Eight hours on a phone a day nearly broke her life and a dead charger sparked a life changing morning ritual
A sociologist from New York, Caitlin Begg, 31, didn’t realize she had a problem until one morning her phone died and the charger was on the other side of the room—prompting her to pick up a book. Since that morning in September 2022, she has chosen to read every morning instead of touching her phone, which she says has allowed her to lower her screen time to about an hour a day. "I have begun every morning without exemption reading non-fiction before computer use," she said. "Sometimes it is just a page when I am running out the door, sometimes I am reading for an hour." "But I realised on that morning that my brain felt different, and now my screen time has decreased by over 65 percent since then. That has really allowed me to ground myself in this morning habit." She noticed that before she would experience a phenomenon which she dubbed 'phone brain', with her brain feeling 'heavier', and now in contrast she feels 'present' in the morning. "Your brain feels like it needs to be doing a million things at once, and that you need to be checking and communicating constantly," she said.
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No phones in the bedroom the rule that re-grounded her mornings
"My number one rule is no phones in the bedroom. If you live in a studio apartment, put your phone on the other side of the room or leave it in the bathroom," said Ms Begg. "What went away that morning was that feeling. I was present in one place." If you'd like to lower your screen time, her top tip is to not have your phone in the bedroom and work out what activity you can do during that time instead, whether that's reading or going for a walk. "Also look at your everyday screen time to see how many hours a day [you are using it]. Say you are spending two hours a day on TikTok, find an activity you can do in those two hours, whether that is going out with a friend or going for a walk." The key is something she calls 'Progression to Analog' - the title of her podcast - which involves engaging in any direct and unmediated experiences which she explained in a TikTok video. "Direct unmediated experience could mean brushing your teeth and washing your face and showering and having breakfast without going on your phone. It could mean looking out the window. It could mean doing 10 jumping jacks," she said. She added: "What I say to people is, even if you don't like reading, you can just sit there and look out the window for a minute or you can just shower and brush your teeth before you go on your phone." In her journey to reducing screentime, she also took three years off of TikTok until recently, because she said she disliked the 'contentification of everyday life'. "It was actually really easy for me to give up. Because I was starting my day with a book, I never really looked back," she said. Alongside this, she also stopped wearing headphones in public eight months ago and has been turning her attention to observing the public's relationship with technology.
Progression to Analog the direct experiences that replace scrolling
The key, she says, is something she calls 'Progression to Analog' - the title of her podcast - which involves engaging in any direct and unmediated experiences which she explained in a TikTok video. "Direct unmediated experience could mean brushing your teeth and washing your face and showering and having breakfast without going on your phone. It could mean looking out the window. It could mean doing 10 jumping jacks," she said. "What I say to people is, even if you don't like reading, you can just sit there and look out the window for a minute or you can just shower and brush your teeth before you go on your phone." In her journey to reducing screen time, she also took three years off of TikTok until recently, because she said she disliked the 'contentification of everyday life'. "It was actually really easy for me to give up. Because I was starting my day with a book, I never really looked back," she said. Alongside this, she also stopped wearing headphones in public eight months ago and has been turning her attention to observing the public's relationship with technology.
Tracking subway noise and the year off TikTok and headphones
For the past year she has been tracking every instance of smartphone noise - sound from continuous video or music, a notification or speakerphone - during her subway journeys. She said: "I have tracked every instance of smartphone noise since January 1, 2025. It was interesting because it showed 70 per cent of all subway rides that I logged have smartphone noise." And worryingly, she adds that it's harder for people to unplug themselves, as people use technology to escape it. "It is something that plagues us because people are then putting in their headphones to make it quieter," she said. "Phones are making us more atomised, more individualistic - it is interesting to see the effect it has on our everyday environments."
Screen time in numbers and the policy backdrop
On average UK adults spend four and a half hours online, according to a report by OFCOM, the regulator for broadcasting, the internet and telecommunications. The majority of this time was spent on a smartphone, with adults using on average 41 apps a month, and WhatsApp, Facebook and Google Maps being the most commonly used in this age group. Meanwhile, evidence in a parliamentary report said there's been a 52 percent increase in children's screen time between 2020 and 2022, and nearly a quarter of young people use it in a way consistent with behavioural addiction. It called for tougher mobile phone bans in schools in England due to the harms of screen time such as learning disruption as well as worsening memory, processing speed and attention levels. Research has also shown that lowering screen time isn't just important for children - it can also have benefits for adults too. A study published earlier this year in the journal BMC Medicine found reducing screen time can lower depressive symptoms, improve sleep quality and reduce stress.
Benefits for adults and the road ahead
Reducing screen time isn’t just a concern for children. The research cited above, including a study published in BMC Medicine, suggests that lower screen time can have tangible mental health and sleep benefits for adults as well.
