Being in the “media generation” we are at the receiving end of both its advantages and disadvantages. While you have the world at your fingertips on your smartphone, the same smartphones turn addicting with time. Soon, you start picking up your smartphones for no reason at all; putting your mental health and digital well-being at risk. Your screen time not only affects your valuable work time but also your eyes and brain. It is time to take steps to reduce screen time for the sake of no one, but you.
Studies claim that an individual should have 2-3 hours of screen time per day. But surely many people have gone way ahead of that with their screen time. Adults frequently engage and enjoy themselves on screens. They frequently have a larger risk of developing a screen addiction. They should minimize their screen time outside of work because of this. Anything more than two hours a day is deemed detrimental, therefore it must be less than that. You shouldn’t watch TV shows or movies on streaming services or spend more than two hours on social media after work.
Limit, Don’t Restrict
Now, once someone hears about this recommended screen time, their first instinct is “Done! From today, I won’t use my phone only”. Calm down Galileo! No need to go all Eureka. The key is to limit your phone usage and not entirely stop. Because that is not possible.
Your digital well-being means balancing your work and personal smartphone requirements and knowing when to stop. We live in a world where we can’t do without a smartphone. There are meetings to attend and files to fill. Payments to initiate and food to order.
Completely putting down your phone will only lead to FOMO and your mental health degrading even more from the extra stress.
The effects of adult use of electronic devices on health require further study. Even more so during the epidemic, adults spend a lot of time looking at screens. As individuals spent more time indoors, time spent on cellphones, TVs, laptops, and video gaming consoles climbed.
Reduce Screen Time With Ease
- Track your Screen Time
Set an initial target for how much time you typically spend in front of devices. Although some smartphones come with a built-in screen timer, you can also utilize monitoring apps to get a weekly and monthly reports on your screen usage.
Once you know your capabilities and tasks that require your phone, you will understand when and how to put your smartphone down.
- No Screens Before Bed
To give even more relief to your eyes and mind, it is a proven tip to reduce screen time. Not to use or look at a screen 1 hour before sleeping, and 1 hour after waking up.
Starting your day by scrolling through your phone clogs your mind, making you miss the opportunity of having a fresh morning. Being on your phone before going to bed just ends with you staying up longer.
Reduce screen time by monitoring your night and day phone usage.
- Take Break From Social Media
This can entail taking a break from all social media platforms or just one particular one. Consider the impact of the media you consume on yourself. On social media, people frequently share a polished version of their lives, which might cause you to have irrational expectations and worry about your situation. You may reset and reassess how you want to use social media by taking a vacation from it.
Social media contributes the most to screen time. It is also known to affect your mental health, along with your digital well-being. Limiting social media is one of the most important steps to reduce screen time.
- Don’t Eat While Watching A Screen
When we watch TV or play video games, we often eat more. Establish and adhere to different mealtimes to tackle this habit. Take the snacks out of the play area.
This is also two targets with one hit, as it eating in front of a screen also makes one over-eat. With the distraction caused by a screen, you don’t pay attention to what goes in your mouth.
- Leverage Technology
If you struggle to put your device down, use technology to assist you break your screen addiction at various points throughout the day.
Set alarms on your phone or calendar to serve as a reminder to take breaks. To lessen distractions, disable social media or communication platform notifications. In this manner, you can put your phone away until you are prepared and done with other tasks.
There won’t be an out-of-sight-out-of-mind situation about your digital well-being when you are constantly reminded to reduce screen time.
