I think this is a habit I have been putting off even thinking about if I’m honest. My screen time is atrocious, I check my phone when I wake up, walk to class on my phone, check my phone in class, use it while I’m eating, check it during my study time, and then I watch tiktoks until past my bedtime. It is the first thing I see in the mornings and the last thing I see at night which is a bit of a problem. I have talked about reducing my screen time in the past and even put time limits on some of my frequented apps and then would click out of the time limit notification to keep scrolling. I have a lot of self-control in most areas of my life, yet phone time somehow has me in a chokehold.
I looked up the effects of too much screen time (which I have avoided in the past) and was (not that) surprised to find a few effects that I have in my own life. First, screen time before bed can cause trouble sleeping and can impact the quality of sleep you’re getting. This is because your body produces melatonin to tell your body it is time to sleep when you’re in a dark environment, but if you’re on your bright phone at night, your brain assumes it isn't bedtime so it takes longer to get to sleep due to a lack of melatonin production. Excess screen time can even alter your mental state and increase your risk of depression and anxiety. I think this might be the most difficult habit to try to break because I truly am addicted to my phone, but, after learning a lot about habit reforming, I think I can slowly start to work on my screen time addiction.
