At school, 11-year-old Oscar Korson takes tests and turns in assignments on a Chromebook. When he gets home, the sixth-grader watches basketball highlights and checks Instagram on his iPad. After he finishes his homework, Oscar plays on his Xbox or watches Netflix with his family.
“I can’t imagine life without screens,” he says.
Oscar says he spends about five hours on screens each weekday—and about seven hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
Those numbers may not surprise you. Kids ages 8 to 12 use screens for six hours a day on average. Many experts, as well as parents and teachers, think that’s excessive. They’re concerned that screens are taking over kids’ lives. This leaves kids like Oscar wondering: How much screen time is too much?
Today, technology has become a prominent part of our lives. Everywhere you go, you’ll find people glued to their devices, whether it be on public transportation, public events, or at home. I myself am no different. Wherever I am, I find myself constantly checking my phone, and using it whether or not anyone has actually contacted me or I have something else I really should be doing.
First, I recognize that technology greatly impacts the ability to live presently. I often find people texting or scrolling through their Instagram feed when they are with other people. Why is it that being with the people you are with isn’t enough? The people we surround ourselves with deserve our full attention. I’ve looked around to find my friends all on their devices. It seems our desire for our screens is something we all share in common.
In thinking about how I use my phone when I am not with other people, I recognize the fact that much time is wasted by mindless scrolling or allowing myself to be distracted. It seems technology has decreased our attention spans, given us a way to prevent ourselves from doing our best work.
Technology has also affected the morning and nightly routines. I find myself grabbing my phone first thing in the morning and having it be the last thing I come into contact with at night. Are we meant to start and end our days on our devices?
I think our devices have given us a way to avoid spending time alone. Like I mentioned earlier, we might find ourselves scrolling through Instagram or Facebook before we go to bed, rather than journaling or reading a book, or doing something else that connects us to our truest selves.
Technology is naturally going to be a part of our lives, there’s no avoiding it. Yet, when it comes down to it, we must not allow it to control how we live.
Use technology as a means to living a life of connection, laughter, and joy.
Do not let your screen be the reason you missed that great moment or didn’t finish that assignment. You’re so much greater than that, we all are.
Here’s to claiming our right to live our best lives, screens included, yet recognizing that sometimes, it’s best to keep looking up and around, aware of the world around us.
A public speaker, debater and a marketing enthusiast with a profound interest in writing articles