Managing Your Screen Time While Staying Home Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

Worried About Increased Screen Time Think About Its Quality

Step away regularly make sure you re engaging with others and educate yourself

Getty Images You thought you were spending way too much time on your smartphone, tablet, computer and television before the . Now that you're forced to stay home, you're probably spending even more time sitting down with these screens. Think about it. You're glued to your electronics to connect remotely with clients, colleagues and customers. Or you're consuming mindless entertainment just to avoid going stir crazy. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. And while you also may be on FaceTime, Zoom or other video platforms because that's the only way to “see” family and friends, the real danger to avoid is turning screen time into an addiction.

Look at more than screens daily

5 positive uses of screen time

All the time we spend on screens may come at the expense of other behaviors that are healthier or more beneficial, says BJ Fogg, a Stanford University behavioral scientist and author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Fogg wants to direct people on screens toward more positive pursuits: creativity, learning, nature and relationships. Here are five of Fogg's best uses of screen time for older adults. • Talk live to the people you care most about on FaceTime, Skype, Zoom or other video conferencing platforms. Or text them to share your appreciation and gratitude. • Watch a TED Talk every day. The nonprofit organization claims more than 3,300 talks to “stir your curiosity." • Watch a nature video. You may not be able to escape to the great outdoors, but you might meditate to that video of a babbling brook. • Record a video of stories from your life to share with your kids and grandkids. • Visit the places online that help you nurture your most passionate creative pastimes. During normal times, frequent digital use and time spent in front of a screen often leads to problems. Face-to-face human contact is reduced, and screen time may displace , says BJ Fogg, a behavioral scientist at Stanford University in Northern California. While you may need a crowbar to get devices out of the hands of tweens and teens — ask any parent — a surprising number of older adults cannot seem to tear themselves away from the displays either. Americans age 65 and older spend nearly 10 hours a day consuming media on their computers, smartphones and televisions. About 7 1/2 of those hours is spent in front of the TV. But older adults’ total screen time is 12 percent more than people ages 35 to 49 and a third more than those ages 18 to 34, according to Nielsen market research released in August 2019. "The circumstances of the moment could take someone 50 and older and push them into the behavioral trends that have been plaguing those who are much younger,” says Cal Newport, a computer science associate professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and author of Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. Too much screen time also can result in physical problems: eye strain, insomnia and pain in the neck and shoulders. The fear about digital addiction is real, but the need to increase screen time is a present necessity. "Unfortunately, screens are the best way to navigate and medicate what's going on, regardless of age,” says Gene Munster, a managing partner at Loup Ventures venture capital firm based in Minneapolis and New York. “Where it's most dangerous is an endless scroll through content on Netflix, Instagram” or elsewhere. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > On the plus side: People are using technology to stay closer to . However, playing Solitaire on your iPad all day, becoming hooked on YouTube or working yourself into a frenzy because of the mountain of negative pandemic-related news is just the opposite. Employ technology strategically for a very intentional and specific reason you deem valuable or important, Newport says. "When you are deploying tech just as a psychological pacifier or for distraction or because you're bored, that can take you to bad places,” he says. Technology should allow you to do what you want, not be the objective itself. And unplug before bedtime. If you want to read before bed, try a printed book or magazine. The can rev you up rather than calm you down in anticipation of sleep.

Don t just sit there

If you are on screens a lot, make time to take a break. "After staring at a screen all day, the last thing I want to do is spend more time watching a (bigger) screen,” says Dave Arland, 56, a communications executive in Carmel, Indiana. For Arland, that means sitting down at the piano, something he did more when he was younger. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe More on home-family AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS