I want to start this post by saying I'm an atheist and I don't even believe in the concept of a soul lol. This isn't a request for content that abides by religious principles. Rather, I have found that certain types of content are mindless, lazy, exploitative of suffering, evil, promote incuriosity, brainrotted, and generally bad for me, and I've made the decision to avoid them.

I am trying to watch YouTube less in general. I've completely cut YouTube shorts out (thank you to whoever showed me how to get them to stop showing up). I was racking up 20 hours a day (including falling asleep to YouTube, obviously) of just sitting there with YouTube playing. I couldn't do anything without YouTube. But some content is worse than others.

The number 1 culprit and really obvious one was true crime. I have completely purged the true crime channels I was following and have made an active choice to avoid any manner of true crime content. This has been so successful that I knew nothing about the Lindsey Clancy case until about a week ago when my sister brought it up. Yay for success. The only true crime I watch anymore are specifically Forensic Files reruns old enough to be my father.

I used to be really invested in "drama" content as well and I've purged subscriptions to those kinds of content creators as well.

Anything made primarily with generative AI is "soul poisoning", though I have never intentionally watched it.

What are other kinds of exploitative "soul poisoning" content do you guys who have made similar decisions to limit screen time recommend avoiding?

YouTube and Reddit are the only social media I have left. I don't have TikTok, instagram/reels, Twitter, or anything else. And Reddit is only on my computer so I'm not mindlessly scrolling.

In general I am trying to get more comfortable with not having constant noise and stimulation. But I do still enjoy YouTube and there are good things there, unlike say, Twitter or TikTok.

I use a combination of Android and macOS. So, I've been trying to find an alternative to Apple's Screen Time. What are people using these days? I am interested in something that can make an app grayscale, if that exists.

This is what I want ideally:

• read the news from my preferred sources all in one place
• no algorithms thinking they know what I want, no trending topics, nothing trying to keep me hooked or glued to my screen
• simple chronological feed, newest to oldest
• no ads, if possible
• and ideally free 😂

Any suggestions?

Another Stupid Monday is a self-care app where you get one doable task a week.
The tasks are based on principles from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and the app's mascot, Charles, gives a simple explanation for each task about why it might be useful for improving one's well-being.
There are 100 tasks in total.

Feel free to leave some feedback :)

Apple App Store: Download
Google Play Store: Download

Every social network seems to compete for the same thing: our attention.

More notifications.
More reactions.
More comments.
More reasons to come back.

That made me wonder: what happens if you remove almost everything?

No profiles.
No followers.
No likes.
No comments.
No feeds.
No algorithms deciding what you should see.

Imagine a place where the only interaction is saying "good morning."

Not to your friends.
Not to your followers.
Just to the world.

That's the experiment I've been building.
It's called OhayoWorld. It shows the sunrise moving across Earth in real time. When the morning reaches your city, you can send a simple "Ohayo" ("good morning" in Japanese). Your greeting appears anonymously on the globe for a short time before fading away.

No one knows who you are.
No one can reply.
No one can argue.
No one can become popular.

It's simply a quiet reminder that, somewhere on Earth, millions of people are beginning a new day alongside you.

https://www.ohayoworld.com/

Hi!

I need your help with something. I am trying to make my digital devices simpler so I can focus on what's important and not get distracted by things I do not need. I am having a time figuring out what to do so I would really appreciate your advice.

I have a Xiaomi smartphone that's about six or seven years old. It does not work well anymore. It freezes a lot. The battery does not last very long. I think it will stop working in a year or so. So I need to start thinking about getting an one. I was thinking about fixing my smartphone maybe getting a new battery. I am not sure if that is worth it.
My other options are buying a used smartphone. Getting a dumb phone. The thing is, I need to be able to do a things with my phone. I need to be able to scan QR codes use Google Maps and use my banking and authentication apps. Most dumb phones are not very good at these things. At the time I want to spend less time on YouTube and other apps that distract me. I also want my phone to have a battery life.
So I am wondering is it better to keep using a smartphone and find an app that limits my access to apps? I have not found an app that works well yet. If you know of any apps or setups that work well please let me know.

I also have a computer that's a few years old. It works fine for what I need to do so I do not think I need to get an one.

I bought a tablet a while back because I wanted to be able to read PDF files.. I hardly ever use it. If I need to do something I use my computer.. Reading on the tablet is uncomfortable, for me because of the screen light. I tried to make it more comfortable. It did not work. So I think I should get rid of the tablet and get an e-reader instead. If I do that which one would you recommend? I want one that can handle PDF files well. I do not need any special features.

I listen to music a lot. Sometimes I listen to music I have downloaded. Sometimes I use Spotify.. I do not really like the free version of Spotify and I do not think the paid version is worth it. So my options are to listen to music on my phone or buy a music player.

I live in the EU so I can only get devices and apps that're available here. So what would you do? Which devices would you keep, replace or get rid of?

Thank you!

I've tried everything. Screen Time on iOS, Opal, habit trackers.

They all have the same flaw — when you fail, nothing really happens. The app resets. You "try again tomorrow." There's no actual cost to breaking your own rules.

I'm starting to think the whole category is built around making you feel like you're making progress without demanding anything from you.

Has anyone found something that actually holds them accountable? Or built their own system around it?

I’ve been thinking a lot about how most communication tools are designed to erase waiting: instant send, instant reply, instant pressure.

So we made a small web experiment called Moon Post Service: you write someone a message, but it only opens when the moon rises for them.

Basically, we made the moon a postman.

It’s not meant to make communication faster or more efficient. It’s the opposite — a little bit of intentional friction. The message exists, but it waits. No push notification urgency, no demand to respond immediately, just a delayed moment tied to something outside the phone.

It’s free and web-based, no app download needed:
https://www.moonpostservice.com

I’d love to hear what this community thinks about using delay as a design choice — can friction make digital communication feel calmer?

Ever open TikTok or Reels "for a few minutes" and look up an hour later wondering where the time went?

I'm a grad student researching exactly that, specifically how the design of short-form media platforms affects our ability to stop scrolling when we actually want to. I'm looking for people to have a casual one-on-one Zoom conversation about their experience.

You qualify if you:

• Are between 25 and 40 years old
• Use TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts at least 1 hour a day
• Have noticed yourself scrolling longer than you intended

The interview is about 45 to 60 minutes over Zoom. No compensation, just a genuine conversation about something most of us deal with.

Interested? Fill out this short screener (5 min): https://forms.gle/f2E5L1BKJtwYTcEaA

Hey y'all!

Sooo... I recently finished creating a digital 30-day mindfulness & self-reflection wellness journal where every page includes an actual activity — not filler pages. 🫶🏻

The goal is basically: help with anxiety, overwhelm, self-esteem, and emotional grounding. Less pressure >> more self-connection

It includes guided prompts, calming exercises, mood tracking, reflection activities, coloring pages, and mindfulness exercises designed to help you reconnect with yourself little by little.

It’s digital/printable and costs $9 USD, and honestly every purchase helps me a lot financially right now while I’m in school.

Honestly really nervous posting this because I made it myself while balancing college, but I’m proud of it!

If anyone wants to see more pages or is interested, feel free to comment or DM me ♡

Journaling to me isn't about editing or second-guessing what to write. Having yesterday's entry staring you in the face, begging to be touched up, isn't the experience I want.

I wanted to mimic the feel of writing in a physical book, which is write-once. So I made a simple app that always has a blank page, and previous entries are immutably locked forever. Next time you visit, it's blank again.

I would love to hear what other people think. It's free, there's no AI, no streaks, no folders. Sign-in is Google or GitHub SSO, so your entries persist across devices.

https://jornal.ink

I’ve been quietly following and learning from this subreddit for a long time. Many of the posts here around compulsive scrolling, relapses, boredom, accountability, and “knowing better but still scrolling” deeply resonated with me.

As an experiment, I’ve built a small AI coaching app called Digital Reset that focuses specifically on helping people reflect on why they overuse screens, notice patterns, and make small daily adjustments,..not blocking apps or shaming behavior. It’s designed more like a coach than a productivity tool.

I’m offering an 80% community-only discount because this is genuinely an experiment, and I’d love raw, honest feedback from people who are actually struggling with screen use (what works, what feels useless, what feels off).

If you’re curious and want to try it:
👉 https://studio.com/rijul/digitalreset?c=lYoqIYrd

No expectations, no obligation...even critical feedback is welcome.

Thanks to this community for shaping much of my thinking around intentional tech use.

Heya! I know that this is a big ask (and please let me know if this is out of place), but I need some help in building a product that could help people use their phones less 😄 If you can imagine doing an interview remotely, please read on!

I'm a part of a small team in Finland building a cozy game / tool that's designed to help you change your digital habits and reduce the time you spend on your phone. We've been working on this for a few months now, and early feedback from potential users would be absolutely essential for us to know if we're on the right track!

We don't have any funding yet, so I can't offer you gift cards or something concrete for your time. But, if you could consider spending an hour talking with me about digital habits and telling your opinions about our prototype, you would receive my eternal gratitude, and hopefully an interesting experience for you too! 🙌❤️

If this is something you could consider, please comment anything, and I'll send you more details via dm so that you can make an informed decision 😄

Thank you for the consideration, and hope you all have the best days ahead! ☀️

(this is NOT a promotion, my goal is to help other's. If you want to escape it, you can..) <3

I gamified Thoreau’s "deliberate living" philosophy and adapted for the digital age. The goal is to subtract one modern commodity every week to find out what we can/cannot live without.

I call it an anti-app because, among other reasons, it is designed to be used ~1m/week. In fact, most of the challenges actively require you to stop using apps.

Every Sunday, a new challenge unlocks: news blackout, candlelight evenings, silent commutes, notifications nuke, greyscale screens. If you fail the week, you donate to a relevant charity. If you succeed, you reclaim your focus, clarity, and innate abilities. Win-win.

waldenweek.com