Template
Measure attention and well-being, not only screen-time minutes
A lower number is useful only if the life it creates is better.
When it fits
- A digital-boundary experiment is evaluated only by whether total screen time falls.
When to avoid it
- Mental-health symptoms require appropriate care; a phone experiment is not treatment.
A template to use
Exposure metric: [phone/internet use]. Primary life outcome: [outcome]. Simple measure: [measure]. Guardrail: [missed need].
Why it matters
The 2025 trial measured sustained attention, subjective well-being and mental-health outcomes in addition to usage. When changing phone access, choose outcomes tied to the actual reason for the experiment: uninterrupted work, presence with family, sleep timing, mood or time for movement. Screen time is an exposure metric, not the final purpose.
An example
Track whether focused work blocks increase and bedtime scrolling falls, not only whether weekly screen time is 40 minutes lower.
Check your result
The experiment can fail or succeed based on a meaningful outcome even if raw screen time changes modestly.
Keep this limit in mind
- Mental-health symptoms require appropriate care; a phone experiment is not treatment.
Evidence and sources
The mobile-internet RCT evaluated objective sustained attention and well-being outcomes rather than relying only on usage time.
Mental-health symptoms require appropriate care; a phone experiment is not treatment.
Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being · See source record