Ontario is considering a ban on cellphones in schools, concerned that students are spending too much time on their devices during the day. However, studies show it’s not just young people scrolling for hours on end. Many Canadians are also spending hours everyday, glued to their smartphones. According to a recent survey, people pick up their phones nearly 200 times a day on average, and spend more than four hours a day on them. Nearly half say they feel addicted. “So many notifications, so many texts, so many pings, all of your news is coming through your phone,” said Courtney Lindwall with Consumer Reports. “All of your tasks and to-dos and emails are all coming through your phone, so you get to a place of burnout where responding to a single text feels tiring.” Excessive screen time can affect sleep, stress levels, attention span, mental health, and even the ability to connect with people in real life. But, according to Consumer Reports, there are simple ways to cut back. “Start by just taking short breaks. Even just having your phone in another room for 20 minutes can help you build that comfort and tolerance being away from your device,” Lindwall said. You can also delete or limit time-wasting apps, even if it’s only temporarily. Also, setting your phone to grayscale can make apps less tempting and appealing. “Depending on how much change you feel like you need, you could do anything from install an app that sets stricter screen time limits…to downgrading all the way to an old school flip phone,” Lindwall said. There are tools designed to help. You can download an app blocker, or buy a physical device like ‘Brick’ which blocks apps until you want to use them again. If you are trying to cut back your smartphone usage, you can monitor your progress. Adding your screen time as a widget on your phone’s front page can be useful, so you can check your progress and make any other changes you see fit.
