What Do You Spend Your Screen Time On?

I got my weekly Screen Time notification and of course, Instagram was my most used application followed by Facebook which got about half as much screen time and Messages, my Google App and Twitter all in the top 5 of 60 apps on my iPhone.

With an average of 2 hours, 55 minutes per day and 96 pickups, social networking takes a large chunk of my time.

My first thought after a quick review of my screen time data was “I really need to cut down on that Facebook and Instagram time” 🤦🏽‍♀️ 🤦🏽‍♀️ 🤦🏽‍♀️ as both of those were mostly social; I had better excuses for Twitter and Google since both platforms also double as work and information sources (not that my daily Instagram feed isn’t valuable info 😉).

However, getting past that and following conversations with friends, colleagues and the amazing World Wide Web, it became obvious that this is an alarming problem for everyone. The average person in Canada spends 3 hours, 43 minutes per day on devices.[1] A lot of people are shocked by how long they spend on their phones. [2]

Reports show that American adults spend up to 11 hours per day interacting with digital media. [3] In the UK, people spend more than 24 hours a week and one in five adults go as high as 40 hours a week online. [4]

With so many apps, devices and people to catch up with, we can find ourselves constantly in front of screens. This high level of usage impacts all areas of our spheres from work or productivity time to our social interactions. It may hinder the ability to spend real time with the real people in our lives.

What do you spend your screen time on?

I had interesting conversations with my friend, fellow students and colleagues after this and there was a wide variety in screen time usage.

My friend noted that hers wasn’t representative of her regular usage as she happened to be in China during this time, where: (a) she had spent less time on her phone because of external activities such as attending seminars and being a tourist; and, (b) even though she was using a VPN most of the time, her “go-to” and “necessary” apps had changed.

 

My colleague also had a different usage – a lot of his screen time went to reading and referencing.

 

The Digital Tattoo blog has discussed mindfulness and screen addiction in a previous post. Check out Digital Mindfulness – Preventing Screen Addiction where we cover what screen addiction is, its physical and mental implications, and some tips for reducing your screen addiction. We also have a great tutorial on preventing your screen addiction where you can take our Think test to learn more.

So, how can you cut down on screen time across your devices?

• Turn off notifications you don’t need, especially cutting down on those with strictly social uses. You don’t have to do it all at once – decide what’s important for you and think about why you’re doing this to guide you.
• Don’t go to bed with any devices. Bedtime for me is usually a chance to get some leisure reading in. More often than not, I go to bed with all my devices on my reading table; especially on weekdays. You may consider adopting a similar strategy. This can also apply to charging devices near your bed.

• Cut down on that screen time-meal time and other situations where you may find yourself multitasking. This can be hard, I know. How can you not catch up on some Netflix time? Or scroll through what your friends are doing while you’re having lunch or drinks with friends after a long week? You might find it helpful to slowly change some of these habits and find alternatives such as reading, sitting outside for lunch or maybe even just doing nothing but eat while you eat.
• Set timers limiting how much time you spend on your apps – this is becoming increasingly easy to do with iOS, apps and software providers creating multiple options. The real challenge is not clicking cancel when that Time Up! notification pops up.
• Cut down on your data plan, it can reduce some of that in-transit and unnecessary usage. Plus it saves you some money too!
• This next suggestion requires foresight and planning, and is potentially one of the more difficult things to overcome. The Itch that creeps up the most when you’re doing nothing. You reach for your devices, pick up, scroll through, lock and repeat more times that you care to admit. Do some stock taking, recognize these times and the why behind them. Devise coping strategies, hobbies and activities that keep you away and busy. On my weekends in, I try to stay away from my devices as much as possible. I read, leave my phone away on a table and occasionally, wander out without it. I try to put it away when I’m out too, unless I need to call someone or navigate my way home. Another strategy is planning as much of my day as possible offline.
• Go device-less when your schedule allows it – say you’re going to a friend’s and you know the way back and forth. Plus, you’ll have someone around if there’s an emergency. You can enjoy the journey there and spend quality time by leaving your phone at home. You also get to be wise one laughing at everyone’s addiction to their devices.
• You may consider putting your phone on airplane mode when you aren’t using it; a friend of mine does this and while it might occasionally make him hard to reach but as I understand it, it takes away the niggling feeling that comes with receiving or expecting notifications; and and helps cut down on at least his phone use. It’s also a thoughtful gesture when you’re with someone – one that I haven’t quite mastered yet I admit.

Worth mentioning perhaps is the fact that most people now use multiple devices, myself included. So, the data captured by only one of those is merely a drop in the ocean, all devices/screens considered. It will definitely take a lot of work to efficiently cut down on your screen time in general.

Your Digital Detox doesn’t have to happen at once. Deleting all your apps is usually unsustainable for most people so study your habits and build new ones till they feel natural.

Take tiny steps or cut it down all at once, whatever works best for you.

Will you or have you taken the challenge to consistently reduce your screen time? You can make this your Digital Challenge for June. Share your thoughts or experiences in the comments below!

---

Update: After working on my screen usage for a week, I am happy to say, it went down by 36% and even my most used apps changed!

__________________________________________________________

Written by: Eseohe Ojo

Edited by: Defne Inceoglu