Social Media Detox: A Guide

 

“Social Media is a Drug.”

 

And we all are addicted to it in one way or another. We are mostly very concerned about our social media presence and our lives revolve around it. There is an unavoidable dependency upon social media.

When we go out to a café, we make sure to click Instagram-able pictures. We tend to use social media whenever we want to pass time. On average, a person spends 9 hours a day on social media whether it be Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin, Twitter. Scrolling through feeds and spending hours on social media can leave us feeling drained, unproductive, lethargic, anxious, and dissatisfied.

Picture credits: Pixabay

There is nothing intently wrong with spending time on social media but the important thing is to use it for the right purpose and intention. Here are some ways to help you disconnect yourself from social media and connect with your family and friends.

1. Delete and Deactivate your all social media apps

Before you say that it’s impossible to do so, let me tell you that it’s only a temporary measure, and also I’m only asking you to delete your social media apps from your smartphone and deactivate your accounts temporarily instead of deleting them permanently.

 

2.    Turn off your Notifications

It saves your battery life and saves you from distractions and keeps you away from your phone. Turn off all the notifications from Facebook, Instagram, and other social media apps. If it is something really important, people will call you.

Picture credits: Pixabay 

3.    Spend More Time with your Family & Friends

Stop using your phone when you’re with your family, friends, or with anyone else. These days people have become so addicted to social media that they keep scrolling through the feed while they are sitting at the dining table with family. So, Instead of scrolling through your phone try to talk to your family members and spend more time with them.

 

4.    Set a limit on your Phone Usage

Decide not to use your phone one hour before sleeping and to limit your phone usage you can use digital detox applications like moment, antisocial app, forest app, etc.

 

5.    Detox with a Buddy

Everything seems easy when you have a friend to lean on. So, ask your friend to detox with you and discuss how both of you plan to successfully complete your social media detox.

 

6.    Face your Fear of Missing Out

Spending long hours on social media has instilled the fear of missing out in all of us and that's a Pseudo FOMO. Don’t fall for it.

 

7.    Nurture your Hobbies

Everyone likes to do something in their spare time, find what you like to do in your spare time and do that activity. It can be anything from playing guitar, reading books to learning to dance.

 

8.    Learn to enjoy your own company

Whenever we are alone we tend to scroll through our phone instead of looking at our phone screen, observe our surroundings, people, daydream and enjoy our own company.

Picture credits: Unsplash: Nathan Aguirre

For a more comprehensive overview of social media detox, please visit the following video on our official YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/jmJ2u-8JO64       

---- Author Astha Singh