KATHMANDU, May 23: On most days, we are thankful for technology to have offered us the world within our palms but there sure are days when we don’t see technological advancement in the same light. Sometimes, you may feel there is too much information out there, which you don’t feel the need to subscribe to. And sometimes, you may feel like you are a little disconnected from your ‘real self’.  Here are a few tips that can be easily incorporated into your daily lives to help you strike a better balance between your real life and your screen life.

1. Limit screen time
To not fall prey to the millenials’ biggest problem, that of information overload, give yourself specific time brackets within which you are allowed to scroll through the many social media apps like Facebook and Instagram. By restricting the time to access these apps, you will be able to fit other activities into your schedule.

2. Alarm clock
A lot of you would confess to being guilty of checking your phone first thing in the morning. Your big excuse to do so might be that you were only answering the alarm. Nobody knows exactly how the finger taps the app and before you know it, you are on Instagram. To avoid immediate and unnecessary exposure to your phones, replace your phone alarm with an actually physical alarm clock. It’s okay to be a little conventional so long as it is a healthier option, and wakes you up.

3. Pick up the newspaper instead 
It could be true that sometimes you feel a sort of itch in your fingers when you don’t spend time aimlessly scrolling through the many, many apps that help you pass time. What you can do instead is pick up a newspaper. Not only do you cure the itch of doing something but you also learn about the happenings of the world – and one would think, the latter is better.

4. Phone time is not alone time
An important parameter to assessing the health of your real life is whether or not you spend quality time with yourself – with no phones involved. Of course, it isn’t as easy as it sounds but it isn’t impossible either. Try to cut off from the virtual universe of the smartphone to indulge in some healthy soul time that will prove more relaxing.

5. Reality check
Everybody agrees that their social media personality is somewhat different than their actual personality. When gone unnoticed, or allowed to reach an unhealthy point, this can affect the psyche of the individual. If you keep your social media as realistic as can be, you won’t feel the pressure of having a perfect life. Give yourself recurrent reality checks so you can make your screen life healthy. You realize that your screen life is a part of your real life and not an entity of its own.