A screen time app built one of its strongest growth systems by turning boredom into content.

Monkeyless is designed to help people spend less time compulsively using their phones. Instead of only blocking distracting apps, it asks users to pause and meditate before opening them.

The brand message is simple: “Tame your monkey mind.”

Across its main Instagram and TikTok pages, Monkeyless has generated more than 15M views.

Most of that reach came from one specific format.

Around September 2025, the main page started posting time-lapse videos built around rawdogging boredom.

The structure was simple. One person sat still for a long time. A clock showed the time passing. Almost nothing happened.

Sometimes he held a phone with the screen off, sometimes a random object like a rock, and sometimes nothing at all.

At the end, the video cut to a screenshot of the app with a download CTA.

The strongest version reached 3.6M views on Instagram with:

“Rawdogging for 1 hour to fix my attention span (day 3)”

A couple of months later, the same idea evolved on TikTok into a comparison format.

One side showed a phone addict spiraling and struggling to stay still. The other side showed someone who meditates every day, staying calm in the same room.

The best-performing version hit 1.4M views with:

“doing nothing for 5 minutes except one is a phone addict the other meditates daily” (Nov 2025)

More recently, the strategy expanded beyond the main pages.

A new TikTok account, which appears to be an ambassador account, went viral with a completely different style of video.

On April 29, @kiley.zen11 hit 1.4M views and 17.6K bookmarks with:

“I don’t wanna go to school“

Meanwhile, this video takes a very different approach. Instead of showing boredom, it speaks directly to people who know they are wasting time.

She calls out excuses, connects them to endless scrolling, and only brings up Monkeyless near the end. Because she is casually straightening her hair while talking, the video feels more like a real rant than a promo.