You just want to check your emails on your phone, and before you know it, you’ve spent another 30 minutes on Instagram. There are more and more apps on our smartphones vying for our attention. Not because there is necessarily relevant and interesting content. Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and the like are suspected of being programmed in such a way that they are addictive.
What is certainly profitable for Meta, Google and co. has many negative consequences for us. Studies repeatedly show that misuse of social networks puts a strain on our psyche. However, hours of doomscrolling are also bad for the climate. This is because our smartphone has to access servers to stream content. And, these sometimes consume a lot of energy and water.
Consciously taking time out from digital content, also known as “digital detoxing”, therefore has at least two important positive effects. The app ‘One Sec‘ takes a particularly clever approach. It gets between our bad habits and the mechanisms that time-wasting apps use to get our attention.
How the One Sec app works
Let’s start with some good news: One Sec is available to download free of charge for Android and iOS, with some restrictions. On iOS, the developers use the system app “Shortcuts” to trigger certain actions when opening apps such as Instagram. In this case, One Sec opens whenever we want to open a social media app.
As soon as we click on the app of our choice, One Sec intervenes and prompts a breathing exercise on the mobile phone display. This delays the start of the actual app by a few seconds. A question then appears on the display asking whether the started application should actually be executed. In addition to this question, there are statistics on past launch attempts, which we can use to evaluate our own behaviour.
This delay is intended to prevent apps from being opened out of sheer habit. According to a study conducted by the developers of One Sec and researchers from Princeton University, this mechanism works. Within six weeks, app users were able to reduce the number of app openings by 57 percent. At the same time, users stated that their satisfaction with the app had changed positively. In our self-experiment, we also noticed how we tapped on apps less and less often in a rash and automated manner.
However, when using One Sec free of charge, only one app can be blocked. All other apps can still be used without restriction. However, interested parties can try out the full range of functions for one week and then pay 14.99 euros per year.
In addition to the breathing exercise described above, there are also other types of intervention to choose from. These include a digital mirror that opens the front camera or actions such as turning the smartphone. There is also an extended time tracker, intervention measures when accessing certain websites and an extension for desktop browsers.
Alternatively, there are also other apps and applications that make digital detoxing easier. These include the ‘Forest‘ app, which combines a similar concept with reforestation initiatives. Or the ‘Digital Wellbeing’ and ‘Screen Time’ functions in the mobile phone operating systems from Google and Apple. If you use these, you don’t have to install or pay for any additional apps.
How much emissions do social networks actually cause?
It isn’t easy to quantify how many CO2 emissions our internet use releases. Our digital footprint is heavily dependent on which services we use and whether the operators of these services act sustainably. The GOOD search engine, for example, deliberately avoids adverts in favour of less bandwidth and relies on green servers that operate in Germany. The better-known alternative Ecosia also uses green electricity and uses revenue for reforestation projects. A tree is then planted for a certain number of searches.
While there are increasingly decentralised and independent providers such as Mastodon or Pixelfed in the world of social networks, there is still a lack of green alternatives. The major platforms do not consistently disclose how many CO2 equivalents an average use causes. According to this study, TikTok’s annual carbon footprint is larger than that of Greece. With an average use of 45.5 minutes a day, this is equivalent to a car journey of around 200 kilometres, according to the Guardian.
Users on TikTok generate an average of almost 50 kilograms of CO2 equivalents per year – according to analyses, this figure is around 40 kilograms for YouTube and 30 kilograms for Instagram. The type of content determines how resource-intensive a service is. TikTok is a pure video platform and its servers have to transfer more data for videos than is needed to upload photos to Instagram or read an article on RESET.
However, platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and, since 2023, TikTok have stated that they want to reduce their CO2 emissions. With “Project Clover”, for example, TikTok wants to place stronger focus on data security and the sustainability of its service. According to the company, a new data centre in Norway runs on 100 percent green electricity generated locally in hydroelectric power plants.
In terms of the climate, however, excessive social media consumption has another disadvantage.
Social media abuse increases climate anxiety
Last year, we at RESET explored in an article how to use social media for more activism on climate issues. Movements like Fridays for Future would have been unthinkable without social media. However, studies show that excessive media consumption can have the exact opposite effect.
Research by BMC Psychology shows a link between social media use and negative effects on students’ mental health. At the same time, the study suggests that mindfulness apps can mitigate these effects. Psychologist Stephan Heinzel also mentioned international studies to ZDF Heute, according to which people between the ages of 16 and 25 were increasingly worried about the climate crisis. According to the study, every second person reported experiencing great anxiety in everyday life.
Excessive consumption of content about the dangers of man-made climate change reinforces these fears. It is, therefore, healthy to consciously and mindfully engage with news instead of constantly consuming such content.
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