Want to stop scrolling? Scroll more.

Sound counterintuitive? I thought so too. Yet more and more research suggests that part of phone addiction stems from masochism-- the more guilt we feel from scrolling, the more self-loathing we associate with picking up our phones in the subway to avoid eye contact with a woman who you can't tell if is or isn't your wet nurse, the more we DO it. Sure, there's a dopamine release from the pretty colors and the brain rot, but I'm inclined to believe that even more dopamine is released simply from the fact that we are engaging in something we know is a vice. Ever wonder why children of smokers rarely become smokers if their parents encourage the habit?

So, rewire your brain. Every time you go for your phone, don't think "I really shouldn't..." Think, "wow I'm doing something incredibly healthy right now. Try to get your screentime up. Every time your weekly report says you average less than 8 hours a day of screentime, devise a punishment-- When I started, I had a rubber band around my wrist for this, one slap for every ten minutes below the goal.

Within a month, I was slapping myself with my rubber band dozens of times a day, and suddenly, that became the vice I craved. Now, five months later, my addiction is nonexistent. In fact, I lost my phone because I hadn't needed it in two days and completely forgot where I put it. I still don't know where it is and two weeks later, I frankly don't care.

If you truly want to get disciplined, you have to understand why you can't control your urges and addictions. Otherwise, you're a jailer in a jail of your own making.