You know how our African parents somehow manage to blame everything on us constantly pressing our phones? Headache? It’s because you’re always on that phone. The Malaria? Must be the screen time. Heartbreak? Probably from one of those social media boys. And as much as I’d love to roll my eyes and chalk it up to the elderly hating on Gen Zs and millennials, I hate to admit — they’re not entirely wrong.
Our smartphones have pretty much become a god to us in this digital world. We wake up to it, fall asleep to it, and carry it everywhere like an emotional support device. It’s bad for our physical, social and mental health—for our overall well-being experts recommend keeping daily recreational screen time under two hours. Yup, just two hours for all your TikToks, endless X scrolling , and Instagram sneaky stalking. Yet, most of us are clocking in way above that, with the global average hovering around six to seven hours daily.
The benefits of reducing screen time go beyond just lowering your screen time report shame. Cutting back can help improve your focus, boost your mood, ease anxiety, and reduce eye strain and headaches. You also sleep better, become more mindful, and discover how much actual free time you have when you’re not trapped in a doom scroll loop. Let’s not even get started on the degenerative things that happen to the brain when screen time is much.
My experience reducing my screen time for one week
Recently, my phone had started to feel like an extension of my body — always there, always within reach. Half the time, I’d pick it up without even realising it. It was muscle memory. Bored? Pick up the phone. Stressed? Scroll X (Twitter). Can’t sleep? Tiktok reels till 2 AM. It didn’t sit right with me. I knew the successful woman I will be wasn’t one to be chronically glued to her phone on apps that wasn’t beneficial in the grand scheme of things.
So I decided to put my screen time addiction into a test: one week of consciously reducing my screen time. Not a total digital detox (because let’s be real, I still have a job as a Lawyer and need my phone to communicate with people in my life. ). This experiment to me. was a mindful attempt to reclaim my time . Going into the challenge, my average screen time was about ten hours and 17 minutes. I made a solid effort to avoid screens outside of work use, and wow, while it was way harder than I expected, limiting my screen time was so worth it.
Monday, Day 1
I woke up feeling super pumped to start this screen time detox. For a brief moment, I was that girl — unplugged, grounded, intentional. But within minutes of being awake, muscle memory took over and before I knew it, my hands reached for my phone and I was back on scrolling away on my usual morning apps— X, Instagram, and iMessage. Don’t judge me. Old habits die very hard.
Once I properly settled into the day, I actually got a handle on it. Being away from my phone made room for things I’d been putting off for way too long. I also spent hours working on little projects that matter to me, and it felt really good — way better than that fleeting dopamine hit I always get from scrolling, followed by the inevitable guilt.
Dinner was a whole other story though. I’ve always considered meal times my little escape, and sadly, that escape usually involves my phone. No matter how much I tried to resist, my eyes were glued to the screen. Baby steps, I guess.
Tuesday, Day 2
I guess being away from my phone yesterday made me really thirst for it today. The second I opened my eyes, I reached for it. No hesitation. And because I thought I didn’t have much to do (which, let’s be real, is never actually true), throughout the day, I kept picking it up for no reason.
At some point, I forced myself to drop my phone and pick up a book. Great idea, that didn’t last for long. The few times I managed to tear my phone out of my hands though, I actually got stuff done. I made good progress designing posts for Green Gals Go, my climate change club for women, and just being productive reminded me why I started limiting my screen time in the first place.
Once I got the ball rolling on working on tasks away from my phone, I was able to successfully drop my phone for the rest of the day. Still, I had already spent so much time earlier on scrolling, the damage was done. I actually felt so bad discovering that my overall screen time was a whole 4 hours higher than it was yesterday. It’s wild how quickly one can slip back into old habits.
Wednesday, Day 3
Ladies, would you believe I didn’t touch my phone from the moment I woke up (around 6 AM) till I got to my NYSC Community Development (CDS) at 11 AM? Not once. I put on my speakers, played some music, and sat/showered/ate breakfast with my thoughts—and the 4 other personalities in my head. It felt sooo refreshing, honestly. And honestly, my morning felt a little softer, a little slower. I noticed how much calmer I was stepping into the day.
At CDS, I barely touched my phone too. Instead, I caught up properly with an acquaintance of mine. And you know those conversations where halfway through you just know this person’s about to be upgraded to friendship status? Yup. That happened.
Today also revealed something big about my screen time habits: my doom scrolling is very anxiety-triggered. I got a work call in the evening that stressed me out a bit, and the moment it ended, I instinctively opened X and started swiping. Before I knew it, an hour had passed. Just like that.
I also caught myself doom scrolling during a phone call with a friend. Once I noticed, I put my phone down and focused on the conversation. Once the call was over, I found myself thinking back to past phone conversations with my friends. And honestly? I realised I have this bad habit of chatting with them while mindlessly scrolling through social media at the same time. It hit me that I haven’t been as present as I thought I was. This day felt like a little wake-up call — a reminder to start honing my active listening skills. No distractions. No half-hearted “yeah, I hear you” while double-tapping posts. Just being fully there, in the moment, with the people I care about.
But here’s the win: despite the slip-ups, my screen time was not only about 5 hours lower than yesterday’s but a personal record since my screen detox journey began.
Thursday, Day 4
Not gonna lie, the novelty of this screen time detox was definitely starting to wear off. I wasn’t as pumped to avoid my phone anymore, and as much as I hate to admit it — my screen time actually went up a little.
That said, I kicked off my morning strong. Music, stretching… no phone in sight. And honestly, knowing I’m slowly getting the hang of staying off my phone in the mornings made me feel kind of powerful. Like, okay girl, we’re doing this.
But by afternoon, the itch hit hard. I had some downtime and, before I knew it, I was back scrolling through X. Here’s the win, though — even while scrolling, I’ve gotten way more conscious of my screen time. I caught myself doom scrolling, paused, and asked, “What exactly am I looking for here?” And then I actually left the app with no hesitation. That’s growth, because old me? Would’ve kept scrolling for hours.
It’s not perfect, but I’m noticing little shifts, and that’s something.
Friday, Day 5
Remember when I said my scrolling is anxiety-induced? Well, case in point. This Friday — which ended up being my second-highest screen time of the week—was the day my Bar Final Exam results were released.
So in the morning when I woke up, I broke protocol and immediately reached for my phone. I needed to head straight to the Law School results portal. The server was down (because, of course it was), and while I waited, I started hopping from app to app, reading comments from fellow bar aspirants who had one or two things to say about this life-changing moment.
Eventually, when the portal finally opened (I passed, guys!!!), I felt a wave of relief, but still my phone stayed glued to my hand for the rest of the day. Why? Because between congratulating my colleagues and replying to the endless “congratulations!” from my friends and family, I had to be chronically online.
Honestly, I think we can give me a pass for this one. Some days are just meant to be spent online, and this was definitely one of them.
Saturday, Day 6
I’m actually super proud of myself for recording my lowest screen time of the week on a weekend—especially because my weekends are usually dedicated to guilt-free bed-rotting and doom scrolling.
By Day 6, I could genuinely feel a shift. I was able to focus deeply on activities in a way I hadn’t with my old screen time habits. Of course, it takes way more than six days to see any serious long-term benefits, but I was already noticing little changes in my attention span.
I watched a full movie without feeling the urge to check for notifications. I hung out with my sisters and totally forgot my phone was in my room—this happened so many times during the day. My phone that normally feels like an organ, I left it behind and forgot that it wasn’t with me. And in a burst of random creativity, I even wrote a short story just for funsies.
Sunday, Day 7
This day was Easter, and as Jesus rose, so did my ability to stay away from my phone. I noticed I was barely on my usual trio of X, Instagram, and TikTok. I did spend a bit more time on WhatsApp, but it was mostly to send Easter wishes and check in on loved ones which felt wholesome, not draining.
By the end of this week, I realised I actually like having less screen time. This little experiment gifted me a bunch of things: the ability to be present, better listening skills, time spent on things that actually meaningful, fewer headaches and eye strains, and new, diverse knowledge from stepping away from my routine apps. And yes it also gave me the slight (and possibly delulu) feeling of being better than everyone else glued to their smartphones (just kidding!)
What was the result of reducing screen time?
My weekly average before reducing my screen time was ten hours and 17 minutes (which, mind you, was down 9 percent from the week before), and during the challenge, it was eight hours and 50minutes (a 14 percent reduction). Previously, my top three apps were X, which had eighteen hours and 49 minutes throughout the week; TikTok, which had seven hours and 37 minutes; and Instagram, which had seven hours and 8 minutes. Now, they are X with ten hours and 5 minutes, WhatsApp with eight hours and 53 minutes, and Instagram with seven hours and 8 minutes.
Our phones have become such a constant part of our lives that unplugging even for a bit feels strange and almost impossible. But honestly, I noticed such a real, positive shift in my life just by reducing the amount of time I spent on mine.Even though this experiment has officially ended, I’ve become way more mindful about how much time I spend scrolling. Going forward, my goal is to cut my average screen time, currently sitting at eight hours and 50 minutes, in half next month. I want to stay more connected to the present and pour more time into things that actually grow me. I want to be a creator as much as I am the viewer. To do this, I plan to make use of the Downtime, App and Communication limits on my Iphone, features I didn’t utilize during this experiment.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love the internet and social media. But if you really think about it, we spend so much of our lives in these carefully curated digital spaces that we start missing out on the unfiltered, joyous messiness of the now. So, if you’ve ever thought about reducing your screen time, I highly recommend trying this experiment. You might be surprised at what you find when you finally look up.
