Your screen is like a drug

Just how bad is screen addiction?

As a society, there is no doubt we are hooked on our screens.

• Americans spend 4.7 hours per day looking at their phones. About a third of our waking hours
• On average we unlock our phones 110 times per day
• We spend as much as 8.5 hours per week on Facebook per week

The question is not IF we are addicted. We are. And we are bingers.

Are screens bad for us?

Screen addiction is a relatively new concept so the cause, risks, and consequences of screen abuse are much less known. Certainly, very few of us would admit we have a problem. We rationalize.

At first glance it’s difficult to wrap our heads around what’s happened to us. It’s not like we’re gambling or spending all day playing Halo or surfing porn sites. For many of us, screen engagement is literally how we work. Or we are communicating with friends, or just reading the news.

What’s wrong with checking email, texting, playing Candy Crush? Everyone does it.

The apps are not to blame

Our iPhones, our email, social media, and games — this is how we use our screens, but they are not necessarily poison. These fantastic consumer products are ergonomically optimized and thoughtfully designed — often increasing our productivity, saving us time, and enhancing our lives.

It is excessive usage of these interfaces that has become the problem

Risk of excessive screen usage

Distraction

“Don’t text and drive’ is a logical mantra for the emerging distracted driving epidemic. We’ve socialized the ‘don’t drink and drive’ mantra over decades. Distraction impairs our ability to operate a car. Eyes on the road. Phone in pocket. This makes sense to us. But there’s more.

Information overload

As we start to put our finger on specific dangers of screen abuse, we may find that the issue is as simple as information overload. Early signs of addiction can mean “too much online surfing leads to decreased productivity at work and fewer interactions with family members.” We may simple be distracted and burning out on information. And over stimulating our brain.

Compulsive behavior

Or perhaps we can measure screen abuse in terms of our compulsive behavior. “Excessive time spent in online activities such as gaming, trading of stocks, gambling and even auctions often leads to overspending and problems at work.” How much time is a lot of time online? How much is too much? We haven’t really thought about it.

Is screen abuse as bad as alcohol abuse?

The first step in claiming your screenless life back is understanding and recognizing the problem. Sound familiar? This is the mantra of Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics often define the tipping point for alcohol dependency as when it starts to affect our judgement and relationships. Is screen indulgence impacting your grades, job performance, or relationships? Of course it is!

But alcohol addiction maybe not be the best analogy. Over the years we’ve developed standards for how to measure consumption of the alcohol compound. We’ve developed laws to define the acceptable limits — In the US we must be 21 years of age to buy alcohol. And driving with a .08% blood alcohol levels is, by definition, driving under the influence (DUI), and has been for over 30 years. Alcohol consumption is inherently measurable.

Screen addiction is like sugar addiction

Perhaps a better analogy for our abuse of screen is our abuse of sugar. 80% of packaged food has added sugar. Sugar is universal and as embedded into our daily lifestyle as our phones. Sugar is a drug by many definitions. But is sugar evil? Yeah, it’s kind of evil, especially with evidence that sugar, not fat, is to blame for the obesity epidemic.

But sugar itself is not evil, or unnatural. We’ve always consumed glucose in the form of natural fruits. General consensus among nutrition researchers is that sugar itself need not be demonized, it should be moderated. And respected. We’ve been overdosing on sugar as a population, and we’re paying the price. Very similar to the emerging screen addiction endemic.

Law of diminishing returns

Take the Law of diminishing returns. A common example for teaching the law of diminishing returns is the consumption of ice cream. Utility from consuming ice cream decreases after too much is consumed. One scoop creates utility, two scoops creates even more utility, but three, four, five scoops? Too much of a good thing begins to have a negative impact, decreasing utility, ie diminishing returns. After 10 scoops we would be vomiting and begging for mercy. Has anyone every vomited from excessive texting?

How much screen time can we tolerate before we start to experience diminishing returns?

How can we measure screen addiction?

Today, screen addiction doesn’t have a generally accepted measurement or time quota. How many hours per day on a screen is too much? 2 hours? 8 hours? Somewhere in between? We just haven’t thought about it enough to know the answer.

And what should we be measuring? Time with eyes on screen? Or better yet, screen unlocks? Each screen unlock is like a hit of dopamine. It’s like a cigarette, a single-serving dose of our favorite drug. 110 screen unlocks a day may be equivalent to a pack of cigarettes a day. Or two packs per day?

Screen addiction is real. And it’s impacting our society. But it’s too early to know how we’ll deal with it as a society. As with all evolving epidemics, the solution starts with awareness and education. And respect.

Respect sugar addiction. Respect screen addiction. That shit is real.