The Screen Time

Our new pandemic lifestyle and academic circumstances have changed whereby our screen time has exploded substantially and now people can spend days at the screen, without getting bored. Everything from ordering grocery, classwork, attending online meetings, to socialising with friends has now entered the much-coveted virtual world. This pandemic phase is very important to have clarity surrounding our needs and intentions regarding things in an attempt to have a balanced life forward, nearly everything now needs to be done for our happiness

The biggest battle of the 21st Century is between Humans and screen time, which the latter has already taken the lead off. In this age of the coronavirus, it has become a challenge for us to manage our screen time. Much of our debates over the harms of screen time revolve around children-based entertainment and free time activities in daily lives, with less focus on academics and other forms of extracurricular activities.

In the pre-pandemic period, there was no concern over screen time. In the past one year, the screen time of both children and adults has increased substantially compared to the period before the pandemic. We’re physically and mentally drained looking at a screen all day, and almost every other night we promise ourselves to reduce the screen time, but that doesn’t happen ever. The physical condition of a person spending their entire day on-screen worsens day by day due to lack of fitness and exercise. Instead of doing something productive without using an electronic device or spending time with family, all of us spend our day staring at screens. Screen time is never-ending combat, as we already surrendered in front of them.

People of this era are stuck in mobiles, tablets and other forms of electronic devices. Outdoor sports and ‘physical’ books are facing extinction. There was once a time when books were man’s best friend, and now everyone happily accepts technology as a friend and a boon to all. Screen time is not bad until used in boundaries, we need to understand the concept of safe screen time. It’s high time for us to rethink screen time and instead of just criticising ourselves, bring about change. We're sailing all over our memories and good experiences, through mobiles.

Life has come a full circle for those who have experienced being part of the ‘THE SCREEN TIME era’ and ‘The BOOKS era’. Being on-screen for long hours is not always negative. Doing stuff on screen like completing schoolwork or doing an online course is always productive, but things like gaming for hours and watching web series has spoiled us in a bad way. The main reason for the almost extinction of books and board games is spending time on unnecessary things like these. With not many things to do, everyone’s screen time is increasing day by time. Screen time increases because of watching a lot of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, etcetera; continuously on a social media platform; watching videos on YouTube; chatting with friends and the list is endless. We can try and decrease our screen time by reading some physical book instead of an e-book; spending time with family and you can figure out other things. The point is- that we should have normal screen time and also use electronic appliances in control.

Actions speak louder than words, we should be using screens in control instead of just giving an entire lecture. Technology is the reason why we’ve had so many developments, but use it to its limit. It’s because of us that screen time increases, and now it’s our responsibility to change that fact. The pandemic has forced us to move into this virtual world, and it’s better to come out of it sooner than later. It doesn’t seem that we’re locked in our houses, but locked up inside mobiles and other electronic devices.

Instead of sending ‘GOOD MORNING’ messages to relatives and friends online, we should wish our family the same physically. There is no need for us to get up in the morning and check our mobile phone or any other device (we all do). These devices have started controlling us and are capturing our life. The amount of money we spend on these things is beyond our imagination, getting those devices just because of the new trend. It’s high time for us to keep away from these devices as much as possible, and get #SCREEN-FREE. Until next time, stay safe and healthy.

Adios.