like a coloring book. So, I have a bag full of

coloring book. So, I have a bag full of markers and also some fun little ink pens. I used to be an illustrator when I

pens. I used to be an illustrator when I worked in the corporate world, so I love having just like a little sketch pad to sketch some just some designs and things that I'm thinking about. And then I also

have my Kindle. I try to read a book once a month. And this has just been great for reading 5, 10, 15 minutes in the morning or whenever I have time. So,

that's a little bit of my analog basket.

Let me know if you guys want more hobby ideas, but hopefully that'll just kind of get you started on what to do instead of scrolling. And then the last thing

of scrolling. And then the last thing has really helped me recently breaking my habit from scrolling and getting offline more is having a full day once a week where I am not on my phone at all.

Like, I don't even use it to take photos or filming. And at first, I was really

or filming. And at first, I was really anxious to do this because I do a lot of stuff on social media and I like being connected to the world like most of us

do. But you guys, once you try this, you

do. But you guys, once you try this, you realize how refreshing the world is and how beautiful life is beyond our phones, not needing to Google something, not

needing to pull our phones out to film something. Like yes, I do use it for

something. Like yes, I do use it for Google Maps and I keep sometimes my messages and definitely my phone unlocked on these days just in case of emergencies or if I go out, but seeing the world through a different lens of

not having access to your phone just feels so relaxing. Like I feel like my brain literally takes a break. And I

like these 24 hours one day a week because I feel like everybody can do that. Like it's very approachable. It's

that. Like it's very approachable. It's

very easy. You don't need to be on your phone for a full day. like we can all take a 24-hour break. So, some things I like to do on these days is have a journal for writing. I like to have a camera. You can use a digital camera or

camera. You can use a digital camera or you can just get like a disposable camera would be so fun to have for the day. And obviously, I have all of my

day. And obviously, I have all of my hobbies accessible. And the more I have

hobbies accessible. And the more I have these full days without being on my phone at all, the more addicting it becomes. Honestly, now I get what I call

becomes. Honestly, now I get what I call the social scaries, which is Sunday night knowing that I'm going to be back on social media on Monday. And I will say once I do get back in the flow of things, I enjoy connecting with people

and creating and I have so much fun being on social media in like a more positive way. But I will say it's just

positive way. But I will say it's just so addicting being off your phone and being in hobbies and your brain just getting a break. And I think when you start to take time to step away, you do

start to realize how addicting all of these platforms are. you're actually

able to finish a hobby, finish a conversation, do things slowly. Really

notice things in your everyday life that may have seemed super mundane, but are actually very special. You'll be more present with your friends. You'll be

more present with your family. You'll

have more patience for your kids. And I

didn't even get on the mental and emotional aspects of having less depression, having less anxiety. So much

of those stem from being on social media too much. And I definitely don't think I

too much. And I definitely don't think I have every single day figured out. There

are days where I'm on my phone for four or five hours a day because this is now my job. But I do think compared to

my job. But I do think compared to before, I have a much healthier relationship with my phone and with social media and I really have set those boundaries that my days feel like they're mine again. And I think what

surprised me the most about getting offline more is how much I enjoy it and how much of my life I feel like I am missing out on because I'm comparing or

I'm spending time scrolling that I could be reading and learning or creating. My

focus started to change. Our attention

spans really do shorten the more we are scrolling and we are just being fed something right after the other versus long form media versus sitting and reading a book, sitting and having an

actual conversation with people. And I

think you'll start to notice how much it really impacts your relationships. Like

now when I get in the car with my husband, I'm always the passenger princess, but no one wants the passenger princess on their phone scrolling the whole time they are on a 20-minute drive. Like you may not realize how

drive. Like you may not realize how those things are also affecting your partner, your spouse, your friends. Like

it's just not fun to be around somebody that has their head down into their hands. So, I have a challenge for us. We

hands. So, I have a challenge for us. We

have a level one and a level two. Level

one, no scrolling between 5:00 p.m. and

9:00 a.m. Get an app blocker. Get a

brick. Get something that is making you off of your phone in the morning and the evening and take back that time for yourself. Replace it with dedicated

yourself. Replace it with dedicated family time, with hobbies, with meditation, with sipping your coffee in silence. Maybe you start to work out

silence. Maybe you start to work out before work or go for a walk, but keep 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. your time. And

5:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. your time. And

level two, phone free Sundays. And I

mean phone free. And you can start with social mediaree Sundays, but I highly recommend going completely phone free.

Put your phone away, lock it, brick it.

If you need to go out, then just keep like your maps and your phone and your messages unlocked just in case of emergencies. I want you to try to use a

emergencies. I want you to try to use a different camera to take photos. So

maybe a Polaroid, maybe go to Walgreens and get like a $5, what are they called?

Disposable camera. You will notice how you will just start to see things differently when you are forced to use an actual camera versus a phone. Get out

some journals, get out some books, get out some hobbies, prepare some outings with your family. I feel like when we're out and about and we're busy and we're actually hanging out with people and having conversation and connection, we

don't even remember that we have our phones. So, let yourself be bored and

phones. So, let yourself be bored and expect what's going to happen emotionally. It's going to be a little

emotionally. It's going to be a little hard. Like, we are really addicted to

hard. Like, we are really addicted to our phones and taking such a long break.

I think you'll realize how addicting it really is that 5 minutes here or there.

So, be ready for it to feel a little uncomfortable. But, personally, I'm

uncomfortable. But, personally, I'm loving this shift. I think it's so cool that we are influencing each other to get offline and that being offline is cool. Now, I would love to know what you

cool. Now, I would love to know what you guys try, which challenge, how it goes.

Let's keep the conversation going in the comments. Let me know if you want a

comments. Let me know if you want a phone free vlog. I think that could be kind of fun. Tag me on Instagram if you try it and post about it. I love seeing all of your phone free days and sharing them. We don't need to disappear from

them. We don't need to disappear from the internet. We just need to show up

the internet. We just need to show up fully in our offline lives. You got

this. Love you guys.