Had enough of feeling this way towards social media? You don’t like the way it has this control over you? Worried about your mental well-being? Why don’t you take a break and follow some of these simple steps:
Cut down usage:
By the amount of time you spend on social media everyday, you could easily learn to cut down on the amount of times you unlock your phone and check the updates. It doesn’t hurt you to leave your phone, or go on your phone and not be tempted to click on the social media applications. It may seem hard now, but the gradual process of slowly spending less and less time on social media will affectively result in less time being spent on it everyday. Maybe, schedule when you’re going to go on social media and how much time you are going to spend on it. Spending less time on social media will conclude in not feeling the negative thoughts and emotions that social media can provide as much.
Turn off your notifications:
Think about how much you could get done, if you don’t feel the need to unlock your phone to reply to someone or scroll down your newsfeed continuously. You can do this by simply deleting the apps off of your phone, as it isn’t as likely to go through the hassle to search for it on your web browser. Another method of turning your notifications off on your phone will also work, as if they don’t appear on your phone you may not be likely to be constantly checking them, and you can get on with more productive tasks in the day.
Take a social media detox:
Take a break from the social media world, and enter back into reality! You don’t need days away from your phone or social media in general, you just need some space and time away to enjoy your day in the ‘real world’. Think about how much spare time you could have in your day, to get stuff done and to socialise with friends and family. Social media obsession can have an impact on face-to-face conversations, so this will make you feel happier with positive people around you and to speak to. “When distractions disappear, ideas come,” says Louise Gillespie-Smith, the founder of Create Yourself, a life-coaching company in the United Kingdom.
Leave the phone at home:
It won’t hurt to leave your phone at least once or twice a week. Have a break from the world-wide web, you can interact with your friends at school, or university. You don’t need it glued to your hand when you’re trying to do work. You don’t need to be scrolling on social media when you’re out and about, go and socialise and leave the social media at home to create a more positive mood and lifestyle.
Respond offline:
Did you just receive a notification from Facebook saying it’s your friend’s birthday? Or a notification from Instagram stating that your friend you haven’t seen in ages has just posted a photo for the first time in a while? Don’t just message them via social media, pick up the phone or go and see them in person. Tell them you miss spending time with them, or mail them a ‘happy birthday’ card in the post. The littlest things can make a difference.
Go out and do some exercise!
A healthy body equals a healthy mind, they say. In fact, the journal ‘Neurology’ found out that doing physical exercise was actually more beneficial than doing mental exercises, in order to maintain your mental health. Doing exercise not only makes you feel better in yourself, but also provides a distraction away from social media and to revive any stress or anger you have on to a positive aspect of your daily routine. Doing exercise with a friend is also a good way to build up your socialising to make you feel better too.
Set goals, but don’t take failures personally:
Aiming high can be the first step to success for recovery in depression normally, but studies have found out that high levels of perfectionisms can be linked to poor health and depression. This can be related to the willingness to make your profile and your follower list ‘perfect’, in order to impress. However, you can set certain goals for the day to ensure you achieve certain tasks to get done throughout the day, and tear yourself away from social media. As a result, at the end of the day you will feel happier with your progress of what you have achieved throughout the day.
Learn to not sweat about the small things:
Writing a Facebook post shouldn’t give you the anxiety about what people will think. Tell yourself that you can live how you want to, not how you think others do or how you think people want you to act, especially online. Learn not to care about what people think about you, it will create much more positive and reassuring mind and lifestyle (watch the video from my blog post ‘Compare and Despair?‘ to help this).
Video:
Below is an award winning ‘short film’ published by Kerith Lemon Pictures that shows a career driven woman named Meredith who’s living the life she’s always dreamed of… online. She is creating her “image” within her broader social media friend base, uploading posts that she exaggerates and lies about to look like she is this ‘health and fitness freak’. Is this what her life comes to? This accurately represents many individuals today, and by following the steps above – something CAN be done about it!!
Infographic:
Have you admitted to yourself that you feel you need to do something about your social media obsession? Before it turns into something worse? Below is an infographic that I made that can help beat the ‘social media blues’ and contains some helpful tips: