Regardless of using chems or not, lots of people report that they spend too much time on apps like Grindr, more than what they would like to, and they don't know how to control their use. When we talk about chemsex, it’s also common for people to feel that their drug use is directly connected to using these apps. Often they delete them from their phones after a Chemsex session, downloading them once they feel better, horny, or if they miss drugs. This can be frustrating, and the apps which connect them to other people can be hard to avoid, so keeping some control over their use can be hard.
Here are some options to consider that are helpful for those who are struggling with this situation:
- Disable the phone to block downloading and use of apps or websites with specific content (sexual, gambling, etc) using parental controls. You can find out how to do this by Googling ‘parental control iPhone’ or ‘apps parental control for Android’, or also downloading specific apps for this purpose, and prevent the cycle of deleting and downloading the apps.
- Disabling your phone doesn’t need to be forever. Normally, a PIN number will be used to enable/disable the use of these apps. Asking a friend to block the apps and keep the PIN secret or let you know it only in specific circumstances can help you control temptation (e.g. if I want to unblock it I will have to go to see you for you to do it personally). Good news: many people who have used this system to gain control over app use and who thought they would miss them report feeling very free, don’t think about it at all, and have time to use on other things.
- You can also set limits on the screen time you use for apps. Anything from a minimum of 1 minute, or you can also choose to block them only on certain days only (e.g. weekends). This can also be managed through parental controls, normally with a PIN number as well, to help you control it.
