Reader Q&A #4 | Is there a healthy amount of screen time?
What's the ultimate screen time goal?
The beginning of the year can be such a pivotal time to set intentions and goals for the year ahead. Honestly though, change can happen at any time of the year. Spring is my favorite time for renewal, and I officially quit social media at the beginning of last Summer. But more than ever, I am seeing a lot of people make changes to their phone habits this January. Maybe it’s the TikTok ban (then subsequent reversal) that has people questioning their habits. Maybe it was Zuckerberg’s flip flopping policy. Or possibly, you have just had enough.
Today’s question comes from someone who has been working to make changes, but she’s feeling a little stuck on setting the right goals. I can totally relate with this reader. Simply saying “I want to have a different relationship with my phone” can feel abstract and unactionable. So she asks the question - is there such a thing as a healthy amount of screen time? Ah, what a complex question.
If you’d like to submit a question to be answered in a future installment, message me or submit a question on the chat.
Q: I’m not happy with how much time I’m spending on my phone, and I’m trying to change my habits, but I’m having a hard time setting actionable goals. Is there such thing as a healthy amount of screen time or is it all or nothing?
Working on your relationship with your phone is so layered. It’s not just an entertainment source, it’s also a tool to help you functionally exist in today’s society. You likely use it for work emails, to buy groceries, to listen to music on your commute, and to communicate with your family and friends.
Here’s the honest truth — there is no set healthy amount of screentime. Not because you shouldn’t be on your phone at all, but because it’s going to be different for everyone.
Over 80% of Americans check their phones within 10 minutes of waking up, then spend on average 5 hours on their phones daily (source).
Is this healthy? Absolutely not. So, what is?
Is it an hour? Two hours? 30 minutes?
Setting specific goals for how long you’ll spend on your phone can be tricky because your phone use is not always unhealthy. Sometimes you are using your phone as a tool. And some tools take longer to use than others.
When it comes to specific time-centric goals, you ultimately have two options
Forget the benchmarks. At the end of the day, your phone is still a tool, and you’ll want to continue to use it as such. Your phone usage might be different from day-to-day or week-to-week simply because you need to use different tools at differnet times. I like to check in on my phone usage to gauge what my week really looked like, but I don’t rely on hitting any specific numbers. The more I check-in, the more familiar I am with what is actually healthy for me.
Set flexible goals and be ready to iterate. If you are really benchmark driven, I’d recommend setting flexible goals with the mindset that you may need to adjust them as time goes on. You can access a break-out of your phone usage in your settings. You should be able to see how much time you are spending on each app, which you could use to set some loose goals. Overtime, your goals might change, so be kind to yourself if your original goals need some adjusting. It’s not a perfect science.
All of this being said, if you’re really wanting to make changes, I recommend that instead you focus on making lifestyle changes instead of setting benchmark goals. Here is what I mean:
Set rules for yourself. Instead of thinking about how long you are spending on phone as a whole, think about your individual behaviors and make adjustments that way. Here are some examples:
Zero time spent on social media
Only check email 5 times a day
Only reply to text messages during set windows
Listen to your body. Some people may be fine spending 10 minutes a day on social media, while for others, it could lead to negative thoughts or a spiral into doom scrolling. You have to pay attention to what is working for you, and understand that this may change over time. At first, I was okay spending a little time on Reddit, but eventually, it started to make me feel icky, so I cut that too.
When you work on your goals in this way, you are setting yourself up to have lasting changes to your habits. When you focus on time-centered goals, you are more likely to miss those goals, then get off track.
Regardless of which goal-setting path you choose, you’ve taken the best first step which is acknowledging you need a change in your life. Just having that simple frame of mind will help you move mountains.
You’ve got this!