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> An application could provide a user frequent alerts to get back to work or put the phone down if they’ve been using it for 10 minutes or more. Taking the idea

> An application could provide a user frequent alerts to get back to work or put the phone down if they’ve been using it for 10 minutes or more. Taking the idea further, there could be some financial or other incentive (maybe the user escrows some money toward buying something they want) if they hit their goal. I recall an application made for college students that rewarded them for not using their phone during their lectures. I believe it it called Pocket Points [0]. [0]: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocket-points-college-rewards/id908136685?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocket-points-college-reward...

passivepinetree 8y ago
I used Pocket Points briefly in college. Their main selling point was the integration with businesses around campus: if you accrued x number of "points" by locking your phone with the app open while on campus, you got discounts or occasionally free products at stores/restaurants nearby. However, it was really susceptible to being gamed. I remember walking to campus right before bedtime, locking my phone, and then going to sleep, giving me points all night. Eventually they tried to fix this by giving more points during "peak" hours (normal class times) and drastically reducing points given during off hours, but it was still pretty easy to game. My college self really appreciated the discounts, but I don't think it was a great business model (I have no idea how they profited off the app) and I'm not sure if they're still around.