By Yugen Naidoo, General Manager at Lenovo Southern Africa

As consumers set goals around health and better habits, one thing is often missing: digital wellness. In 2025, South Africans spent an average of about 9 hours and 37 minutes per day online, well above the global average. That can amount to close to 60% of a typical 16-hour waking day. Yet when people plan ways to improve their health in the year ahead, how often do they count the impact of all that time on screens? Despite being a defining part of everyday life, digital habits are still too rarely part of the wellness conversation.

The big question isn't whether we should stop using screens altogether. For most people, that's just not practical or even possible. The more important question is this: Can we have healthier screen time, or is it purely up to us to be disciplined?

The answer is not a simple yes or no. It's more complex than that.

Screen Time Isn't the Problem - How We Use Screens Matters

For a long time, most conversations focused on how much time we spend on screens. But experts in eye health and how we use computers are showing us something deeper: the conditions under which we use screens matter just as much.

Long sessions on screens can contribute to digital eye strain, which may include dry eyes, blurred vision, headaches, and difficulty focusing. This is often made worse by reduced blinking, poor lighting, glare, small text, poor posture, and not taking breaks. And while blue-rich light is not the only factor, bright screens at night can interfere with sleep for many people.

To be realistic, stopping screen use isn't an option for students doing online schoolwork, professionals working in hybrid setups, business owners running digital companies, creatives, gamers, and developers.

Simply put, screens are now a core part of how we earn money and learn. So instead of only aiming to “use screens less”, we also need to use better screens better.

Engineering Health Beyond the “Low Blue Light”

For many years, the only solution offered was "low blue light" modes. But these can shift the screen towards yellow, which changes colour appearance and can be unhelpful for anyone who needs dependable colour accuracy.

A more modern approach is the move towards hardware-level eye-comfort design, supported by independent standards and testing. For example, certifications such as Eyesafe (including newer requirements such as 2.0), verified through independent testing bodies like TÜV Rheinland, aim to reduce high-energy visible light while maintaining colour performance.

This is very important for people who need accurate colours for their work. Devices like the Lenovo G32qc-30, G34w-30, and ThinkVision T27p-30 are not just about brighter pictures or sharper details. They show a bigger idea: treating eye health as a main part of design.

The Power of Independent Verification

In a market often flooded with impressive, but sometimes vague claims, independent certification helps cut through the marketing noise. Verified standards give consumers and businesses clearer benchmarks, turning ambiguous promises into more transparent, testable claims.

Lenovo’s displays, for instance, often reference a combination of certifications aimed at eye comfort, including TÜV Rheinland certifications and Eyesafe claims. The key for buyers is not the logo alone but understanding what it measures and whether it is independently tested.

How Manufacturers Really Make a Difference

It would be unrealistic to set limits on screen time. It depends largely on our work and how we use digital tools in general.

However, manufacturers do influence three key areas that affect user wellbeing.

1. Physical viewing comfort: through display engineering that can reduce glare, manage brightness well, and minimise issues such as visible flicker, depending on the panel and implementation.
2. Ergonomics: good stands, height/tilt/swivel adjustments, and clear panels aren’t “nice-to-haves”; they help maintain healthier posture and viewing distance.
3. Clarity and truth in labelling: manufacturers and retailers can do more to explain what independent certifications mean, so consumers can make informed choices instead of relying on vague claims.

Simply put, you decide how long you [spend on a screen, we can help with shaping how screens affect comfort, posture, and sleep habits - and that is a real responsibility.

A Simple Guide for Healthier Screen Time

While screen are constantly improving, real digital wellness needs both better tech and smarter habits. Here’s a simple guide:

1. Adjust Your Lighting: Don't use a bright screen in a dark room. Match your screen brightness to the light around you.
2. Position Your Screen Right: The top of your screen should be level with or slightly below your eyes, about an arm's length away.
3. Choose Certified Screens: When buying new gear, look for independent certifications like Eyesafe 2.0. This can help reduce blue light while maintaining colour performance, depending on the display.
4. Plan Screen-Free Time: Especially before bed. Less screen time at night helps you sleep better.

A Shared Responsibility in an Always-On World

True digital wellness is a partnership between device and individual. It’s about technology and user habits working together: adjusting your lighting, taking breaks, improving ergonomics, and choosing independently tested displays can all make a measurable difference.

Manufacturers can’t control how long we choose to look at our screens. But they can improve the tools we rely on every day — and we can use those tools more wisely.