Social Media and Your Offline Life: What You Need to Know
Do you ever feel like social media is consuming your life? It’s not just a feeling. A recent study found that heavy social media users spend an average of nine hours per day on it, and some people even spend more than 12 hours per day on their feeds. That’s over half the time we are awake! And while many people post messages about how great their lives seem to be, these posts can often make us feel worse because we don’t have anything to compare our lives with, and they create a false sense of reality for other people who may not be as lucky in life as we think we are.
Another problem is that while scrolling through our feeds looking for something new to capture our attention, we spend less time with people in real life. Studies have even shown that heavy social media users are more at risk for depression. So what can you do about it?
What You Can Do About It
Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the amount of time you spend looking through your feeds or increase your self-control regarding how much time you spend on it.
Turn Off Notifications
For example, some people turn off notifications for specific apps like Facebook and keep only those they need to make an informed decision about whether or not to visit the site. Also, instead of scrolling through your feeds as soon as you wake up, give yourself time first thing in the morning to do something for yourself — go for a run, read a book, or spend time with family. Try to reduce the amount of time you spend looking through your feeds during class or at work by putting away your phone or closing out apps distracting you.
Realize No One Has A Perfect Life
Finally, if you’re only looking for positivity on your feeds, pay attention next time you’re scrolling through them, and you’ll likely notice that everyone else seems to be leading a perfect life as well. This perception is because we tend to post only positive aspects of our lives online, and if we don’t share those details, we may forget about them. So try having more real-life experiences which you can look back on and share with others. That way, you can keep your feeds exciting without creating tension in your own life that doesn’t need to be there.
Social media is a growing part of our culture, and as such, you need to use it responsibly. We all know that people scroll through their feeds looking for something new to capture their attention, so you have to find ways to keep your posts relevant and exciting. Fortunately, there are many things we can do to reduce the amount of time spent on social media or increase self-control when using this online tool.
