Set rules and follow it to reduce screentime, say digital experts

Popular digital wellness coach Bindiya Murgai opines that digital detox might not be possible for people who have work from home and children who are having online classes.

“Digital detox means you have to completely move away from technology. I don’t think that is possible now. Right now, the focus has to be on how to find a balance with technology and how a person can draw healthier boundaries so that he/she doesn’t get consumed completely by technology.

We have shifted the focus from digital detox to digital wellness now. Within the given parameters, we should create healthier boundaries so that our digital wellness does not go completely for a toss. As the first step, we have to find how much time we spend in front of the screen. Then, at the end of the day, find out how much extra time we are spending,” says Bindiya.

To engage in leisure activities, people who work from home have this tendency to extend their screen time by watching TV series or movies. “Daily, dedicate a few hours for yourself. After waking up, your mind is completely fresh. But many tend to grab their phones and read the news or spend time mindlessly scrolling through social media.

“The same happens before you go to bed at the night as well. If you can spend those two hours without technology, it would bring a lot of difference. You can reduce the digital stress on your mind. If you stay away from technology at least for a few hours, your mind will become super active and also have an overall impact on your wellbeing. Then, practice screen-free meal time. Take a conscious decision of not watching TV while eating. If you have a habit of reading on a tablet, try to migrate to offline reading. By doing this, exposure to light is also reduced. Since no entertaining activities are happening at present, think of activities that you can do alone or with the family. You can also focus on physical activities like walking and exercise. Set some simple rules and follow it,” she explains.

For people, who are having long working hours, taking a break every 45 minutes would do wonders. “Make sure that you take a break for 5 minutes. You can stretch and walk around and then come back and work. More screentime will have an impact on sleep patterns and will put too much pressure on all your senses and mind. Apart from increasing the levels of anxiety, this also has a bad effect on posture.” 

Not only adults, these days, school-going children are also spending a lot of time for online classes. “A simple planning and execution would help. Parents should make children do something with their hands — apart from studies, replace all the online activities with offline activities. They can indulge in colouring, solving jigsaw puzzles, gardening and so on. Not only therapeutic such activities also increase cognitive and creative skills of children,” Bindiya shares.

Abdul Malick, a digital marketing consultant, says that planning and scheduling are the best ways to reduce screen time. “Working professionals have to plan. Set some basic rules and follow them without fail. You will find a huge difference,” he says.