Just like anything in life, after you have identified a problem, the next step is to take steps towards fixing it. One of the most common problems humans face is addiction. Addiction is when someone becomes dependent on an external substance or device. The reason addiction can become so detrimental is because it requires a person to willingly stop using something that they depend on for relief and dopamine release. It is hard to quit using something that makes you feel better every time you use it. Social media addiction is no exception. People become very addicted to social media, and because it is so common in our society, no one feels that they need to limit their use. However, as we have seen in this blog, there are definitely harmful effects such as FOMO, and anxiety that come from excessive social media use. This post will discuss how to reduce social media use in order to to attain a healthier lifestyle.
The first piece of advice I have was discussed in last week’s post. Using screen time to see how much time you are actually spending on social media apps is a great way to limit yourself. Screen time forces people to observe how much time they are wasting on their phones. As I found from my own research last week the average person at Penn State spends about 8 hours on their phone give or take a few hours. I bet that if most people realized this they would take steps to reduce this time.
Another strategy I found was to do a social media detox. This is essentially taking a break from social media for a set amount of time. This allows your brain to focus on other more important things that are occurring in the real world in front of you (Stanford). It makes this time even more valuable if you spend your detox working on improving yourself by developing a new skill with this freed up time you are spending off your phone.
The most effective strategy I came across in my research was to set limits when you use social media. Something as simple as saying no social media use after a certain time, or not using social on specific days, can really help someone get their usage under control (Stanford). By doing this you are allowing your mind some time to reflect on real life instead of immediately tuning into social media when you are bored. You are also becoming more conscious of your dependance when you take some time purposefully stepping away from it. In addition to these strategies, turning off social media notifications makes it so you aren’t compelled to check these apps every time a notification pops up. These are all easy, effortless ways to get social media addiction under control. I will be trying a few of these tips in the coming weeks to test their effectiveness and get my addiction under control.
Picture sources:
https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/average-daily-time-on-social-media
https://medium.com/swlh/the-secret-design-tools-which-social-media-apps-are-using-to-create-addiction-e6a502ccb79f
Reference list:
Stanford, Tomas. “7 Proven Ways to Spend Less Time on Social Media and More Time in the Real World.” Saint Belford, Sept. 2018, www.saintbelford.com.au/blogs/blog/7-proven-ways-to-spend-less-time-on-social-media-and-more-time-in-the-real-world.
You are so right in saying that since most teens have an addiction to their phones, no one really sees a need to change their behavior since everyone else is the same exact way. I found these tips really helpful, especially setting limits on your phone because you are forced to do something else.
This is such a huge problem for our generation, but I’m glad to see there are ways to limit our time spent on social media. I used Screen Time’s App Limits feature as an attempt to reduce my phone usage a while back. I set it to give me a warning after 2 hours of using specified apps (mainly social media apps). However, I often just clicked “ignore” and eventually turned the limits off completely. I think a social media detox would really help me, as I’ve already tried other options and failed.
These are great tips! I definitely feel like I am on social media too much. I have tried to break the habit and have even gone to the point of just deleting the apps, but I have never been able to make that permanent. These are great ways to do something less drastic, but still very effective and easier to keep up. I hadn’t thought of turning off the notifications for those apps. I will definitely give that a try!