TRANSCRIPT

TRT: 5:09

Sean Thompson, CU Student: Yeah dude I’ll open my phone for like five minutes before I do my nighttime routine, and then suddenly it’s like 2 a.m. and I still haven’t gotten ready for bed.

Etienne Dunoyer, Reporter: For some college students, that sort of sleep schedule is routine on a school night. Hello, I’m Etienne Dunoyer. Today, we’re looking at how screen time is reshaping quality of life and sleep for students.

Thompson: Even during the day I’ll go and sit down on the couch and scroll on, like, reels, um, to rest after class, but then I skip workouts, don’t go outside and socialize, and I just feel worse after. It’s like I spend all my day and all night on my phone.

Reporter: More screen time is starting to replace real time. A 2022 study from Harrisburg University found young adults average up to seven to ten hours of screen time a day. That is most of your day watching other people live their lives instead of getting after your own. That’s something Cynthia St. Clair sees often in her work with college-aged patients.

Cynthia St. Clair, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner: I’m a certified, uh, family nurse practitioner and, um, also a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.

Reporter: Have you noticed any patterns in- in, uh, your clients, perhaps, with, uh, social media and their mental health, or, like, loss of sleep, they’ve mentioned?

St. Clair: Um, yes. I have several patients who have to really kind of limit themselves, because they’ve noticed a very direct, or we’ve made a direct connection to their mental health in the time that they spend online and scrolling and on social media. So, you know, we’ll take it down and start to bring them back in time, so if they’re on there for four hours, do three hours a day for a week, and then try to go to two, things of that sort. It’s quite reasonable to only be on social media for an hour to two a day, it is plenty.

Thompson: There’s some nights I literally fall asleep with my phone in my hand. And my TikTok just keeps going until I knock out. During the day I’m busy with classes and work, so at night is like my only time to chill… but then I overdo it.

Reporter: As St. Clair explains, that “chill time” can backfire.

St. Clair: I think people, instead of living their lives and feeling happy and fulfilled in it, they spend their time seeing what other people are doing, and portraying themselves as that online. And if you’re not living a genuine life, and being true to who you are when you look at yourself in the mirror. How do you feel about that? I don’t think anybody really feels settled and good if they’re not living a genuine life, and we’re seeing so much of that right now. Where people are portraying themselves as something they’re not. And, even, even the people doing that, yeah, they are getting other people that are coveting them, and wanting their life, but do they really feel good about portraying that too?

Reporter: It is also interesting to note that St. Clair has heard more social media problems through psychiatry than in general medicine.

St. Clair: In psychiatry, yes. In general medicine, when I work over there, you know, we don’t hear much talk about it much because it… I mean, I’m not hearing about it because it isn’t impacting their lives. Now, I hear about it constantly in my psychiatry practice, where it is, it’s negatively impacting their lives, and they have to… they’re acknowledging it and trying to make those changes.

Reporter: For some students, even small changes can make a difference. Alena Miller recently broke her unhealthy screen habits through little tweaks in her routine.

Alena Miller, CU Student: I actually started putting my phone across the room at night, and it’s been helping a lot. I feel like I fall asleep a lot faster and I don’t wake up as tired. Also, I set a screen time on my phone for social media and I had my roommate choose the password so I can never unlock it.

Reporter: Let’s look into St. Clair’s opinion on how to cut back.

St. Clair: Keep a journal, keep track. That’s what I tell my patients. See, you know, keep a journal! See how much your mood improves by diminishing that as part of your life and part of your existence. I love journaling. It’s the best way to reflect on you, and get a better sense of you, and your reaction, and how you spend your day, and what you thought of that, and just take, really, time to look inward. Instead of turning off your brain to nonsense, All day long.

Reporter: You see, It’s not about quitting phones completely, no one expects anyone to become a monk in a day. But if you struggle with managing time due to screen time, try journaling or setting up a limiter to cut back on use.

Miller: I didn’t realize how much time I was losing until I tried to cut back.

Reporter: I hope this helps if you relate. I’m Etienne Dunoyer, and thank you for listening