Feel like technology is running your life?
beòLAB Flourish is a four-week research study testing whether simple reconnection habits, breathing, movement, nature, connection, can help you feel more in control of your relationship with technology.
Not a detox. Not a lecture. Just a study asking: do small habits shift the balance? Self-paced by design, so it works with different brains, not against them.
Free. Anonymous. Pre-registered on the Open Science Framework. We publish what we find, including what doesn't work.
Join the study
Launching February 2026. Sign up to be first in.
iOS first. Android late February. 18+ only. Your email is stored securely and used only for study updates. Privacy Policy · Participant Information Sheet
How it works
Baseline
Tell us your age and gender, then answer 5 short questions about your current relationship with technology. Takes about 3 minutes.
Four weeks
Pick from a library of evidence-based microhabits: breathing, movement, nature, connection, and more. Start with one. Do them at your own pace.
Weekly check-ins
Brief weekly surveys tracking how you feel. Five minutes each. We're measuring perceived control, not screen time.
Results
End-of-study survey, then we publish what we found. You keep the habits that worked for you.
Why this study exists
In 2020, our research used a Stroop task and actual iPhone Screen Time data to test whether intense social media use affects attention. A widely-used smartphone usage scale failed to predict actual device behaviour (r = .198, ns). People weren't broken. The measurement was.
Most digital wellbeing apps start from shame: scary numbers, lockouts, guilt. Research shows they don't work.
We're testing a different approach. Instead of measuring how much you use your phone, we're measuring whether you feel in control of it, and whether simple reconnection habits shift that feeling.
We use the Digital Flourishing Scale (Janicke-Bowles et al., 2023), which measures whether technology supports meaningful relationships, authentic self-expression, and sense of purpose. Not pathology. Flourishing.
Between a widely-used smartphone usage scale (MTUAS) and actual iPhone Screen Time. Not significant. The tools most apps rely on were measuring something else entirely.
The research behind beò
5 February 2026
Why I Stopped Chasing 'Addiction'
My research found that a widely-used smartphone scale couldn't predict actual phone use. I was confused. Then I found a better question.
28 January 2026
From Research to Reality
People can accurately report how often they check social media. But a widely-used smartphone scale can't predict actual behaviour. The data behind the measurement gap.
5 January 2026
Why beò
We've killed anticipation. Films, music, letters. We used to wait. Now? Want, have. Want, have. We've optimised away something human.