How to stop checking your ex's social media (for real)

You promised yourself you wouldn't look. Three hours later you've scrolled to 2019. You're not weak — you're caught in a variable-reward loop your brain literally cannot resist on willpower alone.

Why willpower fails

Checking their profile is a slot-machine: most pulls are nothing, but occasionally there's a new photo, a tagged location, a hint of someone new. Variable rewards are the most addictive reinforcement schedule known. Willpower can't beat slot machines. Architecture can.

The three-layer block

1. Unfollow + mute. Don't block (yet) — block invites curiosity. Mute removes the temptation from your feed.
2. App-level limits. iOS Screen Time / Android Digital Wellbeing — set Instagram/TikTok to 20 min/day. The friction breaks the loop.
3. Replace the trigger. When the urge hits, do 10 push-ups or open Loviu. Same dopamine pathway, different reward.

The 30-day blackout

For one month, treat their digital presence like it doesn't exist. Around day 12 the urge drops sharply. By day 25, most people forget to check at all.

Where AI helps

Loviu can be your urge-surfing partner: log every craving, and the AI helps you notice the trigger pattern (lonely evenings? Sunday mornings?) so you can plan around it.