As awareness grows regarding the negative impact of social media on attention, imagination, and overall wellness, more people are opting to delete social media apps from their phones. The logic is straightforward: if the app isn't on your phone, you're less likely to use it. For those who need these apps for work or school, there's the option to use less tempting browser-based versions. Essentially, the goal is to introduce some friction to using otherwise "addictive" apps.

However, a common pattern emerges – many who initially delete the apps find themselves reinstalling them, ending up right back where they started. This time around, there's an added layer of feeling like they've failed.

Why do we have this behavior and what to do about it?

First, the why. Here’s a useful acronym to help you uncover potential reasons. PHONE

P - Pressure

H - Habit

O - Obsession

N - Need

E – Envy or Fear

Pressure: In social groups, adhering to established norms is essential. Straying from these norms, whether overtly or subtly, can create pressure. For instance, if your group commonly shares pictures on Instagram, not participating by commenting or posting your own may make you feel out of sync in conversations with friends. The question might arise: are you truly a friend if you haven't liked another friend's latest reel?

Habit: Remember when you learned to type without looking at the keys? Just like the keyboard becomes second nature, our brains map phone apps, making it easy to find and open them effortlessly. Just the perfect stretch of a thumb away from our devices as they rest in our palms.

Obsession: Often, people refer to social media as being addictive. What they mean to say is that for some people – the dopamine rush is overwhelming and pales in comparison to most other things. And so, they obsessively try to recreate that rush. Of course, each hit of social media doesn’t leave you with the same happy and exciting dopamine release. That intermittent, unpredictability adds to the obsession.  

Need: The boundaries between work and life have blurred. For content creators, social media managers, entrepreneurs, etc., being present and active on social media is now integral to the job – a genuine necessity. Additionally, the need for connection has grown as real-life experiences can be lonely. This holds true not just for an increasing number of Americans but on a global scale as well.

Envy: Social media becomes a benchmark for some individuals to gauge their success, happiness, and progress by comparing it to others' lives. This comparison can lead to feelings of inadequacy or fear of missing out on something others seemingly have access to.

And so, the endless clicking and scrolling continues.

The next time you think about why you might be in this endless loop of deleting and reinstalling Instagram (or TikTok, Reddit, LinkedIn, Slack etc.) from your mobile devices, you can use the acronym P.H.O.N.E to first figure out the root cause.

What to do about it.

Ok. You’ve done the challenging part. But still, figuring out why is just half of the solution. What do you do about it? One thing we know is that no one likes being given solutions like ‘You need greater willpower’. Those are vague and often exacerbate the sense of inadequacy. Unfortunately, that’s what a lot of current literature and school education is about. Somehow making it seem that there is inherently something wrong with you – if you can’t strike a healthy balance. Very few consider this an educational challenge. Something that adults and kids both need to learn.

Simply deleting the offending app from your device is a knee jerk reaction that can place you in a void. Empty time and space that you now need to fill. So, to fill that time you might go out for a walk in nature or do some art or listen to some music. And as refreshing as these might be, you might also still be countering the P.H.O.N.E. effects. That nagging feeling that you might be missing something or that people are making a perception about you or your own habitual need to feel your phone as you scroll.

And so, we encourage making a plan to succeed in advance. As part of your plan, every activity that you choose to introduce in your life as a replacement for the time on the app needs to be one that helps you sufficiently counter the P.H.O.N.E effects. For that reason, we like frameworks vs. single actions.

At Scroll by Choice, our digital wellness framework is rooted in three pillars: Smiles, Skills & Surprise. Learning and then activating this framework provides your sense of agency greater resilience and adaptability. It places you back in control of your own screentime. By activating these three innate traits you can rediscover and raise to the conscious – human attributes that have otherwise been stymied. We invite you to learn more about this behavioral science backed, quantifiable framework for yourself, consider it for students in your classroom or even support your team at work – who might be burnt out. More information is available at www.scrollbychoice.com

About Scroll By Choice

We are a digital wellness company focused on helping people reclaim control over their screentime. Our research based, quantifiable and personalized solutions boost innate human traits that become dulled from persuasively designed technology.

We deliver solutions for organizations that care about workplace wellness, educational institutions that want to improve student outcomes as well as for individuals interested in reclaiming control over their digital habits.