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Screen-Time Isn’t an Accurate Representation of Your Time
How to stop feeling guilty when you see those high numbers.
The other day I was studying my phone screen time with increasing dread. Four hours one day. Five hours another. Six hours before that.
I couldn’t believe the hours I was seeing on the screen. What was I doing spending so much time on my phone? Was I really wasting that much time?
“Which apps am I using too much?” I thought. I scrolled down to find the information, afraid I’d spent two hours on Twitter or something similar, but as soon as I realized what app was at the top, I rolled my eyes.
It was Spotify. I’d used it for over an hour.
My guilt disappeared immediately. I’d been listening to music on Spotify while I was writing and working. The only reason it’d accounted for so much of my screen time was that I always leave my phone unlocked.
I went back to the other days to see what else I’d been supposedly wasting time on. One Saturday, I spent an hour and a half on Hulu — but I hadn’t even been watching it. We were babysitting my two-year-old cousin and while she played, she wanted to watch Sesame Street. I’d left my phone unlocked.
