We can all fall into the social media trap.
Whether your vice is Instagram, Twitter or TikTok, most of us spend big chunks of time on these apps every day – posting content, engaging, sharing comments, scrolling, comparing.
There are loads of benefits of social media. Particularly during times of unprecedented isolation during lockdown, social media provided vital connection, support and light-hearted fun for many.
However, the flip-side of social media is also well documented. Too much time on these apps has been proven to contribute to anxiety, stress and low self-esteem. And we could probably all stand to reframe and redefine our relationships with these apps as we head into the new year.
‘When engaging with social media, we receive rewards in the form of comments and likes, and over time our brains learn to associate social media use with a rewarding experience, which explains why the behaviour is maintained,’ Dr Daria Kuss tells Metro.co.uk.
She says this can lead to ‘doomscrolling’ – which is the act of endlessly reading gloomy news updates, nasty comments and bad-faith takes online.
‘Doomscrolling may be a side product of this conditioned social media engagement,’ says Dr Kuss.
If you’re trapped in a similar cycle of stressful and unpleasant engagement with social media – and yet you can’t seem to log off, or spend hours scrolling every night before bed – then you are not alone.
In fact, this kind of behaviour is now so common that Merriam-Webster recently declared doomscrolling one of its ‘words to watch’.
But it’s a cycle that is really important to break.
A 2018 study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found that limiting social media use to approximately 30 minutes per day ‘may lead to significant improvement in well-being.’
The authors explained: ‘Using less social media than you normally would leads to significant decreases in both depression and loneliness. These effects are particularly pronounced for folks who were more depressed when they came into the study.’
So, we can probably all agree that having a more mindful approach to social media would be a good thing to work on – but how do you do it? These apps have been designed to be addictive, so is it possible to wean yourself off?
Practical tips to use social media less
Sara Tasker is an Instagram and social media expert. She agrees that it can be tricky to set boundaries with social media because they are specifically designed to be absorbing.
‘This is why you can pick up your phone to just check one thing and find yourself still scrolling an hour later,’ Sara tells Metro.co.uk.
‘It’s not that you lack self-discipline or are morally flawed – there’s big money invested in keeping you and your brain deeply hooked on the app.’
Now that we’ve taken blame out of the equation, we can look at the practical strategies you can employ to make your social media experience more enjoyable going forward – and break those addictive habits.
Set times on your phone
‘One simple way to break this cycle is to set timers on your phone or watch,’ says Sara.
‘If you only need to find a client’s email address on Instagram, for example, set a timer for three minutes before you dive in. If you have to post and browse for your business, give yourself 20 minutes and then it’s time to step away.’
Sara says the alarm sounding should be enough to break the spell and remind you of your intentions.
‘Knowing the clock is ticking can help keep you focused and productive,’ she adds.
‘This system is so effective that Instagram, Facebook and YouTube all now offer the ability to set a daily usage tracker too, alerting you when you’ve gone over your intended limit for the day.
‘Instagram is also currently trialling a “take a break” reminder that will appear at set intervals to let you know you’ve been doomscrolling for too long.’
Use a social media restriction app
If timers aren’t enough – enter the world of social media restriction apps.
‘Flipd (iOS and Android) works by physically locking you out of selected apps for a chosen time period, making accessing your social media impossible,’ says Sara.
‘Many apps like this can be circumvented by restarting your phone, but Flipd keeps running regardless, meaning the only way to break your pact with yourself is to go ahead and delete the whole app.’
Sara also suggests other similar apps, such as Freedom, which will allow you to set blocks to a daily schedule, turn on your entertainment apps for the evening, and cut off your wifi connection at bedtime.
‘Using an automated process makes it easier to stick to your planned intentions when you’re feeling tired and low on willpower,’ she adds.
‘ColdTurkey’s browser extension works similarly for your desktop computer or laptop, allowing you to block websites, wifi and even force you to finish writing a document before it will let you do anything else.
‘If that’s too extreme for you, one of my favourite apps, OneSec, is designed to break the instant gratification reward of social media by adding “friction” to the experience.
‘Add the apps you want to use less and OneSec will add an automatic delay before opening any of them – just enough time to give you chance to check in with yourself and take a deep breath.
‘The app also offers simple notifications to help you keep track of the minutes ticking.’
Set up a separate handset for work
If that all sounds a bit too technical, Sara suggests that you try setting up a separate phone handset for work.
‘Limit yourself to the necessary apps and communications there, and keep your personal social media accounts and notifications for your home-phone, which stays locked away during working hours,’ she says.
‘As a bonus, this stops you from working in your free time too.’
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