Screen timeout

A couple days ago I visited my cousin. My nephew who is around 16 years old was also present with us. It was evident that he was only physically present, maybe because his parents asked him to be there with me. He was not interested in any conversation and was constantly glued to his phone. He did not even look up for more than 20 seconds. He did not participate in any conversations or responded to any questions with his complete attention. It felt as if his entire world is within his hands. That was the only world that existed for him and the real world did not matter to him. I felt really bad for him as well as for his parents. This encounter led me to think about another digital etiquette: Start the screen timeout.

Reducing the screen time is an absolute need of the hour. Anywhere we go we see that not only children but adults too are constantly looking at their phones. I see people in the restaurant sitting across the table, not speaking but watching their phones. The only time that they would probably keep their phones down is when the food arrives and they need to use both their hands to consume the food. Otherwise I have seen a lot of people looking at their phones even while eating. While seeing the phones people would not even realise if they have eaten food or insect, that is the condition of addiction to the mobile phones today.

What we need to implement is at least 10 minutes of screen free time. In this time you may do a lot of things such as meditating, reading a book, reading a newspaper, chatting with the people around you, or just sitting in Silence without the screens. Just 10 minutes without the screen will definitely make a lot of difference. You will find that your eyes are getting less strained. Your constant neck and back pain would start reducing. Your attention span would improve. You will actually make connection with the people around you.

A suggestion towards the implementation is for your family make a rule that the family lunch or family dinner is going to be a screen free time, you would be able to strike a conversation with your family members. You may actually enjoy the food that you are eating. You may share stories with your family members and definitely this time would be a fun time.

With less screen time children too would social skills. They would definitely know how to communicate with guest or strangers. They would learn patience. They will actually get to hear the stories from your childhood or interesting stories from their grandparents. They will make the memories that are different from there online activities.

I completely understand that mobile phones are now a necessity. We cannot function without our mobile phones because most task and activities definitely require a mobile phone. Hence I completely understand that we need to use mobile phone but at the same time are we making enough efforts to restrict our screen time? If we ourselves cannot restrict or limit our own screen time how can we expect our children to not be glued to the phone? Children look at ss and imitate what we do. If they see their parents constantly on the phone then they would definitely considered it to be normal.

Hence I request to start practicing at least some screen free time in your life. Start with 10 minutes and then go on increasing it. You will see the benefits of it within a very short time. You will have better health and better family life.