Should you take A SCREEN-TIME SABBATICAL?

Brits spend 4,866 hours a year glued to gadgets such as phones, laptops and TVs, and while it’s great at times like this to feel connected, it plays havoc on our health. Naomi Greenaway thinks she’s found the answer

- NAOMI GREENAWAY

It’s 7.30 pm on a Friday and my house is in a digital frenzy. My 12-year-old daughter is frantically pinging off voice notes on her mobile, my 10-year-old son is bashing at the Xbox control, finishing a game of FIFA, my seven-year-old is stuck to an iPad, and my husband and I are manically shooting off WhatsApps and emails at thumb-cramping speed. So far, so utterly unblissful. But as the light outside fades to dusk and the Jewish Sabbath officially begins, something transformative happens in our home. Devices are switched off (a Sabbath tradition we’ve chosen to embrace) and until nightfall on Saturday, our house becomes a screen-free zone.

One day a week

But you don’t need the Jewish Sabbath for permission to switch off. There’s also a growing ‘phone Sabbath’ movement, which promotes keeping a tech-free day of the week – an idea that has piqued the interest of late following the release of the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma.