Five gadget dos and don’ts well worth considering
With the average UK home housing a cool £5,196 worth of technology, we Brits clearly love our gadgets. Yet many of us are making gizmo gaffs on a daily basis. Want to get device-savvy to shame the children? Here are five essential tech tweaks to help you feel smug.
Do check in on the kids
Kids will happily while away an entire day if left to their own (ahem) devices. But overdoing screen time can lead to physical problems such as eye strain, neck pain, and sleep disruption, while potentially causing developmental delays in language, creativity, and social skills. For small children, the World Health Organisation recommends no screen time for kids under two and no more than one hour per day for two- to four-year-olds. Setting parental controls on your children’s devices will also help protect older kids from harmful content and encourage a gentle digital detox.
Don’t sleep with your phone
If you’ve ever left your phone charging on your bed at night, you are not alone. 74% of Brits charge devices in their bedrooms, say HR Fire and Safety, who warn that leaving gadgets with lithium-ion batteries charging for long periods can not only reduce your device’s lifespan, but it can also present a major fire hazard. Caused when the heat from your phone is trapped under flammable materials such as pillows and duvets, the London Fire Brigade reports an average of 24 fires each week resulting from overcharging. Save on scares by vowing to charge your phone on a hard, non-flammable surface instead — and always unplug when you’ve reached 100%.
Do stick to the 20-20-20 rule
The nation’s daily average for consuming screen-based media is now almost 7.5 hours, according to the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, so it is no surprise that many of us complain of having sore peepers. The remedy? Optometrists recommend resetting your vision by taking a break from your screen every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Obviously keeping a timer and tape measures to hand is a little extreme, but simply looking away from your screen regularly to focus on something far away should do the trick.
Don’t shun software updates
Some devices seem to demand software updates more often than Madonna demands a new wardrobe — but remember these annoying notifications are there for good reason. Offering new features, fixes for viruses, and performance improvements, software updates also include new security features which will protect your data and solve known flaws that attackers can use to compromise your technology. The easiest way to stay up to date is to enable automatic updates on all your software and always install promptly when notified. The National Cyber Security Centre is also a great place to start for those needing a quick crash course on software how-tos.
Do look after your battery
Finally, if you suspect that your battery is draining too quickly, it may be time for a little check-up. Small changes like lowering your screen brightness and disabling push notifications can save oodles of energy, as can turning off Wi-Fi when it isn’t needed to stop your phone from constantly searching for a connection. Still at a loss? Try checking your daily usage summary in the battery section of your phone’s settings. You may discover that app you installed two years ago — and haven’t looked at since — is an energy vampire.
