30-Day Screen Time Challenge with a Friend

What it is

The challenge: pick a daily limit for social media and stay under it every day for 30 days. Your phone's own screen-time settings measure it; the limit is yours to choose. Many people start by cutting their current average roughly in half.

Screen time is already measured, but nobody looks at the number. A partner makes it something you report. Saying “I was under” to a friend every night works better than a limit you can dismiss with one tap.

Thirty days is enough to break the reflex of reaching for the phone, and to see the average move in your phone's own report.

How to do it

1. Look up your current daily average in your phone's settings before you start.
2. Set a limit you can actually hit, and turn on your phone's own app limits as a backstop.
3. Check in each night: under your limit, yes or no.
4. Move the apps you're limiting off your home screen.

Day by day

1. Days 1–3

   Set it up

   Look up your average, set the limit and tell your partner the number. Move the apps off your home screen today.

2. Days 4–10

   The novelty wears off

   You'll notice how often you reach for the phone without deciding to. Each time, put it down and do something else. Tell your partner your number each night.

3. Days 11–24

   The long middle

   Workarounds appear: the browser version, a different app, “just checking messages”. Agree with your partner on what counts, and be honest about it.

4. Days 25–30

   The finish line

   Compare your average with where you started. Decide together what limit you'll keep after the challenge, and leave the app limits on.

Where people quit, and how a partner helps

• The tap-to-ignore limit

  Phone limits are easy to dismiss. That's why the check-in matters: dismissing a limit is private, but telling a friend you went over isn't.

• The boredom gap

  Cutting screen time leaves empty moments. Plan what fills them, like a book, a walk or a call, or the phone will fill them again.

• The late-night scroll

  Evenings are when most limits break. Charge the phone outside the bedroom, and check in with your partner before you put it away.

Your 30-day tracker

Print this page, or tick the boxes here. Ticks are saved in this browser only. In the app, you and your partner see each other's check-ins as they happen. One tick a day.

How to start it in the app

1. Create your free account, then install Friends with Habits from Google Play and sign in.
2. Tap New Pact and pick “Stay under your screen-time limit” under Focus & Screen Time.
3. Keep the schedule the template suggests: every day.
4. Invite your friend by link, text or email. Once they accept, you both check in each day and see each other's progress.
5. A pact in the app runs 30 days, so this whole challenge is one pact.

Questions