Do you ever find yourself opening Instagram or Facebook on your phone without really meaning to? It’s like your hands have a mind of their own and manage to open the apps without you thinking about it, which can lead to spending more time scrolling social media. If you want to break this automatic habit, there’s a hack that could help.
According to U.K. tech journalist Georgie Barret, the easiest way to reset this muscle memory is to create “speed bumps” on your phone. She explains that these speed bumps can stop the way you automatically open certain apps, scroll on the news or scroll on social media feeds when you don’t really want to do it.
All you have to do is rearrange your home screen to hide the apps in a folder. That way, Barret says when your “finger is on autopilot,” you have an extra step to make it tougher to get to those apps. She also recommends turning off notifications so you’re less tempted to check in all the time. This can help you be more intentional about your scrolling, instead of doing it throughout the day, when you’re bored or avoiding a task.
Source: Metro
Scott's Thoughts:
- As someone who automatically does this all the time, I’m definitely going to try the speed bump hack!
- My fingers seem to open apps on autopilot! Especially Facebook!
- I try to keep my phone away from me when sitting watching TV or other activities. If someone calls, my watch will tell me.