Studies have shown most people fail to realize how much time they spend on their smart phones each day.
Frank and Amelia's family were put to a test, using a free app called "Moment-screen Time Tracker". The Vascellaros—Frank, Amelia, 14-year-old twins Frankie and Joe, and 17-year-old Sam—all said they did not really know they were spending so much time on their phones each day.
"Honestly, I don't feel like I'm on my phone a lot," Amelia Vascellaro said. Amelia was on her phone far less often than Frank, according to the app. While Amelia spent about an hour per day on the phone, Frank spent close to four hours on his phone—which came as a shock to him. The children's times varied but they often spent more than a couple of hours on the phone as well.
Minneapolis-based Dr Kirsten Lind Seal sees phone usage come up a lot among families. Lind Seal said many family members' phone use has become problematic.
"If we hear more than once, ‘Do you have to be on your phone right now? Can you please put your phone down? Did you hear what I said?' it may be a sign that it is negatively influencing our family relationships and our daily lives," she said.
Lind Seal said actually paying attention to how much time one spends on the phone is a good first step in deciding when to put it down.
She asks parents to encourage more face-to-face communication for teens and young adults as they continue developing their social and emotional skills. "What we find is that we are really losing out on empathy—the ability to understand other people's feelings and problems——when we spend a lot of time on our smart phones to communicate with other people," she said.
