Guest blog by Josh at techtimeout

pressure for students to be on social media 

Part of being a student is the pressure and opportunity to make new friends and be accepted by other people.  At this crucial stage of a young person’s life, students want to be part of big events and many students have a deep-rooted fear of missing out.  As a result, students tend to be on social media a lot of the time in order to keep up with their peers and find ways to be accepted.  A study of 1043 students found that 38.9% of them displayed symptoms of smartphone addiction.  This can lead to anxiety and depression among other problems.  It has been found, and it is also my own experience, that this can be especially difficult for students who live on campus. Campus based students are surrounded by other students in almost identical circumstances without the distractions of the general outdoor world and a mix of people.

technology plays an important role but…

From my own student experience, I do believe that technology plays a vital role in helping young people to adapt to student life but, in my new placement role at techtimeout I now appreciate that many students need to reflect on how often and how they use technology.  When I was a student I effectively used my phone to work with students on projects and other collaborative tasks. At techtimeout this is also  something we encourage as we help people develop healthier habits to combat social media addiction.

increase time spent on hobbies 

A great way to reduce your screen time is to engage in some offline activities that don’t involve the use of your phone. When I was in university I did Brazilian jiu jitsu four times a week during the evening.  I believe doing this activity prevented me from scrolling on my phone in the evening.  Doing offline activities will help to reduce your screen time and in turn help your mental health.  Participating in different activities and hobbies will also help you to make new friends who have similar interests to you.

student welfare pack to help you develop healthier habits 

We know that saying these things is easy but actually putting them into action takes more effort and commitment.  This is why techtimeout has a student welfare pack which will help you to reduce your screen time.  The welfare pack includes a techtimeout t-shirt, snood, phone grip and the techtimeout10 challenge phone bag.   All these tools will help you start your journey on a better relationship with tech.

The techtimeout10 challenge phone bag can be used for the techtimeout10 challenge.  This is a challenge that encourages you to lock your phone away for a period of time each day for ten consecutive days.  It is entirely your decision as to how long you lock your phone away – it could be 10 or 30 minutes.  The t-shirt can be used for all sorts of physical activities like hiking or cycling. All these items will help you to have a better relationship with technology.