I Banned Screens At The Table For Two Weeks: Here's What Actually Changed

At the National Day Rally on 17 August, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong cautioned families against using screens as a babysitter. As a parent myself – I felt that.

But enforcing a ban, even a temporary one, takes a fair bit of planning - screens have become an unavoidable part of our daily lives, so a ban won't go over well if you're going through a busy period at work or if the kids need their devices for school. Having a family meal together seems to be a luxury these days, and the world is hardly going to stop if you put away your devices for an hour. Even as adults, most of us justify our mindless scrolling or checking emails as a way of ‘staying informed', but there's usually nothing to show for the time you've just wasted scrolling all day.

To loosen the hold that technology had over our lives, I made my family go on a digital detox for two weeks. No, I didn't go nuts and ban everything. I only said no to devices at the table during dinner, where we were all increasingly reaching for their phones and iPads, often for just mindless scrolling or playing silly games. We were all physically present but mentally elsewhere.

Obviously, my plan was met with a mountain of resistance. I'll admit, even I felt a little uneasy with the idea of not having a screen attached to my hand for an hour or so.

The first dinner was tough - outright awkward even. It was like we were all learning the art of conversation and how to make eye contact again. And even I was struggling with the urge to check my phone out of habit. But we survived! A whole hour of no technology, no scrolling, no videos. Just human interaction.

With no distractions, we actually started talking together as a family, sharing our day. By the end of day 3, the mood began to shift. The excitement building up towards dinnertime felt palpable; it was almost like sitting and talking to each other was the treat at the end of a long day! And very quickly, we weren't even watching the clock to get back to our devices. It happened when it happened.

Here's what we learned:


IMAGE: UNSPLASH

We've forgotten how to have distraction-free conversations

Without the constant notifications, pings, and phones lighting up, we were fully present with each other. We had deeper conversations, shared more laughs, and truly enjoyed each other's company (for that limited period anyway!)

Some of the best moments happen offline

Small step, huge impact. With such a small lifestyle change, we realised how much we were relying on screens for entertainment, when all the while, there were better options right in front of us. The laughs, the giggles, making plans, the venting and the sharing were all happening more because we prioritised quality time together over our screens. I was present, truly listening, instead of absentmindedly nodding while checking my phone.

I wasn't as busy as I thought I was

By the end of the first week, I didn't even miss not mindlessly scrolling social media and jumping from reel to reel. And I also became more conscious during the day about how much time I was spending on my device, so I had more time to get through my workload.

FOMO is overrated

Ignorance is bliss. It's such a treat when you're not juggling the need to keep up with everything on social media, and the mental load of checking everything is gone. Life seriously continues fine without you being on a device and not constantly checking your Instagram feed. And you actually start thinking less about social media and work emails and messages. Goodbye burnout.

Was it worth it?

I would recommend a family digital detox to help reconnect with each other (and with yourself) in more meaningful ways. Not only does it lead to stronger relationships thanks to a greater sense of presence, but it also helps with reduced anxiety, and so by extension, better quality of sleep.

If you want to go a step further and try a complete digital detox, try it over a weekend (ideally on holiday). Otherwise, start small with having everyone put away their devices for a few hours during dinner and in the evening and reclaim control over the digital technology in your home.

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