Dec 15, 2024
Why App Blockers Don't Work
App blockers rely on willpower during your weakest moments. The Bullshit Tablet relies on physics. You can't scroll what isn't in your hand.
Read more →Stop doomscrolling by adding friction back. Move your social media apps to a cheap, low-quality tablet. Make mindless scrolling a mindful choice.
Your phone is always in your pocket. Social media is one tap away. Doomscrolling happens before you realize it.
These apps are designed to minimize friction, maximize engagement, and keep you scrolling indefinitely.
Move social media to a separate, cheap tablet. It's slow, clunky, and stays on your desk. Now it's a choice.
Social media becomes intentional. You check it when you want to, not out of habit. Your phone becomes a tool again.
The tablet stays home. Your phone comes with you. Can't doomscroll in line at the grocery store.
Cheap specs mean slow loading. Suddenly Instagram isn't instant gratification anymore.
Having to walk to another device creates a pause. That pause is where awareness lives.
No expensive detox retreats. Just a $50 tablet that looks kind of ridiculous on your coffee table.
The Bullshit Tablet isn't a product. It's a philosophy. It's the realization that social media cleanses don't work because they're binary—you're either on or off. But the real world isn't binary. You need some social media. You just don't need it to be effortless.
The concept is simple: buy the cheapest, most basic tablet you can find. Move all your social media apps to it. Delete them from your phone. Now social media requires intention. You have to physically go to another device. You have to wait for it to load. You have to want it.
This method isn't about digital detox or app blockers or willpower. It's about designing your environment to support better habits. It's friction as a feature, not a bug.
Thoughts on friction, attention, and taking back control.
App blockers rely on willpower during your weakest moments. The Bullshit Tablet relies on physics. You can't scroll what isn't in your hand.
Read more →Going offline for a week feels great. Coming back feels terrible. Instead of abstinence, try redesigning your relationship with these tools.
Read more →Tech companies spent billions removing friction from their apps. What if the solution to digital wellness is adding it back?
Read more →Evidence supporting friction as a tool for behavior change.
Variable rewards and infinite feeds create dopamine loops that make it nearly impossible to stop scrolling. The absence of natural stopping points removes your ability to choose when to disengage.
View sources →Studies show that physical separation from devices significantly reduces compulsive checking behavior. When your phone is in another room, usage drops by up to 40%.
View sources →Adding even small amounts of friction to habitual behaviors reduces their frequency. A 5-second delay can decrease unwanted habit execution by over 30%.
View sources →Having social media on your primary device doesn't just affect the time you spend on it—it affects your ability to focus on everything else. Notification anxiety is real.
View sources →Relying on willpower alone fails 80% of the time. Environmental design—like physically separating temptations—succeeds where pure intention doesn't.
View sources →Complete abstinence from social media isn't sustainable for most people. What works is redesigning the relationship to require intention rather than elimination.
View sources →Find a cheap tablet, move your apps, and watch your relationship with social media transform.
Browse Tablets on AmazonWe're not selling tablets. Just pointing you to ones that work.
Questions? Feedback? Success stories?