How Apple's Screen Time Feature Has Affected My Life

Last summer, Apple announced its iOS 12.

“In iOS 12, we’re offering our users detailed information and tools to help them better understand and control the time they spend with apps and websites, how often they pick up their iPhone or iPad during the day, and how they receive notifications,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering.

And so Screen Time came about.

You can locate Screen Time on your iPhone or iPad in the Settings app right above Do Not Disturb. When you go into the setting, you’ll get detailed information about the time you spend on your device.

“We first introduced parental controls for iPhone in 2008, and our team has worked thoughtfully over the years to add features to help parents manage their children’s content,” Federighi said. “With Screen Time, these new tools are empowering users who want help managing their device time, and balancing the many things that are important to them.”

Screen Time includes a graph chart that shows when throughout the day you picked up your phone, including which apps you used the most and how many notifications you received. There is also a chart for how today juxtaposes to the rest of the week, and you get a counter that indicates how you’re comparing to your average usage.

You can also add restrictions with Screen Control for limits of how long you’d like to use your phone for the day.

Screen Time has given me more control and insight into how I use my phone. I am a competitive person. The fact that I’m able to see these measurements, I just try to beat my past week’s score. I like to see my average going down. When I see my average is a bit above, I don’t get angry at myself but I do try to rethink how I used my phone for the day.

On top of this though, I have realized that I try to not go on my phone as often now that I have these statistics. I am more present in the moment. I don’t have games on my phone besides like one or two. I also have seen that I have not gone on social media as much recently.

Screen Time has really helped me become more conscious with how I use my phone. It has allowed me to be tech-savvy but not tech-dependent.