Is Your Screen-time Diet a Pacifier?

The same parent that tries to discourage a child’s thumb or pacifier later hands their youngster a digital babysitter to keep the kid pacified or occupied. Yet, recent surveys show that 70% of America adults have concerns over how technology is affecting their own mental health, including their personal relationships. Other research finds that the average U.S. adult spends 70% less time with friends than they did two decades ago.                                                   

Nearly half of Americans report cutting back on screen time; 67% cut out digital cookies. Were these your New Year’s resolutions? 62% of American adults admit to digital-device addiction. What will this percentage be when today’s addicted-to-gadget toddlers reach adulthood?

American Academy of Pediatrics well-being guidelines for technology usage are not being followed from my observation of many children today:

• Under 18 months – Zero screen time, unless video communication is with family and/or friends;
• 18-24 months – May begin screen time co-viewing with a parent or caregiver;
• 2-5 years — No more than 1 hour per day, limited to educational programming;
• 6+ years – Limit screen time by setting limits and boundaries (using parental controls); avoid using screens as a pacifier or babysitter.

How difficult is it to turn off all screens during family meals and outings? Parents are role models in the usage of technology for their families. Do you use a digital device while you eat? I am always amazed when I see a couple in a restaurant, sitting across from one another, both ensconced on cell phones for long periods of time. I wonder why they are not relating to each other in the present moment. In addition to the practical uses of our cell phones, The Smartphone as a Pacifying Technology (in Journal of Consumer Research) outlines these emotional benefits: “feelings of psychological comfort and actual stress relief.”

There are many possibilities for stress relief. What hobbies have you pushed to the back shelf of your mind? Is it time to develop a new interest in your life?

Whether cell phone usage becomes addictive is an individual assessment. Psychotherapist Peter Levine defines addiction: “Addiction is people needing some way to blunt their pain, attempt to regulate; until people find an alternative, they will continue [their] addiction.” Perhaps we need the AMA (American Medical Association) to write a prescription for adult screen time.

Do you need a digital detox recipe? Here are some possibilities:

• Make a “grocery” list of replacement ingredients to the pacifier of screen time.
• Stir face-to-face social bonding into your week.                              
• Blend mindfulness into your daily activities.  

If you choose to detox from too much screen time, you avoid a diet of information overload. Side-dish benefits include better sleep, better concentration, better physical and mental health, better creativity, and better relating with others. Who does not wish for things to be “better”?

Bake your cookies. 

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

363. Have you ever considered whether you are addicted to screen time?

364. What possibilities do you have to redeem your personal time, starting TODAY?