In today’s modern society, adults around the world are spending more time than ever before looking at screens. Screen time can take up a lot of the day as people work remotely from home, browse their mobiles, and play the latest games.
Many adults now use a variety of devices to game online, whether it’s using consoles for multiplayer games or laptops for gambling on online slot games. As devices and screens have become such a big part of daily routines, there are many of us who maybe forget to switch off once in a while.
Highlighted in an article on Psychology Today, market research group Nielsen estimated that the average adult spends more than 11 hours each day interacting with types of media. While screen time can be beneficial, too much of it can also start to negatively impact our lives.
Some of the negative effects of too much screen time can include eye strain, headaches, and losing sleep. It’s all too easy to play the latest game releases into the early hours when you get ahead of yourself. It’s therefore important to acknowledge when it’s time to stop using screens and take a break.
Having a healthier relationship with console gaming
There are many fears about the effects of too much screen time on adults, including the impact that it has on sleep. Screen time on a night, especially when you are in bed, can prevent you from falling asleep and instead activate your mind rather than calm it down for sleep. If going on consoles or mobile devices is the first thing you do in the morning or the last thing you do at night, then it might be time to take a step back and rethink your gaming habits.
Whether it’s playing Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Cyberpunk 2077, or Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, a lot of gamers like to see their stats when they regularly play games. Luckily, the PlayStation 5 includes playtime stats that records user data and can show gamers how many hours they spend on a game.
Features like this are valuable for gamers who like to thoroughly complete games as it will show their percentage progress towards game completion. Features like this can also help gamers or parents track the amount of time that’s being played for those who want to be mindful of screen time.
Break the sedentary behaviour
Whether you are bingeing a tv show on Netflix, watching Twitch live streams, or working from home, it’s important to take regular breaks away from devices and screens. Prolonged gaming sessions can impact your physical health and impact posture, eyes, and hands. Even professional gamers and esports competitors need to know the importance of taking breaks when gaming. Sitting down for long periods of time should also be broken up by walking somewhere to get the legs moving.
Take longer breaks
There are many ways that gamers can take short breaks from gaming such as hitting the pause button and using the 20-20-20 rule. Using this rule to take a break every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds can help reduce eye strain, but longer breaks than this are also necessary too.
Sometimes a five-minute breather is not enough, so getting up to make a drink or stepping outside can be a beneficial habit to get into in order to establish a better relationship with screens.
Utilise screen time restrictions
If mobile gaming is more your style, on Candy Crush Saga, or PUBG Mobile, then gamers can also utilise screen time restrictions that are on mobile devices. For example, modern Apple devices have a Screen Time feature that allows people to set app limits and schedule downtime.
Perhaps you want to avoid using your phone at bedtime or you want to limit the amount of time you spend on your favourite mobile game. These settings can help you take some well needed time away from your mobile.
Gambling responsibly and knowing when it’s time to quit
The online gaming world covers a lot of areas and can cover playing console games, mobile games, and online games. Another genre of popular games to play that is available on both mobile and online are online slot games from iGaming operators.
With many adults taking part in gambling today, it’s important for them to also understand when it’s time to take a break from online gaming, from their screens, and from gambling.
Regular breaks are important to prevent eye strain and get the body moving more, but are also even more important when gambling. Spending too much time gambling on a regular basis can greatly impact a person’s physical and mental health and their finances. Responsible gambling is all about playing smart, recognising when it’s time to stop, and knowing never to chase losses.
Gambling operators have a social responsibility to protect people from gambling harms. Responsibility for players is important in the world of online gambling, therefore most online casino websites have a section dedicated to safer gambling advice and information for their players.
Use time out features for temporary breaks
Like with other types of games, when gamblers are playing casino and slot games it can be really easy to lose track of time. So if players would like to take a temporary break from gambling, they can apply for a time out to be put on their online casino accounts. These short periods between 1 day and 6 weeks can help gamblers to keep their gambling and screen time at healthier levels without the need for players to permanently close their accounts.
Consider self-exclusion for longer periods of time
If adults are unable to refrain from gambling, there are also ways that they can take a longer break from it. There is a range of useful gambling blocking software online that can help players self-exclude for a longer period of time.
Tools like BetBlocker are easy to download and activate and can let players set their own gambling restrictions. If a large amount of screen time is taken up with online gambling, players could use this tool to self-exclude themselves from gambling websites for a number of days, weeks, months, and years, or even forever.
Adopt the ‘Bet Regret’ attitude
To help limit the amount of time someone spends gambling, there are also campaigns to help people reduce app time and rethink their betting.
A campaign currently being run by BeGambleAware is Bet Regret, which encourages gamblers to tap out and take a moment to avoid bet regret. Some people have used this mentality to come off betting apps when they’re about to place a bet and do something else while they think things through. Tips from this campaign can help people get their betting in check and also reduce the amount of time they spend on gambling apps.
