COURSE

Overcome Digital Stress & Smartphone Addiction

Do you find it difficult to put down your devices? Or does the thought of being without your phone make you feel anxious? Do you feel tense and exhausted after working on your laptop? Or does social media leave you feeling inadequate or unworthy? If you are affected by any of these issues, then this course is for you. Over the next 10 days, you will learn how to take the power back in your relationship with technology. You will learn how to fill pauses in your day with mindfulness rather than checking your phone. And, as you take a step back from your devices, you will learn practical approaches to working with technology cravings and smartphone separation anxiety. You will also explore how comparing yourself to others on social media can trigger the inner critic, and how you can soften and befriend this critical voice with self-compassion.

Stress Stress & Anxiety Mindfulness Secular Mindfulness Meditation Secular Mindfulness

Meet your Teacher

Neil Tranter

Guildford, UK

Neil Tranter is a mindfulness teacher and software engineer based in Surrey, UK. Working part time in IT gives him the opportunity to practice mindful leadership in the hectic world of software development, while providing him with real world insights to share with his students. As modern life increases in pace and complexity, Neil offers teachings which are deeply relevant to our busy and often challenging lives. Offering practical approaches to working with digital stress, anxiety, insomnia and low self-worth, he is constantly looking to evolve contemplative teachings to make mindfulness and self-compassion more accessible to all. Originally training to teach Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Neil has now evolved his teaching approach to integrate elements of self-compassion, yoga nidra, focusing and relaxation techniques. He has spent the last 15 years deepening his personal practice during intensely stressful periods in his life, and offers practical approaches to live well even in the midst of our often chaotic and time poor lives.

10 Days

9.5k students

4.7 stars

16 min / day

Stress

English

Lesson 1

How Valuable Is Your Attention?

Technology can be a powerful ally, but as billions of dollars are being spent developing attention grabbing and habit forming technology, it has become all too easy for the devices and apps that were once built to serve us, to become our masters. In this first session, you will be learning how living in an Attention Economy has meant that the devices, apps and social media platforms we use have evolved to be strongly habit forming. Through experiential mindfulness practice, you will then start to develop awareness of the ways that your smartphone pulls for your attention.

Lesson 2

The Science Of Smartphone Addiction

In this session, we will be exploring the science of how our devices hijack our attention, and we will introduce a short structured mindfulness practice to help us take technology free breaks throughout the day. By learning to mindfully pause without checking your phone, you will begin to break the cycle of smartphone addiction.

Lesson 3

Pausing From Technology

In this session, we will continue to explore the theme of taking mindful pauses from our devices and look at some of the common experiences that come up when you start to do this. If you find it hard to take breaks without looking at your phone or other devices, then this session will provide you with the support to set clear intentions and respond to any difficulties that come up when you make the conscious choice to pause from technology.

Lesson 4

Technology Cravings & Urge Surfing – Part 1

Many of us are habitually drawn to pick up our devices as a result of technology cravings. These subtle or sometimes intense experiences may be accompanied by thoughts or urges to pick up our phones or other devices. In this session we are going to introduce a practice called urge surfing which will help us to become more aware of these cravings, the underlying forces that give rise to them, and offer practical approaches to ride out these cravings without autopiloting into distraction or numbing out with our devices.

Lesson 5

Technology Cravings & Urge Surfing – Part 2

Following on from the previous session, we will be continuing to explore technology cravings and the mindful practice of urge surfing. By learning to develop awareness of the triggers that give rise to cravings you will develop the capability to respond more effectively to urges to pick up your phone and other devices. In particular we will look at some common experiences that trigger cravings such as stressful experiences, boredom and loneliness.

Lesson 6

Smartphone Separation Anxiety & FOMO – Part 1

In this session, we will be exploring the stress or anxiety that we can feel when we are unable to use our phones or when we consciously choose to disconnect. In particular we will be looking at the primary cause of this stress which is linked to something called FOMO, the fear of missing out. We will explore the neuroscience of FOMO and discover how this modern fear is really an ancient fear related to the tribal behaviour of our distant ancestors.

Lesson 7

Smartphone Separation Anxiety & FOMO – Part 2

Following on from yesterday’s session, we will be exploring FOMO on an experiential level, using mindful reflection to help us shift into a wiser relationship with the social technology tools that we have at our disposal. We will also be introducing a mindful self-compassion practice called soothing touch which can help to soften feelings of social stress and anxiety, and help us to be kinder and gentler with ourselves rather than feeling like we have to constantly check our devices.

Lesson 8

Social Media, Comparing & The Inner Critic

In this session, we will gain an understanding of how the feelings of unworthiness that many people experience, are often as a result of implicitly comparing our own lives to other peoples idealised and perfectly Instagrammed realities. To help us respond to this modern day challenge, we will be exploring some practical strategies to overcome patterns of self-judging. We will get to know our inner critic and encourage a more nourishing relationship with him or her.

Lesson 9

Social Media & Self Compassion

Today, we will continue to explore the theme of how comparing ourselves to others on social media can trigger our inner critic. And, as an antidote to the inner critic, we will be diving into an extended self-compassion meditation. By learning how to develop a kinder and more compassionate relationship with ourselves, we can begin to balance out and soften the voice of the inner judge and learn to accept ourselves for who we are.

Lesson 10

Notifications & Digital Detoxing

In our final session together, we will be looking at some practical strategies to help us to develop a more nourishing relationship with technology. We will be looking at how to manage notifications to help us minimise how often we are drawn to pick up our devices. Building on the practices of mindful pausing, urge surfing, and self-compassion we will prepare for a 24 hour digital detox.

Ask your teacher

This course includes 96 community questions and 26 audio replies from Neil Tranter. The community classroom and teacher audio replies are only available via the app.

4.7 (233)

Recent Reviews

Daniel

October 1, 2025

Very well done; informative about how to gain independence from devices and to be with myself

Mary

March 10, 2025

Very gentle and helpful!

Maria

December 19, 2024

Bra kurs med sunda reflektioner. Saknade några nycklar som varit viktiga hittills för mig i min relation med mobilen, och kändes en aning daterad redan, därav att den saknar en stjärna. Bl.a att ställa in skärmen på svartvit, programmera skärmtid så mobilen blir mindre tillgänglig exempelvis på kvällen, samt begränsa hur mkt tid man kan spendera på sociala medier per dag.

ayreÁnna

June 17, 2024

this is one of the best courses i have done on Insight Timer. as someone who depends on my devices for my work, i’ve struggled with taking time away from them. but Neil compassionately offers practical, supportive tools and techniques for self-awareness, discipline and detoxing. and his kind voice, perfect pacing and well-chosen music rounded out the experience beautifully. thank you so much, Neil!

Rosa

August 13, 2023

This was so needed. A very well done course.

Tom

July 14, 2023

A really informative and well delivered course. Lots of wonderful techniques aswell as plenty of helpful practical tips! Well worth doing as technology and social media slowly takes over the world and our lives. Neil has certainly helped to change my relationship with my phone. Thank you very Neil 😌👍

Luisa

July 13, 2023

Thank you for your reminder and great ideas 🙏🏽

Sari

June 21, 2023

Thank you so much! This was far more versatile than "just" digital detox.

Stephanie

May 19, 2023

Excellent. So relevant for our time. I have needed this.

Kimber

April 24, 2023

I spent a month at a treatment center where we had to relinquish our phones for a week straight and then only had access to them for 2 hours a day. That restriction turned out to be one of the most profound that I experienced there. I started spending more time in nature, excersizing, writing poetry, doing art, and connecting with people face to face. I felt a deep sense of peace and regained my ability to focus, be inspired, and feel curious. When I got my phone back, I slowly returned to all the time I waste on it and the stress it brings me. This course has some wonderful suggestions and tools that have helped me use technology instead of it using me, I have applied the knowledge I gained from it and have discovered more freedom, creativity, and acceptance as a result. Thank you for an incredible course.

David

March 2, 2023

💯

Pam

February 24, 2023

This course has been very helpful and I will probably listen to it again . In addition to getting to know my inner critic, and being self compassionate to myself, I will be doing more things that I enjoyed to help me forget to pick up my phone, and be present with the friends and my work.

Irwin

January 27, 2023

What a great course! Really brought up some great strategies to dealing with smart phone addiction. Recommend this highly.

InnerPeace

July 9, 2022

Thank you. I really enjoyed the course.

Rita🌈

June 19, 2022

Thank you, you offered some great new ideas to work with.

David

February 5, 2022

Some really good perspectives and strategies.

Rebecca

January 15, 2022

Comprehensive in both practical strategies and understanding the “why” behind tech addiction.

Mairon

October 15, 2021

A very interesting course! It was useful and effective. I started it because I was not satisfied with my relationship with social media, and, above all, the time I spent on them. This course helped me wonderfully in changing that! I’m very happy with the results I’ve already obtained, and I look forward to working more on the many things I’ve learned. The course, as expected, mostly revolves around electronics, but many of the notions are relevant for other situations too. Thank you!

Narayanan

September 3, 2021

Excellent set of practices. Thanks!!

Anni

March 4, 2021

Thank you! I listened to this slowly over a few months, among other practices. I have changed so much and am no longer a slave to notifications and social media!

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