Do you spend less time on screen?
Can you put them away?
Do you have better self-control?
Are you one of those who feel uncomfortable when your phone is not around?
It takes no time getting connected to the internet but everyone feels difficulty while disconnecting. That’s not an accident when you find yourself spending more time with the screen. The screen has become the constant companion of people nowadays.
There is a rapid growth in the number of technology users around the world. Data goes increasing day by day as technology is becoming more accessible. Technology targets every age group as per their interest.
Do you know about the persuasive design of technology?
Whenever you see typing with three dots, you stop back staring at three dots, right?. That’s called a persuasive design to glue you up to the screen. Only a few will leave knowing the device will alert me if there is any message.
Every house has a story, where children begged for attention, but parents hooked on the screen. Silent environment while dining when everyone gets glued to the screen. Kids continuously crying, getting agitated and demanding phones.
Why Are We Hooked to The Screen?
Every time we get connected to the internet we are hooked to the screen. Screen time is a common issue in every age group. The internet provides a wide variety of content that can gain all your attention. You can find the content of your interest.
Is Technology Design For Addiction?
Not even one company would say, they aimed to make their product addictive. But they will explain it in a better version and simplify this term as- “maximizing the engagement”. Companies design their product from a consumer point of view. They focus on features and resources that you spend more time on.
Companies never design products only for buying and installing once and stop using. Their focus is just to attract and encourage people to make an ongoing screen time and purchase.
We get addicted to screen due to following reasons:
Gaming behavior: The addicted behavior is the main cause of excessive screen time. It is more common in children. WHO has recognized and diagnosed it as a gaming disorder.
Shopping behavior: Shopping online is more common these days. People feel tedious to shop from malls when they are just a click away. Thousands of options in your fingertip make us have more screen time.
Social media: One of the main reasons behind more screen time is social media. No matter where we are, we need to check our social media once. Virtual relationships can be more appealing than real-world relationships.
Online Compulsion: Stock trading, bidding, auction, and job compulsion force us to have screen time.
Why is screen time a serious issue?
- Risk of depression and suicide: The risk of depression is growing with technology. Health professionals point to screen time as one major cause of depression. This issue has psychological effects on every age group. But alarming among teenagers.
- Interference of productivity: Smartphones and laptops consume the productive time of people. People hardly get involved in productive activities. Notifications and alerts from devices distract them from their goal. There is always a loss of working hours while using phones. Many schools and colleges have banned smartphones for effective learning and working hours
- Physical Stress: Sitting and diving down to the screen of phones and tablets harms the neck and back area. Bad posture has constant pressure on the back and spine area. It may cause a serious issue in the future.
- Sleep deprivation: Tapping and scrolling at bedtime affect the sleeping pattern. Screen time during bedtime makes you exposed to blue light results in a drop in sleep quality.
Symptoms of screen addiction:
- Nomophobia: If you fear not being with your phone then it is also a symptom of screen addiction.
- FOMO: If you stay away from your devices for a certain time and start to feel fear of missing out, then it is a sign you are addicted to your screen
- Ringxiety: Imagination of vibrating and ringing phones even when they are not. This leads to frequently checking your phones.
- Textiety: Feeling of responding to any text ASAP.
Tips To Stay Back From Excessive Use Of Screen
Staying Aware of the Technology
People often get confused, whether they choose technology or technology choose them. Technology is there not just for addiction, it’s there for collecting your data. Stay aware of the privacy settings and data settings. Also, make your surroundings alert about hooking techniques.
Keep a constant eye on every activity of your kids. The time they spent on screen, data they are sharing, the content they get involved in, etc.
Explore your Surroundings, Not Only Technology
Unaware of your surroundings often happens while using technology. High volume, constant eye on the screen, no social interaction offline, drags you away from your environment.
Keep track of the time you get connected to technology every day. Tracking or monitoring tools available may help. Explore your surroundings, connect with family members, and engage yourself in offline activities.
Set Your Boundaries
Set no technology hour for you and your related ones. Create an environment to leave your device away, even for a couple of hours. Make no screen environment while dining, outing, and unofficial meetings. Always stick back to your boundaries you have set for yourselves. Make positive natural habits and stay determined to follow rules.
Stop Taking the Phone to the Bathroom
Have you ever noticed, we end up spending more time in the bathroom while using a phone? When it is supposed to be in 5 minutes takes nearly half an hour. Leaving your phone behind while going to the bathroom will be mindful.
From a health point of view, the phone becomes dirtier when you take them to the bathroom. So stop carrying the phone to the bathroom.
Take a Break by Uninstalling Apps You are Addicted to.
It’s the best way to get rid of addictive apps for a few days. You can put those apps back into your phone whenever you want. This can provide you a break from endless tapping and scrolling. This is an effective strategy if you can take it for one week. Repeat this process whenever you feel getting addicted to your device.
Disable Notification
Notification always drags your presence of mind to the screen. Notification is the major factor of distracting the mind and easy excuses. Most of you run to your phone when it gives you a notification alert. It’s better to disable notifications when you need to concentrate somewhere else.
This strategy makes you away from the screen until you get engaged somewhere. Only check your messages and emails by allocating specific hours.
Think Better Way to Access Information
Information is a must in our daily life. Instead of using different search engines, have a habit of learning from books. Reading from books has fewer effects than screen time. Better look for a book in your library if you have any queries. It’s better to have phone calls than chatting to gather information.
Choose another hobby
Be active and set another hobby besides screen time. You can learn different recipes from the book and enjoy them with your family. You can play outdoor games with friends and relatives, gardening can be another option to avoid screen time. Try different strategies but remember to avoid your electronic devices.
Never take too many photos
Not only social media increases screen time. The craze of a perfect photo at a perfect place has also increased screen time. We take excessive photos at parties, events, holidays, and many places. Taking too many photos leads to more exposure to lights. More exposure to screen lights may harm your brain.
Avoid eating in front of your screen.
People feel extremely tempted to have screen time while eating. A combination of Screen and meal turns out to be harmful. If we avoid eating in front of the screen have two benefits. It will avoid excessive eating and reduce screen time. Always have your meal communicating face to face.
Conclusion
Our health and wellbeing matter along with the entertainment. A simple barrier between you and your phone can take your life to the next level. Nowadays, electronic devices have become a deep part of our life, but we should set the boundaries between them.
The overvaluation of electronic devices has affected human existence. Have your accountability partner, keep motivating each other and stick to your plan.
