Starter course

Connection · Friendship & community as an adult

Break bad tech habits: stop doomscrolling and cut your screen time

Seven short lessons: habits not “addiction”, measuring your use, how to stop doomscrolling, the dopamine detox myth, swapping habits, evenings and sleep, and keeping it going.

What you'll cover

Habits, not “addiction”Most heavy phone use is a habit triggered by cues, not a diagnosis. The question is what it’s costing you.
Measure before you changeUse your phone’s built-in reports to see your real use: time, pickups and notifications.
How to stop doomscrollingNotice doomscrolling, change what your feed shows you, and put news on a schedule.
The dopamine detox mythYou can’t detox from dopamine. What works is a planned break that changes habits, not a week of misery.
Cut the triggers, swap the habitRemove cues, add friction, set realistic limits, and repeat a new action in the old cue’s place.
Protect your evenings and sleepA screen-free hour before bed and a phone outside the bedroom are two of the most useful changes.
People, boundaries and keeping it goingTell people when you’re offline, agree household norms, handle slips, and know when to get support.

General education about adults’ own screen use, not medical or psychological advice. “Phone addiction” is not a formal diagnosis, and this course doesn’t diagnose anything; if your use feels out of control, talk to your doctor. Phone settings and survey figures change often. If you’re struggling, lesson 7 lists support lines.

trainyourselfCourse guide · step-by-step lessons

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About this course

Break bad tech habits: stop doomscrolling and cut your screen time.

Starter · About 1 hour of learning · 7 lessons · 16 quick checks · 1 download

Who it's for
Adults who want to break bad tech habits, stop doomscrolling and use their own phone and screens less, without giving up technology.
How it works
7 guided lessons in your browser, with worked examples, exercises and a quick check after each lesson. Progress is saved in this browser only, and you can restart at any time. You start with just your first name and email, and you can take one whole course that way. After that, a free account lets you continue past lesson 1.
Sources we rely on
22 published sources, mostly regulators and official bodies, listed below so you can check the original guidance yourself.

By the end you can

Explain why heavy phone use is best changed as a set of cue-driven habits, not a diagnosis
Read your phone’s screen time report: time, pickups and notifications
Spot doomscrolling and reshape your feeds and news habits
Explain what’s wrong with “dopamine detox” claims and plan a sensible break
Swap an old habit for a new one, protect your sleep, and keep a plan going over time

Downloads

Break bad tech habits workbook .docxFull versions of the course exercises: why and what (cue → action map), seven-day audit, doomscrolling reset, sensible break planner, habit swap tracker with a 10-week tick sheet, wind-down plan, and a one-page plan with a review table.

Rules by country

Australia: eSafety Commissioner screen time and online wellbeing guidance; University of Canberra systematic review; Fair Work Ombudsman right to disconnect; Lifeline 13 11 14.
United Kingdom: UCL habit-formation research; British Psychological Society; NHS Every Mind Matters sleep advice; Mind online/offline balance; Samaritans 116 123.
United States: Harvard Health and CU Anschutz on dopamine detox; Pew Research Center surveys; PNAS Nexus trial; NHLBI healthy sleep habits; 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988).

Learning time

About 1 hour of learning. May count towards your CPD or professional development; check your professional body's rules. Estimated from reading time, exercises, quick checks and downloads.

Sources

Check the originals.

How these courses are made. Spotted an error or out-of-date rule? Send a correction.

Not therapy or counseling. If you're struggling, please contact a support service. In an emergency call 000 (AU), 999 (UK), 911 (US/Canada) or 111 (NZ). Anywhere else, call your local emergency number.

How to manage your screen time · eSafety Commissioner (Australia)
How to look after your mental health and wellbeing online · eSafety Commissioner (Australia)
Making health habitual: the psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice (Gardner, Lally & Wardle, Br J Gen Pract 2012, peer-reviewed) · British Journal of General Practice, via PubMed Central (UCL authors, UK)
Busting the 21 days habit formation myth · UCL Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health (UK)
Do you need a dopamine detox? (14 Oct 2026; full text paywalled, summary only) · Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School (US)
Dopamine fasting: Misunderstanding science spawns a maladaptive fad · Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School (US)
Does a 'Dopamine Detox' Really Work? · University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (US)
Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being (Castelo et al., PNAS Nexus 2025, peer-reviewed RCT) · PNAS Nexus (Oxford Academic)
Brazilian researchers say smartphone addiction is real (Research Digest, 2019) · British Psychological Society (UK)
The association of motives with problematic smartphone use: A systematic review (Mostyn Sullivan & George, 2023, peer-reviewed) · Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace (University of Canberra authors, AU)
Many adults worldwide are online often or constantly (8 Sep 2025) · Pew Research Center (US)
Americans’ Complicated Relationship With News (11 Feb 2026) · Pew Research Center (US)
Online/offline balance · Mind (UK mental health charity)
How to fall asleep faster and sleep better (Every Mind Matters) · NHS (UK)
Healthy sleep habits · National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH (US)
Set up Screen Time for yourself on iPhone · Apple Support (iPhone User Guide), vendor page
Set up a Focus on iPhone · Apple Support (iPhone User Guide), vendor page
Manage how you spend time on your Android phone with Digital Wellbeing · Android Help (Google), vendor page
Right to disconnect · Fair Work Ombudsman (AU)
Lifeline crisis support: 13 11 14 · Lifeline Australia
Contact a Samaritan · Samaritans (UK and Ireland)
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline · 988 Lifeline (US)

Publisher

Who publishes this course.

Published by trainyourself.org, a trading name of Combine TRS Pty Ltd (ABN 42 112 983 678), Brisbane, Australia.

How it's made: researched from published official, public-health, university and support-service guidance (general education, not counselling or therapy), then run through automated quality checks against our course depth standard and automated source checks that match each rule to its official source, listed above. Read how these courses are made.

Last updated: 1 November 2026

General education, not counseling, therapy, medical or legal advice. If you are struggling, contact one of the support services named in this course; in an emergency, call your local emergency number. Spotted an error or an out-of-date rule? Send us a correction.

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Break bad tech habits: stop doomscrolling and cut your screen time

Break bad tech habits: stop doomscrolling and cut your screen time.

Who it's for

How it works

Sources we rely on

By the end you can

Downloads

Rules by country

Learning time

Check the originals.

Who publishes this course.

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