This iPhone Duo Feature Could Make Your Doomscrolling Addiction Even Worse

It’s no exaggeration to say that the iPhone Duo is Apple’s biggest smartphone innovation since the original iPhone almost 20 years ago. Duo’s passport-style design enables exciting new features that would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement on a traditional smartphone. Among these is Split View, which allows users to open different apps on each half of the screen. It’s good for multitasking and allows the phone to function more like an iPad.

Split View definitely has many practical applications. If you have two apps that you need to frequently switch between or want to use Siri AI while looking at something else, the iPhone Duo makes this seamless. However, this precise feature also has the potential to literally double your addiction to doom scrolling.

Since iPhone Duo lets you use two apps at once and quickly switch between them, there’s nothing stopping you from opening two social media feeds at the same time. You could have a video deck and a text deck on each half, watching TikToks or Instagram Reels while you mindlessly scroll through Reddit or X posts for twice the brain rot. Split View even lets you save pairs of apps, so you don’t even need to go through the lengthy process of opening each one individually, undoubtedly saving you 10 seconds or less.

If this sounds dystopian or (at the very least) a way to see your productivity plummet, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your relationship with your phone.

If you’re considering upgrading to the iPhone Duo, it’s worth remembering that Split View isn’t inherently a bad or time-wasting feature. There are productive uses that don’t involve dual-screen scrolling, like taking notes while reading or watching a video. The iPhone Duo also supports the Apple Pencil, although that feature isn’t ready at launch, making it even more of a replacement for the iPad.

No matter what phone you have, chances are you spend too much time doomscrolling. Cutting back is healthy, and you don’t need to go so far as to ditch social media like some Gen Zers. Both iPhones and Androids come with features to put time limits on things like gaming and social media, which are useful for keeping you accountable.

If completely deleting your social media seems extreme, there are also apps that can improve your screen time. Things like app usage tracking and blockers that make it a little harder to mindlessly open social media allow you to make more conscious decisions about your phone use. Excessive smartphone use is literally changing our bodies and brains. Making smarter decisions about the time we spend in the digital world is therefore a good choice for our physical and mental health.