Life Beyond the Scroll: What People Told Us About Their Screens

We asked a simple question: How are you feeling about your screen use?

People responded from across the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America. Different continents. Different lives. Remarkably similar answers.

The quiet discomfort

82% of respondents said they use their phones and tablets more than they would like to.

Sometimes. Often. Far more.

Only a handful of people described their phone use as “very balanced.” Phones, it turns out, are the emotional epicentre of discomfort. Phones are not just devices. They are emotional territory: they sit on bedside tables; they interrupt conversations; they fill micro-moments that used to belong to daydreaming.

And when we asked whether screens get in the way of being present, most people said yes – sometimes or often.  

No drama. No outrage. No digital apocalypse. Just a sense that something important is being quietly diluted. Attention.

What people actually want

When asked what they’d like more time for, the top responses were beautifully remarkable:

·       Relaxing or switching off

·       Spending time with loved ones

·       Creative activities, exercise, reading, calling friends

Notice what’s missing.

No one said, “more email.”

No one said, “more efficiency.”

No one said, “another productivity system.”

This is not about squeezing more output from life. It is about depth. Presence. Warmth. Breathing space. Analogue April is not anti-technology. It is pro-presence. It is about creating deliberate gaps where real life can stretch its legs.

The insight that stopped us in our tracks

100% of respondents believe reducing screen use would positively impact their wellbeing.

One hundred percent.

That means the issue is not awareness. Most people have already tried to reduce screen use. The dominant pattern? “It didn’t last.”

That is where Analogue April sits. Not as a detox nor a moral correction. But as a shared experiment. A socially acceptable reset with an entire month that makes it normal to say, “I’m logging off earlier”, “I’m not working this weekend”, or “I won’t be available this evening.”

And instead of raised eyebrows, you get the ‘fight club’ nod.

Who is feeling this most?

Our core audience in this first survey skews 35–55 year olds.

Many are parents. Many are juggling work, children, responsibilities and constant notifications. They are not naïve about technology and certainly no anti it – just tired of feeling fractionally elsewhere.

Analogue April exists in that fractional space not because screens are “ruining everything”. Because life is better when it isn’t constantly interrupted.

So, what now?

This survey validated three things:

1.      The tension around screen use is widespread.

2.      The desire for change is real.

3.      The hardest part is making it stick.

Analogue April offers a defined window for trying something different.

Weekends off.

Evening cut-offs.

Family challenges.

Workplace resets.

This is not about perfection, it’s about participation.

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking you would quite like to feel a little less tied to your phone, enjoy a little less scrolling and be a bit more present in what’s going on, you are very much not alone.

And you don’t need a dramatic digital exorcism.

You might just need a month.