At college, it often feels to me like I would die without my phone ever present. But, like most students around me, my phone never leaves my side. I even have my wallet attached to it. One of my New Year’s resolutions has been to reduce my screen time. I realized pretty quickly what was realistic and what was not. I have to use my computer for school, but it’s my phone that I’ve decided I could benefit from using less.
Especially on those lazy initial days of winter break, I saw my screen time climbing. It felt like there was no way to limit my time on my phone because all of my phone use felt so “necessary.”
Looking into the statistics in the settings on my phone, I saw that I spent the majority of my time on my phone with social media. TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat were consuming multiple more hours of my week than I’d like to admit. So I decided I wanted a change.
I did not want to cut these apps out completely. I have deleted all of them at different points in the past, and missing out on each app’s positive attributes is not my goal. With the current culture of college in mind as well, I want to continue having social media. For me, the change I want to make comes down to moderation.
Currently, I have my screen time limits set to 30 minutes on TikTok and an hour on both Instagram and Snapchat. Reading this, you may think that those “limits” actually sound like a lot of time still spent on social media, but again, I am only hoping to cut down, not eliminate.
The 30 minutes on TikTok is the limit I am the most strict with. I know that TikTok affects my attention span, and although I enjoy the joy I get every 15 seconds, spending time on TikTok does make me happy when I am endlessly scrolling.
Instagram and Snapchat are my main forms of communicating with certain people. The hour screen time limit is generous, but on days where I hit those limits, it’s a good self-check-in. I want to be able to use these apps to share my life and talk to people without letting social media take over my life.
If your screen time scares you, too, I’d totally recommend setting limits on your screen time as well. This practice does not have to be overbearing, but it can be beneficial to check in with yourself and decide how you want to spend your time.