Screen Time for College Students

    Technology has become even more prevalent in education in the past year in ways that we may have never imagined it to.  In February 2020, if you had told me or any of my classmates that one month later the only way we would be able to attend class would be virtually, we probably would’ve thought you were crazy.  However, COVID-19 managed to make that crazy thought a reality.  One day we were leaving for spring break, a week later we’re told that we get an “extra week of spring break,” and then the next week we’re told that the university, along with every other school in the country, would not be holding face-to-face classes for the rest of the semester.  All of our class meetings were now held over Zoom, discussion posts became the one of the only ways of communicating with our peers, and all of our assignments were turned in using technology.  I was one of the “lucky” ones.  My adjustment to online classes was pretty simple, since three of my classes were already fully online, one of them already offered a Zoom option for students who couldn’t make it to class, and the fifth class was one that could be taught through PowerPoint slides and didn’t require any virtual meetings.  

            College students all over the world have had to learn how to adjust to their education being taught almost fully, if not fully online.  Multiple pinned tabs for different homework websites and new accounts created for each of them.  But when does the technological aspect of school become too much?  I thought about how much screen time I have for school-related purposes during a week:

1.     Discussion posts: 45 minutes

2.     At least 4 math assignments: averaging about an hour for each

3.     1 journal entry: about 30 minutes

4.     Reading articles: about 1 hour

5.     Looking at a screen in class: about 8 hours

These all add up to about 14 hours of school-related screen time each week.  Of course, this does not include additional projects or assignments that vary from week to week.  Sometimes it feels like I never get a break from my laptop or do anything school related without technology.  I never go to sleep anymore without charging it in fear that I will unexpectedly need it at some point the next day in class.  This time spent looking at a computer screen can really start to mess with your eyes and your head.  For example, just earlier this week I was working on assignments for what seemed like several hours throughout the day.  By the time I was finally finished, I had such a bad migraine that I couldn’t even look at my phone long enough to watch a TikTok, and all I wanted to do was go to sleep so that I could close my eyes.  Sometimes I wish school would go back to how it used to be.  Most assignments were done on paper and articles were usually paper copies that were handed out to read, rather than everything being on a computer screen.  I also think there is a correlation with how distracted I am while doing homework on a computer versus on paper.  When I do homework on my computer, I am easily distracted by notifications that pop up or ads on websites, which lead me to spend more time on my computer and leading to even more screen time.

            The recommended screen time per day is two hours.  My screen time every day is much higher than what is recommended.  Based on my average from earlier, I spend about 2 hours looking at a screen everyday (including weekends).  Outside of school, I use my phone for social media and to play games to pass time.  I also use a computer screen at the restaurant where I work.  Staring at a computer screen (especially while focusing on reading articles, typing an essay, or taking notes during a lecture), causes you to blink less and makes your eyes dry out quicker.  Your eyes can also just become tired from looking at a screen for a long period of time, which can lead to headaches or migraines.  

            It is important for students who spend more than the recommended screen time on a computer to take breaks, turn the brightness down in darker rooms, and to turn on “night mode” if it is available.  Night mode is pretty common in social media.  Turning the whole screen black instead of white takes a lot of strain off of the eyes.  However, some programs that we use for school, such as Microsoft Word, homework websites like WebAssign, and D2L do not always have this mode available, and we are stuck looking at a bright white screen all the time.  Some computers have settings that can either be automatically or manually turned on in darker rooms that causes the white screens to not appear as bright or white to also help prevent eye strain.  There are many other steps that can be followed to help prevent dry eyes or eye fatigue.  However, even following these simple steps can help make a huge difference.