Once a week, a scary notification pops up on your iPhone screen. If you're already getting shivers down your spine just thinking about this, you know I'm talking about the Screen Time Report pop-up that shows you the average time you spent on your phone that week. You may feel a strange sense of pride when your percentage drops from the previous week. On the other hand, when the percentage is significantly higher, you might be kicking yourself for being online for too long the last 7 days. All it takes is one notification to start strategizing on how to lower that number in the coming days.
The desire to reduce screen time is quite common, with Instagram's 2023 Trends Report finding that a quarter of Gen Z users want to set screen time limits in 2023. This is a great solution for the notorious internet generation. For those of you with the same goals, you may be wondering how long you should set your screen time limit, how to limit your screen time, and whether looking at screens for long periods of time actually has negative effects.
Of course, screen time and digital media as a whole can be a double-edged sword—despite the consequences of spending too much time looking at screens, there are also many positives to the online world.
“So much of our world and work now takes place through screens, and as the pandemic unfolds, we’re finding new ways to use these screens to our benefit,” said Dr. Najmeh Khalili-Mahani, director of the Canadian Center for Media Health . A research group studying the impact of communications technology tells Bustle. "Individual choices, needs and preferences matter when it comes to things that have a positive or negative impact on mental health... Our research shows that people tend to use screens and social media to their advantage."
Still, there are some screen-related behaviors to be aware of, and ways you can improve your relationship with your device. Below, experts answer some of your toughest screen time questions. Don’t worry, the irony that you’re reading these tips through a screen isn’t lost on me.
How long should you set your screen time limit?
Experts say that while there is no one-size-fits-all approach to controlling screen time, a general rule of thumb is to limit recreational screen time to around two to three hours a day, although this may be difficult to achieve with certain lifestyles as more and more people Many people are working from home via screens. If you can't completely reduce the time you spend on your devices, you can make a conscious choice about the type of screen time you engage in.
Dustin Weissman, a Psy.D. who practices in California, tells Bustle that "all screen time is not created equal and there is no magic number" because different forms of media stimulate users in different ways. But he still recommends about three hours to his patients. "I exclude work and school from this number because these are necessary activities that don't engage our brains in the same way as recreational screen time."
Since many people may not be able to completely stay away from screens, various optometrist and ophthalmologist associations have come up with the "20-20-20 rule," Khalili-Mahani said. The rule recommends taking a break after staring at a screen for 20 minutes and looking 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
What counts as screen time?
Anytime you use a device with a screen (phone, laptop, TV, tablet) it counts as screen time, although some activities provide varying levels of stimulation. "It's more the type of engagement than just the type of device (and screen size) that affects symptoms associated with excessive screen time (nausea, dizziness)," Weisman said. “Video games and social media have higher levels of engagement than television, while porn and online gambling also tap into our brain’s reward system, the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway [which allows users to feel different forms of engagement].”
Device type or screen size doesn't necessarily lead to an increase or decrease in the impact of screen time, but rather what you see may exacerbate underlying "cybersickness."
What are the symptoms of cybersickness?
Anyone who has fallen down the scrolling rabbit hole has probably felt the symptoms of "cybersickness" at one time or another, even if they didn't know it had a name. Similar to motion sickness, airsickness is a phenomenon caused by the movement you see on your screen. Weisman said scrolling social media can give you the sensation of moving up and down while remaining still, which can lead to feelings of dizziness, nausea and disorientation. Dr. Shelby Harris, director of sleep health at Sleepopolis, also said that "eye strain, dry/inflamed eyes, headaches, and trouble sleeping" can all be caused by spending too much time looking at screens. Taking frequent breaks and dimming the brightness of your devices can help relieve these symptoms. While some experts, such as Weisman and Harris, recommend using blue-light filtering glasses to relieve eye strain, Khalili-Mahani stressed there is no direct evidence that they are effective.
How does screen time affect your sleep?
You may have heard that putting down your phone and engaging in screen-free activities like reading before bed can help you get better quality sleep. Harris believes there are good reasons to cut screens out of your nightly routine. "Blue light from screens such as phones, computers, tablets and TVs can interfere with your body's natural clock (circadian rhythm), making it harder to fall asleep at night," she says. “It’s easy to get caught up in the content and lose track of time while scrolling through social media or email, which makes it difficult for the brain to wind down and get ready for bed.” Translation: You should think more carefully about how much time you spend browsing TikTok before bed — and maybe even shift it from Cut it completely out of your bedtime routine. If you want to break this habit, charge your device outside the bedroom first so it's not the last thing you see before bed or the first thing you see in the morning.
How to set screen time limits on iPhone
To set some parameters for how much time you can use your phone each day, iPhone offers several ways to limit your screen time. First, you need to go to Settings and scroll down to the Screen Time section, which is located next to the purple hourglass icon. Once you click the button, you'll first see a bar graph at the top that shows an overview of screen activity over the week, the daily average, and the percentage of weekly activity. If you want to see it in more detail, click the "View all activity" button below the bar graph, which will lead you to a detailed look at which apps are taking up most of your time (Social, Entertainment, Creativity, for example) As well as a list of the top apps you used that day and how much time you spent on each app.
To set limits, you can schedule "downtime" during certain times of the day and choose which apps are available during the downtime. For example, if you only want Messages and Spotify to be available between 3pm and 6pm, you can definitely do that. Remember, phones are always available during downtime. You can also create specific "App Restrictions" and select a list of apps that can only be used during the hours of your choosing. Once the daily limit is reached, you will receive a notification allowing you to ignore the limit and give yourself another minute, or give yourself another 15 minutes until you are notified again.
What can you do to reduce your screen time?
Given how digital the world is today, reducing your screen time to zero is nearly impossible. There are also many factors that can cause your screen time to be very high one day, such as being sick in bed, and very low another, such as being busy with real-life activities while on vacation. Still, you should try to reduce the time you spend staring at bright screens as much as possible, whether that requires you to take small steps like increasing screen time limits and lowering the brightness by turning on night mode to reduce exposure before bed or taking more Take drastic measures, like setting up a timed lockbox for your phone, to avoid the temptation altogether.
It's all about being mindful of how you use your screen and moving toward a healthier relationship with your devices, especially if you find yourself experiencing some symptoms of motion sickness. As Weisman says: “Using a device is often (but not always) a way to avoid stress rather than a way to cope with it… Sometimes the best way to reduce time for one activity is to increase time for other activities time."
Research reference:
Pahayahay, A., and Khalili-Mahani, N. (2020). What media helps and what media hurts: A mixed-methods survey study of responses to COVID-19 using the media library framework and stress appraisal theory. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(8), e20186. https://doi.org/10.2196/20186
Palavets, T., & Rosenfield, M. (2019). Blue light blocking filters and digital eye strain. Optometry and Vision Science: Official Publication of the American Academy of Optometry, 96(1), 48–54. https://doi.org/10.1097/OPX.0000000000001318
expert:
Dr. Najmeh Khalili-Mahani, Director of Media Wellness
Dustin Weisman, Psy.D.
Shelby Harris, Psy.D., Director of Sleep Wellness at Sleepopolis
