It’s interesting how the quick development of SNS (Social Networking Sites) are influencing the way the world spins around. Literally, billions of people are already hooked on this or that social network. It all started with the great purpose of connecting people. However, social media networks have turned into something much bigger.
When I say “bigger” I am not suggesting their huge number of users. I’m suggesting that their applicability is now very complex. You can do like almost anything: communicate, entertain yourself, look for information, look for jobs, work, and much, much more. It’s quite a big breakthrough if you consider how the world worked 20 years ago.
However, Social media networks are also bringing bad. Individuals from all over the world are consciously and unconsciously addicted to SNS. It doesn’t matter what it is – Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat. All of them, if used in the wrong way, will bring more harm than good.
In this post, we’re going to give you some smart strategies on how to use social media without being affected by addiction tendencies and symptoms. Pay attention and apply!
Limit Your Social Media Usage
Instead of using social media chaotically whenever you “feel like it”, make a strict schedule. Create some boundaries and rules. For example, you can enjoy a few minutes of SNS while you drink your coffee in the morning. You can even take a break during the mid-day and take a quick peek at what’s going on. Without some rules, you’ll keep logging in over and over again.
Track the Time You Spend on Social Network Sites
In order to keep everything “under control” and maybe even realize how much time you’re losing while lurking the news feeds, begin tracking the time spent on SNS. Here’s a digital app that should help you with the task. Once you realize how much time has gone, you’ll spend less of it as the day, the week, and the month goes on.
Deactivate Your Social Media Accounts for Certain Reasons
Do you need to take a break from society perhaps? Do you have an important exam? Are you feeling overwhelmed because of lack of time? The simple solution would be to deactivate your SNS. The reason is simple: when you’re disconnected from it all, you have much more time for yourself.
The fewer Phone Notifications the Better
We’ve asked Dana Michaels, Social Media Manager at Aussiewritings.com, to give us a tip for today’s SNS dependence problem. Her remark is pretty straightforward (and a bit sarcastic yet very true):
“When you allow your phone to throw notifications on every second of your day, you’re basically saying “Yes, I’m always available to be interrupted from my activities, no matter how important they are”. Can you see what you’re doing wrong?”
Simply put, the fewer notifications the better.
Pursue Your Life Priorities First
You must have some sort of responsibilities and priorities. Try to pursue them without allowing time-distractions come into your way. Here’s something helpful: whenever you find yourself scrolling down a social network’s newsfeed, realize that all of that time could be better spent on accomplishing your goals and changing your life for the better.
Start Using Social Media Only for Good Reasons
Do you really need entertainment right now? Are the SNS you’re using truly relevant, useful, or required in your life? Figure that out. In case you’re keeping social media accounts just for the fun, you could simply disable them and stick with what’s important.
Discover Real Life Activities that Make You Happy
Whenever you stop or limit a habit, which in this case refers to the abundant use of social network sites, you must replace it with something new. Otherwise, you’ll feel a “lack of something”.
Take a piece of paper and start brainstorming ideas about possible hobbies and activities that could bring you joy. From there on, you just need to take action to make them a reality.
Clean Up the Mess and Add Something New
Most of us aren’t paying much attention to the things we like and the friends we add. It won’t pass long until we realize that our social media profiles are a total mess: irrelevant news updates, annoying people which share no connection with you, and useless information.
You can clean it all up! It will take you just a few hours. Allow everything that’s relevant to stay and pay more attention to what you allow in your SNS.
Become Aware of Your Bad Habits
Here’s a bad habit most social media users have: whenever they open their screen, they instantly open an SNS network. Whenever they start their PC’s, the first action is usually Browser -> Social Media Network.
If you disable your SNS for a day, you’ll feel it! That’s a bad habit. Become aware of your bad habits and start removing them immediately. How? By being aware and by committing to change.
You Dictate Who is in Control
All in all, you’re the one who controls your existence. Your thoughts reflect your actions while your actions shift your destiny. Understand that social media addiction is no joke, and it really is hurtful to your present moment and to your long term future. That, of course, if not managed properly.
Simply commit to staying in control of your actions. Self-discipline and commitment are often keys to lasting change, so use them as much as you can.
Takeaways
Our life is too interesting like it is right now. Start paying attention to the smallest details. Look in the mirror for five minutes straight (eye-contact). Or, you could fully focus on the present moment. Live into the “now” – as they say.
My point is: even though social media is helpful for many things, it still remains a distraction that “steals” your time and attention. Go out, do something fun real life, and enjoy life as it is.
About author: Olivia is a journalist, content-writer and a bookworm. She loves to teach, read and write. Her second biggest love after books is her cat called Patty, who usually kindly assists her while writing. Follow Olivia on Twitter.