Social media connects us to the world. However, it might be disconnecting us from our real life. If you cannot leave your cell phone unattended any second, this might help.
Let’s talk about a topic that most of us like to turn a deaf ear to: how to disconnect from social media. You are working on a presentation when your phone pings with a notification from Facebook. You quickly reply to the message and then decide to scroll through your feed. After commenting on a few pictures, you get bored with Facebook. Then, you open Instagram. You comment on your friend’s vacation pictures. You glance at the time and realize that 15 minutes have passed. You groan and promise yourself ‘last five minutes.’ After a few more likes and comments, you check the time again. Another 15 minutes have gone by… Sounds familiar?
Many people don’t even realize that they are addicted to social media. For them, it is just as important as food and water. According to statistics, the average American spends about two hours on social media every day. ‘Is that a bad thing?’ you may ask. As usual, social media is not bad in itself, but its abuse can deteriorate 1.0 relationships and separate us from things that are also important. Let’s see some of the reasons to disconnect from social media and discuss some simple tips that will help you.
Reasons to disconnect from social media
There is no denying that social media has many benefits. The first one is that it helps people get connected. But does it really?
Ignoring your loved ones
Often, social media makes people feel alienated from each other rather than connected. Have you ever caught yourself scrolling down social media when you are in the middle of a family dinner? The situation might seem familiar to many. The easiest solution is to disconnect from social media and connect with your real life.
You’re obsessed with others
Social media makes you obsessed with others. Why didn’t my picture get more likes? Why didn’t my friends comment on my picture? The list is endless. With social media, you fall into a whirlpool of fake likes and comments.
Loneliness
According to some researchers, one in three people felt more dissatisfied with their life after visiting a social media website. This is contrary to what we believe or hope from social media. We use it to become happy. But do we really become happy? Maybe not every interaction makes us unhappy. However, the result is usually a pang of jealousy when you look at other people’s lives.
Tips to disconnect from social media
Now that you know about why you should disconnect from social media, let’s discuss how to.
Delete the app
It is a good idea to delete the social media app you spend the most time on. You will be able to disconnect better when you don’t have the app easily accessible. If you feel that you are not seriously addicted to social media, you can also use an app to freeze your app for some time. During that time, you will not receive any notifications. For example, Cold Turkey is a popular app that will block access to apps and websites after the time limit is reached.
Set a social media timer
Another tip is to limit your time on each app. So, your phone will lock you out of the app for the rest of the day when your daily usage has crossed.
Make plans
Instead of chatting with your friends on social media, make plans to get together with them. You will be able to spend more quality time with them. Also, it decreases the loneliness of not using social media as well. Soon, you will realize that the real way to connect with people is to see them face-to-face rather than chatting on an app.
Find a hobby
If you find a hobby outside the internet, you will be able to disconnect from social media. Usually, we use social media whenever we are bored. So, a hobby will help you stay busy in a more productive way.
Set aside 1 hour for social media
It doesn’t mean that you have to delete all your accounts to disconnect from social media. Instead, you should set aside an hour to use it. During that time, you can respond to messages, follow others and stay in the loop.
Social media doesn’t have to be bad. It’s you who decides whether it is good or bad. You have the power in your hands. So, it is time to take control back. A random notification should not decide whether you should leave everything you are doing and respond to it first. To start having control, you can use the 5 simple tips to disconnect from social media. And if you want to disconnect from everything else, you can go through our Ostrichpillow collection.
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