Screen time is the term used to describe the amount of time a person spends looking at a screen on a particular day or on the average day. It's not exactly a hard concept to grasp but it's become a big topic since the introduction of the smart phone. Hm, or is it since video games? TV? Actually, has this been a problem since screens invaded homes? Well, phones have definitely made it worse. Billions of man hours have gone into making screen time as compelling as possible. While the exact recipe for this is still debatable it seems to be some mixture of rage bait, humor, information, sex appeal, and weirdness all diced up into chunks about one to a half a minute in length and served up in a random ordering. Or perhaps it's thirty minute video essays, ten minute unboxing videos, or one hundred hour video games. The free market incentivizes the full breadth of possibility be explored.
Of course, time spent on anything is time not spent on other things. Screen time negatively correlates with exercise, socialization, and most activities since it requires the use of one's eyes. Consequently, it is positively correlated with several bad health outcomes both mental and physical. While the couch potato stereotype has been around for decades newer and weirder dysfunctions are cropping up. Sleep disorders, anxiety disorders, the complete implosion of the attention span are all obvious and predictable consequences of living with one hand glued to a phone. The sum of these cognitive impairments and their causes are dubbed brain rot. This is of particular concern among Generation Alpha whose plastic and impressionable young brains are suspected to be the most at risk of spoilage.
While screen time can't be decreased because of FOMO and boredom being worse than death some efforts are underway to mitigate its harms. Red tinting screens or glasses decreases the sleep disturbances brought on by blue light. Usage tracking and limiting apps exist to confront people with the extent of their powerlessness. Various para-social relations will log and report on their own struggles so we don't have to feel alone in ours. Hands will be wrung, studies will be published, and interpretations will be debated. If any resolution is ever reached the glowing rectangle will tell you.
Stay tuned!
IRON NODER XVII: ALL'S FERROUS IN LOVE AND NODING