As a tech reporter, I’ve probably spent too much time with devices over the years, but I always tried to put in place some boundaries: no phone at the dinner table, no checking work Slacks after a certain hour and limiting screen time for my kids.
But this year, to quote a beloved New Yorker cartoon, “I can’t remember — do I work at home or do I live at work?” I went from sneaking work messages on my phone during my son’s remote learning class to setting up laptop workstations, like we’re co-workers, in the living room.
“I’ve been glued to my phone all year — like so many people,” said Joanne McNeil, author of “Lurking: How a Person Became a User. ” “But this holiday, I’m rolling back my social media and email usage.
And that doesn’t include the time we spent glued to a TV screen, or doing online classes and taking meetings on a laptop.
The stats hint at just how integral screens became to our lives in 2020 — and how much a years-long tech industry effort to moderate time spent on our devices was undermined by an incredibly turbulent year.
But psychologists and industry watchers generally offered words of comfort around screen time; it’s OK if you or your kid leaned on technology more than usual in 2020.
