Teenage mobile phone use is becoming increasingly more difficult to limit, as peer pressure encourages social media use and various methods of communication and work go digital. While phone use is almost unavoidable, it is considered to have a negative impact on adolescent behavior and quality of life, promoting a sedentary lifestyle, harming self-esteem, and resulting in anxiety.
In a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, about 42% of teens surveyed said they believed that phones make it harder for them to learn good social skills, likely due to the limited tone and facial expression that comes across through texting or social media.
Additionally, nothing on the internet can ever be permanently erased or deleted, creating a dangerous threat of a digital footprint that can follow a teen through important evaluations such as college applications or hiring processes.
Despite the negative effects of mobile phones, however, they aren’t going anywhere, and they can be beneficial to our lives in moderation.
Here are our top 10 ways to limit phone use for teens and kids to protect their mental and social health while still allowing them to feel included and connected.
1. Model Behavior
We know it’s difficult for all of us to stay off our phones, but modeling behavior is extremely effective in setting expectations for our kids. One helpful strategy is a Family Technology Plan, where the family can set a list of technology guidelines or rules to abide by, and ensure that every family member follows them, including the adults. This could look like having a designated chunk of time to be phone-free, having locations in the house where phones are not allowed, or setting a maximum screen time that every family member must stay under. Phones can be a negative distraction for all of us, so it’s important to walk the walk when setting these expectations with children.
2. Phone-Free Zones
Whether it be the dinner table, the bedroom, or the bathroom, places at home where phones are not allowed can help to limit phone use for teens. By choosing places that everyone must be present and offline, parents can encourage their teens to focus on the people around them or the task they are doing, rather than scrolling through social media.
3. Physical Alarm Clocks
Using physical alarm clocks instead of setting alarms on your phone can limit that morning scroll before getting out of bed. Alarm clocks eliminate the initial reach for a phone in the morning and help us to get out of bed and start the day much quicker. Additionally, by starting the day without scrolling on your phone, there is less of a desire to continue scrolling where you left off in the morning, which can make it easier to limit phone use throughout the day.
4. Hands-On Activities
Another way to get kids and teens off their phones is to promote activity that requires focus or active participation. One strategy for this is by creating an “Activities Menu” that includes all of the family’s favorite things to do. Whether it be board games, card games, cooking together, or whatever you can imagine, it is important to be equipped with lots of activities that encourage putting phones away.
Pro-tip: Schedule a weekly routine, i.e. game night, so everyone can plan their phone activity around it.
5. Screen Time Limits
Placing screen time limits on phones is another effective way to forcibly limit phone use. By navigating to the screen time tab in the settings app on iPhones and setting specific limits on apps or contacts, certain apps or conversations are automatically locked after they’ve been used for a set amount of time. You can also set an optional passcode in the screen time tab so that the screen time cannot be overridden by the phone user if they don't know the passcode. If you want to lower the amount of time your kids spend on the phone, but other strategies don’t seem to be working, screen time limits might be a perfect tool!
Pro-tip: Set the screen time limits in the user's phone rather than using parental controls as parental controls can cause other unwanted accessibility issues.
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6. Camp
Summer camp is a great way for kids and teens to stay active and be distracted from phones. By providing lots of hands-on activities and a way to make new friends, summer camp is a great way to remove phones for most, if not all, of the day.
7. "Playdates"
Another great way to get kids off screens is to have them spend quality time with friends. In an ideal world, parents should not need to arrange playdates for their tweens and teens. However, whether it's the adverse effects of the pandemic or the nature of the digital world they now live in, kids are not as proactive about spending time with their friends IRL (in real life.) Parents may need to intervene to help plan in person visits to each other’s houses, the park, the beach, bowling, etc.
8. Quality Family Time
Similarly to playdates, spending quality time with family highlights the importance of getting off phones in order to truly appreciate who you are surrounded with. By making intentional efforts to spend more time with family without using phones, parents can help their children realize how good it feels to appreciate company in real life, rather than online. Some of our favorite activities that keep everyone off their phones are going to amusement parks, skiing, and seeing live performances.
9. Outdoor Activities
Spending time outdoors is also an amazing way to take a break from screens. Going to the beach, a park, or even a simple walk can give everyone’s brains a break from the algorithms that they’re used to. Fresh air and some sun are fantastic ways to enjoy phone-free time, and outdoor activities are the perfect way to take advantage of the summer weather, too!
10. Grayscale
By adjusting accessibility settings on a phone, the screen can be put in Grayscale mode. This mode is extremely useful in limiting screentime because it is designed to eliminate the hyper-stimulating colors that keep people hooked on their phones. By putting your teens and kids’ phones on Grayscale, the addictive nature of the screen is weakened, encouraging them to spend less time scrolling.
Pro-Tip: To set Grayscale on a phone, navigate to the Settings app's Accessibility tab, go to Display & Text Size, then click Color Filters, toggle the switch on, and select Grayscale.
