How do we actually reduce screen time?

Authored by: Sophia Butler

Art by: Stefanie Chen

Introduction

This is not an article on how screens are bad. The world has plenty of information on how problematic and addictive screens are, and yet we remain addicted. In spite of all we know, we choose to ignore the information and continue to turn to screens for entertainment, connection, and peace.

Thus, this is not an article on how screens are bad. Rather, it's an article on the under-researched topic of how people can actually break away from screens. Almost everyone wants to reduce "meaningless" screen time [1], yet most struggle to do so—why? The key issue is a lack of clear information on effective strategies for overcoming screen addiction, which requires not just changing behaviors, but also shifting mindsets.

Issues in Current Research

Addictions aren’t the same in everyone. What current research fails to take into account is the individual differences in motivations, usages, and impacts. Someone spending hours a day playing video games may be motivated by entertainment and relaxation, whereas another person spending hours on Instagram may instead seek connection with others. Both of these individuals will likely have very different impacts from their screen usage. Current research also fails to take into account the differences in factors which lead to screen time, focusing on the behavior rather than the underlying causes. For example, those who already have sedentary lifestyles may be more inclined to engage in passive screen usage [2]. Were screen time reduced, would these people simply turn to another unhealthy, sedentary habit instead? 

There are numerous misconceptions about how to break screen addictions, and much of the research in this area provides vague results. A meta-analysis of over 200 screen-time intervention studies found that planning, goal-setting, and feedback leads to results in teenagers [3]. Yet many teens see forced reductions of screen time as compromising their autonomy. The motivation must therefore be intrinsic for long-term results. But how do we encourage people to feel motivated to set goals in the first place?

Many current programs involve spreading awareness of the detrimental health effects screens have. However, this has been found to be largely ineffective. Most people are already aware that screen time is detrimental and have some motivation to quit, but not enough to adhere to extreme and unappealing interventions. Going “cold turkey” is nearly impossible in a world which relies on social media and messaging (often a gateway to non-productive screen usage [4]) for work and social connection. Most people acknowledge that some social media use is better than none, but apps are designed to promote habitual use, making it difficult to simply lower app usage. “Fighting tech with tech,” or setting screen time limits with apps, is another approach. But many tech companies make unbacked claims about the effectiveness of these limits, and in the end many simply override the limits and continue using their screens [5].

What actually works?

The concept of “nudging” or making the “bad” habit less appealing, shows promise. One study found considerable results by using the Fogg Behavioral Model, which states that habitual behaviors result from a combination of prompts (like notifications), motivation (a desire to pass time, relax, etc), and ability (the ease of picking up and using a phone) [6]. By reducing these, the study found that screen time was reduced by roughly two hours in comparison to the control group.

An important aspect of this approach was the consideration of individual differences and autonomy. Researchers provided an array of options to reduce the appeal of phones, allowing participants to choose which they would like to adhere to. Some options included hiding social media apps in a folder off the main home screen (prompt), keeping phones in another room when not in use (ability), and turning on black and white screens (motivation). After six weeks, participants still adhered to the majority of the habits they initially committed to, likely due to the fact that they were freely chosen [6]. 

Conclusion

This study’s success demonstrates how making bad habits less appealing is an effective approach to cutting down on addictions. Yet arguably, making the alternative habit more appealing could also lead to results. Many dieters fail because they go from eating delicious food to boring salads, failing to realize that if healthy eating is unappealing it will not continue in the long term. In the aforementioned study, participants spent 64% of their time previously spent on screens doing work, studying, or chores, and only 26% on enjoyable activities and hobbies [6]. Will substituting fun with work lead to long term results?

An important aspect of reducing screen time is finding what void people were seeking to fill when they turned to phones. Substituting social connection on Instagram with doing dishes, or relaxation with studying, will fail to solve the underlying problem of motivation. Nudging should include making bad habits less appealing and making good habits more appealing by providing convenient and fulfilling activities as substitutes. It will take much further research and far more time to establish positive interventions with certainty. But in the meantime, backed with self knowledge and a foundation of research on nudging, we do have the ability to reduce our screen time and its ensuing negative effects on our own.

References:

1. Lukoff, K., Yu, C., Kientz, J. & Hiniker, A. What makes smartphone use meaningful or meaningless? Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies 2, 1–26 (2018)

2. Throuvala, M., Griffiths, M., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D. (2020). The role of recreational online activities in school-based screen time sedentary behaviour interventions for adolescents: a systematic and critical literature review. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00213-y

3. Jones, A., Armstrong, B., Weaver, R. G., Parker, H., von Klinggraeff, L., & Beets, M. W. (2021). Identifying effective intervention strategies to reduce children’s screen time: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01189-6

4. van Deursen, A. J. A. M., Bolle, C. L., Hegner, S. M. & Kommers, P. A. M. Modeling habitual and addictive smartphone behavior. Computers in Human Behavior 45, 411–420(2015).

5. Mac Cárthaigh, S. The effectiveness of interventions to reduce excessive mobile device usage among adolescents: A systematic review. Neurology, Psychiatry and Brain Research 35, 29–37 (2020).

6. Olson, J. A., Sandra, D., Chmoulevitch, D., Raz, A., & Veissière, S. P. L. (2021). A ten-step behavioural intervention to reduce screen time and problematic smartphone use. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/tjynk