There are some pretty disheartening studies out there that show that we are hopelessly addicted to our phones — but can an app actually help us break our bad habits? The new app NoPhoneZone monitors how long you can stay offline — and also tweets when you fail to leave your phone alone. Shame is kind of an iffy tactic, but at least in this case, you've chosen to use it yourself, right?
Those studies I mentioned about our phone addition? They're no joke. One international study found that around 80 percent of people actually start to panic when they spend over 24 hours away from their phone, showing that while our smartphones can certainly be useful, they're also kind of ruining our lives. If you're someone like myself who has a lot of trouble staying off your phone, or if you obsessively check it every five minutes even though you didn't receive any sort of notification, NoPhoneZone might be for you.
NoPhoneZone doesn't just set a timer to monitor how long you're able to stay offline; it also publicly shames you for breaking your offline pact. After you activate the app and put your phone away, the timer kicks in and sends out a tweet from your Twitter account saying that you're "offline now." As soon as you go back online, the app will tweet how long you lasted. So now not only can you feel bad about about your own Internet addiction, but you can also put all your failures on display for all your followers to see.
Need more convincing that you should spend a little less time on your phone? Check out these three apps to help you get some time away from the screen and rest your eyes.
1. Moment
This app will not only track how much you use your iPad and iPhone, but will also notify you when you've used it too much. You can also set daily limits for yourself; the app will let you know when you exceed those limits.
2. Checky
This app tells you how many times a day you check your phone, and though it won't necessarily reprimand you for checking it too many times, it will probably make you super aware of the fact that you're picking up your phone 120 times in one day. Excessive? Maybe.
3. BreakFree Cell Phone Addiction
This Android app will help you take timed breaks from your screen and gently nudge you when you've used it too much.
So go forth, get off your phone, and conquer the non-Internet world. You can do it!
Images: Giphy (3)
