Unplugged: 4 Tips to Take Control of Your Social Media Cravings

Throughout October we are going to focus on being present by unplugging. "Unplugged" is going to help you find things to do when you just want to disconnect. It can be 10 minutes or a whole day. Take a chance and join us. All unplugged posts can be found here.

Do you remember the first time you created a social media account? Perhaps it was facebook to connect with friends and family. Or even Instagram or twitter. My first account was Facebook back in 2007. At the time it was handy to catch up with friends from High School or even plan outings. But since then there has been an increasing amount of studies that connect it to depression, anxiety or worse. But this is when you spend hours (or a whole day) on it. It takes dedication , control and some tricks to take control of this consumption.

     While writing this I have got notifications from Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. I am just as guilty of being on Social Media too much. My "poison" is Instagram, but I avoid Facebook.  This is because I feel the social pressure to get married, have kids etc. On the other side is the negativity that is just constant for some that I just can not bring myself to unfriend, I care about them so much. My choice is to choose when I look at these platforms and also monitor the time I spend (less than 5 min on Facebook is my record low).  But it I had to use a few little things to help me get there and I hope they help you. Use the following tips to take control of your social media habits

Leave Priority Mode On

    My favorite trick, which my phone left on one day. I got work done and when I truly had a bit of time to update I could. No sounds go off which means no calls for attention from any platform.

Put it on Airplane Mode

   Take advantage of this built in feature of your devices. Turn it on when you have work to do or out with family. Being present is better than letting others look at back of your phone.

  Use a "Self Control" App

An App like this (such as Productivity Owl) will allow you to set times or days that you can look at social media. But it blocks them until then. And if you need a bit of info (maybe an event address) you can go to the page but once the timer is up, the window will be closed on you.

Log Out

This will make you think before you check messages or updates as you are completely logged out of all your platforms of choice. While it may come off extreme, it works.


How do you feel about how social media has developed over the years? Share your opinion, negative or positive, in the comments below.