Could 'bricking' be the solution to our phone obsession?

Herald Sun

14-05-2025

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We're all striving for less screen time, but actually stepping away from the phone is harder than it looks. Enter Brick, a new device that might just help us finally curb our screen addiction.
It's kind of become a fact of life (in 2025) that we all harbour an addiction to our phones. Anyone who's received a notification of their weekly screen time on a Sunday ought to relate to the feeling of shame and surprise when you realise you spent over five hours of the day on your phone doing, well, who knows really.
It's true that some phone addictions are more severe than others, sure, but for the vast majority of us, the prospect of leaving the house without our device on our person is virtually as concerning as leaving the house without pants on. Whether we're looking at it constantly or not, our phones have become something of a safety blanket as we move through the big bad world — they're our time keepers, our maps, our diaries, doctors, sources of entertainment (and anxiety) and for better or for worse, they're not going anywhere.
But what happens when we want to switch off? Or, at the very least, keep our phone from distracting us when we're on a deadline or prevent us from falling down a hyper-niche rabbit hole as we're trying to fall asleep. Well, you could try Bricking it.
What is Brick?
Brick is a nifty new device that physically inhibits you from being able to access distracting apps.
Basically, you attach the Brick (a little plastic square no bigger than a Post-It note) to any magnetic surface, like a fridge or a white board, open the Brick app on your phone and select the apps you want to leave unblocked, like calls and alarms, then touch your phone to the Brick to lock everything else.
When you want to unlock the rest of your apps, you touch your phone to the Brick again.
When your phone is Bricked, it'll prevent you from accessing the apps you've chosen to lock, popping up with a message that says 'This is a distraction!' when you try to open, say, Instagram or TikTok. Image: Brick
How does it work?
Essentially, Brick makes it easier to curb our screen addiction by physically removing the option of distraction. When your phone is Bricked, it'll prevent you from accessing the apps you've chosen to lock, popping up with a message that says 'This is a distraction!' when you try to open, say, Instagram or TikTok.
Of course, you can unBrick your phone at any time by just tapping it to the device, but leaving it in another room you don't work from or sleep in, like the kitchen or laundry, means you're less likely to do so when you're deep in work mode or going to bed.
The screentime situation
Given how much of our lives occur virtually these days, from meetings to doctors appointments to sometimes even dates (which is a problem in and of itself), it's no surprise some of us spend the majority of our day with a screen in front of us.
Unsurprisingly, younger demographics spend more time on their screens than older age groups. Image: Pexels
SBS Newsreported that Australians spend on average more than six hours a day consuming digital entertainment, which included everything from streaming music and TV shows to scrolling on social media. When you think about it, that's almost an entire day's work.
Unsurprisingly, younger demographics spend more time on their screens than older age groups, with a report by USwitchfinding Gen Z spends on average nine hours a day on a screen.
Increasingly, people are craving a detox from the relentless pace of social media and the internet in general — see the rise of 'dumb phones' as an antidote to our smartphone obsession — and if there's a device that might be able to nudge us in the right direction, it might be worth a shot, no?
Maybe you've spent one too many nights reading up on the materials used in the set design for Moulin Rouge! or investigating the history of the clothes horse until 2am and are investing in a Brick to help you establish a better nighttime routine. Image: Pexels
Can you Brick it? Yes you can.
You can buy a Brick online to the tune of just under $100. Though it might seem a little ridiculous spending money on a device to stop you from visiting distracting apps when you could, in theory, just lock your phone in a cupboard for a few hours, Brick is less about deprivation and more about creating healthier habits when it comes to screen time.
Maybe you've spent one too many nights reading up on the materials used in the set design for Moulin Rouge! or investigating the history of the clothes horse until 2am and are investing in a Brick to help you establish a better nighttime routine.
Perhaps your 3pm slump is mitigated not by a sweet treat but instead by a 20 minute mindless scroll on Instagram and you'd rather put those 20 minutes towards a quick stroll around the block. Or you might just be into gadgets and this sleek little device has piqued your interest.
Whatever your intentions behind investing in a Brick may be, anything that helps us step away from our phone for more than half an hour at a time has our attention. We'll take two.
Originally published as Could 'bricking' be the solution to our phone obsession?