WOMAN CUTS SCREEN TIME BY 65% WITH ONE SIMPLE DAILY HABIT

A woman reduced her screen time by 65% by reaching for a book instead of her phone in the morning.

Caitlin Begg, 31, was spending eight hours a day on her phone and didn’t realize it was an issue until she was forced to pick up a book one morning when her device was out of charge.

She read half of her book and said her brain felt different – feeling lighter and was able to be present in the day – and decided to stick to her habit.

Now she reads every morning instead of picking up her phone and says it has helped her reduce her screen time by more than 65 per cent – to one hour a day.

As well as giving up her phone in the morning, Caitlin took three years off TikTok, and stopped wearing headphones in public – to consider how the relationship between technology and urban infrastructure shapes our lives.

Caitlin, a sociologist, from New York City, said: “Since September 2022, I have begun every morning without exception reading non-fiction before any computer use.

“Sometimes it is just a page when I am running out the door, sometimes I am reading for an hour.

“But I realized on that morning that my brain felt different, and now my screen time has decreased by over 65 percent since then.

“That has really allowed me to ground myself in this morning habit.”

After giving the phone up and picking up a book each morning, Caitlin said she has noticed a difference in what she calls “phone brain.”

She said that when she was reaching for her phone the first thing in the morning, her brain felt “heavier” and now she feels “present” in the moment rather than doing “a million things” at once.

Caitlin said: “Your brain feels like it needs to be doing a million things at once, and that you need to be checking and communicating constantly.

“What went away in that first morning was that feeling. I was present in one place.

“I think with technology, it is easy to feel like we need to be everywhere at once.

“What I say to people is, even if you don’t like reading, you can just sit there and look out of the window for a minute.

“Or you can just shower and brush your teeth before you go on your phone. Anything that’s a direct and unmediated experience can help with grounding yourself in the morning.”

As well as grabbing a book in the morning, Caitlin gave up TikTok.

She said she disliked the “contentification of everyday life” so wanted to head off the app and see how our phones were impacting everyday life.

Caitlin said: “It was actually really easy for me to give up.

“Because I was starting my day with a book, I never really looked back.

“I had never wanted to reach for my phone in the morning.

“It is something that I used to do, but now I just don’t miss it.”

As well as giving up TikTok, Caitlin said she gave up wearing headphones in public eight months ago.

She said that she has been tracking her journeys on the subway, and 70 percent of her journeys have logged smartphone noise – continuous video or music, a notification, or speakerphone.

Caitlin said: “I have tracked every instance of smartphone noise since January 1, 2025.

“It was interesting because it showed that 70 percent of all subway rides that I logged have smartphone noise.

“It is something that plagues us because people are then putting in their headphones to make it quieter.

“Phones are making us more atomized, more individualistic – it is interesting to see the effect it has on our everyday environments.”

Caitlin said her top tip for giving up your phone and lowering your screen time is not having a phone in the bedroom.

She said it is good to assess your screen time and work out what activity you can do during that time instead.

Caitlin said: “My number one rule is no phones in the bedroom.

“If you live in a studio apartment, put your phone on the other side of the room or leave it in the bathroom.

“Also, look at your everyday screen time to see how many hours a day.

“Say you are spending two hours a day on TikTok, find an activity you can do in those two hours – whether that is going out with a friend or going for a walk.”

2025-08-26T15:10:38Z