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Let’s be honest: most of us spend way too much time glued to our phones, tablets, and laptops. Whether it’s endless scrolling, binge-watching, or “just checking one thing,” screen time can creep into every corner of our day. Before we know it, we’re spending more time with our devices than with, well, real life.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Cutting down your screen time isn’t about going full hermit and living in the woods (though hey, if that’s your vibe, go for it). It’s about finding a better balance—and making room for the things that actually excite you. Here are five tried-and-true ways to break excessive screen habits and live a fuller life. Continue reading…
The average American is exposed to 12 hours’ worth of information a day, according to one estimate. For any nerds in the room, that’s 34 gigabytes every 24 hours. A lot.
The problem with this excess is that it tricks our brains to biasly assume the data on our screens is more important than it really is. Since many of us ingest too much information, we live heads down more than we should. We connect less with and literally see less of the family, friends, and communities we live in.
This summer, I hope each of us will make a concerted effort to reduce this harmful exposure by deleting our phone alerts, both visual and audible if you haven’t already. I hope each of sets the lofty but healthy goal of spending no more than 1-2 hours on our phones each day. I hope each of us rekindles or takes on new hobbies that excite us to replace “heads down” bad habits.
Lastly, I hope each of us only reaches for our phones when we decide—never when the 12 hours’s worth of daily information asks us to. I believe we can do and hope you do too.
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A friend recently asked if I thought all screens were equally addictive. More specifically, she asked if I took issue with the amount of laptops and computers being used in classrooms today.
“Not really,” I responded. “When used correctly, computers are mostly creation and productivity machines — like F150s, hammers, or pant brushes of the digital world. They can certainly be abused. But they are excellent educational tools and workhorses that actually prepare most kids for the same amount of computers they’ll use in their careers.”
In that way, smartphones are measurably more additive. They’re mostly consumption devices that when used in excess, behave like digital depressants. Desktops and laptops, on the other hand, are often stimulants. They are better creative machines.
Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. I’ve written 5000 word articles with only my iPhone on an airplane, and I used to be addicted to my laptop in unhealthy ways. But the advent of smartphones more than doubled, if not tripled, the amount of soul-sucking screen abuse, by my estimation.
The always-on, bottomless, and infinite scroll handhelds we always take with us are the much larger, more depressing problem for all involved. Consequently, that’s where the majority of our focus and restraint should be on.
As we head into the holiday, I challenge each of us to set boundaries on our phones, such as gutting our notifications, deleting distracting apps, and self-imposing screen limits. It’s the best way I know to live heads up.
See also: 8 ways to conquer your smartphone obsession
