Are you watching your screen time?

I sometimes have the habit of watching people coming out of the mosque and seeing who would reach out to his mobile phone first and where.

To my surprise, I have noticed that more people are checking their phones the moment they step out of the mosque even before reaching their cars and I don’t think they are all expecting an important call or message.

The same applies to people walking from their cars to the hospital entrance where I work. While this little observation of mine is by no way scientific it shows that most of us are hooked on our phones for long hours and this is by no means exclusive to teenagers and adults.

With the recent advances in technology, people are spending longer hours using electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops, computers, tablets and televisions for online studying or work but this is often extended to include using these devices during free time as a form of entertainment.

Recent research studies show that increased screen time is related to reduced development, poor psychological health, sleep disorder obesity, and depression which is one of the most common types of mental health problems.

According to the WHO, depression has been among the three top causes of non-fatal health losses for the past 30 years and is expected to be the leading global cause of disability-adjusted life year by 2030.

The estimated number of people suffering from depression around the world increased by 53.2 million because of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

The link between long screen time and depression has been a topic of interest and several theories have been suggested to explain this link including how the content of what we watch can also influence our mood.

Over the last few years, more research reported a link between excessive use of social media platforms and feelings of sadness, and dissatisfaction with one’s life and personal achievements. Watching people share photos of their latest holiday and recent publications can sometimes make us jealous as we compare what we see with our personal lives.

The interesting part is that long screen time is not limited to teenagers and adults but also includes the elderly.

This can be explained by the fact that elderly people who experience loneliness tend to watch television or use smartphones for longer hours to communicate with others or simply kill time. Since many elderly people suffer poor physical health, it is important to know that long screen time can complicate their physical and psychological health even more.

So, what can you do to reduce your screen time?

A few tips may help such as turning off notifications, removing some applications activating the digital well-being functions that are available in most smartphones, and tracking the amount of time you spend using your device and then sending you a daily report.

Other tips include banning smartphones from the bedroom and avoiding using them when eating.

In my opinion, these tips can be very useful but need self-discipline to implement and maintain however, it is never too late to start monitoring your screen time.