My phone is an ereader now

I could probably live without iMessage (though I wouldn't love it), but the one thing I really cannot live without is a great camera. My child is still young, my wife and I are still enjoying ourselves (when we have time), and I really do cherish the photos. I know I could get a separate camera, but it's not the as being able to snap photos spontaneously.

What I really want is a super reliable way to block social media from my iPhone, only allowing a short window per day.

I use "Freedom", but it doesn't reliably block things, and I end up cheating.

Screen Time can work well for this. Block both apps and websites (the "Social" category makes this straightforward), then ask your gatekeeper tp "Lock Screen Time Settings" on your phone and keep the PIN to themselves.

I "solved" this by using a black and white screen always and just checking social media on a web browser on my computer whenever I feel like it - usually once a month or so. Its great because I can turn off the black and white for pictures.

This isn't a real solution because you still have to take deliverate action and you're still just trusting your own behaviors. But, it's a great middle ground.

For social media - you don't actually need the apps. Like, at all. They work just fine in a browser and they can't send you notifications that way. So just delete them altogether.