Name

Date

Instructor Name

Behavior: spending too much time on the screen.

Excess Screen Time Problem

Describe

For the past at least ten years, I have been continuously increasing the time that I spend

on my phone, laptop, and television. Most of this screen time is spent on my phone. Considering

myself an introvert has made me spend more time on my phone, especially in public, to avoid

social interactions. On the first Saturday of the last month, some family members came to visit

me. I was very happy to see them. However, I realized that I was losing my concentration as I

got glued to my phone even in the middle of our conversations. This made them quite

uncomfortable. 

Three weeks ago, I had set the night before a test for studying, however, I ended up

spending most part of the night on my phone and eventually fell asleep without noticing. While

the test results are not out, I believe that this behavior will have a negative effect on the results.

Lastly, when we held a group discussion with my classmates last week, I lost my concentration

numerous times as I was distracted by the notifications coming through my phone. I am

concerned that if I do not change this behavior, it will affect my education, social life, and

personality negatively.               

Explain
 Certain personal variables (P variables) have contributed to my current state of being

addicted to my screen. Being a shy person, I started using my phone as a distraction from

making social interaction (Ch 2) whenever am around people. This led to Cognitive

development (Ch 2) of this behavior over time. Also, being a very curious person, I find my

phone to be a source of infinite information. Via the internet, I am able to learn new ideas, listen

to new music, watch interesting videos and play online games to mention a few. My desire to

learn new things has contributed to my obsession with my phone, laptop, and TV. 

Various environmental factors (E variable) have equally played a role in my development

of this addictive behavior. Since I was in Junior high school, most of my friends have been

spending most of their time on phones and computers. Whenever we were together, we would

have moments where no one is talking to one another. Everyone would be busy on his/her phone.

Whenever we were not together, we would be chatting on social media platforms. Every talk that

we had was about the new online trends. Without being aware, we got to a state of learned

helplessness (Ch 5). None of us thought that we could survive without a phone anymore.

Spending most of our time on the screens has become a sort of generation norm.        

Predict

Since my lifestyle has been taken over by my habits of spending a lot of my time on the

screen, it is necessary that I change this habit. Being a social being, I need social

interactions (Ch 2) to keep me sane. I have realized that on the days that I have had less screen

time and more physical interactions, I experience a kind of happiness. I am also very moody

whenever I spend most of my time online. This has made me realize that too much screen time

induces stress (Ch 9). Based on the diathesis-stress model (Ch 9), this could turn into a mental
illness if it is not rectified. This habit is also capable of affecting my studies negatively. It could

also ruin my ability to have effective physical interactions.          

Change

Certain measures need to be taken to solve this problem. I intend to use the concepts of

this course to change this habit. I will use positive reinforcement (Ch 5) to reward myself every

time I set a minimum amount of time that I should be on the screen and obey it. I will reward

myself with something that makes me happy such as a smoothie. Equally, I will use negative

reinforcement (Ch 5) to punish myself every time I disobey a rule that is meant to reduce this

habit. For instance, every time I spent my study time on the screen instead of studying, I will

ground myself the next day as a punishment. Through strict rules and discipline, I am convinced

that I can resolve this issue. Another concept that would help me change my behavior towards

my screen time is “self-determination theory.” Self-determination theory is having control and

motivation towards your own life. This would help me because I would be motivated enough and

have the mindset that changing my behavior is possible; I am capable of changing.