Time slips away
Endless content makes it easy to stay longer than planned.
A digital wellbeing project
One more scroll.
One more scroll.
One less moment.
You pick up your phone for a minute. Suddenly, half an hour is gone. Endless feeds, constant checking and late-night scrolling can quietly interrupt the things that matter. It's time to notice the pattern—and find a better balance.
Not anti-technology. Pro-intentional living.
JUST FIVE MORE MINUTESSound familiar?
The feed keeps moving.
Your time matters.
Your time matters.
The pattern at a glance
45%
of surveyed U.S. teens said they spend too much time on social media. Pew, 2025 ↗
40%
of surveyed U.S. teens said social media hurts their productivity. Pew, 2025 ↗
11%
of surveyed adolescents showed signs of problematic social media use. WHO, 2024 ↗
These findings concern adolescent survey groups, not all young adults. Self-reports and associations do not establish that social media alone causes the outcomes.
01 / The Problem
It's not just about screen time.
The real question is what happens when checking your phone becomes automatic. When scrolling affects sleep, focus or your sense of control, it's worth paying attention.
Checking feels automatic
You reach for your phone even when there is no new message.
Focus gets interrupted
Short checks can break study time, conversations or rest.
02 / Voices From The ScrollBehind every scroll,
Behind every scroll,
there's a story.
Numbers show the scale. Experiences show what it feels like. Which of these sounds familiar?
Endless scrolling“I open an app for two minutes. Before I know it, half an hour is gone.”
Constant checking“Even when my phone is silent, I keep unlocking it without thinking.”
Focus“I sit down to study, then the notifications pull me away from my work.”
Sleep“I promise myself one last video, but scrolling keeps me awake longer.”
These stories are fictional examples of common experiences. The pictures are illustrative, not photos of people who submitted stories.
03 / Solutions That Fit The ProblemReal problems.
Real problems.
Practical next steps.
There is no universal screen-time limit for everyone. Find the problem that matches your experience and try one realistic change.
From: Endless scrolling01
Give the feed a stopping point.
“I only meant to scroll for a few minutes.”
Try this: Before opening the app, choose what you want to do and set a realistic reminder. Disable autoplay when possible. When the reminder appears, close the feed and switch to a planned activity.
Small experiment + expert guidance
A three-week trial with 143 university students found benefits from limiting certain social media apps; AAP guidance also recommends autoplay controls.
Read the research ↗From: Automatic checking02
Make checking a decision.
“I reach for my phone without a reason.”
Try this: Turn off nonessential alerts and badges from one social app. Keep important calls or messages available, but decide when you want to check everything else.
Pediatric expert guidance
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends switching off unnecessary notifications and autoplay.
Read AAP advice ↗From: Study interruptions03
Build one phone-free focus block.
“My study session keeps turning into scrolling.”
Try this: Put your phone out of reach for one study session. Try 25 minutes, then take a short break. Adjust the length to suit your schoolwork and attention.
Expert guidance
AAP suggests screen-free areas and times, including homework, to help reduce distractions.
Read AAP advice ↗From: Late-night scrolling04
Give bedtime a quiet hour.
“One last video turns into a late night.”
Try this: Start a phone-free wind-down routine before bed. Charge your phone away from your pillow and use Do Not Disturb or Sleep Focus for nonurgent alerts.
APA + AAP guidance
Expert guidance advises protecting sleep and establishing screen-free routines before bed.
Read APA advisory ↗From: Comparison & FOMO05
Make your feed work for you.
“I leave the app feeling like I am missing out.”
Try this: Notice which accounts leave you discouraged. Mute or unfollow some of them and spend more of your feed time on genuinely useful, supportive content.
Psychological expert guidance
The APA recommends media literacy and reducing exposure to content that encourages unhealthy comparisons.
Read APA recommendations ↗Your next step
Choose one change you can keep.
Select a challenge above or a story from the Voices section to discover a small action that fits your situation.
04 / The Evidence Behind The AdviceNot just opinions.
Not just opinions.
Sources you can check.
We separate survey findings, professional recommendations and experiments. They answer different questions and carry different levels of certainty.
People notice the problem.
In a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens aged 13–17, 45% reported spending too much time on social media. In a separate WHO international study, 11% of surveyed adolescents showed problematic use patterns.
Pew Research Center, 2025 ↗Simple boundaries are recommended.
The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages screen-free routines, fewer unnecessary alerts, and disabling autoplay. The APA recommends protecting sleep and using social media thoughtfully.
AAP media-use guidance ↗Changing habits may help.
In a 2018 study, 143 college students were assigned either to limit Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to 10 minutes per platform each day or use them as usual. The limited-use group reported lower loneliness and depressive symptoms over three weeks.
Hunt et al., 2018 ↗Keep the science in context: The survey figures describe particular adolescent groups, while the experiment involved university students and was relatively small. These results do not prove that every person will benefit equally, or that social media is always harmful. If phone use is seriously affecting everyday life, speaking with a trusted person or qualified professional may help.
What would you like
to take back?
More uninterrupted conversations. Better sleep. Time to create, study or simply rest. Start with one intentional choice.