Should you practice ‘appstinence’? Gen Z and Gen Alpha are embracing this Harvard student movement

The 5-step method aims to help people get off social media and become less attached to their smartphones.

“Appstinence,” which (as you may have guessed) refers to abstaining from using your apps, is a movement encouraging people to get off social media and become less attached to their smartphones. It was founded by Harvard graduate student Gabriela Nguyen. The 24-year-old, who grew up in the center of Big Tech in Silicon Valley, realized she was addicted to both social media and her phone, probably from an early age. So she decided to do something about it and started a club at the Ivy League school for her fellow students, along with the Appstinence website.