The more apps you have, the slower your phone will run and the more you’ll be exposed to security risks. Tap or click here to run an app audit.
More apps lead to more time spent staring at our screens. Guess which country’s residents are the most addicted to their phones? If you guessed the US, you are wrong.
Where are we in the world?
The most serious screen addicts are South Africans, who stare at phones and computers for 9.5 hours a day. At the other end of the spectrum are the Japanese, who have less than 4 hours of screen time daily.
Americans fall somewhere above the middle at 7.5 hours, with almost 43% of our waking hours.
Much of our screen time is spent on cell phones (21% of our day), and we can thank (or blame) Apple for revolutionizing the mobile web with the iPhone.
Check yourself
The average person is awake 17 hours a day and spends more than 6.5 hours on a screen. How much time do you spend doom scrolling and browsing social media? Take a deep breath and look now.
Before you can view your app and device usage, you need to turn on Screen Time.
Set up Screen Time on iPhone
- Go to Institutions > Screen time.
- Crane Enable Screen Timeand then tap Get on.
- Crane This is My iPhone if you set up Screen Time for yourself on your iPhone. If you’re setting up Screen Time for your child (or family member), tap This is my child’s iPhone.
- To use Screen Time on all your Apple devices, scroll down and enable Share across devices.
After you turn on Screen Time, you can view a device usage report that includes information about how much time you spend using certain types of apps, how often you pick up your iPhone and other devices, which apps send you the most notifications, and more .
- Go to Institutions > Screen time.
- Crane View all activities, then tap Week to see a summary of your weekly usage, or tap Day to see an overview of your daily usage.
Set up Digital Wellbeing on Android
Android has a feature called Digital Wellbeing that gives you screen time information. To find Digital Wellbeing as an app, open it in your Settings app and enable it Show icon in the apps list. The first time you access Digital Wellbeing, you need to set up your profile.
- Open your phone’s Settings app.
- Crane Digital wellbeing and parental controls.
- Under Your Digital Wellbeing Tools, tap Show your data.
Health experts say we should limit our screen time to 2 hours or less a day, not counting work or school. This includes time spent watching TV and playing video games.
Put your phone down
Research suggests that too much screen time changes children’s brain development, and that’s a major concern for parents. But it doesn’t just affect children. Too much screen time also affects your mood, sleeping patterns and eating habits.
Here are some tips to reduce screen time and enjoy more time outside and with friends and family.
Set limits on app usage on iOS
Away from your phone? You don’t have to lock it in a safe. Your iPhone has settings to reduce how much you use it while keeping it close by in case you really need it:
- Go to Settings > Screen Timethen tap “Enable” Screen time.
- Select Get on on the next page and tap This is my iPhone. (REMARK: There is an option to select This is my child’s iPhone if you want to set it to theirs.)
- Crane interruptionand then slide the switch next to planned to the right to turn it on. Enables downtime for the time period you selected. A downtime reminder appears 5 minutes before it starts.
- Select Every day or Adjust daysand then set the start and end time.
Only calls, messages, and apps that you allow during downtime are available. Evaluating screen time regularly will help you know when to set your limits.
We understand it. You probably need access to certain apps throughout the day for work or other important things. Fortunately, you can set limits for app categories or individual apps in iOS:
- Go to Settings > Screen time > App limits > Add limit.
- From here, select as many app categories as you want or download them all at once by selecting All apps and categories.
- To select individual apps, tap a category to see all apps in the category, then select the apps you want to restrict.
- Crane Next one and set the time limit. Set an amount of time for each day by tapping Adjust days.
- Crane Add when you’re done.
You may also like this: How to use iPhone sleep mode – and why it’s better than Do Not Disturb
Restrict apps on Android
Android’s Digital Wellbeing app lets you set app timers and schedule display changes. You can limit how much time you spend in individual apps:
- Open your phone’s Institutions app.
- Crane Digital wellbeing and parental controls.
- Press graphic.
- Tap next to the app you want to restrict Set timer.
- Choose how much time you can spend on that app. Then tap set.
You can also set notifications for individual apps:
- Open your phone’s Institutions app.
- Crane notifications > App settings.
- below Most recent, find apps that recently sent you notifications. Crane All apps to see more.
- Tap the app you want to mute.
- Enable or disable the app’s notifications.
Keep reading
The impact of technology on our body
How to finally stop your social media scrolling habit