App Blocking: Why iPhone Users Struggle With Doomscrolling (And How to Stop)

Considering that approximately 64% of Americans are doomscrollers, some might say doomscrolling is the new American pastime — and that’s not something worth celebrating. According to a study from Payless Power, Gen Z is particularly susceptible to accidentally scrolling on their phone for hours, with 81% admitting to doomscrolling. 

Doomscrolling comes with big tradeoffs, including greater dissatisfaction with sleep quality, mental health, and even life in general for those who do it. Not surprisingly, many doomscrollers want to end the habit — and take back control of their time. It’s a hard habit to break, though.

Here’s why iPhone users struggle with doomscrolling — and how to finally stop the endless scroll with the minimalist phone app.

Problem #1: Visual Clutter

Phone apps create digital clutter on purpose. Our brains are hardwired to respond to colors and shapes: in the wild, this was a useful skill for distinguishing edible foods from each other and identifying dangers. In your phone, though, the constant onslaught of visual information can draw you away from your intended destination.

Digital Detox Solution: 

Minimalist phone has re-imagined the home screen with a clean, text-based layout — reducing the visual clutter and colorful dopamine triggers that encourage users to open apps. This way your phone is still highly functional and easy to navigate, but without all the bells and whistles that have you automatically tapping open apps.

Problem #2: Bottomless Content 

To keep users on their app — and engaged with their products or services — apps will play content automatically, with no end point.. According to a recent NPR article, it’s natural to want “more” of something — but most things in life have a natural stopping point. If you eat too much, you get full. If you bike too much, you feel sore. Apps like Instagram and Tiktok, however, offer no natural stopping point — so users never feel satisfied or finished with the task, leading to endless doom scrolling.

Productivity Solution:

In-app time reminders on minimalist phone means users are sent gentle reminders when they hit their time limits in certain apps — reminding them that they are participating in an endless scroll and should leave. 

The app also allows custom blocking schedules. If you know you tend to open TikTok when you get home from work and scroll without realizing it, you can now set a “dinner-time block” to make sure you’re focused on truly de-stressing from your workday — not scrolling through content while hunched over on the couch. You can also block off time for work, or focusing on a task. 

Problem #3: Intermittent Reinforcement Schedule

Decades ago, psychologists discovered that unpredictable rewards will produce the most habitual behavior — this is why slot machines are addictive. Why? Unpredictability creates a sense of persistent anticipation — triggering dopamine release. 

Smartphone apps have hijacked this reward system in order to keep users checking in and scrolling endlessly. If one out of every five TikTok videos is actually worth your time, your brain is subconsciously searching for the high of finding that video — leading to doom scrolling.

Wellbeing Solution:

minimalist phone app offers a break from the constant notifications and dopamine rewards that keep users hooked through the use of several key features. One is the notification folder. This prevents notifications from popping up without completely eliminating them, so that you can review them at a time that works for you — rather than getting trained to pick up your phone every other minute as you anticipate a potentially interesting update.

minimalist phone also offers a mindful app delay, which is a 15-second pause before the app actually opens. This creates friction to the seamless experience apps come with. While it doesn’t prevent use, it gives users a chance to be more mindful about their decision to open and use it. 

iPhone Users are Struggling with Screen Time: But There is Hope

According to a recent survey, 53% of people want to cut down on how much they use their phones. If you’re struggling to stop doomscrolling, you’re not alone — many iPhone users are struggling with this exact issue. Reducing your screen time can lead to reduced stress, better productivity and focus, and overall improvements to your wellbeing — so there are real and tangible benefits to reducing screen time. For most users, minimalist phone will be a great option for taking back control without having to switch to a dumb (analog) phone.