Screen Time tracks how much time I spend on my phone, breaking it down into hours and minutes. It makes my usage visible in a way that feels precise and measurable. But what it shows is only one layer of what that time actually depends on.

The hours I spend on my phone are supported by systems I don’t see, such as extraction, energy use, and global infrastructure that make constant access possible. None of this appears in the metric itself.

In this sense, Screen Time frames the issue as my individual behavior, as something I can manage or reduce. But it leaves the broader system intact, shifting attention away from the larger structures that shape both the device and my dependence on it.