Madison Area Lyme Support Group

by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

As the world has become increasingly reliant on mobile computing technology for work and entertainment, few people stopped to consider the downstream consequences.

A recent randomized controlled trial found that simply removing mobile internet access—while still allowing calls and texts—can produce measurable improvements in psychological functioning in as little as two weeks. Researchers effectively turned smartphones into “dumb phones,” and the results were striking: improved sustained attention, improved mental health, and higher subjective well-being.

This was a month-long preregistered randomized controlled trial with a cross-over (waitlist) design, enrolling 467 iPhone users in the U.S. and Canada. Participants installed the Freedom app, which blocked all mobile internet access (Wi-Fi and cellular data) for two weeks, while still allowing calling, texting, and internet use on other devices like laptops or desktops. Outcomes were measured at baseline (T1), two weeks (T2), and four weeks (T3), allowing researchers to compare changes during restriction periods versus normal-use periods.

After two weeks without mobile internet, participants experienced significant improvements in subjective well-being (including life satisfaction and positive/negative affect), mental health (a combined index including depression, anxiety, anger, personality functioning, and social anxiety), and objectively measured sustained attention using the validated gradCPT task (d-prime accuracy). Notably, about 91% of participants improved in at least one of these core outcomes, suggesting that the effect was widespread rather than limited to a small subset.  (See link for article)

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**Comment**

Other studies have found:

• Productivity gains — A 2023 field experiment at Carnegie Mellon University reported increases in task completion and focus duration with website blockers.^[7]
• Flow state and immersion — Research by Mark, Czerwinski, and Iqbal at Microsoft and the University of California, Irvine reported greater immersion and flow experiences among users of blocking tools.^[6]
• Design principles — A 2024 article in the International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction identified “undesign” features—limiting short‑term user agency to support long‑term focus goals—as central to the design of digital detox apps including Freedom.^[8]
• Cultural framing — A 2024 study introduced the concept of “disconnective media,” analyzing how Freedom commodifies temporary disconnection in contemporary work culture.^[9]

For more:

• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2025/02/25/study-cell-phones-make-blood-clump-together-just-like-the-clot-shots-do/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2021/09/17/september-is-suicide-prevention-month-cell-phone-wifi-disrupts-blood-brain-barrier-recent-court-victory-fcc-not-protecting-the-public/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2021/08/30/fcc-lawsuit-decision-in-favor-of-environmental-health-groups-petitioners-over-unsafe-levels-of-cell-phone-wifi-radiation-3-awareness-action-events-planned-in-sept/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/02/03/webinar-how-to-reduce-exposure-to-harmful-cellphone-wifi-radiation/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/16/award-winning-journalist-exposes-wifi-disaster-in-canadian-public-school-that-injured-dozens-of-children-health-alert-on-cell-phones/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2025/09/10/aap-hasnt-updated-advice-on-cellphone-radiation-in-nearly-a-decade-att-listed-among-funders/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/08/03/childrens-health-defense-principal-brief-in-landmark-case-against-fcc-on-5g-and-wireless-harms-submitted/