A recent randomized controlled trialfound that simply removing mobile internet access — while still allowing calls and texts — can produce measurable improvements in psychological functioning in as little as two weeks. Researchers effectively turned smartphones into "dumb phones," and the results were striking: improved sustained attention, improved mental health, and higher subjective well-being.
This was a month-long preregistered randomized controlled trial with a cross-over (waitlist) design, enrolling 467 iPhone users in the U.S. and Canada. Participants installed the Freedom app, which blocked all mobile internet access (Wi-Fi and cellular data) for two weeks, while still allowing calling, texting, and internet use on other devices like laptops or desktops. Outcomes were measured at baseline (T1), two weeks (T2), and four weeks (T3), allowing researchers to compare changes during restriction periods versus normal-use periods.
After two weeks without mobile internet, participants experienced significant improvements in subjective well-being (including life satisfaction and positive/negative affect), mental health (a combined index including depression, anxiety, anger, personality functioning, and social anxiety), and objectively measured sustained attention using the validated gradCPT task (d-prime accuracy). Notably, about 91% of participants improved in at least one of these core outcomes, suggesting that the effect was widespread rather than limited to a small subset....<<<Read More>>>....
