Over the last year, a lot of us have logged more screen time than we did in the past, and some more than we’d like to admit.

Don’t feel bad about it. We’re all doing the best we can!

Whether you’re streaming music and podcasts, watching live sports, hitting a triple double diamond slot machine free play, binging a new show or an old favourite, or just doom-scrolling through social media – we get it.

We can’t help your day to day schedule. Everyone has their own responsibilities and busy times and lulls to get through. But, we can try to give you some tips or ideas or things to consider as you use your screen time, without feeling bad about it, or suffering adverse effects.

Multi-task

There are a lot of people that say multitasking is impossible and a myth, and for the most part, they’re right. However, there are exceptions. If you love music and podcasting, you’ve got a lot of multi-tasking opportunities right in front of you.

Put on a new album, an old album, a playlist or a podcast and let it play in your headphones or speakers while you do other things. Having trouble getting the dishes done? Put on a podcast that occupies your mind and try to get one sinkful done. Need to sweep or mop the floor? Put on the songs that make you want to dance and try to tackle one room at a time with the energy you wish you were using to dance with your friends.

If it works, you’ve successfully multi-tasked and you’ve enjoyed your entertainment time without staring at the screen while you did it.

Spend Virtual Time With Friends

Get on a video call, jump on a group chat thread, play a game like Among Us or trivia or vulkanbet games or watch a movie together and enjoy each other’s company.

Is it the same? No. But, being lonely is real in these times and finding any comfort you can in the people you love and miss just might help you.

We offered some suggestions in the opening words of this section… but we have more.

– Start a book club with a group of friends. Read a chapter or a comic or anything and come together to discuss it.

– Brainstorm vacations or activities or things that y’all can do when you get back together safely and happy together.

– Talk about the hard stuff. Look, it’s not easy. We know. But having the people you love just listen a bit, and trust you to share their hard stuff too… that can be really good.

That’s good screen time.

Try Something New

This one has multiple meanings (even our headlines multi-task, take that experts!) for you. You can try something new on Netflix or Disney+ or wherever you stream shows and movies (instead of the ones you’ve watched dozens of times). You can try something new, like a new website with stories and games or to learn where to play for free slot machines. You can try something new in the kitchen with recipes you find online – with your tablet on the counter so you can follow along while you cook.

There are a million things to do on the internet. Try to get your brain firing a little bit (from time-to-time) while you’re online.

It’s not reasonable for anyone to tell you that you shouldn’t find comfort on the internet and any entertainment and connection possible these days. We just want you to find things that you might not have tried yet.

Good luck. Be well.