I have never bothered to check my screen time usage on my phone because my mind didn't even go there to do that until when I saw this last edition. I decided to check to see what had been happening and was surprised to see the statistics of it.
This means from the 18th to the 24th of this month, I spent 8 hours daily looking through my phone and the top 3 apps are Chrome, WhatsApp and Netflix. This is proof of how many hours I spend looking at the screen of my phone daily, and on other days, it would be more than that, I believe. I noticed that I wasn't that active from the 18th till now and didn't use my phone much because of my busy schedules at work and my travels.
On average, I spend over 12 hours when I want to and as you can see from the top apps I have used, which is Chrome. This is because that is where my activities are; Hive majorly with different frontends to navigate through. I am still shocked as to how I was able to use such long hours in a week on WhatsApp because I don't seldom go there except when I need to check if I have got any messages. That is why I disabled my notifications so as not to be distracted when I am working online. Some people would say I don't reply to WhatsApp messages on time and this is just the reason. Whatsapp is not paying me and so, I need to survive. Lol
Technology has made us depend on our gadgets daily and I wouldn't blame anyone because all we are seeking is a better life. The majority of us are always on our phones, laptops, etc to make a living and that is why we are always on them from morning till night. Emails, text messages, social media notifications, movies, etc are what keeps us glued to our screens for long hours.
I am always on my phone except it goes off, thanks to power banks now, I don't allow my phone to rest until I decide to which is when I need to sleep. When I wake up, I pick up my phone again and start working. I am so addicted to my phone that I don't seem to have time to refrain from using it. This is because everything I need to do is on my phone, from morning devotion, checking the calendar, listening to music, searching for information, setting alarms, etc. I use my phone while walking, cooking, in the toilet (the only time here is not taking it to the bathroom to bathe, lol)
The only time I know I have had enough is when my eyes start to pain me from looking too much on screen and this causes headaches and might lead to migraine other times, at this time, my body would give me a sign to rest and take a break away from screen.
A lot of us are struggling with ways to stay away from screen time but we cannot because of what it demands from us. Even when we are tired, we still want to continue working on our gadgets, perhaps to meet a deadline of a project, submit an assignment that is almost due, stay online to get our money from customers or clients, watch a live performance online, etc.
Looking at the screen can greatly affect our eyes when we have strained them too much as it causes discomfort in our body system and it is necessary we try to avoid that by regulating our screen time as soon as possible. One of the ways to do this is to set limits for your screen time. Seriously, it is not easy, especially when you have a deadline to meet and the time limits set aren't enough, you would want to shift it and before you know it, you have used more than the hours you have set.
Even if you do not want to set a limit, you can make up your mind on the hours to use your screen while taking a break in between to give your eyes the needed rest. I did this for some weeks until I couldn't continue as I was always carried away by lots of things that would make me forget setting time for my screen time. I would be forced to do so when my phone starts getting heated up and misbehaving.
There was a time when I started watching some short YouTube videos. I only wanted to watch a video, then slide to the next one and the next one until I used more than an hour, I had forgotten I was on a mission before a notification came in and made me spend over an hour laughing and acting funny alone in the room. That is why I disabled YouTube notifications 😀 you wouldn't know when you are carried away and this is hurting our eyes the more when we do not set limits.
Another way to regulate screen time is to strike a balance between screen time and other activities. There are activities outside our screens that can help heal our eyes and stay healthy. Like moving away from our screens and welcoming the ambience of nature, taking a stroll out as a way of exercising, playing outdoor games etc. This is one way to set screen-free zones.
Another regulation to talk about is scheduling screen time. We should allocate specific times for screen use, especially during the day such as after a particular task or before bedtime. While doing that, we must ensure that other activities are prioritised at the time we aren't on our screens.
Even if it's hard trying to avoid staring too much at our screens, just like what I do, I set the dark theme and reduce the brightness of the screen which looks cool anywhere and it helps to control the side effects screens have on eyes.
Understanding when to use our screen time and when not to is very necessary to have productive and efficient working hours and not to cause other challenges in our lives.
Thanks for your time reading. Looking forward to your interaction.
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