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A guy in Austin told me my app timer was doing nothing, and I still can't decide if he was right
Last month at a coffee shop on South Congress, a guy saw my phone lock screen pop up with the 30-minute TikTok limit and laughed at me. He said timers are pointless because you just tap "ignore limit" and keep scrolling, so the only real block is deleting the app or leaving the phone at home. I argued that having to tap through a screen at least makes me think about it, and he fired back that thinking about it doesn't stop the habit. Now I'm stuck between two sides: is a soft speed bump like a timer actually useful, or is it just theater that makes you feel better while you keep scrolling? Curious what's worked for people here, because I go back and forth every day.
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the_drew1h ago
That tap through thing is the part I keep wondering about too. Like when you hit ignore limit, are you annoyed at the timer or annoyed at yourself? Because those lead to very different results. I've had times where the pop up made me put the phone down and times where I swiped past it like it was nothing, and the difference seemed to be whether I already wanted to stop or not. So maybe the real question is what you do in that split second before you tap, not the timer itself. What goes through your head right before you ignore it?
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