With digitally focused terms like ‘ragebait’, ‘slop’, and ‘parasocial’ all making it to word of the year in 2025, it is no wonder that many people are choosing to reduce their screen time and go on a ‘digital detox’ in 2026.
Combating ‘brain rot’ is often a reason cited – endlessly scrolling for hours, especially consuming short-form content, has been linked to a host of issues: shorter attention spans, increased risk of anxiety and depression, as well as problems with memory and focus.
To get your 2026 off to the best start and to stick to your resolution, here are the 10 top tips to make your digital detox a success:
1. Turn off notifications
This is the easiest way to stop yourself from checking your phone as often.
Constant notifications are what keeps us hooked and clicking on one simple notification can often lead to a 15 or 30-minute scroll without realising.
You can turn off all notifications or just social media-specific ones.
2. Out of sight, out of mind
Putting your phone in a different room or otherwise hiding it will prevent you from instinctively reaching for it.
This will help break the cycle, improve your focus, and get you used to not going on your phone.
3. Get a hold on things
Find ways to complete tasks with physical objects rather than virtual tools.
Write notes down with pen and paper, read a real book or newspaper, have a physical alarm clock. For many tasks, analogue is better for the brain.
A study by neuroscientists at Columbia University’s Teachers College in 2023 showed students who engaged with printed materials read more in depth than those who engaged with digital material.
4. Use your phone’s built-in tools
Many smartphones now come with built-in digital welfare tools.
Check in your phone’s settings to see how you can activate time management tools that kick you off when you have been using a certain app for too long.
5. Download detox apps
If your smartphone’s native tools aren’t enough, there are plenty of free and paid apps specifically designed to get you off your phone. Opal, Forest, Freedom, and ScreenZen are some of the most popular.
It is recommended to set ‘hard limits’, meaning you can’t access an app at all after you have used your daily limit – or change this limit!
6. Delete the worst offenders
Look at which apps you are using the most and think about why and how you are using them.
Are you catching up with family and friends? Or are you just looking at strangers? Weigh up which apps actually benefit your life and delete the ones which just eat your attention.
7. Grab yourself a downgrade
‘Dumbphones’ are phones which have been stripped back of their digital capabilities. There are plenty on the market at every price range.
Some may still have 5G connectivity and allow certain apps such as WhatsApp, whereas others may be fully reminiscent of a noughties Nokia brick. Retro!
8. Bigger is better
If you have to use a screen, use a big one! Doing tasks on a bigger screen is often better for your comprehension of information and focus, according to some studies.
When you want to look something up or need to fill out an online form, rather than pulling out your phone, log on to your laptop or desktop instead.
9. Get busy
We only doomscroll because we believe we don’t have anything better to do.
The key is to fill in these hours spent in front of screens with time enjoying a hobby, out exercising, or spending time with friends.
The busier you are, the less time you will have to waste online.
10. One day at a time
If you do go over your self-imposed limits, end up spending a day scrolling TikTok, and let the hours fly by, do not take this as an opportunity just open the floodgates.
Allow for slip-ups and get back on track – remember, these apps are designed to keep you addicted and eat your attention for as long as possible!
Take it one day at a time and find ways to reduce your screen time that work for you.
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Liam McLaughlan 
Paolo Castro 
Shameeka Voyiya