Think about how much can get done in four hours. Four hours looks like watching two feature-length movies and still having an hour left. Four hours is roughly 60 percent of a school day. Four hours is a flight to Chicago, a drive to Lake Tahoe (with traffic), or a walk to San Francisco from Oakland and back. Four extra hours in the day would make it much easier to balance work, errands, and leisure. There is a way to materialize an extra four hours into the day; healthy screen habits.
Media outlets, parents and professionals frequently discuss unhealthy relationships with technology, leaving little room for discussion of what healthy phone habits look like. Sophomore Heiko Sexton-Boer thinks he has an idea.
“I got this app, it not only gives me a limited amount of uses [for apps]. I can open each app eight times for a total of five minutes [each], so I have 40 minutes total,” Sexton-Boer said.
The app Sexton-Boer uses, called ScreenZen, is designed to help people place limits on their screen usage by setting their own restrictions, with the app enforcing them.
Sexton-Boer said he realized things needed to change when he logged 16 hours of screen time across a two day period. That’s the equivalent of driving to San Diego and back.
“There’s no way I should be spending a third of my weekend on my phone,” Sexton-Boer said.
Having a limited number of uses makes Sexton-Boer think about his screen time more economically.
“Sometimes I think about ‘do I want to use [my phone]’ during passing period, and then I realize I want to use my screen time later,” Sexton Boer said. “When I get home, I’m like, ‘maybe I’ll use two of my uses and then I’ll start my homework.’”
Before opening any app, ScreenZen will ask the user if they want to go ahead and open the app, giving them the ability to reconsider.
“I think these apps that I would spend four hours a day independently on, I’m now getting it down to 40 minutes,” Sexton-Boer said.
UC Berkeley freshman and PHS Class of ‘24 graduate Peter Stokes has a different approach that’s more extreme -a flip-phone.
“Once you get to college, you have a lot more time alone. The distractions really add up, for me, Instagram became a really big problem,” Stokes said.
Stokes uses a Cat S22 Flip, a higher end flip phone than other “dumber” phones available. The phone uses the android operating system, can download apps, and has a touchscreen. Despite its similarity to a regular cell phone, Stokes doesn’t view it as such.
“A lot of people call it a fake flip-phone. But with a screen this small, you get much less dopamine from the phone,” Stokes said.
Stokes’ view of his phone has transformed since he got it.
“When I think about my phone now, I just think ‘I need to call someone,’ ‘I need to text someone,’” Stokes said. “It does actually have Instagram, but I mainly use it for group chats. But it reverted my phone back to being just my main means of communication, as compared to a device you use for all of your things.”
Before Stokes’ made the switch, he’d average four hours or more on his iPhone. Now, he doesn’t exceed an hour per day, which helps him manage his busy schedule.
Stokes said he’s taking 15 units this semester. Additionally, he runs a demanding car club that meets three or four times a week, while also pledging to a fraternity. Stokes doesn’t think any of that would be possible without his decreased screen time.
Stokes swears by the switch as an effective solution.
“I would say definitely, if it’s a problem for you, I would make the switch,” Stokes said.
However, Stokes also cautions that switching to a flip-phone is a severe measure.
“It’s a pretty cold turkey method, and it takes a lot of dedication,” Stokes said.
Although more extreme than ScreenZen, the success of either method comes down to one factor; the self. Bad screen habits won’t just magically disappear once you acknowledge you have a problem, it’s up to you to take the first step and be willing to live, even if for only a few minutes, without a phone.
