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In 2024, family life is increasingly dominated by screen time. Screen time is the amount of time spent interacting with any kind of electronic screen, including TV, smartphone, tablet, computer, or any other digital devices.
Some screen time – particularly for adults – is a necessary evil. Most jobs involve at least some time in front of a screen, as does any kind of studying. And most home admin tasks such as finances, shopping and planning can now be done online. Then add to that internet browsing, emails, social media, gaming, streaming and the hours soon clock up.
It’s estimated that adults in the UK typically use both mobile devices and computers for around 3 hours each per day – a total of 6 hours screen time. And for those who work specifically with technology that figure is even higher. And that’s before TV is added into the mix.
Many children in the UK also chalk up around 6 hours screen time per day. Children aged between 5-16 can spend an average of 2-3 hours per day watching TV, 1-3 hours on the internet, 1-2 hours playing video games and around an hour on mobile phones.
Whilst some level of screen time can have positive benefits – particularly in the areas of work, learning, and communication – too much can be a bad thing. Particularly for children. Too much screen time can start to have a negative impact on a child’s developing brain. For example reduced attention span, ability to concentrate and memory. And if a child is struggling with these issues, it is likely to affect their performance at school, and potentially their behaviour.
So perhaps this summer is a good opportunity for you and your family to do a bit of a digital detox?
Let’s take a look . . .
A digital detox is making the decision to either reduce the use of – or take a complete break from – any kind of screen. Its primary purpose is to refocus on yourself and your wellbeing, and then to put time and effort into reconnecting face to face with other people and activities rather than just relying on devices to do so.
A digital detox may sound like a bit of a challenge, but there are many benefits that it can bring. Here are five:
Excessive screen usage can lead to a whole host of health issues. For example:
Eye strain: Peering at a screen can make your eyes dry and also lead to eye strain;
Headaches : Excessive screen time can also give you headaches and visual problems;
Obesity : Too much time in front of a screen can lead to a sedentary lifestyle and obesity;
Poor posture : Hunching over a screen can cause neck, shoulder, and back pain.
Taking a break from screen time is a significant step in starting to address these health issues.
Excessive screen time can often cause feelings of anxiety, isolation and low self-esteem to build up. Particularly if you are an avid social media user, which can make you feel as if everyone else is having a fabulous life apart from you.
A digital detox provides the opportunity to switch off from the world for a while and put everything into context. It also gives you time to focus on yourself and what you really want out of life, rather than being consumed by all the pressure and noise that is out there. It helps you to get everything back in perspective again.
Excessive screen usage can prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep. One of the reasons for this is that the blue light emitted by screens can interfere with the production of melatonin, the hormone that is responsible for your circadian rhythm and regulates sleep. There is also some evidence to indicate that radiation emitted by mobile phones could potentially lead to headaches and disturbed sleep if you sleep with your phone near your head.
But as well as these physical factors, using screens too close to bedtime can make your mind restless. It will be full of whatever content you have just been absorbing, and if there has been anything irritating or upsetting this will prevent you from being able to relax enough to sleep well.
How often do you wish you had more time? The days and weeks fly by, and somehow you still don’t manage to do so many of the things you want or need to do. Whether it’s doing regular exercise, taking up a new hobby, getting out more to see family and friends, sorting out your home or garden, or just relaxing with a long bath and a good book . . . . somehow you just never seem to get round to it. And one of the main reasons for this is excessive screen time!
Just think of the impact that reducing your screen time even by just one hour each day could have. Revisit your list of things you want or need to do and think of the difference it would make if you did one of those things for an hour each day instead of sitting in front of a screen.
Doing a digital detox can help you to reset the boundaries between your home life and work life. It is impossible to switch off from work if you can easily check work emails at any time of the day or night. Or even on holiday. But this habit means that you are never giving yourself a break from the pressures of work.
Taking a complete digital detox is a powerful way to break this cycle, and help you to find a more balanced way to move forward. You will also probably find that you perform better at work if you are taking longer breaks from it, and will be able to get the same amount done in less time because your mind is sharper and your body more relaxed.
A digital detox sounds like a great idea, but how realistic is it? Particularly because most of us rely on a range of devices to manage most aspects of our lives.
What probably works best is to take a very short complete break to get you started, then try to drastically reduce your screen time after that. Let’s take a look at how this could work:
It could be well worth taking a weekend away from everything to plunge you straight into digital detox. Even if it means taking out a personal loan to finance it, why not look for an AirBnB, a glamping site, or – even better – wild camping to completely get away from it all. Ideally find somewhere with no phone or wifi signal to remove temptation completely!
Spend time focussing on yourself and the family, and find both outdoor and indoor activities to enjoy that are not device-dependent. For example walking, cycling, swimming, games, reading, drawing, writing. And of course just taking time to be together eating, drinking and talking.
The details are up to you but the main aim is to just enjoy living in the moment, and not allow yourself to be distracted by anything that is going on anywhere else.
Once you have dipped your toes into the concept of digital detoxing, you can introduce a few new practices into your family life.
Any of the above would enable you to get a better balance between screen time and time mindfully doing other things away from devices.
We hope that this article gives you some helpful ideas as to how you and your family can do a digital detox this summer, and also build it into your regular routine going forward. If you want to streamline some of your gadgets as part of this process, remember that Loans 2 Go offers loans online that may be able to help.
Do visit us here again soon for more lifestyle and financial tips from Loans 2 Go.
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