Screen time has recently become a concern for almost everyone, with respect to self-care or parenting.
Yet, the impact of the smartphone age has not affected everyone in the same way.
Unsurprisingly, Gen Z—people born between 1997 and 2012—has been the most affected by this increasing stress caused by screen time and other factors.
Gen Z grew alongside the expanding growth of technology, but it has not been fun all along.
Gen Z has been through a sort of introspection, resulting in some significant changes in how they deal with screen time. These trends indicate the rising popularity of digital minimalism.
The Gen Z Adventures with Screen Time
Despite existing generalizations about screen time and Gen Z, ExpressVPN’s survey on limiting tech for mental health among different demographics has revealed some interesting insights.
First, only 14% of Gen Z across the US and Europe are comfortable with their current screen time, meaning that the other 86% of Gen Z are striving to reduce their screen time. Conversely, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers tend to have missed that introspection.
Of course, the struggle to reduce screen time hasn’t been easy. Multiple factors, including FOMO (fear of missing out) and social pressure, prevent most Gen Zers from achieving their goals.
Yet, one cannot underestimate the booming appreciation of digital minimalism.
Digital Minimalism: What, Why, and How?
Digital minimalism refers to a deliberate attempt to spend less time with digital spaces. For some, this trend of minimalism may also mean increased in-person interactions.
For many other Gen Zs, this goal of reducing screen time is a way to reduce stress and improve mental health while doing so.
As revealed in the survey, 43% of Gen Z trying to cut down screen time are doing so to improve their mental health and productivity.
An equal part of the demographics wants to reduce the stress and anxiety that comes along with increased screen time and codependency with social media platforms.
The positive feedback that digital minimalism has received from early adopters has also contributed to the trend’s growth. 43% of digital minimalism practitioners seem to have found a positive impact on their lives and societal transactions.
More importantly, there are no stringent rules regarding digital minimalism. While people share the goal of cutting down on screen time, we see multiple ways to achieve this goal. For instance, some Gen Zs allocate specific periods for spending time on their smart devices.
Others use apps and built-in tools to monitor and restrict screen time. For most Gen Z, the habit of digital minimalism is codependent with more meaningful interactions in their professional and personal realms.
Digital Minimalism Doesn’t Mean Anti-Tech
Like minimalism, which is often mistaken for anti-materialism, some people think of digital minimalism as a stance against technology. This, however, cannot be farther from the truth.
Digital minimalism, on the other hand, means choosing quality time with tech over spending too much time with digital devices.
This transition may mean reducing a screen time of 6 hours to a relatively lower 3 hours. It may also mean focusing less on social media platforms and content that induces mental health issues like stress and anxiety.
The Future
As more people consider digital minimalism as a way to address the negative impact of screen time, content creators and sharing platforms should also optimize their strategy.
The core objective must be to give quality-rich content without increasing the span for the sake of screen time.
With this approach, the entire project of digital minimalism can benefit everyone and their mental health.