QuitThe.app - how and why to quit the app.

You should probably quit some of the apps. But why, how and which ones should you keep? All these questions will be answered right here.

You should quit the app because most apps are designed to give you variable rewards.

In simple terms, they show you stuff that makes you angry so you don't feel happy or satisfied.

But why don't apps want you happy?

Because they know that angry people keep scrolling. It's literally proven that variable rewards keep you more addicted. Spikey dopamine rather than steady dopamine.

In other words, every scroll is a spin on a slot machine. Angry posts and bad news stories are like losing, boring posts and pointless trends are like winning back less than you spent, and funny videos and friendly comments are like hitting a jackpot. Scrolling is gambling with your time. Leave the casino.

That isn't the only problem with scrolling. Spikey dopamine means spikey heart rate and spikey blood pressure. It also means spikey mood. Not to mention, it distorts your view on the world. Influencers have power over many people's worldviews and opinions. And I'm not talking about the influencers you see dancing. I am talking about their influencers - the algorithm and its bosses, like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. If Musk and Zuckerberg were vegan, McDonald's might be out of business by now. If they supported different politicians, we'd have different wars going on, laws being passed, and fuel prices. If they really liked a certain band, every single song of theirs would be a hit. But this isn't about food, music or even politics. This is about you. And everyone.

If they wanted you to be happy, you would probably be happier.

In the last section, we talked about the owners of your feed controlling your brain. In this section we'll talk about a new type of feed that gives you a new type of brain. Introducing the placebo social feed.

The placebo social feed is something that looks and feels like a social feed, but shows you stuff that actually makes you happy.

It's what apps would be like if they cared about you. But the thing is we don't need Elon for this "happy feed" to be a reality. We just need to stop using his feed, and start using a placebo feed.

The most popular placebo feed is ChillSpace. You can go to the ChillSpace website, or download the ChillSpace app. ChillSpace works by showing you fun, pre-written posts that help you quit social media, and you can have conversations with the "people" there, giving you useful quitting tips, real-life recommendations and simple happiness, all year round. Every post is a little nudge to help you stop scrolling, and with every ChillSpace scroll, you'll be less and less tempted to real scroll. You can also post on ChillSpace, and you'll get guaranteed likes! But of course, it's a placebo feed, so the likes will make you feel good without even being from real people. 

Another placebo feed is called Binky. It just shows you random images from the internet. Then you can comment whatever you want, and Binky will generate a comment for you. You can download the Binky app here.

But what if I have 1% battery?

There's a third option: make a placebo social feed. And we don't mean vibe-code one. We mean literally make it. Get a piece of paper, cut it to a phone size, draw a fake social feed. Then carry it around like you do your phone, and when you have the urge to scroll, press your thumb on the Like button and forget it's a drawing. You'll be ready to delete Facebook in 5 minutes. QuitThe.app has also released a printable version of the paper placebo feed.

Avoiding variable rewards doesn't mean cancelling your internet plan completely. Some apps are harmless. Here are the ones to keep: Phone, Messages, maybe WhatsApp (but don't use channels or Meta AI), and a couple of entertainment apps if you want.

Netflix is fine, as long as you only open Netflix to watch a particular film, don't open Netflix just because you're bored, that's what outside is for. The same is true for all movie and music apps.

You can also keep a browser, but make sure you don't sign in to social media accounts through the browser. It's almost as bad as the apps.

YouTube depends on how you use it. If you search up a video you have in mind to watch, watch it, and close the app, it's fine. If you scroll through the homepage, shorts or "related videos" for hours on end after watching, delete it. Or just try and be mindful, and after watching the actually good video, close the app, and if you feel like a scroll, open ChillSpace, Binky or your piece of paper.

If your friends text you through a variable rewards app, like TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram DMs, ask them to text you on regular text or WhatsApp instead. If they are a real friend, they will. If you are part of a massive group chat like a Discord server, you can keep it if you want, but make sure to remember to switch to your placebo feed whenever you find yourself on a feed.

If you want to see your friends' holiday photos or whatever else is on their Facebook profile, text them "How are you?", and they'll show you there! It does the same job, but with a more natural, steady dopamine just like real-life human connection.

Lastly, video games. The likelihood is if the game has ads or microtransactions, it is a variable reward because the game is probably designed to keep you playing. Even if you pay to remove ads or use an ad-blocker, it's still the same game that was designed to keep people watching ads. If the game doesn't have these things, it's probably fine.