Mobile screen addiction and how to beat it

It may have started off as a great strategy to not make conversation in an elevator and pretend that one is busy looking at the phone but increasingly the amount of time spent by adults on their screen is only increasing at an alarming rate. Business, pleasure, utilities and errands converge on to the mobile device and the lines are increasingly blurred between what is absolutely necessary, and what is perhaps a dark hole that one if falling into.

Going offline is not a luxury most working people can afford anymore. E-mail, Work WhatsApp groups, platforms like Slack make working a lot more convenient, but it also means that people are expected to respond when contacted immediately, having most people looking for notifications every few minutes. In fact, few people can get off the communication grid.

And on a lighter note, anyone who has fallen into the endless pit of Instagram stories, a Wikipedia page , a stalking mission of high school classmates on facebook, or even a game like Pub G knows that it is difficult to keep track of time that has passed once they've set out on that journey. The endless scroll ensures that users are hooked. It's almost like a task that has not been completed.
Unlimited data plans and cheaper smartphones have contributed to this wave. According to the latest FICCI report the Online population in India is poised to grow from 446M in 2017 to 840M in 2022 . Almost 70% of time spent by Indians on their smartphones is on Social media apps. All signs point to a brewing problem of excess.

As the amount of content online increases, some adults have become aware of the perils of excessive screen time and are recognising it's ill effects. The lack of physical activity because one is inadvertently staring at the screen, cramping in the wrist and fore arm because of the way one holds the phone, posture or the text neck, a general feeling of malaise are just some of the physical side effects. Some early adopters are now trying to limit usage of their phones to increase productivity and overall well being.

One can set limits to screen usage on their phones and there are built-in apps and features that give one "gentle" reminders that time for the day is up. Shaivika who is a researcher has set a 1 hour limit each, on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. She manages to stay on track on most days and even switches it off while reading a book. Mrinalini, on the other hand, has set a time limit for half an hour for her apps. She has switched off all her notifications and that really helps her. She feels that turning off notifications was a major decluttering since she works with digital products for a living and most days her attention would get diverted, but the alarms work to keep her on track.

Keeping the device out of sight is an effective ploy to limit usage. Doctors recommend keeping the device away for at least 1-2 hours before sleeping as the Blue light affects sleep cycle, sleep quality and morning alertness. Both Shipra Baranwal a Luxury consultant and Meghna Sumesh a media professional keep their phones away in another room to resist the temptation of being on the device before going to bed.

Of course, keeping a limit is great, but what happens when one is unable to stick to the limit. Shilpa Baranwal did confess that while on weekdays she uses her phone for recreation while commuting to and fro from work, weekends she could go up to 2X the time and that she is okay with it. A lot of people we spoke to were able to stick to their limits on most days and that itself made them happy. Meghana Sumesh put it this way "I don't at all feel bad about it because you cannot be so rigid with your routines. Once in a while, you bend the rules since no two days are exactly alike."

Other ways to beat this addiction is with more technology. Since our phones have constant reminders for appointments and things to do, our music and entertainment, devices like Alexa or even wearable devices could reduce our dependency on the phones and subsequently screen time. One could also opt for a data plan without a deal (which may be impossible in India) a pay by usage kind of plan which could automatically make one more judicious about usage. Finding more productive and constructive things to do on the device could reverse the effects of time wasted on the device.

Finding a hobby, other ways to access information, arranging face to face meetings or phone calls instead of chatting could help making offline activities more interesting and limit screen time. The excitement of the unlimited and the feeling of being connected 24/7 has its downside. It's not too late to find a balance between using technology to our advantage an keeping human contact intact, and the good news is more and more people are talking about it and trying to adapt to this. Therefore we may still be able to reverse the ill effects of infinite screen time.

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