In this episode of “5 Minutes,” Dr. Robert Svoboda explores staying balanced in a world where screens have become a major part of daily life.

As you can see, I am out in nature. The reason I am out in nature has to do with our subject for today, which is screens. Very likely you are watching me on a screen. I myself use screens, I appreciate screens, and I appreciate their usefulness. They are small or large objects on which patterns of colors and shadows can provide all kinds of information. They are like Rahu in a box, for better or for worse.

The difficulty is that as a culture, and I am not speaking only about the United States but about any part of the world where screens are abundant, we have become quite attached to this tool. In the United States, it has been estimated that the average adult has around 74 hours of screen time per week, which is roughly 10.5 hours per day. That is almost half of the entire day.

If we subtract the approximately eight hours spent sleeping and the additional time spent eating, bathing, and taking care of basic activities, it means that a very large portion of daily life is spent connected to screens. This is only an average. Some people spend less time, some spend more, and some are exposed to screens almost continuously throughout the day.

This is not a healthy situation because even if you are watching something beneficial, such as the Nature Channel or National Geographic, you are still missing the experience of actually being in nature. You are missing the sights, sounds, smells, touches, and tastes of the natural world.

So I encourage you to do two things. First, go out into nature. Second, take occasional breaks from your screens. You might consider taking one day without screens once a week, once every two weeks, or once a month. Spend that time at the seashore, in the mountains, in the desert, or anywhere else where you are not involved with electronic reality or media.

This can be beneficial in the same way that occasional fasting from food is beneficial for the body, and occasional fasting from speech can benefit the throat, the voice, and the power of communication. Staying away from screens can benefit your eyes, especially since even very young children are now experiencing possible problems from excessive screen use. It can also benefit your awareness because you are no longer constantly connected to a two-dimensional image that gives you the impression of being fully connected with a three-dimensional reality.

Most importantly, taking breaks from screens helps prevent becoming completely dependent on them and becoming overly connected to that unusual but useful world we call the Internet and virtual reality. Return occasionally to the reality around you, to the natural world that you can directly experience, and you will find that it benefits you in many ways.