In recent years, it has become increasingly important for young people to feel that the time they have is well spent—one area of concern for them is spending too much time online. In the 2022 Nominet Digital Youth Index, almost 20% of young people in London felt somewhat unhappy or very unhappy about the amount of time they spent online.
Changing how much time you spend online is not always easy
One of stem4’s latest surveys showed that up to 1 in 3 12–15-year-olds felt that it was unlikely or highly unlikely that they would be able to reduce their time online. For those aged 19–21, 30% also felt it was unlikely or highly unlikely that they could reduce their time online.
Part of the challenge now is that during COVID-19, and especially in the lockdowns, everything went ‘online online’. Virtual schooling, finding out what was going on, chatting with friends (via Zoom), or relaxing by watching TikTok videos, meant that we might have built habits (something you start to do repeatedly, which then becomes automatic) that we now regret. How often do you reach for your phone without even noticing that you have?
The good news is that you can change this, and feel that you’re in control of your time online.
Here are some ideas that can help you be the master of your devices, games, and apps!
Tips to help you be in control of your time online
1. Let your device be your guide
It may sound strange, but most phones and tablets, both Apple and Android, will have in-built tools to help you! They have information, often under categories such as Digital Wellbeing in the Settings section, that can give you feedback on how much you use your device (e.g., screentime) and what you do on it. Take time to think about this information, and whether you are happy with the feedback. If you want to make changes, you may find your device has support to help you manage what you do. For example, screentime or app-time limits.
2. Focus more
Your device will probably have some functionality called ‘Focus’ or ‘Focus Mode’ in settings that allows you to give yourself space to do something without your phone disrupting you with notifications. Try setting this up to help you sleep better in the first instance, and then consider if ‘Focus’ can help you be more productive too—whether that’s on a work task or even when you just want to relax.
3. People matter
When you are on your device a lot, it may not just be affecting you. When we’re looking at a screen, we can’t look at anything or anyone else, which can be tough on those around us. Try to find out if your time online is affecting your in-person friendships or relationships. You might also want to share with someone if you feel their online time leaves you too much on your own. Being able to talk about screentime can strengthen your friendships.
4. Don’t anxiously check
It’s tough at the moment, when there is so much stressful news, to resist the urge to keep watching or scrolling through it. And yet, in the end, most of what you read or watch will be way outside of your control and too much checking or ‘doom scrolling’ will only make you more anxious or low. So, unless there is news about something you yourself must do (like when we were learning the rules of lockdown during COVID-19), give yourself a break, and try to only check the news a few times a day, no more.
5. Trust yourself
During COVID-19, we all got used to finding out about everything online. You may have even become over-reliant on what people are liking or sharing in order to find out what was going on or what was trending. Perhaps even their reviews took first place when you were making up your own mind on something. But despite what the technologists say, there is no algorithm, no influencer, and no AI that can know you better than you know yourself. So, hold onto YOUR values, even if they’re different from the crowd, because if you follow your nose, whatever happens, you will gain wisdom from it. If all of your decisions are just made for you from something you search for online, and are in the hands of others, you will miss opportunities to grow and become more confident.
For more tips and support for online wellbeing, check out stem4’s other blog posts on digital wellbeing.
