Social Media, Screen Time and Breaking the Habit
- Jul 31
- 5 min read
There is a fair chance you are reading this on your phone.
Perhaps you followed a link from Facebook or Instagram. Perhaps you intended to check one notification and ended up scrolling for twenty minutes. Most of us know how easily that can happen.
The UK Government recently announced plans to ban social media for under-16s, with the protections expected to come into force in spring 2027. It has also proposed overnight curfews and restrictions on features such as autoplay and personalised infinite feeds for 16 and 17-year-olds.
The debate has understandably focused on children and young people. However, it may also be a useful prompt for the rest of us to look honestly at our own relationship with our phones.
Connected, informed and entertained
Being constantly connected has many advantages. Our phones help us keep in touch, find information, navigate unfamiliar places, manage our work, take photographs and access support. Social media can create community, reduce isolation and help people find others who share their interests or experiences.
Ofcom found that 71% of UK adults felt being online had broadened their understanding of the world, while 62% said it had helped them learn a new skill.
So this is not about pretending phones or social media are inherently bad. It is about noticing whether we are choosing how to use them, or whether the habit has begun to make that choice for us.
How much tis too much screen time?
According to Ofcom, UK adults spent an average of four hours and 30 minutes online each day in 2025. For 18 to 24-year-olds, the average was six hours and 20 minutes.
Ofcom’s 2026 research also found that 67% of online adults felt they sometimes spent too long looking at screens, with 40% saying this happened on most days. Only 36% of social media users said the platforms were good for their mental health, down from 42% the previous year.
These figures do not mean that every minute spent online is wasted or harmful. What we are doing online matters, as does what that time might be replacing. There is a difference between speaking to a friend, learning something useful or watching a programme you enjoy and scrolling automatically through content that leaves you tense, distracted or dissatisfied.
When a habit starts to feel difficult to control
The word “addiction” is used very freely around phones and social media. Not everyone who spends a lot of time online has an addiction. It can be more helpful to think about whether your use feels compulsive, is affecting other parts of your life or has become difficult to change.
You might notice that you:
reach for your phone without consciously deciding to
check notifications during conversations, meals or work
lose more time to scrolling than you intended
feel restless or uncomfortable when your phone is not nearby
stay online later than planned, despite feeling tired
struggle to concentrate on slower or less immediately rewarding tasks
compare yourself with other people and feel worse afterwards
put off exercise, household tasks, hobbies or social plans
Phones provide quick rewards, constant novelty and relief from boredom or uncomfortable feelings. Over time, checking can become an automatic response to almost any pause in the day. The urge may appear before we have even noticed what triggered it.
Mood, sleep and motivation
Research in this area is complex. Heavy social media use can be associated with poorer mood, anxiety and sleep, but that does not always tell us which came first. Someone who already feels low, lonely or anxious may also be more likely to spend longer online.
Even so, there is evidence that changing our use can help. In a randomised study led by the University of Bath, 154 adults were asked either to stop using social media for a week or continue as usual. Those who took the break showed significant improvements in wellbeing, depression and anxiety. They also freed up around nine hours during the week.
Late-night use can affect sleep by keeping the mind stimulated, delaying bedtime and making it harder to switch off. A Mental Health Foundation survey found that 13% of people said using social media before bed had negatively affected their sleep in the previous month.
There can also be an impact on motivation. When the brain becomes used to quick, frequent stimulation, everyday activities may feel less appealing by comparison. A walk, a book, a household job or a work task offers a slower reward than a stream of new posts and videos. We may then wait to “feel motivated”, while reaching for the easier and more immediate option again.
Poor sleep, low mood and reduced motivation can feed into one another. The phone may offer a short-term escape, but the things left undone can create more stress later.
Breaking the Habit
You do not necessarily need to delete every app or give up social media completely. Small, deliberate changes can help you establish a healthier balance. Screen time and social media can be incorporated in to our daily lives.
You could try:
checking your actual screen-time figures rather than guessing
turning off notifications that are not genuinely useful
removing social media apps from your home screen
setting specific times to check messages and social media
keeping your phone away from the table during meals
charging it outside the bedroom
creating a screen-free period before sleep
noticing what you are feeling just before you start scrolling
choosing something specific to do with the time you want to reclaim
That last point matters. It is often easier to change a habit when you are moving towards something, not simply trying to stop. You might want more time for sleep, exercise, reading, creativity, relationships or simply being present.
How hypnotherapy can help
Phone use often happens automatically, which is why willpower alone may not feel enough. You can genuinely intend to cut down and still find your hand reaching for your phone before you have made a conscious decision.
Hypnotherapy can help you slow that pattern down and create more space between the trigger and the response. We can explore when and why you are most likely to reach for your phone, whether that is boredom, stress, procrastination, loneliness or simply a well-rehearsed habit.
My approach is solution-focused and tailored to you. A session involves conversation, practical tools and techniques, as well as hypnosis. We might work on reducing urges, strengthening concentration, improving sleep, managing uncomfortable feelings differently and making alternative routines feel more natural and rewarding.
The aim is not to make you frightened of your phone or remove something useful from your life. It is to help you feel that you are back in charge.
Being connected can add a great deal to our lives. But we also need time to think, rest, move, talk and experience what is happening beyond the screen.
Perhaps, once you have finished reading this, you could put your phone down for a while and notice what else is there.
If your phone or social media use feels difficult to control, hypnotherapy may help you change the habit and develop a healthier relationship with your screen.