Blog
Notes on phones and home life. Every number links to where it came from, and we say so when the evidence is thin.
Do app blockers work? What the research actually shows
Three good studies on app limits, delays and blocking, read honestly: what changed, how much, who dropped out, and what that means for choosing a blocker.
Does having your phone nearby make you dumber? What "brain drain" got wrong
The famous finding that a phone on your desk lowers your thinking power did not hold up when other scientists repeated it. What survives, and what actually helps.
Bedtime phone habits: what helps you sleep, and what is a myth
72% of US smartphone owners sleep with their phone nearby. The research on phones and sleep says blue light matters less than you think, and the phone keeping you awake matters more.
Does Apple Screen Time actually work for adults?
Screen Time is free and built into every iPhone, but its limits can be dismissed by default. How it works in iOS 26 and iOS 27, where it fails, and how to set it up so it holds.
Phone rules for couples that do not turn into a fight
Half of partnered adults say their partner is distracted by their phone during conversations. What the research on "phubbing" shows, and seven rules couples can agree on.
How NFC phone blockers work, in plain English
What is inside a puck like Brick, Bloom or the moss stone, how tapping it locks apps on an iPhone, why it needs no battery, and the one way every such blocker can be bypassed.
Brick review: what it does well, where it falls short, and the alternatives
A fair look at the Brick phone blocker from a company that makes a rival: price, emergency unbricks, the "any Brick unlocks any phone" issue, and seven verified alternatives.
How to stop phone use at dinner (starting with your own)
In one 2026 survey, more parents than children used a screen at the last family meal. Here is what the research says about phones at the table and a plan that works for adults too.