The Tamesis
Maybe it’s through word of mouth or (ironically) through your regularly scheduled online scrolling, but there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Brick or seen someone say they’ve been locked out of social media (another version of the raunchy “bricked”). Long-time internet users (no judgment here!) have long thought that palm-sized magnetic devices could help them stay offline. But is this just a marketing ploy?
At a time when we’re exhausted from our smartphones, and with numerous studies showing that too much screen time increases our chances of experiencing insomnia, anxiety, and depression, many of us are looking for ways to quit. The Brick is a $60 device created by two Gen Z entrepreneurs that’s being hailed as the answer to our online problems.
“Brick was born out of a personal need: our phones were getting in the way of our lives. We knew we were not alone. So we developed a simple, physical way to take back control,” Brick co-founders TJ Driver and Zach Nasgowitz said in a joint email. Fashion. “We believe life gets better when technology works for us, not the other way around.”
It works by creating physical isolation between you and the apps on your phone. Once your Brick device (a little gray square to be precise) arrives, download the app and select whatever you want from your phone. You can then simply tap your phone to the device to activate the barrier, or set a timer to turn the barrier on. Often, the only way to unlock an app is to tap your phone again on your Brick device.
“We have an attention problem; many apps are very good at grabbing our attention and providing us with interval variable reinforcement,” said Thea Gallagher, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at NYU Langone Health. “What’s really difficult is that so many of us have to use our phones to communicate with our kids, work, friends, etc. People are trying to ask, ‘How can we differentiate cell phone use?’ We have some data showing that this completely unregulated approach is bad for our mental health, so what are we doing to regulate it?”
Los Angeles resident Amalia Nicholson has found Brick useful, noting that the scheduling feature (you can set in the app when to lock the app) works great when it’s time for her to go to bed. Purchasing the Brick on the recommendation of a friend who liked the device, Nicholson placed her Brick in her kitchen to prevent her usual 3 a.m. scrolling hours—even though her phone was nearby, she had to get up to unlock it. “I’m really not going to unlock it at three in the morning,” she said.
Content creator Haley Talyor purchased Brick’s product after her husband tested and praised it, and she found herself doing it just to make sure she wasn’t on her phone when she didn’t want to. “I even blocked Pinterest,” she said. “I’ve found that even if the content you normally scroll through is blocked, you’re still eager to scroll. So you have to block everything you can [with]just like Safari and Chrome, because you can find any scrollable content there too. “
While there are many other apps designed to help limit screen time, users say Brick’s physical barrier sets it apart. Content creator Sam Klein said she tried the iPhone’s “time limit” feature but gave up as soon as it popped up. In addition to a desperate need to focus on her upcoming projects, Klein realized she needed something more powerful to create a healthier relationship with her phone—something she used to do with Brick. “I immediately felt a sense of relief,” she said Fashion. “I find myself not trying to open the app too much. When I do, it’s more out of habit than like something or someone I want to meet, and it just lets me know how much I needed Brick in the first place.”
