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Apr 17, 2024

This 'Speed Bump' Hack Can Help You Spend Less Time Online

Weekdays 3:00PM-7:00PM Most of us spend too much time online. Whether it’s shopping, reading news stories, or just scrolling online, the number of times a day we’re online would probably surprise us

Weekdays 3:00PM-7:00PM

Most of us spend too much time online. Whether it’s shopping, reading news stories, or just scrolling online, the number of times a day we’re online would probably surprise us all. Admittedly, I’m on the internet way too much. Some of the time is spent looking for things to talk about on the show, while a good portion of time is spent wasting time, watching videos or scrolling through social media apps. There’s a new trick that can help you minimize your time online and it’s called the ‘Speed Bump’ hack.

According to Metro, U.K. tech journalist Georgie Barret has an easy way to stop yourself from being online so much. She says the way to do this is to reset your muscle memory by creating ‘speed bumps’ on your phone. When you rearrange your apps on your phone, you won’t automatically go to certain sites. For instance, if you have the Facebook app on your phone on your homepage, move it to another location. We quickly learn where each app is and place the ones we use the most on our homepages on our phones. By moving them around, you’re no longer going to them on ‘autopilot.’ You have to look for them, which will reduce your time on that app.

Barret says to rearrange your home screen and hide the apps in a folder. This will stop your finger from being on ‘autopilot’ and going right to those apps. She also recommends turning off notifications so you’re less likely to check social media apps or email all the time.

Doing these things will help you to become more intentional about scrolling or being online. This totally makes sense! I have Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, and other apps on my homepage. They’re set in a particular place, and I did their placement makes it easy for me to find them, so it makes it easy for me to be online lots. Since I’m someone that likes order, I have them all in a certain place. Once you change where they are, your brain doesn’t automatically go to them. You have to become intentional or purposefully get on them.

I may try the ‘speed bump’ idea! It would cut down on the mindless scrolling and video watching that I do daily and give me time to watch movies or engage in hobbies. Smart idea!

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