Screens in Quarantine 

The COVID-19 lockdown has impacted everyone in different ways. Even though our experiences differ, here’s one thing almost everyone can agree on: it's caused us to spend excessive amounts of time in front of our screens. Adults and kids alike are stuck at home—doing work and school virtually—and attempting to find ways to occupy themselves in their spare time. 

I asked a few students about their screen time during quarantine, as well as their feelings about it and how it’s impacted them. Lily Spertus Newman, an NRHS junior, said, “I have nearly doubled my screen time—now, in the early months of school—when compared to February or early March. My phone’s screen time previously lingered around 3 hours, which I thought was already pretty bad. Now, it’s at about 6 hours a day. At home, I get distracted more easily, and the first thing I reach for is my phone. My computer often has 9 hours of screen time now—a full day of virtual classes, homework for 5 AP classes and maybe a little Netflix. Granted, much of the phone use occurs while I’m on my computer, but I feel a little… ashamed. I was so addicted to Instagram that I deleted it from my phone and only check it on the website for about 5-10 minutes a week, but that only meant I’d get addicted to mindless, no-effort games to cope with my boring, non engaging classes. My eyes hurt at the end of each day, my computer battery is inefficient since it’s always plugged in, and I’m ready to get my screen time down again.” Samira Saleh said that “[her] screen time skyrocketed”, and Fairuz Saleh feels that “[virtual school] feels more draining than binging your least favorite Netflix show.”

Lily, Samira and Fairuz are definitely not alone. The online school format has forced students to spend 6-7 hours in front of computers in class, then spend even more time in front of the screen doing homework and participating in Zoom meetings for clubs and other extracurriculars. This doesn’t even include cell phone use. Teenagers notoriously spend lots of time on their phones, whether it be scrolling through social media, texting friends, or watching videos. And in a time where in-person activities are so heavily restricted, it seems that technology is all we have to entertain ourselves. Students have complained about their eyes hurting, their inability to concentrate during class, and dealing with “zoom fatigue”, which the Psychiatric Times describes as “the tiredness, worry, or burnout associated with overusing virtual platforms of communication”. 

All of this time spent on electronic devices may lead to issues such as poor sleep and mental health, worsened vision, and a weak attention span. So what can we do to combat the negative impacts of excessive screen time? Many students have expressed that they would like fewer Zoom classes, supplemented with more asynchronous work. The New Rochelle City School District has just announced a new schedule, which has shortened each period by a few minutes in order to carve out two “Brain Break/Office Hours” periods each day. These 30-minute breaks will allow students to take time away from their computers to do whatever they need, which will hopefully help students feel less drained by the end of the school day. 

In terms of casual cell phone use, it has become increasingly more important to set boundaries and create healthy habits! Avoid phone use immediately in the morning or before bed, which negatively impacts your sleep. Explore settings on your phone. Daily screen time is tracked on iPhones, allowing individuals to see how their average screen time compares to other previous days or weeks. Apple’s screen time function also tracks how much you use each app, and even how many times you pick up your phone every day. iPhones also have a feature called “Downtime”, which allows users to set a schedule for “time away” from their phones. During this time, only certain apps will be available for use. iPhones also allow users to set time limits on specific apps, and many social media apps (such as Instagram and Tik Tok) have timer features. These timers notify users when they have exceeded the set time limit, or will even lock the user out of the app. These features allow us to be more aware of the amount of time we spend on our devices. 

Lastly, we must be more mindful and develop a stronger sense of discipline when it comes to our screen time. Author Catherine Price of the book How to Break Up with Your Phone writes about the “What For? Why Now? What Else?” strategy. This strategy consists of pausing every time we pick up our phones, and asking ourselves why we’re picking it up, why we need it NOW, and what else we could be doing in that moment. Chances are that if you stop and think, you’ll catch yourself picking it up mindlessly out of impulse, and you’ll realize that there’s probably something more productive you could be doing. We must find activities that we can enjoy in our downtime that don’t involve our devices, like painting, reading, or trying out a new recipe. Outdoor activities, such as working out, going for a walk, or having a picnic with a friend are also important. In a time where we’re constantly stuck at home, getting fresh air is essential to our wellbeing. Although challenging at first, putting these habits into place will benefit us physically, mentally and emotionally, and will help us get through this stressful and unpredictable time.