As fridge magnets go, the one I received in the post two weeks ago was nothing much to get excited about - at least not visually.

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But it didn't take long for the small grey square with the word "brick" on it to become an object of fear and menace.

The app blocker, aptly called a Brick, has caused chaos and calm in my house - but mostly calm.

For a mere $75-ish plus postage, I finally achieved what the Australian government seems to have been unable to do, and blocked my teenager's social media accounts once for all.

It worked because, in an act of solidarity and stellar parenting, I also blocked my own, performatively swiping my phone in front of the grey magnet and feeling it pulse into a new state.

Now, when I go to open Facebook or Instagram, I'm met with a grey screen, and a message telling me my phone is "currently Bricked".

To access either, I need to re-swipe my phone over the magnet.

It's the same for the kids. Having forced them to install the Brick app on their phones, I can now keep them blocked at my discretion, having hidden the magnet where they'll never find it.

There's been plenty of begging, bargaining, pleas to at least compromise, and a couple of times I have. The app allows you to choose when and what to block, and even why. Want to get more work done? Get off social media? Get your life back? It's heady, inspiring stuff.

And, unlike my two children, I've never felt more alive, more virtuous than when I see the grey screen.

Just to be clear, Brick is not paying me for this column - I bought the device based on my own (increasingly desperate)........

© Canberra Times