unplugging | a guide

Now more than ever, it's important to find a balance between your screens and your personal wellbeing. With so many overwhelming events happening worldwide, it's important to take care of yourself. I wrote up this blog to help share my step by step experience with unplugging, as well as provide my favorite resources to help. This is a bit wordy, so feel free to use the headers as navigation!

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Find your reason.

What is your goal? For me, I wanted to stop wasting time. I counted out my daily screentime (an average of 7 hours a day) and looked at it on a monthly basis. I spent 215+ hours on my phone during the first month of 2026. That's almost 9 full days of my life I spent on just my phone. After doing my math, I knew something had to change.

This step is personal and unique to each person. I encourage you to take a pen and paper and write down the pros and cons of the apps you're debating on quitting.

Decipher what you want.

From listing your pros and cons, you can get a general idea of what you want from your phone; communication was what I wanted most. My priority was staying in contact with my friends, which helped me weigh what apps to keep and which apps to quit. Again, this step is more personal to what your reasoning was.

Find alternatives.

It's easier said than done to cold turkey the internet. Finding alternatives is the next best thing. I wanted to prioritize communication, so I searched for resources. The following is what I found works best to continue communication without overstimulation:

Beeper

- Inbox condenser app. Free users can connect up to 5 inboxes from their favorite apps (I personally merged my messenger, instagram, and discord inboxes) into one neat inbox. It currently supports Android, IOS, and PC to stay better connected at home and on the go. It kept my favorite aspect of social media without the necessary influx of media and information.

Perfectly Imperfect

- Image and post sharing board. Very similar to twitter, but much smaller and much less overstimulating. Find your scenes and connect with people on an old internet vibe site (it's an app too!).

Get active.

It sounds so silly, but do something. Get up and go out. Take a walk around the block. Plan a hangout with friends. Keeping yourself occupied is the biggest deterrent for phone usage. My favorite thing I've learned from my parents was a phone free dinner. Talk about your day with your roommate or partner. Many local cities have a site where they post local events and activities. Please, if you take advice from this blog, let it be this.

Be mindful.

It's easy to get stuck in the motions of everyday living. It's hard being human. Be mindful and aware of your actions and what you're intaking. Make a tea before bed and read a few pages of your favorite book. Start reading a book in a group and discuss it with them. What you intake affects your mood. I personally enjoy the following resources to find meaningful reading:

Sublime

- An app and site similar to Pinterest, but more broad. Find articles, media, and inspiration using the in site search bar. No ads, and no slop.

Rate Your Music

- Community led music database. Scroll through discographies, genres, artists, and learn more about the music you listen to.

Conclusion

Unplugging is hard. Baby steps go a long way. Be kind and gentle to yourself. I hope these resources help others how they've helped me. I'll link a few more below at the end of this with short descriptions. Share your unplugging journey with me, ask questions, or share resources that helped you too!

Other Resources:

- Instead of Doomscrolling

A blog with more resources and links on how to stop doomscrolling, ideas, and more. I like to turn to this site when I get the urge to scroll.

- Spacehey

Spiritual successor to Myspace, a highly customizable CSS based site to chat and blog!

- Strawpage

A simple site builder that works on both mobile and web. It's fun for those who enjoy personalizing and making things their own. I use it as an alternative to carrd, similar to a site hub for my profiles.

- OLauncher

A free home launcher for android and ios. Simplifies apps to words, and lets you easily hide and rename apps. I like it for a less distracting layout, which keeps me off my phone more.