Taking Control of Your Smartphones
Remember the last time, you felt bored or anxious? Did you check your email? Nothing new there? Jumped onto social media. Not satisfied. Cycle through them all one by one. It’s all too easy to spend hours on our phones without staying focused for more than a few seconds at a time. Most adults in the UK check their phones 33 times a day (for teenagers it’s 90 times), and more than two hours of that is spent mindlessly scrolling and tapping.
Research reveals spending extended time on your phone has the power to change both the structure and the function of your brain — including your ability to form memories, think deeply, and focus. We might think we are being efficient multi-taskers — switching effortlessly between screens. However, the brain struggles to perform two cognitively demanding tasks at once. It slows down and one's focus on both tasks is diminished.
But we cannot live in a world without our smartphones, one of the most transformative inventions. Especially since they have become our radios, cameras, and maps, and help us keep connected to family and friends. So how can we effectively reduce its unhelpful impacts as a family:
Time out - Use a time limit for all social media apps through the phone settings.
Buy an alarm clock for your bedroom and set up a charging station outside the bedroom.
No-phone zones - Establishing areas in the home where phones are banned. Bedrooms or dining tables are a good start.
Spring-cleaning - Clean up the apps that litter your home screen.
Bin smug apps - Delete any app that steals your attention more than it improves your life.
Time for a Phast - Build periods of phone-free time into your day. Start with 30 or 60 minutes a day and work up to 24 hours every once in a while.
Offline activities - Be creative about filling up your time by engaging in other activities that boost physical and mental health like sports, exercises, pursuing a hobby, or learning a new skill.
More importantly, get everyone in the family on board with the changes. Children are more likely to follow when they see us adults role modelling. Make digital use an ongoing and meaningful conversation with opportunities for inputs and ideas from every member of the family to improve ownership and responsibility.
Take back control!