Are you getting enough downtime?

In their recent study, The Global Media Landscape, research firm GWI revealed that the amount of time people aged 16-64 with internet access are spending connecting with content has risen from 7.5 hours per day in 2012 to 12.4 hours in 2021.

Just to be clear, that’s just over 50% of a typical day spent reading, watching, listening or gaming via traditional or digital media channels and devices. And it does not seem to include time spent staring at screens at work or for personal email.

Wow.

Even allowing for the fact that some of this time overlaps e.g. social media and almost any other activity, this is a staggering figure. Assuming 7 hours sleep per night, that leaves just 4 to 5 hours per day being awake and not engaging with content in some form.

I’d love to end with a sanctimonious comment about how I’ve changed my life to avoid falling into this habit of always being connected, but I’m just as guilty as everyone else. So, I’m going to change one thing: moving forward, when I go for a walk I’m not going to put my headphones in, I’m going to appreciate my surroundings and let my mind wander.  

Why not do the same?