What you should know about social media
Social media
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In this age of social media, most of us are facing problems related to its overuse. When we intend to use it just for 2 minutes, we lose the sense of time and end up loosing hours on it.
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.
Things to keep in mind while using social media
- Stop comparing:
Most of us who are addicted to social media tend to compare our lives to that of other simply because they are living the life we want to? But there is one thing you need to remember, no one would be posting pictures if they were in your position right now. They too must have had to start from somewhere and must have dealt with their own hardships.
Moreover, everything they post is certainly not their reality!
“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, or comments. All of these are more about optimized content and social media algorithms and less about you.
Practical tips to keep your mind sane
- Keep your intentions clear:
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, or find a specific information, don’t open it.
- Don’t check your social media right after waking up:
If it is that urgent then people will give you a call. 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 prepared to conquer the day.
- Don’t use your phone 30 minutes prior to your bedtime:
You might easily end up scrolling 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. Place it somewhere where you cannot reach from your bed. This can be effective to avoid your laziness and to go to bed with a happy mind.
- 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.
- Turn off your notifications while working/ studying
I do this all the time and it works for me! If your phone is nearby and is ringing it is easy for you to just open and then hang on it. But, if you keep your phone away or mute it, you won’t bother going all the way just to have a quick check. Or at least make yourself comfortable where you sit, so that you don’t feel like reaching out to the phone.
- 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 with apps that are really 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.”
- Distract yourself by writing:
Sometimes, even if you are aware of the consequences, you want to do it for one last time or so. You can try to write a journal to control/ distract yourself. Confused how to get started? Don’t worry. You can read our guide on how to start Journaling.
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. 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. So the next time you open your social media, be mindful.
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“The trouble is, you think you have time.” – Jack Kornfield