Seven hours. That’s how long the average person stares at screens each day. Sounds excessive until you add up the work emails, Netflix binges, and doom-scrolling sessions that eat away at every spare moment.

The internet isn’t going anywhere, obviously. But the way most people use it could use some work. A few tweaks to daily habits can save time, protect personal data, and maybe even put some money back in your pocket.

Getting Screen Time Under Control

Gen Z clocks over seven hours of daily screen time on average. Older generations aren’t far behind. And while nobody’s suggesting you go full digital hermit, there’s a difference between intentional use and mindless scrolling.

Here’s what actually works: picking specific times for recreational browsing instead of letting it happen whenever. Sounds simple because it is. The Screen Time feature on iPhones and Digital Wellbeing on Android both track exactly where those hours go. Checking these reports weekly tends to be eye-opening (and slightly embarrassing).

Some people take it a step further by making passive time productive. Certain platforms actually pay users for activities like completing surveys or sharing unused internet bandwidth. You can Get Amazon Gift Cards using Pawns while doing stuff you’d probably do anyway. Beats watching another algorithm-recommended video that nobody asked for.

Fixing the Password Problem

About 31% of data breaches happen because of stolen or weak passwords. That number should probably scare more people than it does.

According to Pew Research, roughly 69% of Americans feel overwhelmed just trying to keep track of all their passwords. Fair enough. The average person juggles dozens of accounts now.

The good news? NIST’s updated guidelines ditched the old advice about cramming symbols and numbers into everything. Longer passphrases work better. Something like “my dog hates the mailman” beats “D0g$123!” for security and is way easier to remember.

Password managers have caught on more lately, jumping from 20% adoption in 2019 to 32% now. Tools like Bitwarden or 1Password generate random passwords and remember them so you don’t have to. Worth considering if you’re still using variations of the same password everywhere (most people are).

Two-factor authentication helps too. Even when passwords get stolen, that second verification step keeps accounts locked down.

Dealing With Constant Distractions

This one hits close to home for anyone who works at a computer. Research cited in Harvard Business Review found that workers toggle between apps and websites around 1,200 times per day. All that switching costs nearly four hours a week just getting refocused.

Notifications are mostly to blame. Every ping from Slack, email, or social media pulls attention away from whatever actually matters. Turning off non-essential alerts during focused work helps more than most people expect.

The Pomodoro Technique has its fans: 25 minutes of heads-down work, then a five-minute break. Knowing a break is coming soon makes it easier to ignore distractions. And honestly? Leaving your phone in another room works better than any productivity app ever will.

Keeping Personal Data Private

Data breaches aren’t rare anymore. About 34% of Americans dealt with some kind of data theft or fraud last year, whether that meant fraudulent charges or hijacked accounts.

Being stingy with personal information online is the simplest fix. Not every app needs to know your location. Throwaway email addresses work great for sketchy signups. And those social media privacy settings? They’re worth checking every few months since platforms love quietly changing defaults.

VPNs add protection on public WiFi networks. Coffee shop internet is convenient but basically an open invitation for snooping. Paid VPN services generally work better than free ones, though any encryption beats none.

Making Better Habits Stick

Nobody overhauls their entire digital life in a weekend. Picking one thing to fix, like setting up a password manager, makes more sense than trying to change everything at once.

Small improvements add up over time. The point isn’t becoming some kind of security expert or productivity machine. It’s just about being a bit more intentional with how you spend time online.

Technology works best when people control it rather than the other way around. Getting there takes some effort, but the payoff in privacy, productivity, and peace of mind makes it worthwhile.