Why did I take this challenge?

About a year ago, I found myself caught up in the chaos of modern life, dependent upon screens for work, leisure, and socializing. Gen Z averages around 9 hours of screen time per day (Howarth,2023).I also used to spent 10 hours a day on my screen scrolling   social media apps like Instagram ,YouTube, TikTok .The results were eye strain, sleep problems, and a general sense of unrest. Also, due to excessive usage of mobile phones, it affected my study. Desperate for change, I took on the Screen Break Challenge—a 30-day commitment to minimize screen time and revitalize my mental well-being. 

All it started when I was at home during covid, and all my classes went online. According to the statistics Canada,63% of post-secondary students in Canada were concerned about the effect of the grades due to online study and pandemic. (Knighton et al.).During pandemic also the study was online so all the classes were hosting on meet and zoom.so instead of studying I used to play games on my mobile phone and chat with my friends and not focusing on study. We all know the desks, the boards and the teacher at the front of the room. This is the typical educational system that was created back in the 1800s to produce workers for the Industrial Revolution.

It all went online after the pandemic started. Education largely has stayed the same since then. Yes it has transformed and updated but the premise is still the same. Have a look at the video. It explains the way in which education was founded and it talks about some of the implications today. (RSA,2010).

How did I get to know about the challenge?

So, I was badly addicted to the phone during pandemic, and it affected my overall grades after that I realized that I must turn off all my distractions which was the mobile phone. According to the world bank education 689,709,287 students all around the world lost schooling. (“World Bank Education and COVID-19”).So, I started researching about it on various social media platforms and found that I am not only the one who is addicted to social media apps and mobile phones everyone around the world is facing the same issues. So, then I got to know about the #screenbreakchallenge through Instagram where everyone was posting about the challenge. I saw that everyone has posted about their journey its benefits and the difficulties they faced during this challenge.

How did this challenge help me get rid of the phone addiction?

I used to place my phone under my pillow and scrolling through the social media apps and chatting to my friends was the first thing which I used to do after waking up in the morning. So, I started doing short meditation for 5-10 minutes. At the beginning it was hard to focus but after some days I started feeling refreshed throughout the day due to meditation.

Also to wake me up in the morning I purchased an alarm clock instead of a phone alarm app so that I don’t have to keep my phone near me. I decided to keep my all-electrical devices in the other room so that I don’t use it before going to bed and after waking up in the morning. Restricting mobile phone use close to bedtime reduced sleep latency and pre-sleep arousal and increased sleep duration and working memory. (He et al.). 

Moreover I noticed that notification played an important role in increasing my screen time so I turned off all notification of social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat. To improve my focus in study I allocated 10 minutes break after 50 minutes of study in to reward myself for using a mobile phone. Additionally I also used to watch my mobile phone while having dinner so instead I started having dinner with my family and keep my cell phone in the other room while having lunch and dinner. Families who eat meals together tend to be healthier. Turning off electronics during meals or family time eliminates distractions. Children from families who eat together also show better academic scores. (Ayuob,2021)