Friction-Maxxing: The Rise of App-Blocking Devices

Brick, the corporate behind the favored app-blocking gadget of the identical identify, has a fairly compelling tagline – “Take Back Your Time”. The gadget, in addition to others like Locked and Bloomcard, has been within the highlight for a while, particularly as increasingly more focus is on productiveness features at work and at house.

Yet, there may be additionally a basic cause for the rise in these gadgets and purposes – virtually all of us know that we spend an excessive amount of time on screens. If you don’t really feel you spend sufficient time in your cellphone, pill, or laptop computer, you might be within the minority. A 2026 examine claims that 53% of Americans want to cut back the time they spend on smartphones.

Brick and others faucet into this want, understanding that we all know it isn’t as straightforward as counting on willpower alone. A smartphone offers you entry to simply about any digital expertise you need, from attending Zoom conferences to wagering on WNBA game lines, from accessing social media to submitting tax returns. But the traces have blurred between what is important and what could possibly be thought of a waste of time.

We might all scroll rather less

Doomscrolling is probably the most regularly cited instance of time-wasting on smartphones. It’s turn out to be so ubiquitous as an exercise that it even has its personal social media web page. Yes, it implies extra the method of consuming unfavourable info (and misinformation) slightly than time-wasting, however it’s a part of the attract of smartphones. It is inherently human to take action, as it isn’t a strictly new phenomenon, linked to the identical household of cognitive biases as “mean world syndrome”.

Nevertheless, in case you are doomscrolling or doing one thing else “pointless”, there’s a recognition that this isn’t a very good use of your time. That’s the place the app-blockers come into their very own. Most of them are primarily based on the basic precept of including friction to your smartphone use. Yes, you’ll be able to all the time unblock an app blocker, however the further layer of friction can usually cease you from going into settings or switching to a different gadget to do it.

App-blockers stay comparatively area of interest

At a push, we’d say these app blockers are nonetheless fairly area of interest. Brick – clearly the trade chief for bodily gadgets – has been fairly guarded with its gross sales figures, however regardless of the actual determine is, even whether it is within the tens of hundreds of thousands, it could solely be a drop within the ocean in comparison with the almost six billion smartphone customers worldwide. Of course, you aren’t all the time required to make use of a bodily gadget, as many app-blocking apps exist, however Brick’s recognition is nearly actually linked to the bodily nature of the gadget. It affords a observe of finality.

The pursuit of much less screentime might be seen elsewhere, together with the rising recognition of dumbphones. These are gadgets that, because the identify suggests, strip away the leisure apps and non-essential instruments. They can nonetheless be related to the web, and so they could provide non-distracting purposes, like Google Maps, however the concept is that they’re for important use solely. Incredibly, they appear to be extra standard amongst youthful adults than older ones.

As we mentioned earlier, smartphones at the moment are seen as important – might you do your job with out one? – however they’re additionally the bane of productiveness, and most of us know that deep down we’re utilizing them an excessive amount of for no discernible cause. Adding a little bit of friction, together with coaching your self to be somewhat extra disciplined in utilizing them, is perhaps fascinating for all of us.