Technology prof offers advice to reduce screen time

It's something we use everyday but too much isn't always a good thing.

Numerous studies point to problems when you spend too much time in front of a screen everything from damaging your eyesight to negatively affecting your mental health.

While putting down your smartphone or tablet may sound easy, many struggle to reduce the amount of time they spend in front a screen.

"You can have too much of anything in your life," Aaron Langille, a computer science professor at Laurentian University said.

"Once it starts to interfere with relationships, your work, day-to-day routines then definitely you can have too much technology."

Langille says if you're starting to feel overwhelmed by your technology use, limit the number of notifications you receive.

"Find the applications that are bothering you the most and turn the notifications off," he suggests.

"Almost every application can have a notification setting that says 'do not notify me.'"

He says by not receiving constant notifications, you're more likely to keep your hands off your phone.

"Most of us don't turn our phones over if it's not doing anything," he said.

"We tend to leave them alone when they're quiet. Kind of like babies when they're quiet, just leave them alone."

As for the benefits of taking time off from technology, Langille says he's done it and he's seen success when his children have as well.

"They rediscovered colouring," he said.

"They rediscovered Playdough. They rediscovered toys in their rooms that were in a corner that they had forgotten about."

Langille also says when evaluating your technology use, to remember the amount of time you spend in front of a screen is just as important as what you are doing.

"A lot of places that talk about good technology use is about the quality of what you're doing," he said.