Activating Metacognition in Daily Life: A Randomized Controlled Ecological Momentary Intervention to Improve Digital Self-Regulation and Well-Being

Inclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria: Participants must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Age between 18 and 25 years old. 2. Own and regularly use a smartphone. 3. Report an average daily recreational screen time of at least 3 hours on weekdays or 4 hours on weekends, based on self-report (Zablotsky et al., 2025). 4. Be able to access their device's built-in screen time tracking function (or equivalent system-level usage report) and upload screenshots when required. 5. Be willing and able to complete daily surveys throughout the full study period. 6. Indicate motivation to reduce or regulate their recreational screen use. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Outside the age range of 18-25 years. 2. Do not own a smartphone or do not use it regularly. 3. Report average daily recreational screen time below 3 hours on weekdays and below 4 hours on weekends. 4. Are unable to access device-based screen time tracking functions or cannot provide valid screenshots when required. 5. Are unwilling or unable to complete daily surveys across the study period (e.g., anticipated non-compliance, scheduling constraints). 6. Do not express motivation to reduce or regulate their recreational screen use.