Using a Galaxy Z Flip 5 as a minimalist phone

I hated how much time I was spending scrolling on my phone. And the idea that I’m wasting my time wasn’t even what was bugging me — I do loads of things that aren’t good uses of my time. What bugged me was that I was unconsciously and habitually scrolling. And most of the time I couldn’t even tell you what I had been scrolling through.

I thought about switching to a minimal phone, like the Light Phone, with its slow screen and limited functions. But I knew that completely giving up things like Gmail or Slack on mobile wasn’t possible for me. And I didn’t want to wipe out social media completely, I just wanted my use of it to be more intentional. What I needed was a fully functional smartphone, just a somewhat less usable one.

So I decided to do a little experiment: could I use only the 3.2-inch front screen of the Z Flip 5 as my daily driver for a week, with no shortcuts to social media apps up front to distract me? In theory, it would allow me the full phone I need (by flipping the thing open) when I had to and the minimal phone I wanted for everything else.

Spoiler alert: when there is simply less to do on a screen, your screentime will significantly drop. Tune into the video above to see how it went and for more tips on cutting back on mindless scrolling.