Why do we keep checking our phones?

You open your phone to check the time and find yourself somewhere else a few minutes later. Before blaming willpower, describe the moment: what prompted you to pick it up, what you intended to do, and what happened next. Here, ‘habit’ is an everyday description, not a diagnosis.

What the studies found

In a 2015 experiment, notifications disrupted performance on an attention task. [1]

A 2025 randomized trial linked two weeks without mobile internet to improved attention. [2]

A small experiment

1. Pick one ordinary study period. Write down its task and the phone interruptions you notice, without trying to achieve a perfect score.
2. During a comparable period, silence nonessential notifications while keeping necessary contacts reachable. Record which interruptions remain and what you actually finish.
3. Compare the two notes. Keep a change only if it suits your responsibilities; adjusting one app or notification category may be a manageable starting point.

Limits to keep in mind

A laboratory notification task and blocking all mobile internet are different interventions. Neither study tested DinoLock, and their findings do not establish treatment or guaranteed results for an app.

Try asking ‘What interrupted this task?’ before asking ‘How many minutes did I spend on my phone?’ The two questions describe different parts of your day.