8 Tips to Regain Control Over Social Media
By Isabella Szklany
At times, it is hard to believe how much social media consumes one’s life. It has not only been a platform I’ve used to connect with friends and find new restaurants to check out, but it has also played a prominent role in my education. First learning about the addictive power of social media at age 17, I have since been fascinated with studying the mental health and behavioral impacts that persuasive social media has on individuals. Most recently, I’ve just finished my Master’s dissertation, which examined how 18-to-29-year-olds change their social media habits once they realize it is a problem.
Having experienced problems with social media myself, I’ve tried to introduce different tools and strategies to be more mindful about how I engage online. Changing my approach to social media made me more interested in discovering how other young adults try to alter or limit their use. Based on my experience and interviewing ten individuals on how they change their social media habits, I’ve uncovered eight tips and tricks to help you engage in social media more mindfully.
1. Turning off Notifications.
Probably one of the most common ways of limiting social media use, I find that turning off notifications helps me forget social media exists. By no longer getting phone pop-ups every time someone has liked your post or if someone you follow goes live, your brain is no longer reminded to return to the platform.
How to turn off Apple notifications
How to turn off Android notifications
2. Setting Time Restrictions.
All Android and Apple phones include setting features that allow you to set app screen time limits. Fully customizable to your wants, you can decide how long you want to spend on a particular social media app per day. Once your time is up for the day, Apple phones will block you from the app. While you can override the block, setting app screen time limits is a valuable way to hold yourself accountable for limiting social media use and helping you stay more mindful about the amount of time you spend online.
3. Changing Accounts to Follow.
One of the first things I did when trying to engage more healthily in social media was to unfollow any account I noticed was causing me to get upset. By unfollowing people I didn’t consider my friends in my day-to-day life and reducing the number of influencers and news accounts I followed, I became less upset about using social media. Instead, I filled my feed with my closest friends, organizations that I am passionate about, and accounts dedicated to promoting positivity in online spaces.
4. Keeping your Phone Away from You.
When conducting research for my dissertation, I learned that keeping the phone in another room or away from one’s desk was reported to be a strategy that eight out of ten participants used. From having dinner with friends to doing homework or even working remotely, participants would leave their phone in another room, throw it on their bed, or put it in the middle of the table, away from themselves, to help direct their focus to what was most important and make social media less of a distraction.
The next time you are in the middle of a task and your phone becomes too distracting, try to place it out of reach. By removing the device's presence, you are removing the temptation to use it.
5. Limiting Self to Certain Platforms.
When it comes to limiting your use, you might find that it is harder to resist specific social media platforms over others. For example, I only used TikTok for a few days before I realized I was spending too much time on the platform and had to delete it. I am not alone in this struggle, as from talking to countless others about their social media experience, they had to delete either TikTok or Instagram because they found it challenging to regulate their time spent online.
In short, if one social media platform over the others is too problematic for you, you may find the most benefit by removing yourself entirely from the platform.
6. Using Block Distraction Apps.
Block distraction apps are great options if you are in the midst of an assignment and keep on finding yourself distracted by social media.
These apps allow you to set up restrictions and times when you want to avoid social media and purposely block you out of the apps until you turn off the restrictions or the time block you selected is over. However, be aware that most of these apps require a paid subscription.
7. Find New Distractions.
Do you find yourself resorting to social media when you have free time? Instead of scrolling, replace your social media use with a passion or interest of yours that is easy to bring with you wherever you go. One trend that has become popular is to replace scrolling with reading, such that every time you go to reach for your phone, you have a book nearby that you pick up instead. If you’re not a big reader, the same can be done for other hobbies, such as knitting, drawing, journaling/writing, and if you are in an environment that allows it, some type of physical exercise.
8. Create a Social Media Schedule.
From my dissertation research, it became clear that there are some points in the day where individuals use social media more than others. For instance, when individuals got home after a long day of school or work, their first instinct would be to go on social media. However, the problem became that they would spend much longer on the apps than intended. One solution to this problem is instead of trying not to use social media during that time, create a social media period similar to a class period, where from 3:15 to 3:45 every day, you allow yourself to go on social media, and make that the only time of the day you use social media.Or you can create a schedule where you go on social media only twice daily, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
While this strict timing of social media use may only work for some, it is worth a try!
While none of these solutions are foolproof methods for limiting your social media use entirely, they are suggestions that you can slowly incorporate into your daily routine and test out to find which ones are best for you. From my interviews and personal experience with social media, I’ve learned that you may only be successful in limiting your social media use some of the time. Still, you will become more aware of how you use the apps and the purpose you want them to have in your life. Small steps to regain control over social media can help you regain control over your daily life.
Remember, social media does not define you. You define you!
About the Author:
Isabella Szklany recently graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she studied for her Master of Science in Media and Communications (Research). Her research interests include social media effects on behavior, focusing on one’s habits and well-being. Through her research, Isabella aims to educate the public on how to navigate online platforms safely.