In the past few decades, rapid technological advancements have completely changed our way of life. Now, most of us have access to a world of information at our fingertips, and it’s difficult to function without a smartphone or computer.
While there are many benefits to this technology, you might be concerned about how much time you spend on screens. Parents might be especially worried about how screentime is affecting their children’s development.
According to Finder, the average screentime for Brits in 2024 was 3 hours and 49 minutes a day. That’s a significant amount of time that could be better spent on other tasks.
Fortunately, if you take a more considered approach to your screentime, you can reap the benefits of technology without letting it control you.
Follow these five steps to create a “digital diet” and reduce your reliance on screentime.
1. Track your screentime
First, it might be useful to track your screentime, so you have a clear picture of how you use your phone. Often, you might be scrolling on certain apps without realising how much time you’re spending on there.
You can normally find a breakdown of your usage on specific apps in your phone’s settings. Keeping a diary with a quick note each time you use your phone could also help.
Try doing this for a week and then look back over the results. You might be surprised at how much time you spend on certain apps, or how often you check your phone out of habit.
When reviewing your phone use, it’s also important to think about how useful each interaction with your phone was. For instance, if you’re sending an important work email, that’s a worthwhile use of your time. Yet, if you’re scrolling on social media for an hour, that may be less beneficial.
Hopefully, this information allows you to be more deliberate about your screentime and differentiate between situations when you want to use your phone, and when you do it out of habit.
2. Clean up your algorithm
The kind of content you see on social media, search engines, or news sites is largely determined by an algorithm that is personalised to you. If you search certain topics, the site shows you more of the same. It’ll also suggest content it thinks you might be interested in based on your age, gender, or financial position.
The problem is, you aren’t making those decisions yourself and sometimes, you might be served content that isn’t interesting to you. In certain cases, it could be actively harmful.
For instance, older people might see lots of content about anti-aging treatments or dieting, which could lower their opinion of themselves.
Unfortunately, the addictive nature of social media could mean you spend a lot of time watching content that you’re not interested in or is actively negative.
By going through your feed and unsubscribing from content you don’t want to see, you can clean up your algorithm.
Repeating this every few weeks means that you’re only using your phone to view things you’re actively interested in, rather than letting the algorithm dictate your usage.
3. Switch your phone to greyscale
Your phone catches your attention because it’s very visually stimulating. The bright colours, videos, and images draw your focus and may keep you scrolling for much longer than you intended.
Fortunately, there is a simple way to make your phone far less enticing – use the settings to change the display to greyscale and remove the colour.
This minor change could mean that, instead of instinctively opening your phone and clicking brightly coloured apps, you are more deliberate about why and how you use your phone. You might find it easier to avoid overusing your phone too as you’re less engaged by the visual stimulation.
4. Set time limits on apps
Even if you follow the previous tips, there might be certain apps that you have difficulty avoiding. If so, setting time limits is an excellent way to find more balance with your screentime.
Most phones have built-in functionality for this, and you can also download dedicated screentime apps to help.
You can block apps during certain times of the day – when you’re working, for example – and set clear boundaries around your phone use.
That means you can still reap the benefits of modern technology without becoming over reliant on it.
5. Create screen-free zones in the house
Another way to set boundaries around your technology use is to create screen-free zones in the house.
For example, you might set a rule that nobody has their phone at the dinner table, or in the living room during the evening.
Initially, this might feel uncomfortable as we’re so used to always being connected. However, once you adjust to not having devices in arms reach, you’ll enjoy being able to spend quality time with your family without distractions.
By following these simple steps, you can create your own digital diet and reduce your reliance on screens.
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