Resources

Books, tools, and where to get help

A short, honest shortlist. We note where a book is more argument than evidence, and we explain the self-assessment tools in plain language so you know what they can and cannot tell you.

Essential books

Each of these is worth reading, with one honest caveat where it is due.

  • Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport. The most practical philosophy of intentional use, plus a concrete 30-day declutter. Our top pick for actually changing habits.
  • How to Break Up With Your Phone, Catherine Price. The best step-by-step practical guide, gentle and realistic.
  • Irresistible, Adam Alter. A clear, well-sourced tour of behavioral addiction and persuasive design.
  • Dopamine Nation, Anna Lembke. A compelling clinical look at the pleasure-pain balance. Strong on stories; treat the neuroscience as simplified.
  • Stolen Focus, Johann Hari. A powerful framing of the attention crisis. More advocacy than evidence review, but important context.
  • The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt. The most discussed book on phones and childhood. Influential and genuinely contested, best read alongside the critiques.

Self-assessment tools, explained

These are validated research questionnaires. They can be a useful mirror, but none of them is a diagnosis, and a high score is a prompt to reflect, not a label.

  • Internet Addiction Test (IAT). A 20-item questionnaire, the most widely used measure of problematic internet use.
  • Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. Six short items focused specifically on social media use.
  • Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS). A longer, multi-part measure of compulsive smartphone use.
  • Doomscrolling Scale. A more recent, validated measure of compulsive consumption of negative news.

Researchers and organizations worth following

If you want to follow the actual science and debate rather than the headlines:

  • Amy Orben and Andrew Przybylski (Oxford). Careful, skeptical analysis of the screens-and-wellbeing data.
  • Jonathan Haidt (NYU) and Candice Odgers (UC Irvine). Two leading, opposing voices in the kids-and-phones debate, worth reading together.
  • Anna Lembke (Stanford). Addiction psychiatrist writing on reward, compulsion, and recovery.
  • Center for Humane Technology (Tristan Harris, Aza Raskin). The people who named persuasive design, now arguing against it.

Where to get help

If your relationship with technology is seriously affecting your sleep, work, relationships, or mental health, and self-help has not been enough, talking to a professional is a sensible next step. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most researched approach for internet-related problems, and a therapist who works with behavioral or compulsive patterns can help even without a formal phone-addiction specialty.

If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please contact a local crisis helpline or emergency services right away. This page is educational and cannot provide urgent support.