Reduce your consumption of screens with this app from Stanford University – Atresmedia Commitment

Excessive exposure to screens brings with it what is known as cyberfatigue. Tiredness, boredom, laziness and frustration are some of the consequences of hyperconnection. In this sense, a study carried out by the Queensland University of Technology (Australia) reveals that the use of mobile phones can cause loss of sleep, anxiety, decreased productive capacity, increased driving risk and ailments. In conclusion, it becomes imperative to find formulas to reduce the time we spend with electronic devices. Especially with the mobile phone. To reduce the dose of screens, there are a series of very practical recommendations. But you can also put limits on this panorama by using the smartphone itself as a tool for this purpose. Screentime genie, the Stanford University app to reduce screen consumption Screentime genie (something like screen time genius), is an application developed by a group of researchers from the Stanford University Behavior Design Laboratory ( California, United States). The team, led by Dr. BJ Fogg, created this platform to help connect users with a variety of existing solutions to tailor their screen time. This initiative was born in 2019 in a Behavior Design for Screen Time class taught by Dr. BJ Fogg. Since its launch, it has helped thousands of people reduce unwanted exposure to devices, saving its users some 14,000 hours of procrastination. For now, it is a web version. But currently the team is fundraising for cross-platform integration, creating a mobile app, machine learning modules, and other experiments to improve its performance. Its goal is, according to its website, to save humanity billions of wasted hours and become the clearinghouse for effective and ethical solutions to screen addictions and digital distractions. They aim to transform the collective relationship with digital devices to foster productive, healthy and intentional screen time. How does Screentime genie work? First, you must access https://screentime.stanford.edu/. Once there, your ‘genie’ will appear, promising to make all your screen-related wishes come true. In a chat-like conversation format, the genius asks you questions that you have to answer. From your name and your email (only to send you your results, without any other use of your information), to what your priorities are regarding the use of screens. You must choose from a series of options, such as spending time with your family, improving your quality of sleep, reducing the use of social networks, distractions, improving your mindfulness… You must also mark what your main priority is among the options you choose, as well as what platforms you use (iOS, Android, Chrome…). Finally, the genie will ask you what level of motivation and commitment you have to achieve these goals (low, medium, or high). Based on all the results collected, the application suggests a series of solutions that suit you. These are different tools that you can use to reduce your time on screens and also be productive, aware and without distractions. For example, a Chrome extension that limits the time you spend on email, or a YouTube extension that removes suggestions for other videos related to the one you’re watching. It also gives you advice such as eliminating social networks from your mobile and consulting them only on your computer, logging out of applications after using them or joining an online community to help solve procrastination and discipline problems. Screentime genie is a completely free and secure tool. An excellent example of how technologies can be, in themselves, a solution to promote responsible use of the internet, social networks and screens in general.