Understanding Device Addiction and How Fitfun Can Improve Outcomes

Welcome to another episode in the Upbeat Universe! It’s always exciting when we publish new articles because we know that you constantly read them.

How are you reading this article, by the way: laptop or phone? These devices are now an inseparable part of modern life. But have you thought about how much time you spend on screens daily — both at work and home?

According to the Digital 2022 Global Overview Report, an average person spends about 40% of their wake time online. In October 2022, 4 of the 10 countries whose citizens spent the most time on social media were sub-Saharan African. In Nigeria, people from 16 t0 64 years spend over 4 hours online daily; more time than respondents from 49 other countries. It is about ⅓ of the time an average person is awake. Imagine how long an average Nigerian stays motionless hanging out online in a week, month and eventually a year!

For children under 16 years old, the amount of screen time is higher than among their older peers and adults. According to the latest 2020 survey by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), 85% of children from 11 to 16 years old in urban areas engage in online activities every day. The survey says that Nigerian kids under 16 years old averagely spend 3 to 10 hours daily in front of a screen.

The estimated screen time creates a risk both for children and adults to develop device addiction — an unhealthy dependence on electronic gadgets for internet surfing, gaming and social networking. Device addicts stay online much longer than it’s necessary for their school or work assignments, and even leisure. They bring most of their personal communication to the virtual space, finally detaching from the offline world. Stuck in a repeating circle of automatically consumed online content and virtual talks, they start losing their social skills. As a result, they come down with many preventable ailments, such as a social anxiety disorder, depression, childhood obesity, diabetes and mental fatigue. These conditions negatively affect their productivity and quality of life, leading to alarming alienation from their family, friends and teams.

One of our social goals at Upbeat is to prevent and reduce device addiction through fitfun and active fun. Active fun and fitfun are innovative physical and outdoor activities provided at Upbeat that aid mobility and encourage bonding with families, friends and colleagues. We believe that fitness goals are not only achievable at gyms — there is a greater return when bodily gains meet with laughter, cheers and community vibes. Our core value as a business has informed our decision to support the growth of healthier and productive communities by providing mentally and physically engaging wellness activities.

We particularly look forward to being champions of More Fun, Less Screens for families, groups and corporate organisations. Employees are especially vulnerable to excessive screen time as they are tied to devices for work and sometimes spend more than eight hours per day in front of a laptop or tapping away on their phone screen. Constant screen work also affects quality communication amongst colleagues — text messages are often misunderstood because they convey no human expressions.

Children, on the other hand, are easily fascinated by virtual reality and want to escape there as it seems brighter and funnier. An important part of our mission is to provide experiences that allow people to understand how much fun and joy active fitfun brings to their lives.

We have spotlighted 3 health-positive effects of fitfun that help reduce screen time, prevent and cure device addiction:

• Fitness with active fun. Gym workouts can be pretty boring. This can’t be said about dashing runs, quick docks, climbs, body movements and different activities that uniquely combine fitness with fun. It is practically impossible to grab a device while you are in a whirlwind of runs, jumps and plays!
• Family and team bonding. Quality time with families and colleagues has an amazing potential to rekindle relationships, reconsider all the beauty of physical connection and see genuine emotions. Even the best virtual meeting platform can not transmit the wonderful effect of real-life laughs, smiles and warm hugs! Bonding is a natural therapy from screen-inflicted illnesses.
• Good relaxation. It is impossible to feel miserable and crave to hide behind a screen when the very air around is charged with infectious joy! We always say that bodily gains are unachievable without a healthy soul, and it is best known for those who loosens themselves to experience true energy and happiness.

#StayUpbeat to follow more insights on how we are eliminating device and screen addiction in the Upbeat Universe through our impact initiatives and partnerships.