Your Health on Screen Time
Americans are on their phones more than ever, and as a therapist and coach for moms, it’s a topic that I’m passionate about when it comes to mental health. So, is being on our phones actually a mental health problem? Let’s discuss.
How Much Are We On Screens?
A 2024 study confirmed that despite the recommendation that adults spend no more than two hours on screens, the average adult is on their phone more than double that amount. In fact, millennials in particular were found in a follow-up study to average 5 hours and 28 minutes on their phones. This is outside of time on our work computers and television.
Imagine what else we could be doing with all that time!
Something that my clients, who are all moms, discuss often is the issue of time. We never have enough time or find ourselves racing against the clock. The cold, hard truth here is that we all have the same amount of time in a day, and it’s more than likely how we are spending it that’s the problem. Before I go any further, it’s important to note that we should observe these facts without judgement. The intention of phones and the apps within them is to lock us in, so have grace for yourself.
What are Screens Doing To Our Mental Health?
Screen time use has been linked to sleep issues in this study as well as mental health problems in this study out of Australia, specifically depression and anxiety. According to this 2020 study, adults are spending more and more time on their phone to connect since the pandemic, and the habits of late-night phone use, even when it’s texting or talking on the phone with a loved one, have direct impacts on sleep quality and time. From my clinical perspective and what we know about sleep and mental health, that impact on sleep alone is enough to make a difference in our mental health.
What Happens When We Reduce Our Screen Time
Last summer, I launched my first Decrease Your Phone Time Challenge because I personally know that my phone is the biggest block to me being present and making time for myself and the things that matter to me. I am always looking for ways to reset and so many moms I work with know their phones are a problem and just couldn’t break the habits alone - so community is the best way to do that.
For one week, we set goals to decrease our screen time by first taking an audit of our phone use on a normal week.
“The hardest part was seeing how much I was on my phone,” said Morgan Burke, marketing director of Parent Wellness Group and mom who participated in the challenge. “We’re talking many hours of time on my phone and over 150 pickups! Since I’m not at a desk or in the house most of the time, there is very little structure to my day as to when I get things done, but having access to my phone at all times and feeling pulled to it throughout the day is not the way I want to live.”
This realization for so many participants is really what lights the fire! As painful as it can be to see the time you spend, I find that it’s truly an a-ha moment for everyone. All the women in my community are there because they’re interested in their health and their mental health and they’re interested in modeling a healthy relationship with technology for their kids, but we just aren’t seeing screen time for what it is - a threat to our health and wellbeing on all levels - physical, mental and emotional.
“I am bored more often, I have this nagging feeling that there’s never enough time to do what I need to do, I feel scattered, I don’t feel rested, and I don’t sleep as well,” said Burke. “I am always fairly rigid about my health habits, but I know when I’m not rested in the morning, it is almost always related to my stress, which I have had a hunch is related to my screen time.”
Between the content we’re consuming, the impact it’s having on our nervous systems, the screens getting in the way of our priorities, and the time we lose by spending so much time on our phones, the impact of our behaviors with screens is significant. For our health and for our kids, we need to decide again and again to evaluate our current relationships and behaviors with our phones. We need to make conscious choices again and again to set boundaries and hold ourselves accountable to using our phones as a tool, and not a mindless crutch that tanks our mental, emotional and physical health. We need to tune into our shared value of being present and compassionate humans for ourselves and those we love and let our actions and phone usage be a reflection of that value.
By the end of the week-long challenge, we have women cutting down their screentime by 25-64%, looking inward as to why they are turning to their phones in the first place, sleeping better, taking more initiative to socialize or go do something just for fun, and most significantly, radically taking back their time. It was always ours to begin with but if we aren’t careful, our screens can take so much of that away from us.
“It wasn’t always better,” said Burke. “In some ways, it became so apparent to me that I turn to my phone to avoid boredom or to avoid things my kids are doing that bother me like not getting their shoes on or bickering about nothing. But, overall, I found so much more joy in my days and truly felt like I have more space and time for myself, my responsibilities, and my family. That’s the ultimate win.”
7 Tools to Help Reduce Your Screen Time
Take an audit of your screen time. Go to your settings and see the breakdown of your phone time. See which apps are getting used the most (you will know but some may surprise you!), how many times you’re picking up your phone, and then the average time you spend on your phone per pickup.
Audit your why. Why do you turn to your phone? What are you looking for? And more importantly, what are you looking for more of in your life that your phone is getting in the way of?
Set limits. Set some goals and write them down! You can set limits using your phone for each app, but many participants found that these were easy to bypass, so I recommend checking out some other screen management apps.
Have a plan for your time. If you usually scroll in the morning or at night, be intentional about this time. Choose something you’re excited about like a new book, journaling, meditation, exercise or just sitting with your morning coffee in peace.
Read up on it. Now that you have some free time, consider learning more about the impact of screens. Great reads I recommend include, How to Break Up With Your Phone by Catherine Price and The Power of Off by Nancy Colier.
Record your experience. Take a few minutes each day to record your experience! Note: it won’t always be a big difference and sometimes, you may find you’re even more irritable but I urge you to trust the process.
Celebrate your successes! So often, we don’t take time to celebrate our wins. Regardless of how much you decrease your phone time in the first week, be proud of yourself and reward yourself.
Above all else, the most important thing you can take away from this discussion about screen time is curiosity. Get curious about your phone use and ask yourself, how much better could it be?
Sarah Harmon is a Licensed Mental Health Therapist, mindfulness & yoga teacher, wellness expert, and founder of The School of MOM (Mothering Ourselves Mindfully) and The Parent Wellness Group. She is passionate about supporting humans on their unique wellness journey. Learn more about Sarah at www.theschoolofmom.com and www.parentwellnessgroup.com. You can also follow her on Instagram @the.schoolofmom.