Touch Grass: The App That Forces You to Go Outside

If your willpower has the strength of a wet noodle when it comes to putting down your phone, there’s an app that’s about to drag you outside to touch grass—literally.

In a world where screen addiction is so real it’s practically a new food group, Touch Grass swoops in like a digital parent yelling, “Go play outside!” This clever app is designed to cut your screen time and remind you there’s still a whole planet out there beyond Instagram reels and endless doomscrolling.

Why is it called “Touch Grass”? Ah, here’s where it gets clever. According to Urban Dictionary, “touch grass” is slang for when someone’s being ridiculous, out of touch, or just plain weird. It’s a sarcastic way of saying, “Go outside. Breathe some air. Reconnect with reality.” In other words, stop spiraling online and remember there’s a whole world beyond your screen.

Rhys Kentish, a senior software engineer at the London-based app design firm Brightec, decided to take the phrase “touch grass” quite literally. Frustrated with his screen habits, he developed an app that forces users to physically go outside before they can dive into the endless black hole of TikTok or lose another hour to Instagram reels.

“I was fed up with my morning routine starting with an hour of mindless scrolling,” Kentish shared with Fast Company. “It felt awful, like I was wasting time and getting absolutely nothing in return.”

The app lets you block those soul-sucking apps that keep you glued to your screen—but here’s the kicker: you can still manually turn them back on. So if you’re sneaky (and let’s be real, we all are), you can break the rules faster than a toddler with a Sharpie. It’s like trying to quit junk food while living inside a donut shop. A noble idea… with a built-in escape hatch.

It’s kind of like a nicotine patch for your eyeballs—except the patch keeps falling off, and you keep saying, “Just one more scroll.”

But here’s where it gets golden: it’s amazing for kids. You can set it up to lock their favorite apps until they go outside and get some sun. Yep—no Minecraft or TikTok until they’ve touched real grass. This might be the only way they’ll ever know what chlorophyll smells like. Five stars just for the parenting potential!

Now, the app itself is free, but surprise! You’ll need to pay if you want to skip touching grass. Yes, that’s right—you can buy your way out of going outside. Somewhere, your ancestors who farmed the land are shaking their heads in disbelief.

So, is Touch Grass a revolutionary game changer? Eh, maybe not. But it’s a hilariously accurate reflection of our complete lack of self-control—and a reminder that we might need tech to save us from tech.

The only time I ever touched grass growing up was when I had to mow it—and even then, it felt more like a chore than a wellness ritual. Now? Touching grass is practically a personal achievement. A milestone. A heroic act worthy of a social media post. We’ve evolved.

When I was a kid, my parents actively discouraged me from touching the grass, though, to be fair, it was a very different kind of grass. You know, the kind that came with a “don’t even think about it” look and a lecture about ruining your future. But hey, times have changed.

Now we have apps reminding people to physically go outside and connect with nature as if it’s some forgotten frontier. Gen Z is out here touching grass like it’s a spiritual awakening. We’ve come full circle. From avoiding one kind of grass to being rewarded for interacting with the other. Welcome to the future, where grass is not just for lawns anymore; it’s a lifestyle.

So, unleash your inner Thoreau and go touch some grass, man—Walden wasn’t written from a Wi-Fi hotspot!