By Kayla DeKraker
In a world driven by notifications and endless scrolling, disconnecting from screens — a phenomenon known as “appstinence” — is more important than ever, as NBC News business and data correspondent Brian Cheung reminded us.
“Oh sorry, you just caught me doing a little doomscrolling,” he began a recent Instagram video. “In fact, a lot of people are doing doomscrolling. So many in fact that people are doing this thing called ‘appstinence.’”
He joked, “Not that abstinence — appstinence from your phone. If I check my own screen time right now, I’m at about three hours and 39 minutes. Not that bad when you consider that the national average is somewhere closer to five hours a day. That’s over 30% of the time that you’re awake, by the way.”
Cheung said that a lot of people are trying to “‘app-stain’ from getting all this doomscrolling.”
Related: 4 Ways to Cut Your Children’s Screen Time in Half Without a Fight
So how exactly does appstinence work? There are several ways people are solving their screentime addiction.
“What they’re doing is they’re using, ironically, apps like Opal where you can define what apps you want to spend less time on. You can set limits or just ban yourself entirely,” he said.
He continued, “And there’s even physical ways of doing it, too. There’s the Brick, where you actually have this set up, let’s say for example in your home. When you leave for work, you tap the Brick and Brick yourself. You can’t access things like Instagram, TikTok. And when you get back home, you can tap that Brick again, and get back to doing a little bit of scrolling.”
Some people even reverted to dumb phones to keep screens at bay.
Cheung concluded, “Nonetheless, a lot of people are trying this ‘appstinence’ trend, which raises the question: are you going to try it this year?”
Like Cheung pointed out, the average person spends hours a day glued to smartphones, tablets and laptops. One study even said that Americans spend, on average, seven hours and 18 minutes on screens each day, excluding work or school.
While technology has improved communication and makes tasks easier, experts warn that constant digital stimulation can come at a cost. Studies have linked too much screen use to higher levels of stress, anxiety, sleep disruption and reduced focus.
But disconnecting from screens can have positive health outcomes.
“Three weeks of screen time reduction showed small to medium effect sizes on depressive symptoms, stress, sleep quality and well-being,” a 2025 study from BMC Medicine revealed. “The results suggest a causal relationship, rather than a merely correlative one, between daily smartphone screen time and mental health.”
Movieguide® previously shared tips to limit screen time during the summer, including creating clear boundaries and keeping your kids and yourself busy.
Screens aren’t going away anytime soon, but with discipline, boundaries and a little appstinence, we can set limits and become healthier and happier.
Read Next: Are Child Screen Time and Mental Health Issues Correlated? It’s Complicated…
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