In 2020, children spent an average of 4-6 hours on a screen and teens spent almost 9 hours on average every single day. The advised time to spend on a screen is only about 2 hours. While the main reason behind this was having school through distance learning, even in years past the screen time of children has increased drastically.
Too much screen time can lead to many problems in children such as obesity, sleep issues, depression, and anxiety. Moreover, it could prevent children from developing social skills and keeps them away from more socialization time. It is advised that children only get 2 hours of screen time everyday. For teenagers and adults, as it might be difficult to do so because of school and work, it is suggested that they reduce their screen time outside of work as much as possible.
There are various ways you can reduce your screen time. Start off by turning off all notifications except for the ones from important people. Instead of charging your phone next to your bed, charge it in a different room. Sleeping and looking at phones at night is proven to cause sleep issues. Take all social media apps off your phone. If you can only access your social media through a laptop, it might make you reconsider how often you look at your social media. Limit the number of apps on your home screen. Keep the important ones like phone or texts but the games and extra apps can go into the 2nd or 3rd screen where you’re less likely to tap them just because you’re bored.
Try staying away from your screen, and stay safe!
- Srujana Poluri