Summary
I have a terrible habit of doomscrolling, and I won’t pretend otherwise. When I’m working, I usually keep my phone out of reach because I know that the moment I pick it up, I’ll end up scrolling through Instagram or some other social media app, only to realize I’ve wasted a good 20 to 30 minutes doing nothing. And the worst part is that even keeping my phone away doesn’t seem to work anymore. Thankfully, my Samsung Galaxy has a clever little trick up its sleeve. I discovered a One UI 9 feature that’s actually helped me get my doomscrolling habit under control. Samsung hid my doomscrolling cure in plain sight Who’s stopping me from parenting myself? The feature I’m talking about is called AI Network Guard, and Samsung introduced it with One UI 9. Before I explain how I’ve used it to stop myself from endlessly scrolling through social media, let me show you where to find it. Samsung has tucked it deep inside the settings, so you’re unlikely to find it unless you know exactly where to look. Here’s how you can enable it on your Galaxy phone:
- Open the Settings app on your Samsung Galaxy.
- Head to Connections and tap Wi-Fi.
- Tap the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner and select Intelligent Wi-Fi.
- Tap Intelligent Wi-Fi seven times to unlock a hidden menu called Connectivity Labs.
- Once it’s enabled, open Connectivity Labs and scroll down to AI Network Guard.
- Tap Set up a Guardian PIN, create a PIN, and confirm it.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to select the apps you want to restrict.
- You can also tap the three-dot menu, select Downtime, and schedule when those apps can access the internet normally. Once you’ve set everything up, AI Network Guard can restrict internet access for the apps you’ve selected. And that’s where things get interesting. You see, Samsung didn’t exactly design this feature for people like me who can’t resist opening social media apps every few minutes. It’s primarily a parental control feature that lets parents manage their children’s internet access on certain apps. For example, parents can restrict internet access to social media apps or games, so their children can’t use those apps whenever they want. But I figured, why should parents have all the fun? If this feature can stop a child from spending hours scrolling through social media, it can surely help a grown adult who’s equally guilty of doing the same. So, instead of using AI Network Guard to manage someone else’s screen time, I turned it into my own little productivity tool. And surprisingly, it’s been working pretty well for me. The best way to stop scrolling is to stop the internet Sorry, Instagram, we’re definitely on a break Since I started using AI Network Guard to restrict apps like Instagram, X, Reddit, and YouTube during work hours, my average daily screen time has dropped to about two hours. And even those two hours are mostly spent replying to work messages, occasionally clicking pictures, and doing other things I actually need my phone for. Even better, I’ve started spending a lot more time away from screens, focusing on myself and doing things I enjoy. And I can’t tell you how refreshing that’s been. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Cutting off an app’s internet access just because I can’t stop scrolling sounds a little extreme, doesn’t it? Well, maybe it is. But that’s precisely why it’s worked so well for me. I’ve tried screen-time reminders before, and more often than not, I’d dismiss them and get right back to scrolling. With AI Network Guard, you can’t even open Instagram if it can’t load anything in the first place. I still use Instagram, Reddit, YouTube, and everything else I used to. The difference is that I’m no longer opening these apps every few minutes out of habit. I’ve specifically scheduled the restrictions around my work hours because that’s when I need to concentrate the most. Once I’m done working, I can go back to using them normally, without feeling like I’ve wasted half my day staring at my phone. I’ve noticed another benefit, too. Restricting internet access can also stop apps from fetching fresh ads or communicating with external servers while they’re blocked. For instance, when I browse shopping apps and later open Instagram, I don’t get bombarded with as many ads for the things I was just looking at. Of course, this doesn’t completely eliminate targeted advertising or tracking, but it does mean those restricted apps can’t fetch new ads or send data over the internet while the restriction is active. Your phone needs a little parenting, too If you struggle with doomscrolling as much as I do, I’d definitely recommend trying AI Network Guard. You don’t have to go overboard and block every app, either. Start with the one or two apps you open most, set a schedule, and see if it makes a difference. What I particularly like about this approach is that I don’t have to give up social media or constantly remind myself to put my phone down. I’ve made it a little harder to give in to the temptation, and that’s been enough to change my habits. After all, I bought my phone to make my life easier, not to spend half my life staring at it.