The average teenager spends seven hours and 22 minutes per day on screens, according to a 2026 report by Exploding Topics, a data research and trend-analysis website. Zooming out, that adds up to more than 50 hours each week and about 112 full days in a year. Class after class, night after night, latched to laptops and iPhones; so much of our lives is spent staring at a little box.

A lot of it is necessary: writing papers, reading the news, communicating with friends and family. Devices have become our means of connecting and interacting with the world around us. They are everywhere; even during lunch, there are so many screens out, even when we are surrounded by our friends and peers.

We tell ourselves that this is harmless. However, pulling out your phone for a quick break between homework quickly turns into hours lost. All of a sudden, it’s dark outside, and the whole day has gone to waste.

But this isn’t just a time problem. It’s about attention as well. The more we scroll, the less we can tolerate stillness. Reading is slower, and homework is harder. Even watching a movie feels like a full commitment. Our brains get used to this kind of constant stimulation. Everything else feels dull or slow in comparison. Social media is designed to be addictive, to draw us in and keep us there.

We’ve even given it a term, the “doomscroll.” The name gives it a fitting, ominous feeling. There’s no clear end, no easy way to stop ourselves.

To stop this, to swim against the ever-growing tide of screen time, we need to actively choose to turn our devices off.

It’s all about balance. Screens and digitalization are the future; there isn’t any turning back now. But give yourself a limit. Be present whenever possible. Schedule more time to be around friends and family without needing your devices.

We don’t need more hours in the day; we just need to stop losing the ones we already have.