It’s 2024. Will your average screen time go down this year?
In 2023, the average time that people spent staring at a screen was just under 7 hours, slightly higher than the worldwide average of 6.5 hours a day, according to DataReportal. Some of it is on your computer, which accounts for half of the screen time. The other half is on your mobile device. Effectively, half of our waking hours is spent looking at a screen.
Is this healthy? Probably not. Health experts recommend less than 2 hours in front of a screen daily (excluding school or work), according to the National Institute of Health (NIH).
It’s not surprising. Data from Harmony (www.harmonyhit.com), a healthcare information technology company, shows that 40% of Americans are trying to cut down on their screen time this year, and another 36% feel like they should. Like all new year’s resolutions, this may not be easy.
The top application we are using when on the phone is messages. This is followed by all the social media sites—YouTube at #2 and Facebook at #3. TikTok, the latest fashionable app, is #6, just behind Instagram.
According to the study, half of Americans feel they are addicted to their devices. The younger you are, the more you tend to feel that way. The top reason is that our entertainment is more and more coming through our phones now. People often reach for their phone when bored.
In our search for the next viral video that keeps us entertained, we end up constantly checking our phones. Researchers call the behavior of scrolling for new content without a specific purpose “zombie scrolling.” Often, even if the news is bad or depressing, we still constantly look out for it; Merriam-Webster has termed this “doom scrolling.”
According to Harmony’s December 2023 study, 48% of Americans zombie scroll; they are scrolling without a specific purpose. More alarmingly, 27% of us text while at the stoplight. This might contribute to why we are hearing more honking and road rage than in the past. Also, if you ever wondered if others share the habit of using their phone on the toilet, you will find that you are among the supermajority—3 in 5 admit to doing it.
A University of Rochester Medical Center study in 2023 listed some of the signs of addiction to our smart devices:
- Losing large amounts of time mindlessly checking apps or browsing the internet on your phone
- Feeling anxious or restless when you cannot access your phone
- Use of your phone has interfered with your productivity at work or at home
- Using your phone in dangerous or inappropriate situations, such as when driving or crossing the street
- Struggling to wait to check your phone when you receive an alert
It is hard to imagine that, just a few decades ago, baby boomer parents would have frowned upon hours and hours of TV watching. Now, every age group is spending much more time in front of the screen. Many parents nowadays still try to limit their children’s screen time. NIH reports the following among those 8 to 18 years old:
- 28% said that their parents set TV-watching rules
- 30% said that their parents set rules about video-game use
- 36% said that their parents set rules about computer use
A NIH-sponsored study showed that, when parents set media rules, children’s media use dropped by 3 hours per day!
Recently, TikTok started implementing a screen limit of 60 minutes for kids under age 18. The limit can be disabled or extended via entering a passcode.
Even among adults, the Harmony survey showed that 55% feel that they waste time on their phones. And previous studies showed that excessive phone usage is linked to anxiety among younger adults.
Smartphones are a power tool for us to stay connected with our loved ones, and like all tools, we need to use it to benefit ourselves. So if you feel like you are zombie scrolling too much, or when the next world event upsets you and you feel like doom scrolling, try these suggestions from Harmony to cut down on screen time:
- Doing activities that don’t require a phone
- Putting the phone away while around others
- Using the “Do not disturb” feature
Early studies are showing that even a small reduction has shown benefits in respondents’ mental health. So for 2024, try some of these suggestions, and maybe you will end up less anxious in a turbulent world.