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Digital Wellbeing: Fight Technology Addiction with App Timers
Updated: Jul 14
Boomer Tech Help
Dear Friends,
If you can think of something useful, there is probably an app for that. One day, there may one day be an app for everything (Uber - but for inter-planetary travel).
Some apps we use are essential and non-addictive, such as google maps or note-taking apps. But other apps are guilty pleasures, such as social media, gaming apps, etc. Many of these apps can have a real impact on your mental health if their use is not curbed. Addressing technology addiction is essential in the digital age.
A good way to limit how many sweets you eat is by putting them out of reach. Placing a barrier between your craving and grabbing a handful. An app timer help put this barrier in place between you and addictive apps. These tools can be seen as a form of technology addiction treatment.
Below is a step-by-step guide to setting these app timers up on your smartphone. This guide can be particularly useful for those who are struggling with technology addiction in youth, as young people are often the most frequent users of addictive apps.
App Timer - Android
For Android users, Google’s Digital Wellbeing tools provide excellent resources to help manage screen time. To set up app timers on Android (Source: A Guide to Digital Wellbeing - Android Authority)
1. Open your phone's Settings app and tap on Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
2. Under Your Digital Wellbeing tools, tap 'Show your data' if you want to gain more insights on how much time you've spent today on your apps.
3. The dashboard chart shows your phone use over the week. Tap the red drop-down menu to view more information, such as Screen time, Notifications, and Times opened.
4. To limit your daily time on an app and set an app timer, tap the hourglass icon beside the app on the right-hand side. Just be aware that when you run out of time, the app closes, and its icon dims. All app timers reset at midnight, but if you want to use it before then, you must delete or add more time to the app timer.
Apple
As for iOS users, Apple's Screen Time feature is a great tool to monitor and control the amount of time spent on each app and set up an app timer. Here are the steps to set up app timers on an Apple device (Source: Addicted to Your Phone or Ipad? - PC MAG)
You can set a time limit for a category of apps (for example, Games or Social Networking) and for individual apps.
1. Go to Settings > Screen Time, then turn on Screen Time if you haven’t already.
2. Select one or more app categories.
3. Tap 'App Limits', then tap 'Add Limit'.
4. To set limits for individual apps, tap the category name to see all the apps in that category, then select the apps you want to limit. If you select multiple categories or apps, the time limit you set applies to all of them.
5. Tap 'Next', then set the amount of time allowed.
6. To set an amount of time for each day, tap 'Customize Days', then set limits for specific days.
7. When you finish setting limits, tap 'Add'.
Congratulations!
You're now one step ahead of addictive apps with the help of app timers. If you have any questions or need further guidance, please don't hesitate to ask. Remember, understanding and managing technology addiction symptoms is a crucial step toward maintaining good mental health.
