- Guest Contributor
- May 14, 2021
Are you concerned about your screen time or even your family members’? You may be right to feel worried that spending too much time staring at your computer or smartphone can cause real health issues. From eye strain to nausea-inducing animated graphics to missing real interactions with family and friends, health experts recommend avoiding excessive screen time whenever possible.
Although you may have no choice but to use a computer at work, you can control how much time you spend on your smartphone outside of work hours. If you think it will be difficult to avoid the temptation to mindlessly scroll, you can always consider deleting some of your apps. Which ones should go? We share some popular recommendations below.
Social Media
If you already have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other top social media sites on your laptop computer, do you really need them on your phone too? Although social media has positive aspects such as connecting people who live miles apart, sometimes it can be too much of a good thing.
When you find your productivity suffering at work or that you have your eyes glued to your phone instead of paying attention to those around you, it may be time to delete the social media apps. Limiting yourself to only using them on your laptop for a certain amount of time each day can help you feel more in control of your life. Technology insiders even claim that deleting Facebook from your phone will speed up its performance.
Pay-to-Play Game Applications
Deleting game apps from your phone that you must pay to use helps to solve two problems: it reduces your screen time and improves your budget. Although there is nothing wrong with occasionally losing yourself in a phone app game, plenty of free versions exist. If you’re bothered by the ads you must sit through on free game apps, it gives you extra motivation to decrease your screen time.
Streaming Services
Streaming services can be convenient because they allow you to watch your favorite television shows and movies anyplace you can pick up a high-speed Internet connection. Like social media, however, too much access to streaming services isn’t always a good thing because it increases your screen time. Whether you prefer live-streaming or on-demand streaming, ask yourself if you really need access to it on multiple devices. If the answer is no, think of how much time you get back in your day to pursue other interests away from your phone.
Maybe you want to limit screen time but just can’t bring yourself to delete any apps. In that case, you may want to download an app that monitors screen time according to the limits you set in advance.
About the Author: Lisa Kroulik has worked as a freelance content marketing writer for 10 years. She loves the work and the lifestyle it affords. Learn more about Lisa’s work and availability through Writer Access.
