Want to stop scrolling? New app by and for McMaster students aims to curb device time

Ryan Tse, a third-year medical student at Hamilton's McMaster University, says he finds himself on his phone, scrolling through social media, "at least" a few hours a day.

"It's probably more than I'd like," says Tse, 25.

He uses social media for entertainment, contacting people, staying in touch and catching up on the news.

He and others his age feel almost obliged to be present on social media, he said, but many also find that requirement exhausting and comes at a cost to other aspects of his life such as studying.

To help remedy this, he recently started using LockIn, a new app developed by McMaster students that temporarily blocks phone apps and rewards users based on how long LockIn is turned on. 

Rewards include discounts at real-life venues near the university, such as The Westdale or Pita Pit, the founders told CBC Hamilton. 

It's also free to download so more people can access it, they said.

The app was launched in October and already has about 3,500 users, who are using it for two hours a day on average, said co-founder Simone D'Amico, 22, a recent graduate of McMaster's psychology, neuroscience and behaviour program.

He came from Italy to study at McMaster and is now researching digital health for McGill University.

It is targeted at McMaster students, with many of the reward partners located in Hamilton's Westdale neighbourhood, but anyone is welcome to use it, say its creators.

They plan to expand the roll-out of the app to other cities and post-secondary institutions over time.

"Problematic phone usage has an impact on our attention and our health," said D'Amico. "Social media works exactly like a slot machine. Every time you open your phone, you are looking for something new, and you can't stop doing that because you want some novelty."

His partners in the company are Giulia Violati, an Italy-based masters of business administration student, and Kyle Fernandes, who grew up in Hamilton and is in his fourth year of an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering.

Fernandes said his team was motivated by research that showed members of Gen Z use their phones for more than seven hours a day on average, which adds up to 109 days a year.

"It's harder and harder for the younger people because they don't know a world without this technology," Fernandes said. 

As part of the team's research, in which they interviewed hundreds of McMaster students, they offered $10 to anyone who had less than three hours of screen time in a day. D'Amico says they had to ask dozens of students before they found someone.

"When you ask somebody their screen time, there's almost this shame or reluctance to share," added Fernandes. "People are like, 'I don't want you to know I spent five hours on TikTok.'

"The awareness is there that it's an issue, that it's sucking a lot of time."

The app's rewards are largely in-person activities that bring people away from their phones and into interacting face-to-face. It also incorporates gamification and social aspects. Users can challenge each other and have shared leaderboards with their friends. 

Turning not using the phone into a friendly competition is one of the aspects users seem to like most, Fernandes adds, noting it somewhat mimics the camaraderie and competition inherent in many online communities: "Concepts they use to get you hooked [to social media], we're using them to get you unhooked."