A London-based UX mentor just launched a Chrome extension to combat social media overuse. The tool, called Dopamine Detox, arrived after its creator faced a stark reality check: 2 hours and 15 minutes on YouTube in a single day, plus nearly an hour on Instagram and TikTok. That adds up to 14 hours a week lost to scrolling instead of building portfolio projects.

This personal crisis mirrored a pattern seen across the industry, especially among Gen Z designers. After mentoring over 50 young creatives who shared the same confession, the developer built the extension in just one week. The tool offers real-time scroll tracking, using browser APIs to display live time per site.

It also features local machine learning for AI binge prediction, issuing warnings like "2h YouTube risk today" and escalating to auto-blocks if ignored. Users get one-click focus blocks that gray out screens, plus streak counters and weekly graphs. A premium lifetime tier ($19.99) unlocks unlimited site blocking, CSV analytics, and custom focus schedules.

It’s a solo developer’s direct answer to the attention economy, targeting creators who lose over two hours daily to YouTube.