The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 9

October 6, 2020 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 5 Features Screen time: a pandemic side effect Forests on fire The west coast has been on fire for over a month now -- and it’s not stopping any time soon. The state of California is aflame due to the abundance of wildfires occurring -- and so are other parts of the west. So far in 2020, millions of acres have burned across the state. The fact that California is going through a heatwave right now does not help the situation at hand either. With temperatures reaching highs of 121 degrees in Los Angeles and 130 degrees in Death Valley, right now, thewesternU.S. has scorchingweather. Due to the forest fires and the blazing heat waves, residents have had to evacuate, families have had their homes destroyed and hiking trails have been demolished. These fires appear to be caused by California’s climate, which has resulted in dry weather and dry vegetation. Unfortunately, during the summer, California did not get much rain. While they get most of their rain and moisture during the fall and winter, the abundant amount of dryness in the state’s climate created a catalyst for large fires that spread for miles. The biggest wildfire to hit California in the past month is the August Complex Fire. The August Complex Fire is a massive fire that has been burning for over a month and has destroyed over 794,801 acres of land. The fire began at the start of August, erupting due to a thunderstorm brought in by a passing tropical storm. The thunderstorm started several small fires, which then combined into one large fire. The fire has burned three major forests along with other private land owned by residents. Firefighters have been struggling to put out the areas ablaze due to the rugged terrains, high winds and the extremely hot weather. This fire has forced hundreds of people to evacuate from the area to avoid injuries and deaths as well as the risk of breathing in the smoky air. One major problem that has caused the residents in fire-prone areas discomfort is the air quality. North California resident Charles Wynter explained that the air was extremely foggy; he could barely see anything. “There was a heavy amount of wind and fog, which made it hard to see. There was also heavy smoke in the air on the first day, which made it very hard for me to breathe,” said Wynter. As of Sept. 16, there have been over 25 major wildfires in California. There have been 25 deaths and over 4,200 compositions destroyed. California appears to show no signs of wildfires coming to an end soon. Unfortunately, the land is still dry and prone to more wildfires in the future. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY C. WYNTER Sky taken on September 14, 2020 in Stanford, California By: Tatiana Illis Contributing Writer By: Nicole Shaker Contributing Writer BetweenbingeingNetflix,Zoomclasssessions and catching up with friends through FaceTime, the average person has racked up a lot more screen time since the beginning of the pandemic. This is no surprise after the stay-at-home order was put in place and the only way to contact and stay up to date with the outside world was through technology. Social media has helped to bridge the gap that was left by strict social distancing guidelines, but has also proven to be harmful if not used cautiously. The idea of additional hours added to our screen time reports is nothing to be embarrassed or anxious about. The problem lays with howwe spend our time online, rather than how much time is spent online. Staying connected online is important for us to stay informed, which can decrease situational anxiety. There are countless points to stay updated on, including revisions to the pandemic guidelines, details on the election and reports on racial tensions across the nation. Being in the loop is essential, but you don’t want to become overwhelmed with information. The second major public crisis that we’re currently dealingwith, according to theWorld Health Organization, is an infodemic. WHO describes this as ‘‘an overabundance of information — some accurate and some not — that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.” So, while staying informed can decrease anxiety, reading too many sources of (sometimes contradicting) information can have the opposite effect. How can you tell if you need a break from your screen? Jennifer Sincore, a Henderson counselor, recommends a self-analysis. “Alot of it comes down to self-monitoring,” she said. Sincore explains that if you feel that scrolling through social media offers some temporary entertainment, but produces long term negative feelings, then it’s time to cut back. Although you may be tempted to simply delete social media completely to minimize screen time, it may be best to take a more gradual approach. Try using software that measures what apps and websites you’ve been devoting the most time to and decide which you’ll actively decrease your time on. It’s common to use your phone to scroll through social media as a break from school work behind a computer screen, but the best option is a visually stimulating intermission. Sincore recommends making use of non-screen time breaks. Anything as simple, but effective, as just taking a walk around the block would do. So, if you are feelingoverwhelmedor simply want to decrease your screen time, put down your phone, take awalk and use the time to reconnect to other important things in your life. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY E. COWAN Two screen isn’t enough