Is everyone Bricking their phones without you? The anti-doomscroll wellness craze | Latest Tech News
They had been my college’s “it” couple — and they’d just called it quits, saying their breakup on social media with a cringe-inducing assertion.
When I noticed the post on my means to brunch with some previous school buddies, I knew I’d discovered our first subject of dialog. “Did you see it?” I requested, sure the cut up could be on everyone’s thoughts.
But none of them had, so I told everyone to pull up Instagram.
“We can’t,” one said, holding up her cellphone, its screen black besides for a message saying the app was blocked. “We’re Bricked.”
Brick goals to help customers cut down on their screen time by blocking distracting apps. Tamara Beckwith/NY Post
And just like that, I used to be the only 20-something in New York City without the viral screen-time-blocking gadget — or at least it felt that means.
Because, paradoxically, one of the most well liked new trends of our digital age is logging off.
The new FOMO
Brick is a $59 machine that pairs with a smartphone app. Users choose the apps they need to limit, then faucet their cellphone against the small puck to block them.
To get those apps back, you have got to bodily faucet your cellphone against it again.
In idea, Brick stays at home, which means you may’t unlock your digital temptations while you’re out. And if you’re already in mattress or on the sofa, you have got to get up and stroll over to it to get your apps back.
Brick has seen a meteoric rise since launching in fall 2023, as issues about the results of an excessive amount of time on devices have grown. Excessive screen time has been linked to every thing from disrupted sleep and eye pressure to poorer mental health, productiveness and relationships.
These days, it looks like everyone around me is making an attempt to cut back — and having bother truly doing it.
Smartphones have change into so deeply embedded in on a regular basis life that breaking our dependence on them is an “uphill battle,” according to Dr. Cort M. Dorn-Medeiros, a licensed skilled counselor, habit specialist and affiliate professor at Lewis & Clark College.
The $59 machine requires no ongoing subscription charges. Tamara Beckwith/NY Post
“It feels overwhelming and anxiety-provoking for many people to even consider relinquishing their smartphone,” he told The Post. “They genuinely cannot imagine living and navigating life without it.”
Meanwhile, social media algorithms are designed to keep customers scrolling, creating suggestions loops that can resemble addictive behaviors.
“Without my cellphone to fill those quiet stretches, I felt awkward and, at instances, barely anxious … I used to be stunned by just how uncomfortable I used to be with being bored.
McKenzie Bear
“The impulse to reach for your phone becomes automatic and many people find themselves unable to control it,” said Dr. John Puls, a psychotherapist, grasp’s licensed habit skilled and adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University.
No marvel digital detox instruments like Brick, “dumb phones” and the broader analog motion have taken off in 2026. After years of being consistently plugged in, people are discovering that letting go of digital FOMO can truly really feel like freedom.
Learning to sign off
Unable to resist a bandwagon, I attempted Brick myself.
Setting it up on the companion app, I restricted every social media platform I waste hours lurking on, plus a few video games I mindlessly play on the subway.
I also set up a schedule to routinely Brick those apps from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., conserving me off social media in the morning and during work. Then I created a “sleep” mode to lock them again after 9 p.m., giving myself a three-hour window for scrolling.
But I shortly discovered that blocking an app is a lot simpler than breaking a behavior.
Typically, I spend a few minutes on my cellphone in mattress before getting up. On my first Bricked morning, I attempted to open Threads at least 10 instances before dawn.
Users can choose which apps they need to restrict and when.
To unlock a Bricked app, customers have to bodily faucet their cellphone against the machine.
The urge adopted me throughout the day. In every second of downtime, I instinctively reached for my cellphone, only to hit a wall. And because my Brick was caught to my fridge at home, there was nothing I might do about it.
Without my cellphone to fill those quiet stretches, I felt awkward and, at instances, barely anxious. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself or where to look. I used to be stunned by just how uncomfortable I used to be with being bored.
“When someone first stop using their phone compulsively, there is essentially a withdrawal period,” Puls said.
The cravings could be surprisingly strong. Some people really feel stressed or like time is dragging, while others expertise “phantom” notifications, satisfied their cellphone vibrated when it didn’t. That can last weeks while your “nervous system settles,” said Puls.
Less screen, more life
Over time, those emotions began to fade. Soon, I used to be beginning my mornings by studying the news. Instead of scrolling during my commute, I completed a e book.
While ready for my espresso to brew in the workplace kitchen, I chatted with coworkers instead of checking Instagram DMs.
And because I used to be no longer as plugged into my buddies’ lives online, I discovered myself reaching out to the people I truly cared about more often.
Brick is a component of a growing motion to sign off and embrace old-school hobbies and analogue devices. Tamara Beckwith/NY Post
Evenings had been trickier. I felt antsy with all the additional time I immediately had, but it helped to keep busy — including by making more elaborate dinners, hitting the fitness center and even choosing up a guitar I hadn’t performed in a while.
“A lot of smartphone use is unintentional,” Dorn-Medeiros said. “We do it without thinking. Brick brings intention back into the picture, which can be very helpful.”
The real key to lasting change, he explained, is determining what to do instead of scroll.
It’s been more than three weeks since I Bricked my cellphone, and I really feel less distracted and more current in my day-to-day life. My anxiety has eased, too. Instead of consistently questioning what everyone else is up to, I spend more time having fun with whatever it’s I’m truly doing.
I even caught to my schedule on a household trip — usually prime time for scrolling when the Boomers in my life start speaking about the financial system.
Lately, I’ve discovered myself less keen to examine social media, even when my apps aren’t blocked. I still pop on right here and there, but I’m not getting sucked in and immediately realizing an hour has disappeared practically as often.
Sure, I may not know about the breakup of the couple I haven’t seen in years the second it occurs. But gossip is one of the oldest human pastimes — and there’s always the grapevine.
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