Tips to limit screen time

Screens are everywhere, accessible 24/7. This isn't without consequences.
Limiting screen time is becoming a necessity, for both physical and mental health!

What is screen time?

Screen time is the total amount of time spent in front of different screens in a day (TV, computer, smartphone, video games), whether at home or at work. This concept has become a health factor in its own right.

Limiting screen time is a concern usually linked to child and teenage development. Yet at any age, excessive screen use can carry risks for both physical and mental health.

Solutions for limiting screen time

The 3-6-9-12 rule, for children and teenagers

This rule, developed by psychiatrist Serge Tisseron in 2008, is an effective way to "learn how to use screens, and learn how to do without them." Every three years, from the child's birth onwards, simple rules should be followed.

1. Before age 3 - Traditional games and stories are preferred. If you have a touchscreen tablet, shared play with the child should be favoured.
2. Ages 3 to 6 - Clear rules are set on screen time. The TV and computer are kept in shared rooms. Video games are played together, rather than alone.
3. Ages 6 to 9 - Clear rules on screen time continue to be followed, while respecting the recommended ages for programmes. The TV and computer stay in the shared room, and the games console is set up correctly. Parents talk with their children about everyone's right to privacy and image rights.
4. Ages 9 to 12 - Children are introduced to the internet, with this basic reminder: what's posted can be used by everyone, at any time, and against your will. Together with the child, decide at what age they'll be allowed their own mobile phone.
5. After age 12 - The child is allowed to surf the web alone, having agreed on hours to respect. Avoid a direct connection in the bedroom, and turn off the Wi-Fi, especially at night. Raise their awareness of downloading, plagiarism, pornography and cyberbullying.

Limiting screen time on smartphone or tablet

"He's glued to his phone" is a constant complaint from parents of teenagers. While smartphones now send weekly alerts about time spent using them, three settings can also help limit screen time:

Set limits

Whether on iPhone or Android, you can set a "timer". You select either a category (social media) or a specific app, and decide on a maximum number of minutes per day. Your phone will notify you as soon as you go over the limit.

Turn off notifications

A "beep", a vibration, and your phone is back in your hands. Notifications are everywhere on smartphones — we reportedly receive around forty a day. Every notification is an invitation to unlock your screen again. Is it important, urgent? Most of the time, no. Turning off notifications won't cut you off from the world forever… and it will significantly reduce the time you spend on your screen!

Switch to airplane mode

To go further, if turning off notifications isn't enough, use your phone's "airplane" mode, while keeping the "calls" feature turned on. That way, you stay away from the temptations of the internet, social media and YouTube!

Best practices for remote work

More and more jobs are done on screens. It almost seems contradictory to talk about "limiting screen time" to an IT professional or a video editor. Yet ergonomic solutions can help avoid the physical impact of excessive exposure:

• Remember to blink often during prolonged screen use
• Keep a suitable distance between your eyes and the screen: at least 60 cm for a computer screen
• Adjust the height of your screen: the top of the screen should be level with your eyes
• Follow the "20-20-20" rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 metres away.
• Disconnect from interactive screens at least two hours before going to bed

Why limit screen time?

While looking at a screen may seem harmless, repeated and accumulated screen time can have harmful effects on health.

The physical impacts of prolonged screen time

1. Inactivity and weight gain

The more time you spend sitting still in front of a screen, the less you move. In growing children, repeated screen use could hinder healthy development and potentially contribute to weight gain.

2. Lack of sleep

Looking at screens for long periods in the evening delays the release of melatonin, the hormone responsible for falling asleep. The blue light emitted by screens is felt more strongly by children than by adults, whose lens becomes less clear with age.

3. Muscle pain

Most of the time, looking at or working on screens doesn't happen in the best of positions. Posture problems can lead to back, shoulder and neck pain, among others.

4. Eyesight problems

Did you know? We blink 5 times less often when looking at a screen. Prolonged screen time can cause dry eyes… but also eye strain, headaches, burning eyes and even a loss of concentration.

Limiting screen time helps guard against long-term issues, such as eye coordination problems or worsening short-sightedness.

The psychological impacts of prolonged screen time

1. Reduced well-being

Prolonged screen exposure also means being exposed to images and content. Whether on the internet, social media or TV, plenty of unspoken standards are imposed on us. Being constantly plugged into a screen can therefore contribute to lower self-esteem.

As a result, the effects on mental health are genuinely harmful: stress increases, as do anxiety and low mood.

2. Impaired cognitive function

Many studies link prolonged screen time to reduced concentration, memory and attention. Yet these abilities are essential, especially during formative periods.

3. Gaming disorder

Gaming disorder has been recognised as a mental health condition by the WHO since 2018. This disorder, linked to addiction — in the same way as alcohol and other drugs — is built on the reward circuit. By playing, succeeding, and even being "liked" by a live audience, the player becomes increasingly hooked on the dopamine they release.

The social impacts of prolonged screen time

Being constantly in front of screens means spending less time meeting and talking with other human beings. Isolation and reduced social skills are closely linked to this issue.

We can also mention difficulties with expression, especially among younger people. They learn and improve their language skills by talking directly with others.

A few useful links

https://www.cyberdependance.be/
https://www.yapaka.be/ecrans
https://e-enfance.org/informer/surexposition-aux-ecrans/
https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/bien-etre-au-travail/contraintes-ergonomiques/travail-sur-ecran

As you can see: keeping track of how much time you spend using screens isn't a bad thing in itself, but limiting your screen time is good for your physical and mental health, for learning, and for your social life.

Article written in collaboration with We are the Words.