When the stress of exams passes and students finally feel like they can breathe a sigh of relief at the coming of Winter Break, it is a perfect time to plug in whether it be to a computer, phone or iPod. Students can be easily discouraged from plugging in after a long stretch of school work because so much it is on the computer or another device anyways. But just because students may be staring at a screen for hours on end during the school year, there is a huge difference between working on a long paper or doing research for an important project and doing something relaxing for oneself, like binge watching a TV show or finally getting in some quality time with social media.

Screen time is a hard thing to manage in terms of time; according to the national Institute of Health most American children have about 5-7 hours of screen time per day. News articles about the dangers that lurk in staring at a computer for hours on end are sure to make one paranoid and nearly every part of life, especially at St. Paul Academy and Summit School, takes place on the computer.

Teachers use tools such as Google Drive to connect with their students. Students, take notes, write papers, conduct research, and connect with peers and teachers on the computer. It can be hard to then come home and find that ones favorite mindless pastimes that they crave after exams (i.e. Netflix) also take place on a laptop.

To remedy this attachment to technology one should try to explore other options during the school day, take time to experiment with taking notes on paper, or using more book sources while conducting research. This is a better option than cutting out activities that, in moderation, are a perfectly good way to relieve stress like watching a show or online chatting with an old friend. Little changes like this will lessen reliance on technology and screen time while still allowing one to enjoy binge watching Gossip Girl come Winter Break.