Why You Shouldn't Feel Guilty About Your Screen Time

In the past few weeks of quarantine, people have been sharing things that you can do without screens. Pinterest moms, news outlets, Twitter... it's a whirlwind of things to do away from your screen. But is high screen time really that bad?

Why You Shouldn't Feel Guilty About Your Screen Time

Pre-quarantine, high screen time was seen as a shameful thing. You should be using your time wisely, doing work instead of watching TikTok, working out instead of scrolling through Instagram. But now... things are different.

Jordan Shapiro stated in a Today interview that "It's much more important to consider how the screens are being used than it is to consider how much they're being used."

Screen time guilt has even been discussed in the Washington Post. Last week, the World Health Organization announced that people play video games as a way to get us to stay at home. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended people “call, video chat, or stay connected using social media.”

These are unusual times, and there is no SOP, no set rules. So why should we feel guilty about our screen-time?

What people are starting to realize in this quarantine, especially parents and adults, is that not all screen time is the same. Just because someone has been on their phone for three hours does not mean that they have been mindlessly scrolling through TikTok for all of those hours. Sure, there is definitely a possibility. But there is also a strong possibility that that person is learning something, creating something, or even connecting with a friend.

“This isn’t the time to say all screens are bad,”

In the words of Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, a psychology professor at Hunter College in New York City. “This is the time to say, ‘What am I noticing about how technology supports my well-being — and how it gets in the way?’ And that’s going to be different for every individual.”

And it's true, not everyone is the same. We shouldn't feel bad about spending time on our phone when Jenny on Facebook is baking banana bread. Especially if we don't like baking, or even worse, don't even like banana bread.

If you find that being online is something that is getting you by during these times, don't patronize yourself for it. Right now, it may even be the only constant we have. We can't predict the future, we can't change the past. But we can make sure we have an amazing Instagram feed.

Who knows, this may be the perfect time for you to solidify your social profiles. Gain those 10,000 followers you've been wanting since 2017. This is your chance!

Understand that balance is key, but everyone has their own balance according to their needs. And remember that if you are struggling with balancing time spent in front of a screen, many phones and other electronics have a screen-time feature that limits the amount of time you are able to spend on a certain application a day.

Things To Remember:

1. Give yourself a break. If you are struggling, its okay to allow yourself to rest. Resting is good, and it can relieve the impending stress the virus may be causing you.

2. Remember that not all screen time is bad. Technology is not created equal, especially during times like these. If you hate Twitter headlines, delete Twitter, but don't cut yourself off from social media completely. Just like our relationship with food, if we restrict ourselves from being online, we are just going to binge later down the line.

3. Embrace the stillness and work towards finding worthwhile ways to spend your time. If you value screen-time as worthwhile, there is no reason to feel guilty about it (unless it is getting in the way of your work and/or relationships)

Across the globe, screen-time is spiking to an all-time high. But, despite what we hear in the media, we don't need to feel guilty about it.