When I contacted Gabriela Nguyen, the 23-year-old creator of APPstinent, she responded using her Cat S22 flip phone.
This device is technically classified as a rugged smartphone due to its operating on the lightweight Android Go system. Nevertheless, its small form and restricted features make it far from suitable for hours spent browsing social media or utilizing applications—if Nguyen even has any installed.
This is because Nguyen has entirely severed ties with social media after grappling for years to curb her engagement. Notably, she doesn’t even have a presence on LinkedIn, which is uncommon for someone studying at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.
Now liberated from the hold of social media and the distractions of a high-tech smartphone, Nguyen aims to assist others in achieving the same. She established **APPstinent**, a student organization affiliated with Harvard that offers complimentary coaching to aid individuals in creating a customized “Digital Lifestyle Plan.”
### Assisting Gen Z in Regaining Their Lives
Nguyen is especially fervent about empowering her fellow Gen Z peers to take charge of their lives once again. She contends that growing up attached to smartphones has robbed many in her generation of crucial “soft skills,” such as making eye contact or striking up conversations with strangers.
As they mature into adulthood, Nguyen feels many Gen Zers remain ensnared in the same “infantilizing” digital patterns formed in their youth. They persist in participating in the “petty social games” of their teenage years, unable to liberate themselves from the technologies that influenced their developing years.
“It isn’t our fault that our childhoods were shaped this way,” Nguyen states, “but it is our duty to take responsibility for our lives and the future generation to leverage our knowledge for correction.”
### What Does “Appstinence” Entail?
The goal of APPstinent mirrors its name: a strategy for freeing oneself from the digital shackles of social media. Nguyen posits that social media sites are so “psychologically manipulative” that merely practicing “mindfulness” won’t be enough to escape their hold.
Instead, APPstinent adopts a systematic method known as the [**5D Method**](https://www.appstinent.org/the-5d-method), formulated by Nguyen from her personal experiences and addiction studies. This method aids participants in the slow process of diminishing their social media usage over a span of 30 days—a period that coincides with the deactivation policies of many platforms. If accounts aren’t reactivated within that time, they are permanently erased.
Nguyen discovered that abstaining from social media became significantly easier once she re-engaged with reality. The concluding phase of the 5D Method even encourages transitioning to a simpler phone, similar to her reliable flip phone.
Despite this, Nguyen hasn’t entirely turned her back on technology. She still possesses an iPhone, though it’s only utilized on special occasions, such as capturing high-quality images or accessing saved photos. For daily tasks like taking pictures, listening to music, or ordering food and rides, she depends on her flip phone.
Nguyen admits that “appstinence” is not a universal fix. For example, students and professionals may require specific communication applications. In her situation, she uses WhatsApp to communicate with international peers who lack U.S. phone numbers.
### The Strain of Online Identities
Nguyen is less worried about practical applications like WhatsApp and more focused on the threats posed by personal social media accounts. For individuals who feel compelled to use social media for promoting a business or personal brand, she suggests establishing strict limits.
What Nguyen cautions against is the inclination to present several versions of oneself across different platforms, constantly perceiving oneself through the opinions of others. This, according to her, can undermine one’s sense of identity.
“You sense a pressure to uphold a version of yourself that is no longer authentic,” Nguyen elaborates. She believes that the exchange of living online to cultivate a personal brand may not justify the long-term ramifications.
### Tips for Quitting Social Media
Nguyen is pragmatic about the difficulties involved in detaching from social media, particularly for those who’ve been deeply immersed for years. A [Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/12/12/teens-social-media-and-technology-2024/) from December 2024 revealed that a third of teenagers engage with at least one prominent social media platform “almost constantly.”
Given the profound integration of social media into everyday life, Nguyen advocates for a gradual and tailored approach.
“I wouldn’t suggest going cold turkey at the outset,” she remarks.
The 5D Method consists of practical actions like compiling a list of family and friends you truly wish to stay in touch with and identifying offline activities to occupy your time. Nguyen recommends starting small—she carried a book with her consistently instead of her phone. This met her brain’s need for regular attention shifts without setting unrealistic期待ations for