| 1. | In the Blog: |
| 2. | Things to keep in mind while using Social media. |
| 3. | Ways to keep your mind sane. |
In this age of social media, most of us are facing problems related to its overuse. When we intend just to use it for 2 minutes, we lose the sense of time and end up using it for hours.
All of us know that social media affects our mental health negatively. However, it can have a positive impact if used on limitation, according to an article published on BBC.
Few things you need to keep in mind while using social media:
- Don’t compare:
Most of us who are addicted to social media tend to compare ourselves. How can’t we, when everyone is living the life we want to live except for us, right? But remember, no one would be posting those pictures if they were in your position right now. They too had to start from somewhere and must have dealt with their own hardships.
“Stop comparing your Behind-The-Scenes to someone’s Highlight Reel.”
-Unknown
- Your worth is not determined by numbers:
You are worth more than the numbers on social media whether it be your followers, likes, comments, or all of them combined. All of these are more about optimized content and social media algorithms and less about you.
Practical tips to keep your mind sane while using social media:
- Be intentional:
Don’t open your social media and start browsing mindlessly. Ask yourself “What am I opening it for?”, “Is it just to kill time or is it really necessary?”. Unless you have an important task to do like catch up with your family members who are miles away or call your friend that you haven’t talked to in a while, don’t open it.
- Don’t check your social media right after waking up:
If it is that urgent then people will call you. So don’t worry about missing out on an important thing. Don’t check your phone until an hour after you wake up. Give yourself time to actually wake up and do other productive things that will make you feel good and ready to conquer the day.
- Don’t use your phone 30 minutes prior to your bedtime:
It is easy to scroll through your feed until 1 am when you just wanted it for 5 minutes at 10 pm. So, keep your phone out of your reach 30 minutes prior to your bedtime. It can be as easy as putting your phone away where you cannot reach from your bed. It is effective because we tend to be lazy and avoid doing extra work especially during bedtime.
- Set aside specific time to use social media:
Make a routine and stick with it. Be strict and smart while setting aside time. Maybe making time for social media right before you have another thing that is important and you love to do will help you stick with your time limit. In this time be intentional and use it for a good reason.
- Turn off your notifications:
When it’s not your time to use social media then turn off your notifications. When we hear the sound we get curious and tend to check what it is about. Better turn off your wifi but if it is not possible for you then at least turn off your notifications.
- Keep your phone away from your working/study area:
I do this all the time and it works. If your phone is nearby where it is easy for you to just open then you will probably do so just to have a quick look. And all of us know what happens afterwards. However, if you keep your phone away, you won’t bother to go all the way just to have a quick check.
- Keep your phone apps to a minimum:
The more apps you have, the more distractions you create for yourself. Try to keep your phone organized and only keep the apps that are necessary. If you want to use social media for communication then just keep the apps that your family members and colleagues use to communicate.
- Don’t keep the apps that you are addicted to on your home screen:
I learned this tip from a blog at medium and wanted to share it with you guys. According to the blog, ”By not keeping apps you are addicted to in the home screen you give yourself time to think if it is really necessary to open that app.”
Bottom Line:
You always have a choice whether to mindlessly scroll through your feed and regret afterwards or to do things that you find meaningful and feel happy about it.
You can stop your addiction by making it hard for yourself to open the social media app without intention. You can do it by the tricks mentioned above or come up with your own ways.
The next time you open your social media, be mindful.
“The trouble is, you think you have time.”
– Jack Kornfield