Our Approach | De-Viced

Reducing your screen time doesn't reduce your screen time.

Reducing your screen time
doesn't reduce your screen time.

Because screen time isn't the problem.

Because screen time isn't
the problem.

It's the symptom.

Limits, blockers
and detoxes work.

Until they don't.

Limits, blockers and detoxes work.

Until they don't.

For many of us, it's a familiar cycle.

Try

Succeed

Delete

Regret

After enough attempts, it's easy to conclude…

After enough attempts,
it's easy to conclude…

Phones are just too addictive

Cutting screen time takes superhuman willpower

Maybe this is just the reality of modern life

Phones are just too addictive

Cutting screen time takes
superhuman willpower

Maybe this is just the reality of modern life

De-Viced is driven by a simple question

De-Viced is driven by
a simple question

How do we take back control
of our phone use -
in a way that actually lasts?

How do we take back control of our phone use
- in a way that
actually lasts?

To answer that,
we took a scientific approach

To answer that, we took a scientific approach

We studied the existing evidence

Most mainstream advice still focuses on the same set of tools: limits, blockers, detoxes and habit hacks. Those tactics can help. But the evidence suggests they are not reliably effective - phone use tends to creep back up again.

Connected the emerging research

The more promising direction comes from phone-use and broader behaviour-change studies that look beyond restriction, and combine different skills that help people stay in control.

Developed and tested the methodology

We shaped those findings into a practical approach, then tested it as a guided, daily program with real participants.

That led us to a central belief behind De-Viced:

We need to change the goal

That led us to a central belief
behind De-Viced:

We need to
change the goal

Everything in our culture reinforces that cutting our screen time is the goal

Track your screen time

Use the Screen Time app

Follow screen time guidelines

Set screen time limits

I need to cut my screen time…

But simply forcing screen time down isn't the goal.

The goal is to build the control that makes healthier phone use possible.

There wouldn’t be a problem if reducing our screen time reliably led to increasing our self-control. But it doesn’t.

Multiple studies show that targeting screen time reduction doesn’t lead to healthier screen habits.

Which is why many of us get stuck in the familiar cycle:

Try -> succeed -> delete -> regret -> try again

So, how do we take back control of our phone use – in a way that actually lasts?

Our answer is simple:
you don’t cut your way to control – you build it.

THE DE-VICED APPROACH

There are 4 building blocks

to taking back control

There are 4 building blocks to taking back control

1

2

3

4

Building block 1

Shift the focus from spending less time on your phone - to spending less time there by accident

Think about your own experience.

Have you ever:

Grabbed the phone without deciding to
Started with one intention and ended up somewhere else entirely
Responded because it felt irresistible
Stayed on the phone far longer than planned

These don’t describe a problem with screen time management – they describe behaviour that has become automatic. Impulse-driven.

It’s why, when we open our phone to check the weather, we can’t help sneaking a peek at WhatsApp and TikTok on our path to closing the phone.

The question isn’t how much time did you spend on your phone, the real question is:

→ did you actually choose it?

→ did it happen automatically?

Moving from screen time management to impulse management starts with really noticing these moments – there are usually more of them than we realize.

At first you’ll see them after they happen - and with a few days of practice you’ll start noticing them while they’re happening.

Within a few weeks you can begin to sense when automatic use is about to happen.

Think about your own experience.

Have you ever:

Grabbed the phone without deciding to
Started with one intention and ended up somewhere else entirely
Responded because it felt irresistible
Stayed on the phone far longer than planned

These don’t describe a problem with screen time management – they describe behaviour that has become automatic. Impulse-driven.

It’s why, when we open our phone to check the weather, we can’t help sneaking a peek at WhatsApp and TikTok on our path to closing the phone.

The question isn’t how much time did you spend on your phone, the real question is:

→ did you actually choose it?

→ did it happen automatically?

Moving from screen time management to impulse management starts with really noticing these moments – there are usually more of them than we realize.

At first you’ll see them after they happen - and with a few days of practice you’ll start noticing them while they’re happening.

Within a few weeks you can begin to sense when automatic use is about to happen.

Once you can spot the moments when your phone use is impulse-driven or happening by accident – you have a better target for change.

Building block 2

Before changing your phone use - start by noticing what’s driving it

Phone use is like an iceberg.

Screen time is visible - above the surface. But automatic behavior is triggered by what’s hidden underneath.

Exposure to these triggers is practically constant.

Sometimes, the phone itself sparks our reaction:

it lights up, bleeps or buzzes – we check the phone

But, more often it’s become embedded in ordinary routines:

when we wait for something - we instinctively reach for it
we sit down to rest - instantly, the phone is in our hand

Then there are emotional triggers. Our phones can instantly satisfy our short-term needs:

Stressed? Your phone can help you zone out
Missing someone? Your phone helps you connect
Bored? Your phone can entertain you

This is what makes phone habits so sticky. There isn’t one trigger – there’s a whole network of them – tiredness, routines, social situations, feelings and unmet needs – all driving us back to the same device.

So when we jump straight into cutting our screen time, willpower can carry the load for a while. But the hidden drivers are still there.

Then life gets harder – stress, workload, emotion, boredom, or even a change in routine. Those same triggers become harder to resist and we fall back into our old patterns.

Once you start noticing and mapping your triggers - what felt like one giant habit starts to break down into smaller, more manageable patterns.

Understanding your patterns is the unlock to stop trying phone hacks at random.

You can start choosing strategies that address what’s really driving your phone use.

Building block 3

Don’t chase the best phone hack - find the best combination that works
for you

There’s no shortage of advice about what to do when our phone use gets out of hand:

mute notifications
log out of social media apps
keep your phone face down

Tactics like these are an important part of the solution. But individually, no single tactic can take on the network of triggers that drive our automatic phone use.

If you’ve tried some of these tactics before and they didn’t stick, that doesn’t mean you were doing it wrong. It may simply mean the tactic was being asked to do too much heavy lifting on its own.

The real question isn’t:

→ which phone hack is best?

It’s:

→ which combination of tactics fits the patterns I’m trying to change?

De-Viced guides you through that process. You test what works, combine the strongest moves, and build up gradually enough that change always feels completely manageable.

You’ll choose an effective mix of tactics that fits your own patterns.

Building block 4

Stop aiming for perfect streaks - learn to bounce back when you slip

Sooner or later, you will slip.

you’ll ignore the boundaries you put in place
you’ll reinstall the app you’re taking a break from
you’ll scroll way past bedtime

With so many triggers, constant availability and immediate rewards - eventually, everyone's defences get overwhelmed. Unfortunately, we’re conditioned to think that long streaks are “good” and breaking the streak is “bad”.

The problem with targeting perfection is that we feel bad when we miss – and that can send us right back to de-stressing on the phone.

Slips are inevitable – so it’s vital to learn how to calmly and quickly get back on track.

Habits are the actions we repeat – but it’s how we recover that helps them last.

A common trap is trying to
fix everything at once,
so De-Viced starts with
evenings and bedtime

A common trap is trying
to fix everything at once,
so De-Viced starts with
evenings and bedtime

Evening patterns are
easier to notice

Evenings often follow a familiar sequence: finishing work, eating, decompressing, preparing for bed and getting into bed.

That repeated structure makes it easier to see when phone use is triggered by the same situations, feelings or routines night after night.

Easier to observe outside the blur of the workday

During a busy day, the phone ends up in our hands for so many reasons that it can be hard to separate intentional use from automatic use.

Evenings tend to be more contained, which makes impulse-driven behavior easier to see.

Better sleep changes everything

Fatigue has a strong effect on impulse control – so improving evening and bedtime habits supports the whole approach, across the entire day.

defining success

How we know the
approach is working

Ultimately, success means that participants feel more in control of their phone use, more satisfied with the role it plays in their life, and are able to sustain that improvement over time.

To know whether that is happening, we focus on understanding three things.

1 Are you building the skills to stay in control?

De-Viced is designed to help people notice automatic use earlier, understand what is driving it, manage urges, choose what to do instead - and get back on track when things slip.

These skills and habits are not the final result. But they tell us whether participants are building what they need to help create lasting change.

Here’s how we measure it

1

Are you building the skills to stay in control?

De-Viced is designed to help people notice automatic use earlier, understand what is driving it, manage urges, choose what to do instead - and get back on track when things slip.

These skills and habits are not the final result. But they tell us whether participants are building what they need to help create lasting change.

Here’s how we measure it

2 Has your phone use improved?

It’s a simple question, but it’s multi-dimensional. Simply measuring screen time doesn’t answer it. It’s important to understand whether

-> your phone use has become easier to control
-> you feel less drawn towards your phone
-> your phone is distracting you less from the people and activities that really matter to you

To do this health check we use a scientifically validated approach

2

Has your phone use improved?

It’s a simple question, but it’s multi-dimensional. Simply measuring screen time doesn’t answer it. It’s important to understand whether

-> your phone use has become easier to control
-> you feel less drawn towards your phone
-> your phone is distracting you less from the people and activities that really matter to you

To do this health check we use a scientifically validated approach

3 Are you satisfied with your level of control?

A person can make a meaningful improvement and still feel they have further to go. Because the right level of control is personal, we do not assume that an improved score means the participant is satisfied. We ask them directly.

Here’s how we measure it

3

Are you satisfied with your level of control?

Here’s how we measure it

Taken together, these three measures show whether the De-Viced approach is working as intended. By changing the goal, De-Viced works beneath the visible symptom of screen time. It helps people build the skills and habits to respond differently to the triggers and patterns driving automatic use.

The visible result will not look identical for everyone. For some people, it will lead to substantially less screen time. For others, total time may remain similar, but more of it will be purposeful. Success can also mean having more time, focus and energy for the things that matter.

Lasting control is the freedom to choose.

De-Viced is designed to help people build that control, so they can choose the kind of phone use that best fits the life they want to build.