Short answer: "Screens and slang" (Q31 to Q40) scores how late or careful you are with technology. Several of its top options only make sense if you are older than the people around you, so younger readers hit a ceiling in this category that has nothing to do with their mindset.
I'm Muhammad Husnain Zahid. I build and fix websites, so a big part of my day is spent on a screen, and I am not a neutral reader of this category. That is part of why I wanted to explain how it works. It is the category with the smallest effect on your total. All questions are on the full question list.
How this category is scored
Each question has four options, from the most impulsive to the most deliberate. The first option is worth 11 to 15 points and the last 50 to 58. Picking the first option on all ten gives a category average of about 13, and the last option every time about 53. Picking at random would give about 31.
Of the ten categories this one moves your final number the least, about four points between the lowest and highest possible answers.
Three kinds of question
Keeping up. A word you don't recognise (Q31), what to watch (Q33), a new app everyone is using (Q34) and a meme you don't get (Q38). The low options are about being first or already knowing. The top options are about being late on purpose: asking someone under thirty to translate (50), watching the same three shows again (56), hearing about the app a year later (58), or nodding politely and changing the subject (52).
Attention. Your phone buzzing at dinner (Q32), your weekly screen time report (Q39) and a software update (Q40). The top options are about limits and scheduling: a phone on silent in another room on purpose (53), limits set on the apps that matter (50), updates scheduled overnight every time (51).
Digital housekeeping. Your camera roll (Q35), autocorrect slips (Q36) and a frozen video call (Q37). The top options reward preparation, such as proofreading before sending (53) or already having a phone call as a backup (54).
The biggest jumps from the third option to the fourth are in Q33 and Q34, at 22 points each. The top option in Q34, hearing about the new app "roughly a year later, from someone's kid," is worth 58, the highest in the category.
Where I think it is unfair
Some top options assume you are older than the people around you. Q31 asks you to ask "an actual person under thirty to translate" (50). Q34 refers to "someone's kid" (58). A young reader is unlikely to pick either honestly. So younger readers have trouble reaching the top of this category, and the quiz reads that as a younger mind.
Your job changes the answers. If you work online or in tech, the "late" options, which are the ones worth the most, may not fit your day. If you rarely use a phone at work, they may fit easily. Neither says anything about how settled you are.
Discipline is not age. Setting app limits (Q39) or scheduling updates overnight (Q40) are habits of self-control. People of every age do or do not do them.
This category dates fastest. Slang, apps and memes change quickly. A question about a new app that feels current today may feel old in a few years.
How to read your category average
In this category the four options average about 13, 22, 34 and 53. An average near 22 means mostly second options, near 34 mostly third, and above 50 mostly fourth.
- Low: you adopt new things fast and react quickly. Most of this is simply how you use your phone.
- Middle: you check things out before you commit, and glance at your phone when it suits you.
- High: you wait, plan and set boundaries. If you are young, check if the high answers came from the attention and housekeeping questions rather than the "late to trends" ones.
If this category sits far from your others, that is normal. It is the one most tied to your age group and your work, not to your temperament.
What this does not tell you
It does not measure how good you are with technology or how healthy your screen habits are. It is a short quiz for fun and self-reflection. The age guide shows how the whole number is built. To see your own category averages, take the test. More categories explained: Feelings and fights, Money and chores, Body and habits. If you feel your screen time is hurting your sleep or mood, the help resources page lists free, confidential support.
Sources and further reading
- How the number is built: the age guide.
- Every question and answer: the full question list.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I reach a high score in Screens and slang?
Several top options assume you are older than the people around you, such as asking someone under thirty to translate a word. Younger readers are unlikely to pick them honestly.
Does this category affect my result much?
Least of all ten, about four points between the lowest and highest possible answers.
Does working with technology change my answers?
It can. If you work online, the late-to-trends options may not fit your day, which says nothing about how settled you are.
Is a high score here a sign of healthy screen habits?
No. It only shows which options you chose. It does not measure how healthy your screen use is.