I pretty much stopped writing new blog posts in August, when I went home to visit my mom for a quick weekend.
It wasn’t until I stopped using my computer, that I realized how much time I have been spending staring at it.
For one day (just one!), I was hanging out with my mother: we took a road trip to drop off some books, went out to dinner, and then visited my aunt. Growing up, this would have been a normal weekend day, possibly bracketed by a few hours reading a book.
I was so proud of all the time I had spent participating in “real life.” Then I checked my computer use for the day–I still spent over 2 hours browsing the internet on my phone and computer (which I brought with me to finish clinic notes from Friday).
Most weeks, my home computer logs me at over 5 hours a day, with an additional 3 hours per day on my phone. This does not count time spent on the computer at the office.
Just thinking about it gives me a headache (or maybe that’s the blue light from my screens?).
I am certainly of the generation (probably the last) who grew up in the US without computers, or the Internet, for most of my childhood. I absolutely was able to amuse myself without a computer and wifi.
Now, however, I spend my day on one screen or another: NYT games and blogs in the morning before work. Plenty of computer charting at work; checking email, Facebook, the news on my phone during some downtime. Returning home to (attempt to) finish up charting, while playing solitaire in between charts as distraction.
This makes my tennis watching time seem positively wholesome by comparison.
Is worrying about my computer time just a new way of saying the world is changing? Or is this a sign that this is unhealthy behavior?
Some quick Googling turns up some papers on screen time for adults, with different take home messages.
This article from 2017 looks at NHANES data, and finds an association between increased screen time and moderate or severe depression. Of course, association does not prove causation; but I do note I feel a lot better when I spend less time on the computer.
On the other hand, this article from 2022 concludes that Internet usage promotes communication with family and friends, and decreases loneliness. I don’t really follow all of their analysis, and I certainly can think of times when the Internet sucks my attention away from the people with me in real time. However, I can also say that my weekend video chats have strengthened my relationship with my two groups of friends.
Overall, this blog post suggests that adults should limit themselves to 2 hours of screen time outside of work. That seems like a bit of a stretch for me, but possibly something to consider. I’d probably be more interested in trying to achieve that goal if I were spending less screen time at home on work. [They also note that adults average 11 hours of screen time per day, with a peak of 19 hours during the pandemic!]
Reducing computer time is not the only reason I stopped writing.
Other sorts of real life intervened: hospital rotations, my father in law’s death, a heavier work load, study time. I have expectations that some of these obligations will be eliminated or minimized going forward.
I hope to find that my inspiration to blog will return as the other demands on my time. However, I am also feeling the urge to spend less time at the keyboard, and more time engaging in “real life.” Or at least improving my ratio of non-screen to screen time.
Is this something you struggle with too? Or am I the only one with a problem?
I wrote a blog post on this very topic a few months ago. My screen time is high, but considering I use my iPad for daily workout videos, blog writing, online courses, and book reading, it’s not all mindless scrolling. It’s hard to strike a balance, though.
Yes, I remember your post.
I think with all my screen time for work (at least 2-3 hours per day at home), even the good stuff becomes too much. I’m better off with a physical book rather than reading an E-book. And I have to stop with the solitaire time, even though it is sort of soothing.