I love social media. I know there are so many cons and negative effects on our society…which I won’t get into because that is a whole other blog post but honestly, I really do love it! TikTok is my preferred social media. I enjoy it, I love connecting with other people, and I learn a lot! One of my favorite things to do before going to sleep at night, is lying in bed and showing Mark funny TikToks I’ve seen throughout the week.
I also love Facebook specifically for the groups. I am in so many Facebook groups that I gain so much value from.
Though I honestly feel like I gain a lot of value and enjoyment from social media, I can’t help but notice the negative effects of social media in my life, specifically becoming addicted to it.
My Social Media Addiction
Unfortuntely and probably expectedly, I noticed that I was becoming addicted to social media. I had a constant urge to check my various social media accounts: FaceBook, Instagram, and TikTok. Thankfully I’ve kept it to just those 3! It was to a point that when I picked up my phone to do just about anything else and I would automatically open social media. I could have picked up my phone to call someone, to read an article, to respond to a text and I would mysteriously find myself scrolling social media.
I honestly had a hard time during the meta black out back in October of 2021 and when TikTok went dark for 24 hours back in January. Out of habit, I continuously clicked on the apps, consciously forgetting they were dark.
This year, I really struggled with my bed time routine. I would stay up way past my bed time, watching TikTok and would wake up exhausted the next morning. This cycle repeated continuously each night.
I knew I needed a change.
Making Intentional Changes
I’ve done a few things to intentionally limit my social media intake. For one, I’ve implemented social media free times throughout my day. Over the past few years, Mark and I have agreed to no phones at the table when we are eating meals together. We haven’t been perfect with this rule but we do pretty well for the most part.
I also decided not to check social media in the mornings while getting ready for my day. If I check social media when I am in bed, I tend to stay in bed scrolling and it derails my morning. I turn my phone off before bed and will turn it on the next morning right before I get in the shower or once I get out of the shower.
Because scrolling before bed has been my biggest challenge, that one has taken some time to make progress on and I am not where I want to be just yet! I have a bedtime routine that I try and stick with nightly. Part of this is turning my phone off before bed. I do love to watch TikToks with Mark before bed but as I said before, many times we end up staying up way past our bedtime! We are still working on limiting the amount of time we do this so we aren’t up til 12:30/1am watching TikTok, which happens sometimes!
My Involuntary Social Media Cleanse
During the day, I work in a Middle School and High School providing mental health supports to students. My most recent school district kicked my personal phone off of the staff Wifi. My issue with having no Wifi for my phone was that there was no service in the building. I was not able to receive or make calls or texts. This was incredibly frustrating and my main concern. Being able to check my social media was a nice added bonus.
I contacted my supervisor, HR, admin, tech support, and my colleague at the district office trying to remedy this but to no avail. I was told to use the guest Wifi…which did not work at all. See the below images of my attempts at checking my social media on the guest Wifi. Nothing would open. Nothing would load. This was so incredibly frustrating and infuriating. I would refresh my socials throughout the day hoping against hope for something to load…anything! But it was no use. The guest Wifi was completely useless. They may as well not have had it at all.
This began my involuntary social media cleanse.
Because I see private practice and coaching clients in the evenings, I had no time to check social media. The only time I was checking it was right before bed and on weekends. I soon noticed something interesting…
After a few weeks of not having access to my social media at work, my urge to check social media had all but disappeared and I wasn’t even checking my social media on nights and weekends anymore. Being forced to go without internet during my days decreased my urge to go on social media at all. This was actually the progress I had been working toward.
Curbing Your Social Media Addiction:
There are many wonderful aspects of the internet and social media, but if you are feeling like you are addicted or developing an addiction, there are things you can do curb the urges and your social media intake.
- Implement social media-free times during your day- mornings, bedtime, and meal times are great times to implement this
- Remove the social media icons from your homescreen or phone
- Delete accounts that are not benefiting you
- Limit the number of social media accounts you have
- Only follow accounts that bring you value
- Unfollow or mute accounts
- Turn off all notifications- this is something I’ve been doing for years and it’s a game changer!
- Disable sounds- this is also something that I do. My phone is completely silent. It’s nice to not be interrupted every few minutes throughout the day
- Replace the behavior- replace scrolling with another activity you enjoy like calling or texting a loved one or reading a book or article
- Implement physical barriers like keeping your phone away from your desk while you’re working or out of your bedroom or off of your nightstand during bedtime
- Track your usage- your phone likely has an option to track your phone usage. Get an accurate idea of how long you’re spending on social media
- Turn on the screen time limit- your phone has an option to limit screentime for certain apps. You can turn on this option to have your phone close out social apps after using them for a certain amount of time
Social media can be a great tool for connecting with others, sharing your life with the world, checking in with loved ones, advertising your business, entertainment, and learning new things. There are so many pros and cons to social media. Be mindful of your social media use, how it makes you feel, and how it’s impacting your life and relationships.
Some questions to consider-
- Is social media enriching your life
- Are you using it as an escape or a procrastination tool
- Is the time spent scrolling taking away from you working toward your goals?
- Are you comparing yourself to others?
- Is your time scrolling negatively impacting your mental health or relationships?
One thing is for certain, social media has become an integral, almost inescapable part of society.
Be mindful, be aware, and do what works best for you! I’m still figuring out what works best for me and finding that balance. With awareness, mindfulness, and intention, you will find the right balance that works well for you.
Feel free to reach out to me for personalized tips, strategies, and support! You can email me at accordingtodes@gmail.com or schedule a free discovery call to learn how we can work together!