You keep promising yourself you’ll cut back. You set time limits in Settings. You move Instagram to the last screen. You try that grayscale trick that makes everything look depressing. And by noon, you’re right back in the scroll, having bypassed every barrier with a single tap of “Ignore Limit.”
Turns out, you’re not weak. You’re just trying to solve a self-control problem with tools that live in the exact place your self-control fails. Which is why a small grey square called Brick is going viral — and why people who try it say it’s the first thing that’s actually worked.
Americans Added an Hour to Daily Screen Time
Let’s establish the scope of the problem. Americans now spend an average of 5 hours and 16 minutes on their phones daily — a 14% jump from last year. Gen Z clocks 6 hours 27 minutes. Even Baby Boomers hit 4 hours, double the recommended limit.
Here’s the kicker: 53% of Americans want to reduce their phone use in 2025, up 33% from 2023. Yet 49% admit they’re addicted, and about a quarter of those people don’t think addiction is even a problem. That’s the psychology of addiction in a nutshell — knowing something’s wrong while simultaneously rationalizing why it’s fine.
The consequences aren’t abstract. Research links excessive screen time to poor sleep, anxiety, depression, and reduced physical activity. A meta-analysis of 48 studies involving over 75,000 subjects found that phone addiction correlates strongly with decreased self-control and increased procrastination. The cycle feeds itself: less self-control means more phone use, which further depletes self-control.
Why App Blockers That Live on Your Phone Don’t Work
Here’s what Brick does differently. It’s a palm-sized physical device that connects to an app on your phone. You choose which apps to block — Instagram, TikTok, email, whatever’s eating your day. Then you tap your phone against the Brick to activate it. Those apps disappear. To get them back, you have to physically tap the Brick again.
The genius is spatial separation. Most people leave their Brick in another room — upstairs in a closet, in the car, on the kitchen counter. Want to check Instagram? You have to stand up, walk over there, and make a very conscious decision to undo what you set up for yourself.
TJ Driver, Brick’s co-founder, told Marie Claire: “App blockers live on the same phone they’re trying to control, which makes them easy to bypass.” One tap undoes everything. Your future self, the one who wants to focus, has zero leverage over your present self, who really wants to see if anyone liked that photo.
Self-Control Research Explains Why Physical Barriers Work
Academic research backs up why this approach works where others fail. A systematic review of 31 studies concluded that physical activity reduces phone addiction by strengthening self-control. The effect size is moderate to large, meaning the relationship is robust across different populations.
But here’s the critical insight: self-control is a limited resource that gets depleted throughout the day. Psychologists call this ego depletion. Every time you resist checking your phone, you drain a little more of your self-control reserves. By evening, you have almost nothing left.
Physical barriers don’t rely on self-control. They create friction. A study on smartphone addiction found that low self-control predicts both phone addiction and academic procrastination — but environmental modifications can interrupt the pattern. When you have to physically retrieve a device to unlock your phone, the barrier gives your prefrontal cortex time to kick in and ask: “Do I actually need this right now?”
30 Minutes Back, Focus Regained
User reviews tell a consistent story. One person reported regaining 30 minutes daily despite working 13-hour days. A health editor who tried it for a month wrote: “My attention span and focus are so much better. The Brick keeps me focused on what’s actually important, even if that’s just sitting on the floor and playing with my kids.”
Another user keeps their Brick in the truck, forcing themselves to go outside to unlock apps. They’ve read more in a week than they had in months. The pattern repeats across hundreds of reviews: people who’ve failed with every other method find that physical separation actually works.
The device costs $59 with no subscription. As of September 2025, it works on both iPhone and Android. You can schedule automatic blocking times — Instagram from 6 to 10 PM on weekdays, email all day on weekends. Create different “modes” for different parts of your day: Work, Family Time, Study.
There is a backdoor. If you dig into Screen Time settings, you can technically deactivate Brick without the physical device. Some users consider this a flaw. But knowing the backdoor exists — and choosing not to use it — might actually strengthen the habit. You’re not locked out. You’re choosing to stay out.
The real question isn’t whether a $59 square can block your apps. It obviously can. The question is whether you’re ready to admit that willpower alone has never been enough, and maybe you need your environment to help your brain make better decisions. For 53% of Americans who want less screen time in 2025, that grey square sitting on the kitchen counter might be the most honest answer they’ll find.