Importance of Managing Your Screen Time

Reduce the risks of screen time on your health with these easy tips. Average screen time for adults in the US is 7 hours a day. Let's learn how to manage it!

According to research, the average screen time for adults in the US is around 7 hours and 4 minutes per day. In 2013, screen time increased to almost 50 minutes a day! Screen time, therefore, takes up a third of our daily lives.

In today’s high-tech society, where information moves in milliseconds, it’s almost natural for us to be always looking at our screens. Unfortunately, these can cause a lot of health issues, which could be as simple as eyestrain to as serious as Internet addiction. In extreme cases, prolonged exposure to the screen can cause strokes, epilepsy, and death.

Remember that health is wealth. That’s why it’s important to be disciplined in using our screen time. Let’s look at some ways that will help you keep healthy while you scroll down.

How to Manage Your Screen Time

Freeing up screen time improves your health, reconnect with nature, spend time with family and friends, explore the world, and do the things you really love. Managing your screen time is important to avoid health issues. Here are some tips to ensure that you don’t pay the hefty price for looking at the screen for too long.

Get away from your computer or phone.

Taking breaks at work allows you to rest your eyes and your mind. Stand up, take a walk outside the office, and enjoy a cup of coffee. Look at the city skyline, the green neighborhood, or the throng of people passing by. There are many beautiful things to look at other than the text and images on your screen.

Control your news and information consumption.

With 24-hour news cycles and social media posts that update in a fraction of a second, it’s tempting to be online and be updated all the time. Instead of being glued to your screen, try allocating specific times during the day to check the news, browse videos, or read online content. Bookmark the sites so that you’ll check the updates of those sites only.  In case you missed the update, don’t worry. Remember that as long as it’s posted on the Internet, you can always review the news or info anytime.

Avoid unnecessary eye movement.

Reduce eye strain by decreasing excessive eye movement. This is especially important especially if you’re using multiple monitors.

Mount your computer screens on a monitor mount such as the Ergotron Quad Monitor Desk Stand. This device enables you to easily adjust the monitors so that you’ll minimize eye movement from glancing from one screen to the next.

Shift your working position.

Being in one position, watching your screen for hours, can add pressure on your body. To lessen the strain, change your position. The good thing is that several ergonomic products allow you to do just that without ceasing your work.

One of these devices is the Goldtouch Easy Lift Pro. It allows you to smoothly raise or lower your entire workstation---monitor, keyboard, and mouse---so you can easily shift from sitting to standing position. A sliding keyboard tray and integrated cable management help keep things organized, preventing your workstation from becoming an eyesore.

Give your mobile devices a rest.

We have become inseparable from our mobile devices, which eat up a lot of our screen time. A good way is to avoid holding your phone or tablet for long periods. Doing so will only tempt you to use it and scroll down on your feed, extending your screen time.

We suggest you mount your device on a stand such as the Kanto Universal Phone and Tablet Stand. Doing so allows you to watch videos, monitor real-time updates, and read web pages without touching the screen. The Kanto Stand is fully adjustable, so you can position your device to your preference.

Turn off notifications.

Notifications are supposedly for important reminders such as meetings and special events. They’re not for alerting you to just about anything---your friend’s new post, a newly uploaded music video, etc.

Do something else.

Rather than looking at your tablet, phone, or computer when you’re bored, why won’t you try to do something else? Engage in a hobby. Train your dog. Listen to music. Exercise for a while. There are many more things to do than getting glued to your screen to avoid a sedentary lifestyle.

Conclusion

Social advancement and tech culture are closely intertwined. Thus, it’s virtually impossible for us to disconnect ourselves from our devices. However, we definitely can manage our screen time more efficiently so we can preserve our physical and mental health.