25 screen time goals for adults, from minutes a day to a 30 day detox

Screen time goals for adults: minutes per day

Start from your daily average, which Screen Time on iPhone and Digital Wellbeing on Android already show, and set each goal a step below it.

• Cut your daily screen time average by 30 minutes within 2 weeks.
• Keep social media to 30 minutes a day in total for 21 days.
• Set a 10 minute daily limit on each social app for 3 weeks.
• Pick up your phone 20 fewer times a day than your weekly average, for 4 weeks.
• Turn off notifications from every app except calls and messages, and keep them off for 30 days.

Phone detox plan: phone-free times and places

Write each one in the shape "If I get into bed, the phone stays on the shelf": a review of 94 tests found that if-then plans had a medium to large effect on reaching goals.

• Keep your phone out of your hand for the first hour after you wake up, 5 days a week for 4 weeks.
• Leave your phone in another room overnight on 25 nights out of 30.
• Work for 2 hours a day with the phone in a drawer, 5 days a week for 4 weeks.
• Leave the phone in your bag in every meeting or class for a month.
• Take one walk a week without your phone for 8 weeks.

30 day social media detox challenge ideas

Start with one week, the length of a 7 day challenge, then go for 30 days once the week is done.

• Delete one social app from your phone for 7 days.
• Do a 30 day social media detox: no scrolling and no posting, messages still allowed.
• Take one full day off social media every week for 8 weeks.
• Unfollow or mute 50 accounts you scroll past without reading.
• Open each social app once a day at most, at a set time, for 14 days.

How to reduce screen time: what to do instead

The minutes you win back need a place to go, so give them something you can count, like the habits on a glow up list.

• Read 20 pages of a book on 20 days out of 30, in the time you used to scroll.
• Call or meet one friend each week for 8 weeks instead of watching their stories.
• Walk for 30 minutes at lunch, phone in your pocket, 3 times a week for 4 weeks.
• Spend 30 minutes on a hobby you do with your hands on 20 days out of 30.
• Finish 6 puzzles, drawings or models in 6 weeks.

Screen time challenge with friends and family

Sharing the number is part of the game: in a review of 138 studies, monitoring progress had a larger effect when it was reported to others or made public.

• Share your weekly screen time with 2 friends every Sunday for 4 weeks.
• Put every phone in one basket at each meal with friends for a month.
• Hold one screen-free evening a week at home for 8 weeks.
• Ask each person at home to pick one app to limit, and compare totals every Sunday for 4 weeks.
• Plan one screen-free day out with friends or family each month for 3 months.

What is a good screen time goal?

A good screen time goal starts from a number you already have. Screen Time on iPhone shows your daily average, how many times you picked up your phone and how many notifications you got. Digital Wellbeing on Android shows how long you use each app and how often you unlock the phone. There is no official daily number for adults, so your own average is the best place to start.

Some limits have been tested. In a study of 143 university students, those who kept Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to 10 minutes per app a day for 3 weeks reported less loneliness and depression than those who used them as usual. Both groups also reported less anxiety and less fear of missing out than at the start, which the researchers linked to tracking their own use.

A bigger change has been tested too. In a study of US Facebook users, switching Facebook off for 4 weeks freed up about 60 minutes a day. Some of that time went to things offline, like time with friends and family, and also to watching TV, and people reported a small rise in well-being. Weeks later, they still used the Facebook app less.

How to track screen time goals

Your phone counts the minutes. It does not count the days you kept your goal, and that is the part to write down. A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and that recording it beat keeping it in your head.

Most screen time goals are days: a day under your limit is a done day, and a 30 day phone detox challenge is 30 of them. Some are amounts, like 50 accounts muted or 6 puzzles finished. A month is a natural length, and monthly goals has a challenge for each month of the year.

A day over your limit does not erase the others. A ring that closes a little with every day under your limit shows how many days you kept.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good screen time goal per day for adults?

There is no official daily number for adults. Start from your own average and cut it by 30 minutes. For social media, one study had students keep 3 apps to 10 minutes each a day, 30 minutes in all, and after 3 weeks they reported less loneliness and depression than students who did not.

How do you do a 30 day social media detox?

Choose the apps, delete them from your phone or log out, and decide what is still allowed, like messages. Tick each day you stay off. If 30 days feels long, do 7 days first and then decide on the rest.

Does a digital detox work?

Two studies point the same way. Students who kept social media to 10 minutes per app a day for 3 weeks reported less loneliness and depression than those who did not. US Facebook users who switched it off for 4 weeks gained about an hour a day and a small rise in well-being.