Brick by Brick: How a New Wave of Products Is Fighting Back Against Screen Addiction

Smartphones have become integral to daily life, raising increasing apprehensions about their impact on attention, productivity and overall digital habits. As reliance on smartphones has grown, so has their impact on consumers’ ability to remain present, productive and healthy. In fact, concerns about excessive screen time are well documented in studies examining its effects on the adult brain.

The growing concerns and impact of daily-use screens have resulted in an emerging market for products seeking to address cellphone overuse. Two particularly unique products in this space are the Brick and the Light Phone.

Brick has developed a physical app-blocking device that restricts access to selected phone applications. The device requires users to tap their phone against the physical Brick to activate app blocking and to repeat the process to restore phone access. Brick also offers customization features, allowing users to select which apps and websites to restrict, including those that are most likely to occupy their time. The product also allows users to set customized modes for activities such as work, family time and studying.

This physical unlocking requirement distinguishes Brick from conventional screen time management strategies, such as usage limits or app deletion, which can often be modified or reversed directly from the phone.

Brick is marketed as a one-time purchase rather than a subscription-based service, with the product currently retailing for C$85. It has also received positive media attention, including a CNN review stating that “it doesn’t just help reduce screen time but also led some of us to use our time in more productive ways.”’

While Brick is designed to curb users’ use of their smartphone, the Light Phone is a product that addresses smartphone overuse right at the source. The Light Phone is a minimalist cellphone, containing only basic features such as a calendar, GPS, phone, music, and alarm. Users can customize the features available on their phone. Versions of the product retail from US$299 - US$799, and are designed to be a one-time, minimally used purchase; in the company’s own words, the Light Phone is “designed to be used as little as possible.”

What differentiates the Light Phone truly is its extremely simplistic design. There are no colours or graphics used in its interface; the applications simply appear as white text on a black screen. This was a deliberate choice to discourage frequent use of the product. In fact, studies have shown that switching to a grayscale colour palette can significantly reduce the appeal of smartphone usage.

Products such as Brick and the Light Phone reflect a growing market for technologies that are seeking to reduce, rather than increase, user engagement. While they take different approaches – Brick by adding friction to smartphone use, and the Light Phone by replacing the smartphone experience altogether – both respond to the same consumer concern: the need for greater control over digital habits. Their appeal suggests that as awareness of screen-time impacts grows, consumers may increasingly look for tools that help them use technology more intentionally, rather than simply more often.