What happens when your phone loses the internet?
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What happens if you block mobile internet on your phone for two weeks?
In one trial, 467 adults had all mobile internet blocked on their phones, Wi-Fi included. Daily screen time went from 314 minutes to 161.
91% improved on at least one of mental health, well-being or sustained attention. The time went to people, exercise and nature.
When the block lifted, screen time climbed back to 265 minutes. Still below where they started.
Sources
Castelo N et al. PNAS Nexus 2025. doi:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf017
What the study says
- “Participants (n = 467) agreed to install a smartphone application (Freedom) that blocked all mobile internet access (including Wi-Fi and mobile data) from their phones for 2 weeks.”
- “Average screen time decreased in the Intervention group from 314 min at T1 to 161 min at T2 (Cohen's d z = 2.22, P < 0.001) and rebounded to 265 at T3”
- “The intervention improved mental health, subjective well-being, and objectively measured ability to sustain attention; 91% of participants improved on at least one of these outcomes.”
- “...the change in objectively measured sustained attention ability is about the same magnitude as 10 years of age-related decline”
- “...when people did not have access to mobile internet, they spent more time socializing in person, exercising, and being in nature.”
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