Halo Stops Bedtime Scrolling so You Can Go the F to Sleep
Key takeaways
- By the time my gaze shifted two centimeters up to check the itty-bitty clock on my screen, a full 65 minutes had passed.
- A few weeks later, a little white puck arrived in the mail.
- My expectations were low because other app blockers I've tested (Brick, Unpluq Tag, Opal) didn't work in a way that matched my lifestyle, or they were too easy to defeat.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Courtesy of Screen Zen Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story I had every intention of reading when I got into bed, but my e-reader wouldn't power up. Instead, I launched Instagram because I'm Gen X and that's where we watch Tik Tok. After 20 minutes, I was nearly done, except the last video wasn't funny enough, so I needed one more.
By the time my gaze shifted two centimeters up to check the itty-bitty clock on my screen, a full 65 minutes had passed. Like everyone else on the planet, I was deeply disappointed in my lack of restraint against ye mighty smartphone and pledged to leave it in another room every night thereafter, which I did precisely zero times.
A few weeks later, a little white puck arrived in the mail. A representative from ScreenZen had sent me Halo, a $49 app-blocking device that creates a geofence (or "halo") around any space you choose. Halo is the device, and ScreenZen is the app used to manage it, as well as the name of the company. The app is free with no upsells and no subscription required, and you can use the app without a Halo, though you'd miss out on the geo-fence feature.