Constant phone notifications and a tendency to “doomscroll” for hours in an effort to keep abreast of the latest news has conditioned people to keep their phones in hand at all times.
The Mayo Clinic cautions that excessive screen time threatens physical, social and mental health. Everything from obesity to eye strain to neck and back pain may be linked to spending too much time on phones, tablets and computers. Excessive screen time also has been linked to mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
Limiting daily screen time is recommended to foster better overall well-being. Pulling away from the draw of screens can be challenging, but it’s not impossible.
Audit your screen time
Getting a clear picture of daily screen time can help a person make changes for the better. Identify three applications that take up most of your time, and check how many times each day you reach for your phone or tablet to engage with these apps. Noting each engagement can shed light on how much time you’re spending on screens.
Make it less accessible
Technology often is over-used because designers engineered it to be easily accessible. By making things slightly less convenient, a person may be less inclined to use it. Deleting apps that are over-used from a phone or tablet and only gaining access through a computer web browser is a start. Ban the phone from the bedroom and switch to a regular alarm clock. Kondo, a direct messaging management company, suggests turning settings on the device to display in grayscale, which makes things appear dull and less enticing.
Turn off notifications
Govern your notification permissions more strictly, turning off any that aren’t of the utmost importance. Disabling news alerts, sports scores, social media likes, and less vital notifications can greatly reduce the number of times a person looks at screens.
Replace with something else
Kicking a bad habit can be challenging, but finding something new and healthier to take its place can be effective. Convert to more analog hobbies like journaling, reading, knitting, doing puzzles, or something else that engages the brain. Another idea is to try to commit to a few hours at least one day a week to put the phone away. Out of sight truly may mean out of mind.
