We have all been there: getting bored, we know we have work to do, but still, we continue scrolling through reels, shorts, and other social media. From the beginning of our day till the last minute before sleep in bed, what most of us do is surf through social media apps. May it be YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and all the others. Social media is not only a great time-waster, but it also facilitates laziness and is a great tool to get easily distracted. I know you all are agreeing till this point.
Well, then, why not just quit social media? Uninstall all the apps, block all the sites and delete all the social accounts! Just declare that you are quitting social media, and voilà! No more anxiety. Suddenly you are more productive, you get good grades, you do good at work, you start pursuing your hobbies, read books, get a nice physique, and all the things mankind could ever achieve in a lifespan. Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but, that won't happen. Quitting social media is not as easy as you may think!
The beauty of social media
The world cannot connect to people without a keyboard and some funny emojis (or emoticons, if you are fancy), all thanks to social media. Well, it is weird to stop scrolling after 3 short videos or stop chatting after the important conversation is done. But why do we get so easily addicted to social media, after all?
While social media seems fun to use in your free time or while you eat a meal, it has a significant effect on your brain. Whenever you open a social media app or site, your brain gets flooded with dopamine. It is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and happiness. Every activity releases dopamine - including studying or working. But some things like eating, partying, playing games, and of course, using social media, release excessive amounts of dopamine. When your brain receives this excess amount of dopamine, your brain thinks that this is a rewarding activity.
And when the effect of this feel-good dopamine wears away, your brain craves more dopamine and you go back to the source - those funny tweets, those mindless scrolling of short videos, or those continuous display of posts.
Is it bad?
So yes, it is addicting, we know. But then why should you quit it? Well, here is some insight into how disadvantageous social media is.
From personal experience, it is very time-wasting. While I sit watching some YouTube videos while I have a snack, I continue doing so for hours for a snack I could have eaten in 20 minutes or less. Not only this, during my 5-minute study breaks, I open Discord and don't know when the break becomes one hour.
Except for addictiveness and increased usage, there is something called FOMO or fear of missing out. The idea that you will miss something important if you won't check social media sites often is what affects mental health. Other concerns like cyberbullying and being a victim of scams persist if we use social media continually.
Plan A
So should we quit? And if yes, how? Well, I readily understood my time is being killed using social media all day which seriously impacted my productivity. Although I was studying for the prescribed hours, the study wasn't effective enough. Blocking notifications didn't work. So I tried Plan A, get off all social media.
I deleted all social media one fine day when I thought enough is enough. Reddit, YouTube, Discord, Quora, Instagram, Facebook, everything is gone. I felt so relieved and anxiety-free. I got to know that most of my bad habits, like not studying, staying up late, taking too much time to get ready, having meals for hours, etc. were all because of social media. Since now I had no social media to use, I developed many good habits or at least got rid of the bad ones. I ate fast, got ready fast, and slept peacefully. Suddenly, views, likes, dislikes, nothing mattered to me. But this feeling didn't last long.
I felt disconnected from the online world. I didn't get to know when 'Maan meri Jaan' was the new trending song. I missed out on loads of new and trending stuff happening around. Also, I missed out on most of the references in my friends' discussions. I soon started feeling bored. So bored, that my productivity, which should have increased by quitting social media, decreased further. Not long until I realized I can't live without this stuff. What is the use of a smartphone if I am using it just to text and call? I shamelessly redownloaded apps that I decided to quit and this plan was a total failure.
Plan B
After some days, it struck me, that if I cannot quit social media, can I cut down on the apps that I use? So instead of using 10 social media apps on my phone, I would use 2 or 3. Here started my plan B.
I deleted most of my apps except for a few. And I was already imagining getting good grades and being productive. Sadly, this never happened. Although I had cut down my online presence, those few apps I kept were enough to get my day "wasted". Although now I didn't dive into endless scrolling of YouTube shorts now and then, I started wasting time on useless economy bots on Discord. So safe to say, this plan failed too.
Finding balance
After a little research backed by my earlier experience, I found out that maybe social media is not that bad. I not only stay updated with what's going on in the surroundings but also with what is up in the world of the internet. And yes, social media is a great marketing tool, and a great civic engagement tool, it expands networks, builds relationships, and whatnot.
Taking that into consideration, anyone would argue that quitting social media is not a wise choice. And indeed, it isn't. We all have been trained to quit what we are addicted to. Instead, limit our addiction. After realizing this, I quickly opened Digital Wellbeing on my phone and set up timers on social media apps. But wait, how much time do I devote to social media? What is the ideal time I should spend on social media sites to stay updated but not addicted?
With some quick research I found out that considering all factors, 30 minutes per day devoted to social media is the ideal time. Although we can tweak it, at least 30 minutes is what is recommended. I quickly tried to limit my app usage by adding timers in Digital Wellbeing. Only problem was, Digital Wellbeing didn't allow the limitation of a category of apps. I had to set timers for individual apps. After researching, I found the app SocialX that allows one to block social media apps together.
Mobile was not the only device I operated social media on. So I had to find an extension that blocked my laptop usage too. After a lot of research, I finally came on to these apps and extensions: SocialX and Digital Wellbeing together for Android, Screen Time (inbuilt feature) for iOS, and StayFocusd for Windows.
Reflections
Since I have cut down my social media usage, although I have joined many new platforms I was not earlier on, I have been distracting myself with positive distractions since then. I have been studying effectively, not being lazy to do chores and most importantly, I don't have that constant craving for notifications or attention.
When it comes to social media, we all want to reduce our usage, but a few take steps towards it. Many of them quit in between too. The thought of quitting social media helped me realize that at the bottom of my cravings to use social media are the deep connections with my friends, exposure to new ideas and information, or just as a pass time to chill. The behavior I adopted helped me reduce my wastage of time while still being connected to the internet, and with my friends and it allowed me to explore what I truly wanted to do and put the time to work that mattered.
No behavior towards social media is good or bad. Social media is a tool, it depends upon you how you use it. Try to minimize the time you spend on social media and discover what truly needs your time. I am not a social influencer but remember, your time truly matters. You decide whether you mindlessly scroll through meaningless videos or get up and pursue your dreams.
References:
- Disadvantages of Social Networking: Surprising Insights from Teens
- 13 Things That Could Happen When You Quit Social Media
- How I Tricked My Brain To Like Doing Hard Things (dopamine detox) - YouTube
- Social Media Addiction: What It Is and What to Do About It
- The Pros and Cons of Quitting Social Media
- Pros and Cons of Social Media
- How Much Time Is 'Too Much Time' On Social Media? - Outlook India
- Media: Pexels, Pexels, Pixabay
Disclaimer:
Information in this post is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This post is for information purposes only and is intended for a personal level. Seek professional help if you are heavily addicted to social media.
Edit (Update):
When I thought I had found the perfect blend of social media usage and healthy distractions and maximum productivity, I couldn't do the timed thing any longer. Somedays I craved for more and somedays I never required the daily time. It depended on so many factors like study, how busy I am, mood, etc.
I quickly removed the timer on these apps. Today I continue using these apps without any restriction. Some days I use it for hours and some days I don't even use any one of those.
I realised that putting restrictions and timers won't solve addiction. It is everything up in our brains. Everytime I open a social media app, I ask myself, "Is there anything important yet to be done?" "Can I use this time somewhere more productive?" "How much time will I use the app?"
Surely, all the experimentation I have done above taught me that I can survive without social media, I can control my urge to use these apps, I am responsible for my distractions and I choose to be distracted. Putting a timer to the apps is a great way if you have just started your journey to avoid social media. But remember it's okay to increase the limit some times, but not often. Good luck!