Do I have a smartphone addiction? 7 tips that reduce your screen time - and an app that changes everything

You know that: You can take your cell phone briefly, just to get it quicklyorCheck - and suddenly 45 minutes have passed. YouTube still suggests a video that you absolutely have to see and before you get yourself, the lunch break is over. Researchers from the University of Bonn have found that we look at our smartphone 53 times a day. REES, TIKTOKS and Youtube shorts also ensure that we linger on these apps as long as possible. And at the end of the day, the screen time is over four, five or more hours. This can become a habit, develop into an addiction and the worst: mostly it happens so subconsciously that you don't really notice it. Only the time that has been lost and you can no longer catch up.So how can you really reduce your screen time? Which tips and hacks we have to outsmart ourselves and which app in the end really brings a massive change, we found out for you.

I finally have a good relationship with my smartphone again. How did I notice that? I'm finally looking for it again. Sounds stupid, but a few months ago it was impossible to lay my smartphone. It was always in my hand or in my pocket or was in front of me. I had to change that. An app was to blame, it was clear to me: Instagram. Not because I post a lot or are particularly active there. But because I couldn't find out from the strudel from Reels, Stories and contributions. Colorful colors, loud music, the latest pop songs and the stupidest videos in world history, which are strangely viewed until the end. It can't be. Something had to change, but I didn't want to delete the app. Healthy and reflected handling is the goal, not total waiver. With a total of seven tips, it gradually got better. In the end, however, an app led to the fact that I only depend on Instagram for a few minutes a day. This is the way:

Before you can change something, you need to know how much time you actually spend on your cell phone. Look into the screen time statistics on your smartphone (iPhone: Settings> Screen Time, Android: Digital Wellbeing). Be honest with yourself: how many hours a day are it? Everything under two hours should not be a problem. In addition, it can happen that you lose important time in everyday life. Everything over five hours should be reduced urgently. With a screen time of over seven hours a day, you should think seriously.

We are happy to open social media apps reflexively. Make this automatism more difficult! Move Instagram, TikTok,Or which app is the most responsible for your high screen time in a folder called "Time waste" or hide it on the third or fourth side of your home screen. Still more radical? Delete the apps!

Your cell phone already offers functions to limit your use. Set a daily limit for social media apps, 30 minutes a day are a good alternative. You can find this under screen time (iPhone) or digital Wellbeing (Android). The key to success: be consistent! If you ignore the limit every time, it doesn't work. Sure, clicking away the message is made quickly. Therefore, this tip is just an add-on, a small further step towards less screen time.

The worst trap: in the evening in bed, “brief” scroll through social media - and suddenly it is 2 a.m. Make your bed into a no-phone zone! Do not charge your cell phone directly on the bed, but in another room. Use a classic alarm clock instead of your smartphone. This not only helps you to fall asleep earlier, but also to start the day more relaxed (and most likely earlier). Tip from me: Load the smartphone in the kitchen next to the coffee machine. This makes it easier to get up.

Every push notification is an invitation to take your cell phone in your hand. Switch off as many notifications as possible. To be honest, this also applies to messages. Every light of the display tears us out of our thoughts. So you are not constantly distracted and determine yourself when you look at your cell phone - not the other way around.

Is your screen time really massive? Did you know that colors play a huge role in how appealing your smartphone is for you? Apps are deliberately designed in such a way that they captivate them. The trick: Activate the grayscale mode! This hides all colors and your cell phone automatically looks much less exciting. You can find this mode under Settings> Operating Aids (iPhone) or Digital Wellbeing (Android). Try it out - you will be amazed at how quickly the stimulus subsides. Admittedly, this is a fairly radical solution. That also annoyed me brutally. But it is part of the process to notice what keeps you so much in these apps. The grayscale mode is certainly not a permanent condition, but a good means to make the smartphone unattractive and to promote the learning process.

Sometimes only one thing helps: to let the cell phone completely silence. Switch it into flight mode.To be honest, a completely underestimated tool when it comes to concentration. With one click, make your smartphone silent. Then she really doesn't interrupt anything. Fast and effective. TheDo not disturb-Modus, on the other hand, is particularly practical because you can adapt it flexibly. You can determine that calls and messages are only possible by certain people - for example by tight family members or important professional contacts. Exceptions for apps can also be set so that you only receive really necessary notifications. In addition, you can set times to which the mode is automatically activated - for example during working hours, sports or before going to bed. Use this function to consciously areolate distractions. You will notice how much more relaxed and more productive you are if your cell phone does not constantly demand your attention.

The app was and is one of my biggest gamuchangersOne Sec. It forces you to pause before opening the selected time-eating app-in my case Instagram. Every time I open Instagram, one sec asks me to take a deep breath and wait ten seconds. Sounds just? Yes. But is incredibly effective! This little break interrupts the automatic, thoughtless opening of apps. Do you even do that? I already had a guess that this will be my problem. You download the One SEC app, connect it to the app that takes the most time and you are interrupted every time you open the app. It sounds pretty stupid, but the second opening of Instagram was like a reflex for me. In the first three minutes in which I installed the app, I got the effect in mind. Once the ten seconds have expired, you can see how often the app has been tried to open in the last 24 hours. It also shows how many minutes (or hours) you used the app for the last time. Finally, a large button to close the app and a small one if you actually want to open it. After trying to open Instagram almost 40 times within 24 hours, my screen time on Instagram has reduced from several hours a day to exactly 17 minutes. The interruption makes angry, but not because of the interruption, but because you only notice how robotic you try to open this app. If you only swit between the tabs, you have to wait ten seconds again. Extremely annoying! But that's exactly why. One sec has changed everything for me. An app can be connected to the free version at One Sec. However, one sec can do a lot more. If you want to use the same principle to all social media apps, lock selected websites and track the time used, you can get the Pro version (approx. 15 euros a year). Then there is even a desktop extension. For me personally, one sec was the biggest gamuchanger and reduced my screen time to a minimum. Now in the evening I can finally go through series undisturbed for hours until the early hours of the morning, without having to repeat a episode because you are scraped into doom scrolls.