Why You Should Take a Break from Screen Time

For many of us, as we were growing up, we will remember our parents telling us off for watching too much TV. What they wouldn’t have expected is the amount of time their children and even grandchildren would be spending in front of the screens. From mobiles to video games, the amount of screen time children and adults are clocking up is having shocking effects.

A national study was carried out in the U.S in 2016. It included 40,337 children between the age of 2 to 17-year-olds. It measured the psychological effects of the use of phones, computers, electronic devices, electronic games, and TV. The researchers discovered that 14 to 17-year-olds who spent more than 7 hours a day using a screen were twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression. They were also twice as likely to have been diagnosed with anxiety, treated by a mental health professional, and, worse, taken medication for psychological or behavioral problems.

If you have just considered the time you spend in front of screens and you aren’t up to 7 hours, that’s not to say you escaped the effects. Lower psychological well-being was also reported for those with moderate screen use, approximately 4 hours a day.

Let’s say you have a 30-minute commute to and from work/school, and you spend this time on your mobile. Even after 1 hour of daily screen time, the results showed that participants expressed less curiosity and were more easily distracted while struggling to finish tasks. The participants were less emotionally stable and found it more challenging to make friends.

Aside from the study mentioned above, it is widely considered that there is a correlation between screen time and attempted suicides, more specifically with teenage girls. The teenage suicide rate from 2010 to 2015 rose by 33%. For teenage girls, this figure increased by 65%. Non-related studies have shown the link between exercise and improved mental health. While we are spending so many hours in front of our screens, we often miss out on the necessary exercise, and this leads to higher obesity rates.

The question is, how can we reduce the hours we spend with our screens. For those who live with others—whether that’s friends or family—it is a case of leading by example. Here here are some ways you can take a break from screen time.

5 Ways You Can Take a Break from Screen Time

1. Use apps

It seems ironic that one way to reduce screen time is to use mobile apps. There are apps available that will allow you to set a limit on the time you spend on your phone, for example, App Detox and Off the Grid. Other apps like Screen Time and ZenScreen can be used to monitor the amount of time you spend on your phone each day. The shock of realizing how much time you spend on your phone is a great way to get started.

2. Only buy your child a mobile when it is essential

Preteens will constantly be nagging parents for a mobile phone, and parents are probably fed up of hearing comments like “all my friends have one”. Recent studies suggest that the ideal age for children to have a mobile is 12. If your child grunts at this, let them know that Bill Gates didn’t permit his children to have a mobile until they were 14!

3. Plan your day and stick to it

When you have a full schedule, it isn’t as easy to pick up your phone and spend an hour checking social media sites. Planning your day is necessary for your overall mental health, and keeping busy will stop you from wanting to check your phone as often.

4. Do not allow push notifications

While notifications are handy to get an overview of what’s happening with your phones, they are a distraction. You might see an email you have to reply to. Still, you may also see your favorite online store offering discounts or the latest sports results, so turn off any non-crucial notifications.

5. Change your bedtime habits

The last thing we do at night and the first thing we do in the morning is to check our phones. This is a habit, not a necessity. Try to leave your phone in a different room, or at least out of reach.

Reducing Screentime—In Conclusion

It’s not all bad, and the technology we have today has indeed helped us in a great number of ways. Technology has made our lives are made much more convenient. For example, more and more adults can work from home. Children also have access to further learning.

As with many things in life, we need to find balance—not only for the mental health of ourselves and our children but also for physical health.