You Should Make Mufasa Your Lock Screen

When he’s spent too much time in his underwear playing video games—or watching other people play video games on YouTube—my friend Cole imagines his grandfather sighing, rolling his eyes, saying “I fought in a war for this?”

That, I think, is the spirit that made Reddit user itsalwaysmyday change their lock screen to a picture of Logan Roy, the disapproving father on Succession. The redditor says it’s been a helpful reminder to stay off their phone. You can do the same, no matter your taste in disappointed parental figures. For you it might be:

• Mufasa, disappointed in Simba for playing in the elephant graveyard

• Miranda Priestly, disappointed in Anne Hathaway for dissing cerulean

• Gordon Ramsay, whispering “damn” because a promising MasterChef contestant has cooked a bad dish

• Hank Hill, disappointed that Bobby can’t throw a baseball

• Judi Dench’s M, disappointed that Bond couldn’t keep it in his pants

• Maggie Smith in all her roles, disappointed that someone’s used the wrong fork, or married into a family who had to buy their furniture

Find a good still image, or even a GIF, if you want to make an animated lock screen. Imagine this character looking at you waste your life on your fucking phone. Feel the shame. Let that shame drive you away from your phone and back to real life, or at least to your computer.

Usual “phones are not inherently bad” caveats apply. Only do this if you actually want to stay off your phone for your own good, but you can’t feasibly turn it off all day or leave it at home. (It is bonkers that people used to just walk around all day without a little communication-information-entertainment hub on hand.) Suggestions for disapproving figures are welcome.