Let me ask you a simple question: How much is your screen time?
Well, if you're anything like me, it's probably longer than you initially thought. It can be easy to endlessly scroll online or spend time on your screen when you're not taking note of how long it's been. You may even be thinking "Hey, my 4 hours isn't too bad!" But if we add those up every day, then it accumulates to about 1460 hours per year. That's a lot of time you could have used for something else. But no need to fret - there are plenty of ways to limit your screen time! Here are some of my go-tos that I personally use to try to be more aware when I'm on my phone.
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Put your phone on "Airplane" mode
Hearing the "ding" noise every time you get an email or get a text back can be extremely distracting. No matter how focused you were in your work or doing something else like cooking, you'll ultimately want to check your phone and spend more time on it because of the wicked noise. Luckily, we have a way already installed in our phones to stop these notifications from popping up: Airplane mode. Though typically used for flying, this mode can help you steer away from those reminders and focus more on the task that you were currently doing.
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Remove Apps from Home Screen
Typically, we are inclined to check our phone for the same apps every time, whether it's Snapchat, YouTube, etc. Seeing that app right there when we open our phone makes us want to check it, getting us stuck a loop. However, there's a simple way out - remove that app from your home screen. By pressing on the app, clicking the grey cross on the top left, and selecting "remove from home screen", we are one step closer to reducing our screen time! Removing that accessibility allows us to be more mindful about which apps we want to use and whether we actually need to check something or if we're just checking the app cause it's "right there". And don't worry, you can still access the app. You'll simply need to scroll to the left on your home screen 'til you reach the page that has all your apps, including those that aren't shown on your home screen.
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Delete Apps
I know, I know, you don't wanna delete those apps. There are hundreds of excuses as to why you can't delete a certain app like, "I need it to talk to this one friend," or "I need to stay updated online". But it all really does come down to the fact that the more apps you have that you're addicted to, the more time you spend online. So, to keep it simple, delete apps that you don't necessarily need and spend the majority of your time on. I deleted TikTok and YouTube since those were the apps that ranked up my screen time the most. It can be hard to delete an app you're used to, but try deleting them one at a time so you can get used to it.
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It'll be challenging to get used to spending less time on your phone than usual. Even now I get tempted to re-download TikTok every once in a while to scroll and watch videos. But remember, these habits are causing more harm than good by lowering our attention span, wasting our time, and more. Keep reminding yourself of the negative aspects of a high screen time and invest those extra hours into studying or into another hobby like reading or working on a new skill! Destroying the cycle of screen time will help you in the long run, so stick to it!
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