Protocol
Move intentional internet use to a less portable device during the trial
The goal can be less everywhere-internet rather than no internet.
When it fits
- You still need online research, banking or work while testing the effect of constant mobile internet.
When to avoid it
- Desktop substitution can simply move compulsive use to another screen; measure behavior rather than assuming success.
Why it matters
In the RCT, participants could still use internet on nonmobile devices. Move deliberate online tasks to the desktop or laptop, where access has a clearer place and start/stop boundary. This preserves internet utility while removing the ability to fill every idle moment from the phone.
Steps
- List essential online tasks.
- Choose the computer or location where each can still happen.
- Remove or block the phone route during the trial.
- Notice which phone checks disappear versus migrate intentionally.
An example
Read project documentation on the laptop while waiting until home to browse shopping or news instead of doing both from the phone everywhere.
Check your result
Important internet tasks still happen, but constant portable access is materially reduced.
Keep this limit in mind
- Desktop substitution can simply move compulsive use to another screen; measure behavior rather than assuming success.
Evidence and sources
The 2025 mobile-internet experiment retained nonmobile internet access, separating portability/constant access from internet use itself.
Desktop substitution can simply move compulsive use to another screen; measure behavior rather than assuming success.
Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being · See source record