Be sure to take a break from the screens

Smartphones. Tablets. Televisions. Smartwatches. No matter where you look, screens are everywhere. We carry them around and even wear them. You can’t go down the street without seeing people glancing at their phones to send a text or check the weather.

Undoubtedly, technology has improved our lives. It’s easier than ever to keep in touch with people, communicate with loved ones, do research for school projects, and so much more.

But have you ever noticed just how much time you spend looking at screens? Through televisions, smartphones, and laptops, hours and hours of our day are spent behind a screen.

Recently, Apple released a new feature called Screen Time, which lets users track how many hours a day are spent on their devices, as well as just how that time is spent.

I was interested to see how much “screen time” I logged, but was shocked to see the result. On an average, I spend about three and a half hours a day on my phone. I was then able to see that most of my time is spent on video platforms like YouTube and Netflix, as well as on social media.

When it’s broken down, it makes sense to me that I spend as much time as I do on my phone. I’m not proud of it, but I understand. However, I would be scared to see how my amount of screen time would increase when you add in the amount of time I am on my Chromebook for school.

I’m not saying technology is a bad thing. It has seriously improved countless lives, and new advancements are being made every day. Plus, it would be incredibly difficult to remove technology from our lives completely.

Yet, we always hear experts talk about the consequences of technology on our health. Doctors say the light from the screens hurts our eyes, and that our posture is suffering due to just how much we hunch over our phones and computers.

As individuals we can take steps to decrease our “screen time”. We can turn to actual books over e-books. We can look for recipes in magazines instead of online. We can have face-to-face conversations instead of using FaceTime.

Personally, it’s the time I spend away from my phone I remember the most. Whether it be a dinner out with my family, watching a play with my friends, or playing with my pets, unconnected moments mean the most to me.

Again, I’m not saying we should all turn off our computers, TVs, tablets, smartphones, and smartwatches. Screens have become part of our daily lives, and at this point, there really isn’t anything we can do to avoid it.

But next time you go to check Twitter for the tenth time in one hour, or sit down to binge watch The Office for the fourth time, think about the other things you could do. You could read an actual book, play a game of tug-of-war with your dog, or help make dinner. You may be surprised at how easy it is to disconnect.