Alex B. Cann column - Thursday 24th July 2025

It’s been a week of sad news again, and all of us are guilty of ‘doom scrolling’ excessively. It’s perhaps one of the main motivations for the fact 33% of us have tried to end our phone “addiction” through a digital detox, and a similar proportion have tried to slash screen time.

Thanks to sofa sellers DFS, research has been published that shows more than half of those questioned spent three or more hours a day gazing at their handsets. The top 10 ways of trying to reduce your screen time, if you’re looking for a suggestion...

10 - Set a digital curfew before bedtime (9%). This could involve a house rule of not looking at your phone after a set time, or perhaps keeping it out of the bedroom entirely. It can’t be good for your sleep to gaze at a screen moments before trying to nod off, I guess.

9 - Listening to more radio (9%). I may be biased, as I’ve been a radio presenter for the last 22 years, but I’d definitely prescribe a dose of our Late Night Love Songs on Tameside Radio during the week. Two hours of mellow songs from 11pm Monday to Friday, commercial-free and full of delightful tunes, with no waffly bits in between. I don’t suggest listening to the news before bed, as you’ll just end up having awful dreams about some of the terrible stuff that goes on in the world. Or maybe that’s just me.

8 - Deleting social media apps (10%). I’ve done this with Twitter in the past, when it changed hands a couple of years ago and became particularly toxic. It’s back on my phone now, and to be honest I should probably do the same again, as I don’t feel there has been any improvement.

7 - Listening to music/podcast without looking at your screen (11%). I’ve started listening to audiobooks, and am in the middle of a fantastic one at the moment (Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty). A brilliantly crafted story is perfect for taking you out of the day-to-day, but best enjoyed without staring at social media at the same time. In fact, this newspaper is perfect for a digital detox too!

6 - Keeping your phone in another room (12%). I’ve started having bubble baths without my phone, partly because of the risk of dropping it into the Mr. Matey bubbles, but partly to try and switch off a bit more from the day-to-day. Who wants to be checking work E-mails in the tub? Not me!

5 - Taking up new hobbies (12%). My cinema hobby is handy for getting me off my device, in fairness. I only wish everyone who attended the pictures also stuck to the rule about switching phones to silent. Along with feet on the seats and people who are too lazy to take their own rubbish out of the screen at the end of the movie, they are perfect Room 101 candidates in my book.

4 - Set screen time limits (12%). Have you ever checked your stats for how long you’ve spent on your device in a day? It’s alarming to say the least!

3 - Embracing nature (13%). I remember enjoying the delights of park walks a lot in 2020, during those strange Covid times, when we had an hour’s walking time kindly allocated by a Government that was fastidiously sticking to its own rules at all times. Green spaces are great for your mental health, and you don’t need to go far to find a nice walk, wherever you live. We are blessed with loads around these parts!

2 - Reading more (17%). I’m trying to get through my book backlog before we move house later this year, or at least clear a couple off the shelves, whilst resisting the temptation to buy more. The struggle is real!

1 - Turning off notifications (17%).  This is something of a revelation. Rather than being a slave to the various apps you have installed, switch off the notifications, and just check them sparingly, rather than every time a notification ‘pings’. In a recent book I read by Louisa Guise called “How To Leave A Group Chat”, she likens the modern-day smartphone to a Las Vegas-style gambling machine. The aim of technology companies seems to be to keep us hooked for as long as possible. At the risk of borrowing a hackneyed phrase used by snake oil salesmen, take back control and switch those notifications off! I also recommend Louisa’s book. It’s a brilliant read.