The Unrotten blog

Take your attention back.

Research and practical guides for taking your attention back from your phone: doomscrolling, screen time, sleep, focus and the apps that help.

Late at night in a dark kitchen lit by one warm under-cabinet light, a man in a grey hoodie sits at the table looking at his phone, its glow on his face, a bowl of cereal untouched in front of him.

NewExplainer · 8 min read

Infinite Scroll: Why Your Feed Never Ends, and How to Give It One

What infinite scroll is, who invented it, and why a feed with no last page is so hard to leave, with ways to add one back.

Maren AshbyNovember 2, 2026

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At a sunny cafe table by a window, a young woman with auburn hair half stands to photograph her latte and croissant with her phone, while her friend, chin on her hand, gazes out of the window.

Explainer · 7 min read

Instagram Addiction: Why Reels and Likes Keep You Scrolling

Likes, vanishing Stories and an endless Reels tab make Instagram hard to close. Why it hooks you, and how to cut back and keep your people.

November 2, 2026

At dusk in a small bedroom strung with fairy lights, a woman in her mid twenties lies on her stomach across the bed with earbuds in, smiling at the phone she holds close, a laptop and notebook pushed aside behind her.

Explainer · 8 min read

TikTok Addiction: Why It's So Hard to Stop, and How to Cut Back

TikTok addiction is a real pattern, not just a punchline: why the For You feed is so hard to leave, and what helps you cut back.

November 2, 2026

In a bright, uncluttered apartment, a bearded man in a cream knit sweater writes by hand in a notebook at an oak desk, beside a mug of coffee, a small plant and his phone lying face down.

Explainer · 7 min read

Digital Minimalism: Cal Newport's Method, and How to Start

Not a detox you recover from, but a way of choosing the few tools that serve what you value. The 30-day declutter, the research and where to begin.

November 1, 2026

In a lamp-lit living room at night, a woman with curly dark hair sits on a sofa under a knitted blanket, holding a mug of tea, her other hand resting on the phone that lies face down beside her.

Explainer · 7 min read

Dopamine Addiction: Can You Really Be Addicted to Dopamine?

Nobody is hooked on a molecule. What the phrase gets right about phones and feeds, what it gets wrong, and what actually loosens the pull.

November 1, 2026

On a sunny Sunday morning, a woman with a dark bob in a white T-shirt sits cross-legged on a sofa, holding her phone in both hands with her eyebrows raised in surprise.

Explainer · 6 min read

How to See Screen Time on iPhone, and What the Numbers Mean

Where to find your daily average, pickups and notifications on iOS 27 and iOS 26, why the number surprises almost everyone, and what to do with it.

November 1, 2026

At a wooden desk in a bright home office, a young woman with her dark hair tied back writes by hand in a notebook, a closed laptop beside her and her phone face down on a bookshelf behind her.

Explainer · 6 min read

How to Focus Better When Your Phone Won't Let You

Why you can't focus, and a routine for one hour of real work: where the phone goes, which alerts to mute, when to break and what to do with the urge to check.

October 31, 2026

On a wooden park bench strewn with autumn leaves, a bearded man in a navy coat and grey scarf reads a thick paperback, absorbed, in low golden sunlight.

Explainer · 7 min read

How to Improve Your Attention Span: What Actually Trains It

Brain games mostly make you better at brain games. What the trials say does carry over, how much of it you need and how to tell it's working.

October 31, 2026

At a cafe table, a young woman with red hair in a bun and a denim jacket frowns and reaches for her jeans pocket, while her phone lies face down on the table in front of her.

Explainer · 6 min read

Phantom Vibration Syndrome: Why You Feel Your Phone Buzz

Most phone users have felt a buzz that never came. What causes phantom vibrations, who gets them most, and the small changes that make them stop.

October 31, 2026

On a sunlit commuter train, a man in his forties with a grey beard and a charcoal coat sits by the window with his eyes closed, taking a slow breath, his phone resting dark in his hand.

Comparison · 9 min read

one sec App Review: Does a Breath Before Your Apps Work?

How one sec's pause works, what the free version and Pro include, what its own studies found, and who needs something firmer.

October 30, 2026

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What the studies say

Studies on phones, social media, sleep and focus, each explained in plain English: what the researchers did, what they found and what it means for you.

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