Don’t let Social Media ruin your life: A comprehensive guide to counter your Social Media addiction

Do you remember the days when there were no social media platforms? How was life then? People have different opinions on how life was and that depends on how do they use these platforms. Some say life was peaceful, for some it was boring, difficult etc. One thing that surely happened in this industry was that it opened a new dimension of new possibilities, new problems, new solutions through its accessible-to-all platforms.

When different platforms started emerging, it was revolutionary. People got opportunity to cover events which no one ever talked about and main-stream media never intended to show us, it gave direct and indirect employments to many, it helped many become millionaires and billionaires and what not. Afterall the rise of internet and social media resulted in destroying the monopoly of media houses, big businesses and politicians that set narratives through mainstream media, movies and advertisements.

But with great power comes great responsibility, right? What went wrong with these platforms? How is it that these platforms are becoming one of the biggest reasons of deteriorating people’s mental and emotional health and how is it that social media platforms are witnessing the same things that were once limited to the main-stream media? Think.

Every great weapon is only useful if it stays in the right hands. And something that is easily accessible to all, attracts wrong people as well. With increased funded activism, exploitation, extortion, online bullying, scams, frauds, and all other cyber crimes, the credibility of social media platforms is questioned, and it must be. Let’s discuss how social media is ruining your life and how to fix it.

Problems:

With technological advancements and increased involvement of social media platforms, many times you are obliged to use them. Sometimes to get a job, to promote your business, craft, to get your daily news, and everything. Such a huge dependence on any new revolutionary solution has always created the same problem that it was trying to solve. With rise in social media users, everyone starts feeling that social media is an integral part of their lives, which is far from the truth.

Problem 1(You waste a LOT of time):

You know it how quickly your time goes by when you are scrolling on your feed. This way, you reduce your productivity and become less efficient. There are a few things to blame for that, one, your interest in others’ lives, two, your habit of Escapism, three, eye-catchy content and platform development to hook your attention.

1. Your interest in others’ lives is as useless as it sounds. It won’t get you anywhere, you just remain a mere spectator in your life a.k.a an NPC(Non-Player Character).
2. Your habit of Escapism, running away from what seems hard gets you to social media because it hardly asks for any skills to access those platforms. You don’t need any depth of neither knowledge or skills to use Facebook/Instagram/Twitter etc. Escapism hardwires your brain into running away from all hardships that would make you mentally resilient.
3. Eye-catchy content is another big reason why you stay hooked in those apps for so long. The other aspect to it is that these social media companies hire engineers/developers to design their platforms in such a way that it hooks your attention for as long as possible. Yes, there are people working to make sure you give your attention to their products and services without even realizing how much time you are wasting.

Problem 2(You are feeding your brain with Useless Information):

We live in an era where data or information is abundant, thinking is not. You just need to press a few buttons and you have all the information you want. Social media is also filled with a lot of trash, and the worst part is that you are letting all that trash enter your mind, which then hinders your thinking ability.

Honestly ask yourself “What will I get watching some random videos?”, “Is it important to me to fight and argue in the comment section with unknown people?”, “Do I have enough time to keep on scrolling on the feed which serves no purpose rather than keeping me hooked?”. You know your answers.

Problem 3(Your Mental Health gets affected):

Excessive usage of social media comes with a price that you pay with your mental health. It takes a huge toll on your mind and affects your thinking capabilities. There is a reason why the number of mental health patients is increasing, majority of whom are suffering from anxiety, depression and feelings of inadequacy.

Everyone is just so much concerned about what others are doing, when all they need to do is focus on their own lives and do better. From fake success posts to illusionary lifestyle posts, everyone just tries to show the world that they doing something great, that they are successful, when all they are doing is creating an illusion which not only affects them but also others.

People tend to feel they are not doing good in their lives, when they see other people’s lifestyle on social media, and feel they are not good enough. This mental state is terrifying. Some people fight their out of this and become great, but many just stay their and suffer because they couldn’t find a way out.

Problem 4(Your Attention Span is reducing):

This is one big problem which almost all of the social media users are facing because of the new trend of short videos and constant notifications. Have you ever noticed that you don’t want to watch a long 30 minute or 1 hour video, but keep on scrolling and watching other short duration videos for hours? You feel you’ll waste time by watching that 1 hour long video, hence you watch those 5 minute videos for hours with ease.

It is because your attention span has been reduced. Even when you try watching long duration videos, you’ll jump on other tabs to search something else, watch some other videos or just do random surfing. Your monkey mind is playing with you.

Don’t let it play, instead get into the habit of enduring more pain doing one thing for hours, this way you’ll train your mind to not run away from challenges. //for solution

Solutions:

Any problem which needs to be solved first needs to be addressed that it exists. Social Media Addiction can be solved by numerous ways provided you accept that you have an addiction to Social Media. Many people fail at addressing their problems before trying to fix them. Following are the solutions that will help you:

Solution 1(If using social media is necessary for you):

If your usage is an absolute necessity, you can dedicate a time window, which you will decide for yourself, to use social media. This window will let you stay connected with your work or entertainment without letting you over-do it. Make sure you follow it strictly and don’t make a fool of yourself by not respecting the time-slots. You are not supposed to open those apps or access those websites after your time is over. This will help you stay disciplined and limited usage won’t affect your productivity.

Solution 2(If using social media is not necessary for you):

If you are just using these apps for passing your time and it’s not really useful for you in your daily life, you can stop using social media altogether. At first, you’ll feel bored, free and empty, but after sometime you’ll realize that you have enough time to utilize it in the right direction but not enough to waste it on consuming useless content on social media.

Solution 3(If you are frustrated by social media usage):

Try digital detox. Disconnect from the online world(you’ll choose how frequently you’ll do it and how long you’ll do it) and spend time in the real world. Travel, spend time in nature, meet with people and enjoy your moments with your family. This will not only rejuvenate your mind, but it will also help you with your mental health. Focus on hobbies that bring you joy and make feel relaxed, you’ll realize there’s lot more to life than just trying to impress other people who don’t care, by showing a lifestyle that we don’t really follow.

Solution 4(If you want to replace social media with better alternatives):

There are many alternatives that you can think of, for news, you can start reading newspaper or just read articles on the internet instead of scrolling through your feed on Twitter or Instagram. For talking/chatting, try talking to people in person, in real world instead of typing on your screen. Instead of following the trends, stand and watch other people are doing, how they are getting controlled unknowingly. Do you want to get controlled by a bunch of people for their profits at the cost of your attention and time?

You can choose to start writing diary, going out with your friends sometime, travelling to newer places without posting on social media, enjoying a new product or equipment without telling the world about it. Private life is a good life to be honest. There is nothing but shallowness in validation from other people about your life, you would be better, the sooner you realize that.

Conclusion:

There is a lot more to it than what we have just discussed and I want you to think, because not everyone wants you to think as long as you are filling their pockets one way or the other. Think of what else is happening to you because of social media and tell me in the comments’ section, both positive and negative, but do consider the solutions that I have given above as atleast one of them will surely help you get better.

If you have any other solution to counter this problem, feel free to share your views.

Thank you for your reading.