Social media can enhance your life by allowing you to connect with old friends and share important moments in your life. However, if not managed properly it can become an addiction that can consume your time and affect your work and relationships. By stepping away from social media, assessing your addiction, and developing healthy social media habits, you can work through this issue and create a more balanced life.
Assessing Your Addiction
Review your past posts.
As you begin working on combating your social networking addiction, you should first work to understand your social media usage. Take some time to review your posts from the past week or month. Write down how many things you posted in order to assess their frequency. Consider whether all the things you posted were necessary.
- For instance, if you posted about a meal you had or about going to get a haircut, consider whether or not posting those things brought you or anyone else any joy or contentment.
Track your time online.
If you are unsure of the extent of your addiction, you can determine how much time you spend by tracking your usage. Make a tick mark in a notebook each time you check a site. A more advanced and accurate way to determine usage, however, is to download an app designed to do so. Apps like QualityTime keep a count of how much time you spend on each social media site.
- Decide how much social media time seems reasonable; if you are exceeding that, it’s time to cut back.
Acknowledge your addiction.
Consider the times when others have constantly made comments to you about always being on social media. Think also of the times that you find yourself unable to keep up with your responsibilities. If you notice a pattern, then it is time to admit that you have a problem. Make a pact to commit to improving your situation. Remember that overcoming your denial and acknowledging your problem are the first steps.
- Take a break from your social media for one hour and assess how you feel. If you feel jittery or nervous, you might have an addiction.
Reflect on your need for social media.
Sometimes a social media addiction might arise out of having little to do or out of a need for attention or connection with others. Take some time to write down your thoughts about this to explore the root of the problem.
- After assessing the roots, develop a plan to address it. If your issues stem from boredom, then find fun things to do offline.
Seek outside help.
For some, the desire to use social media constantly might feel beyond their own control. If you feel that you are unable to escape from the addiction, seek help from a therapist trained in that area. There are also support groups available for people struggling with the same or similar issues. It can be helpful to feel that you are not alone in your addiction and to discuss potential solutions for the problem.
- Remember that there is no stigma in seeking help.
Taking a Social Media Break
Deactivate your accounts.
After you have sufficiently assessed the issue, take a break from social media to clear your mind, and begin breaking your bad habit. Deactivate your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and any other social media that you might have. This is a good way to give yourself space from your addiction without having to necessarily delete your accounts.
- During this time, develop a timeline for when and if you will get your social media back. Find healthy activities to replace your social media addiction.
Remove cellphone apps.
In addition to deactivating the accounts, in order to further deter your temptation, delete the apps from your phone. Not being able to see the apps on your homescreen may help you during this time of self-reflection and habit-breaking.
Change your password.
If you feel that you cannot successfully beat the habit on your own, then hand over the account to someone you trust. Have them change the password so that you cannot access the account even if you want to. Tell them to give you the account after the predetermined period ends.
- Make sure to only give your password to family or friends that you deeply trust. Giving your password away is highly sensitive and could end disastrously if in the wrong hands.
- Consider ceasing social media usage for a minimum of three weeks, as it typically takes 21 days to form a habit.
Limiting Your Daily Usage
Stick to a time limit.
Only use the social networking site when you know that all your day’s work is done or when you have a break. Avoid taking breaks from your work to use social media, as you will likely become unproductive. You may find that two hours have flown by and you are still online while your work is being neglected. Try to login only once you are completely free of all your responsibilities. Set a time limit on how much you use your social media after your day is done.
- Set a timer on your phone.
Change the notification settings on your phone.
You might have developed an addiction for social media because you are constantly getting notifications on your phone from your friends commenting or posting on your wall. In order to combat this, you can edit the notification settings in your phone or within the app so that you don’t get notifications, but can instead check the app at your leisure when you’re not busy.
- For instance, you might make it where you don’t get notifications for “likes” but you do for comments. You have many options to help you stay clear of social media.
Delete extra people from your friend list.
The more people you follow or are friends with on social media, the larger your news feed will be, and the more time you spend checking things out while you could be engaging in a more useful activity. Spend some time purging your friends list to only include your friends in real life or people who you know well.
Prioritize.
If you have an important assignment coming up, then temporarily deactivate your account. Another option is to install COLD TURKEY, which is a program that physically blocks you from various addicting sites. Remember that while social media can enhance your life, you should still attend properly to your relationships and responsibilities.
- Assess whether any of your close friends, partner, or family have complained about your lack of attention due to constantly being on a device.
Limit your memberships.
You might have three social media accounts or you might have ten. In order to limit the time you spend in total checking these sites, you could choose to delete a few of them and only keep the ones you value most. For instance, if you don’t particularly like Instagram but do like Facebook, consider deleting your Instagram.
Avoid posting about your every move.
Enjoy the moments that you’re making while you’re making them and don’t feel the need to photograph or post about every moment in your life. Be present in the moment and enjoy the people and circumstances that surround you.
Choosing Healthy Alternatives
Write a list of things you could be spending your time on.
Keep in mind that every minute that you spend on social media takes a minute from some other more productive activity that you could put your time towards. Some of these things could include learning a new language, playing an instrument, hanging out with friends, exercising, learning a new recipe, or reading a book.
- Consider your relationships that have gone lacking because of your social media addiction. Your significant other or children may be feeling neglected because of it.
- Your social media addiction could be hampering your life and relationships and keeping you from your goals.
Get out of the house.
Perhaps the most constructive and certainly the most fun way to battle your social media addiction is to get out of the house and have some fun. Call up your friends and go out to a movie or have dinner. Go bowling, swimming, running, or shopping. These are healthy and fun ways to combat your addiction while relaxing.
Call instead of checking in on social media.
You might find that your social media addiction developed because you used a site to communicate with someone as opposed to calling them. You might have gotten caught up on the site awaiting their response and developed an addiction from that. However, try to have conversations with friends and family via phone rather than social media apps.
Spend more time with family.
In order to prevent yourself from relapsing or not keeping your commitment to cease social media usage temporarily, spend more time with your family and friends. Go visit your grandparents and do errands for them, and hang out with your mom more. Hang out with siblings and friends more during this time as well and resist using your phone, even if they are.
Develop yourself professionally.
Once you have more free time from social media, you will be better able to invest in other things. Perhaps you have been considering a career change or thinking about going back to school. Take this time to research schools and jobs. A change might be just what you need to create a healthier, happier, and more electronically detached life.
Tips
- Do not log in for a day, followed by three, followed by a week, and see how it goes.
- Think about the satisfaction you will get by not being an addict to social networking.
- Whenever you feel like logging in say “NO” to yourself and have self control.
Warnings
- Do not blame yourself; social media can be highly addictive.
- All addictions are serious because they take your focus off of your life and relationships.
- There is no problem in seeking help, do not hesitate to ask for it.