As I write this, my phone’s average screentime is 29 minutes per day — low compared to many of my friends. But if I were to add up the hours I spend across all my screens —phone, tablet, computer, TV— a pattern quickly emerges: I spend more waking hours a day on the screen than not.

Screens are everywhere I go: classrooms, restaurants, buses, libraries, washrooms, offices. For many students, screens are unavoidable as they are demanded by coursework, are a form of socialization, provide entertainment and offer navigation.

This year, The Ubyssey’s photo issue explored the presence of screens in our lives. In the first piece, Zoe Wagner looked at the use of technology in classrooms by interviewing Sauder instructors about their laptop “lids down” policy. In the next piece, Navya Chadha spoke to a game developer about the line between reality and virtual worlds. In the article “the annotated screen,” myself and Ilia Rezaei Rad interviewed three UBC filmmakers about their use of the screen to convey meaning through cinematic techniques. Finally, in the photo series “behind the glow,” photographers created surreal images examining the glow that screens cast on our lives without confronting them directly.

Whether you love, hate, or resign yourself to screens, we hope this issue helps you reflect on your relationship with them.

Sidney Shaw

Photo Editor

A headshot of a person lit up by a magenta light on the left side of her face and a blue light on the right side. She is looking upwards and out of the frame.
Two people look at an old fashioned television. There's a pinkish glow coming from the direction of the television and a greenish glow lighting them from the side.
A person looking down at a screen off camera. Only their face is visible because the rest of the room is dark.
A high angle of a person looking at their laptop. They are sitting in a dark room and are lite by a pale blue light.
Two people lie on the floor, one is watching TV, one is typing on their phone. They are lit up by magenta and greenish blue lights.
The hands of someone typing on their laptop.
A person sits infront of a dark backdrop that is lit up in purple. Projected across their face is the words "behind the glow"

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Sidney Shaw author, photographer

Mayvelyn Bugh photographer

Zoe Wagner photographer

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