Fighting Screen Addiction
It's easy—and very common—to develop a screen addiction, especially since many of our careers and personal lives are dependent on access to phones, messaging apps and screen time.
How many hours per day would you say you spend on a smart device?
When I asked myself this question a few months back, my instinctive response was, “It couldn’t be more than a couple of hours a week.” That had to be the case; after all, I’m too busy the rest of the day with other things!
The Wake-Up Call
You can imagine how shocked I was when I woke up one morning to a notification on my iPhone. It cheerfully informed me about the five hours of screen time I had averaged daily over the previous week! The self-reflection that followed revealed that I had been giving my time and attention away too easily to content that added no value to my life.
Why Screen Addiction Is So Common
It's easy—and very common—to develop a screen addiction, especially since many of our careers and personal lives are dependent on access to phones, messaging apps and screen time. In the brain, there is hardly a difference in distinguishing the effects of a screen addiction from an addiction to other substances that are perceived as more dangerous, such as drugs and alcohol. In fact, the effects of a screen addiction can take away as much of our time and health as any substance addiction if we let it. If left unchecked, we could even reach a point where we feel barely functional without our devices.
In addition to general screen addiction, gaming and endless scrolling on social media platforms can be particularly harmful. Time spent gaming or endlessly scrolling through TikTok, YouTube, Instagram or Facebook may not seem significant at first, but it can quickly consume our time and energy in ways that aren’t efficient or fulfilling.
Many games are designed to keep players hooked with rewards, achievements and increasing levels of difficulty, which can create a compulsion to play “just one more round”—often leading to hours of wasted time. Similarly, social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook are designed to keep us hooked with endless feeds of content. The “zombie scrolling” effect, where we mindlessly scroll through videos and posts without even consciously engaging with them, is especially common. The algorithms are crafted to provide content that seems interesting or entertaining at first, but they’re designed to keep us scrolling long after we’ve lost interest or when we could be doing something more productive.
The Consequences of Screen Addiction
Using our time in this way rarely adds value to our lives and often makes us feel more disconnected from reality. In fact, the constant stream of superficial content can be detrimental to our mental health, lowering our attention span, increasing anxiety and making us feel more disconnected from our real lives.
Screen addiction can lead to a number of issues, including fatigue, poor sleeping habits, disruption to the circadian rhythm, shortened attention span, anxiety, depression and even a breakdown of the family.
Biblical Perspective on Time Management
The Bible offers plenty of insight on how to approach this challenge, and there are helpful passages to draw from. However, King David provides perspective on how to manage our time even in a world where our buzzing, flashing screens are constantly fighting for our attention. He wrote: “I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help. I hope in Your word. My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word” (Psalm 119:147-148).
Even with all the pressures, distractions and responsibilities that David had as King of Israel, he still made time to put God first. If we follow David’s example of using our time for a greater purpose, we realize that we cannot spend every spare moment scrolling through social media. Not only is it harmful to our mental health, but it can also be damaging to our relationships and spiritual well-being.
Reevaluate Priorities
When we think we’re “too busy” with all we have to do, are we factoring in time to build our connection with God? Are we making time to nurture our relationships with family and friends and to be present and engaged with them?
As Ephesians 5:16 reminds us, we are to be “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Other translations bring this counsel into sharper focus: “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days” (New Living Translation) and “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (English Standard Version). This reinforces the commitment to make every moment count and to use the time God gives us, especially when distractions are abundant.
If we do not consciously reevaluate our time, it can easily slip away, leaving us drained and disconnected from our deeper priorities. The good news is that with God’s help, we can choose to be more accountable and limit our screen time on a daily basis. It’s completely possible, and it’s a choice we can make every day!
Hannah Styer
