What Is the Right Amount of Time to Spend on Your Phone and why?

How Much Time Should You Spend On Your Phone

Scientists say that the immoderate use of cell phones is probably connected with certain health effects. The most horrible consequence is the positive relation between cell phones and cancer. Despite the controversial data, modern researches suggest that there is a certain threat from using cell phones too much.

For example, it is claimed that people who talk several hours on their phone are 50% more likely to develop brain cancer. Scientists estimated that when talking on the phone the brain receives about 220 electromagnetic impulses every minute which is not immediately harmful but might affect the brain functionality in a long time. Recent studies report that apart from two types of cancer mobile devices may cause, they affect our nervous system too.

Radio waves from phones are known as the root of headaches, decreased attention, shortness of temper, sleep disorders, and depression, especially among teenagers. But they are not the only reason for such complaints. Nowadays, people are most of the time busy with their smartphone and may experience lack of personal contact, a habit that creates and exacerbates mental problems in the modern era.

Not to mention, the possibility of becoming addicted to our smartphones that make headlined every day. Besides, prolonged use of phones is proved to be harmful to eyes and exposes pregnant women and kids to some certain risks. So, it’s strongly recommended that people reduce the usage of cell phones. But you may ask what is the right amount of screen time for me?

Actually, there is no neat and clear answer to this question but we should try to limit our screen time as much as possible. The reason is that people are different and they use their phones for different purposes. Some use their phones solely for entertainment, others rely on their phones to communicate, support their customers and some experts such as artists and engineers need it for their tasks.

However, it doesn’t mean spending 5 hours a day for gameplay or social media is just O.K. Compare this with 40 working hours in a week, 7 hours of sleep each night, and a few hours we need every day for the personal care. What if you cut down your screen time outside of work just a quarter? That gives you an extra 4.5 hours per week to socializing, relaxing, being with your family or pursuing your goals in life, and improves your physical and mental health as well as lowering the risk of getting brain cancer.

As it’s said, “The mobile phone is a good servant but a bad master”. We are too dependent on our mobile phones these days. For every small bit of information, we need, we just google it without actually thinking about it for a minute or so. Many of us use mobile phones first thing in the morning and last thing before they go back to sleep. Spending time on the phone is not bad, but these days we use it a lot for much unproductive stuff like scrolling endlessly on Instagram and Facebook, playing games and chatting with our friends, etc. Social media apps are only for making a friendly relationship and bonding, not to spend your whole day behind it.

Although not all scientists are unanimous about the claims, a new study has shown that the ideal screen time is about one hour a day. The research reported that spending too much time looking at screens makes teens unhappier, but if they spent just less than an hour using the technology, the opposite was true. Nonetheless, a complete lack of screens doesn’t necessarily lead to satisfaction. In reality, the way you use your smart devices is more important than how long you use them, anyway, spending too much on screens is not recommended. Here are some tips to help you estimate how much screen time is best for you:

  1. The golden rule for screen time is that like anything in the should take it under your control and don’t allow this loyal server to become your master.
  2. The second rule is shorter but not less important: “Shorter is Better”.
  3. If you’re using your phone as an eBook reader them, you can spend an equal number of hours reading paper book with doing so on your phone.
  4. If you have substituted watching films on TV with streaming services on your phone, you can allocate the same amount of time for screen use.
  5. If you no longer read newspapers and use apps to get news, add the equivalent time accordingly.
  6. Add the time you need for other online tasks like paying bills, transferring money, or e-learning.
  7. Don’t forget to allocate time to hang out with friends on social media.
  8. If you use your phone for professional purposes, calculate and add the time required too.

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