Time is ticking away and it’s wasted on a phone. The hours of screen time are adding to years of endless doomscrolling, living through a screen. Opportunities, goals, and life lessons are getting pushed aside by pixels on a screen.
Hypothetically, I get eight hours of sleep a night — that leaves 16 hours of being awake. If I’m on my phone for four hours a day, a fourth of my day has been dedicated to a six-inch screen. This is a fourth of my day I could have spent living, going outside, talking to people, physically moving or practicing hobbies.
If I continue to spend the rest of my life having a fourth of my day dedicated to my phone, does that mean a fourth of my life is wasted on a phone? How much am I missing?
It’s a hard thought to swallow, but necessary for the direction most are headed, including myself.
A couple months ago I downloaded an app on my phone called Opal. It’s an app meant to restrict certain apps and decrease screen time. Every now and then I get phases of actively attempting to stay off my phone, but it usually lasts for a week (at most).
Opal was different. It gave me the expected questions like my age, screen time and more. Once I answered all the questions it gave me alarming statistics.
The bad news is, when I joined Opal I was on track to spend 32 years of my life on my phone.
The good news is, since joining Opal, I’m on track to claim 19 years back.
I’m not proud to admit that number. Yet, to solve a problem is acknowledging the problem; that’s what needed to be done.
Over the past week I documented my efforts to change my screen time, what worked and what didn’t. If you’re reading this, I assume you’re looking for a change. I wanted to share my efforts to help anyone in need of less time on their phone.
Google form
I sent out a Google form to get a better idea of how much time people are spending on their phone. Ninety percent of my responses came from the age group of 19 to 24, and I received about 50 responses. Eighty-seven percent of all respondents said they want to be on their phone less, and about 50% fall into the 4 to 6 hours a day of screen time. Over half of participants felt Instagram was their most-used app.
I fall into the averages of age group, screen time, most used app and whether I want to be off my phone. So, the average among the whole survey.
Understanding where the majority falls was valuable. It gave me perspective that many are in the same boat as me, hoping to stay off of their phones.
The “no-phone” week documentation
The goal was to cut my screen time by two hours. I started mid-week, on a Wednesday. I felt starting mid-week would apply less pressure. It’s expected to start these weekly goals on a Monday or Sunday, and it felt more casual not to do so.
In general, I always try to stay off my phone. What made this week different was I planned on putting more effort towards it. I gave myself an obligation and more was on the line.
Throughout the week, my screen time averaged around two hours. There was one day where I got up to three hours. I was on calls for a while, so I assume that’s where the extra hour came from.
I was surprised that each day ended with the same amount of screen time. I expected there to be a bigger difference between each day, but instead it was only a few minutes.
The times I struggled the most was late afternoon. Usually by 5 or 6 p.m. I’m home and the only thing I want to do is lay in my bed and doomscroll. That’s the nice part about doomscrolling, it takes no effort.
I let myself have about 20 to 30 minutes of mindless scrolling but made sure to cut myself off at a certain time. In my opinion, screen time adds up so quickly because of how easy it is to get sucked into mindless scrolling. You start with 20 minutes but somehow it turns into two hours; that’s what I wanted to prevent.
Opal has a setting to restrict certain apps at different time periods. On weekdays, I have a restriction from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. I don’t have any access to the restricted apps unless I open Opal and set a break for myself. Fifteen minutes is the longest break time Opal offers.
There was difficulty in staying off of my phone on the weekend. I’m less busy, which leaves more time for my phone. Keeping myself busy with hobbies helped prevent this.
I still allowed myself to be on my computer and watch TV as much as I usually do. The goal for this was less screen time on my phone. I gave myself grace with other screens because I like having the TV on as background noise. I’m still able to be productive with the TV on, not as much when I’m on my phone.
Being on my computer is a big part of my day. It’s where I get my school work done, respond to emails and do productive tasks. Personally, my computer screen time feels like a completely different category than my phone screen time.
Staying off my phone in professional settings like class and work decreased my screen time. I always try to put my phone away in class and at work. This time, I completely turned it off and didn’t check in once throughout the time period.
In social settings, going on my phone has increasingly become present throughout hangouts. I used the same methods as at work and class, but slightly less restrictive. Being on my phone takes me away from the moment, and I’d rather be enjoying my friends’ company.
There’s a habit of constantly needing to check my phone. I’d say 95 percent of the time, the notifications I’m receiving can wait a few hours. Most of those “phone-checking” breaks end up turning into 20 minutes of screen time, and if I’m doing them constantly, the time adds up.
The week went better than expected.
What I’m doing instead:
When breaking a habit or starting a new one, the first few weeks are the hardest. An intense amount of discipline and motivation is required to see an outcome. Obsessions and addictions don’t disappear overnight.
This isn’t my first attempt at breaking my screen time habits. Each attempt becomes easier, but an aggressive amount of patience is needed (coming from an impatient person). Resorting to my hobbies has been a necessary part in reducing my screen time.
In the past six months, reading has become a part of my everyday routine. Growing up as a child with undiagnosed ADHD, reading was difficult. In my teenage years I sort of gave up on reading in my free time, even though I found a lot of value in reading and its benefits.
In college, I’ve made the effort to read on a daily basis. I started with books I’ve seen the movie adaptation for or ones I’ve already read. Starting easy was beneficial in incorporating it back into my routine.
I read the most on public transportation and before bed. Most of my screen time takes place during these times. Reading has been a good replacement for both. There’s more satisfaction in reading and a better use in time.
Another hobby I’ve dedicated more time to is crafting. If you know me, you understand my love for art. A lot of people tend to avoid art if they don’t meet the standards as “good.”
I consider myself a “good artist,” but that doesn’t mean everything I create is “good.” In my teenage years, I avoided art because I didn’t like what I was making. Getting over the hump and just letting myself create made the process easier.
Even though I’m still working on getting over the hump, crafting and creating art has been a part of my everyday life. I encourage everyone, even non-artists, to allow themselves to create. Not everything needs to be good, and it acts as a productive alternative to being on your phone.
As cliche as it sounds, go outside. I find that when I’m outside, I have less of an urge to be on my phone.
Going outside on a walk and turning my phone off was helpful, a grounding sort of practice. It sounds therapeutic but it was beneficial. Even though 10% of my walk was silent and the other 90% was listening to music, it’s better than nothing.
The last habit I incorporated was putting awareness towards picking up my phone. Asking myself if I actually need to be on my phone places more awareness on the problem in my head and lets me put my phone down easier.
Reflection:
Everybody’s relationship with screen time varies. I’ve met people who spend 10 hours on their phone a day and others who spend less than an hour. It’s different for everyone as we all live different lives, and some daily routines and jobs may require phone usage.
My good friend Sadie Peterson phrased it well: “My screen time is the most it’s ever been. I think a lot of it is productive screen time … so much of it is, like, school and work related that there’s not a whole lot I can do about it.”
There’s a lot of shame for being on your phone. Yes, I am adding to the shame, but that’s my perspective. In my life, being on my phone doesn’t benefit me, and that’s a common consensus between a lot of my peers. If you’re content with your screen time, there’s no need to make changes. I suggest making changes if it’s causing more negatives than positives.
Another one of my friends, Jocelyn Goldman, has opposite screen time tendencies as me. I struggle the most to stay off my phone on my days off but she said, “My screen time is definitely lower when I have a day off or nothing to do.”
Everyone is different, and this is what worked for me. If you’re trying to get off of your phone, I suggest you try some of the tips I mentioned. Even though they worked for me, they might not work for you. The main tip I suggest is to be patient. It’s breaking an addiction. These things take time and are full of trial and error.
In times of screens increasingly becoming more present, try to be in the moment. I encourage everyone to live their life through your own eyes, not through a screen.
Header Image by Ella Malczyk
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