Consider Why You Check Social Media
While checking your phone and social media throughout the day seems normal, it’s a habit that we sometimes don’t realize may be compensating for something else. According to Jones, people often use social media as a form of escape from an uncomfortable feeling like boredom, loneliness or another negative emotion.
“Addiction is anything you do to escape a feeling that has a life-damaging consequence. So a lot of people will turn to social media to escape a feeling of boredom, loneliness, wasting time — whatever feeling they want to escape. The life-damaging consequences of social media addiction are that you are not present and as engaged with life,” Jones said. To see this IRL, just look around next time you’re out at dinner and chances are you’ll see a table of people staring at their phones and not talking to each other.
It’s tempting to open Instagram when you feel lonely, but it can ultimately make you feel worse.
Besides lack of engagement and presence around family, friends and coworkers, Jones says social media creates feelings of envy, which is also negative for mental health. “People are displaying filtered versions of life, which is not healthy, it’s very unrealistic,” Jones said.
Since social media can be a quick or easy fix to avoid negative feelings, you can ask yourself the following questions to evaluate what you could be avoiding and may need to address in another way in your life.
Turn Off Your Social Media Notifications
When it comes to stepping back from your phone, Do Not Disturb is your best friend. When you stop notifications from disturbing your normal routine, you might find it easier to concentrate on your daily tasks and not get distracted so easily. Social media notifications are a constant reminder that something is happening in the online world and you might feel like you’re missing out. So to quell your FOMO, turn off your notifications. The bonus is, when you do come around to check your social media, you may have a build-up of more notifications which will make it more exciting and will make the experience more rewarding.
Remove Your Phone From Your Morning Routine
Likewise, do not reach for your phone the moment you get out of bed. For a lot of us, the first thing we do in the morning is to check our phone. Avoid this! Not only does this exhibit an unhealthy dependency on our phones, the sudden huge quantity of content which will hit you as you scroll is too much for our tired mind to handle. This will overwhelm and distract us, and negatively impact our ability to focus for the day. Try not to touch it until you are at least settled into the day.
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How To End Social Media Addiction And Protect Your Mental Health
What social media addiction is, why its a problem, and how to solve it
Welcome to your first Social Media Addicts Anonymous Meeting. Im Erwin, and I am addicted to social media.
Who wants to stand up next? Do you have a problem? Or are you afraid someone you know might have an addiction to social media or digital technology in general? Lets get into it, and lets solve the problem, a.s.a.p.
Of course, the problem of social media and tech addiction has extra relevance in 2021, after or during the covid-19 pandemic and under worldwide lockdown conditions. Because if you were already suffering from social media addiction, thats only bound to get way worse this year, if you dont act soon.
And if you werent already hooked on social media specifically, and digital technology in general the times we live in make it extra difficult for all of us to maintain a healthy relationship with these technologies.
Especially, because the main way most of us use information and communication technology, or ICT for short is to connect to other people. And thats something that we can only crave more during these times to feel connected.
I literally wrote the book on social media and smartphone addiction. After suffering from it quite seriously myself. Yet in these interesting times we find ourselves in, I find its hard not to relapse, and I find myself arguing with my wife over how much time I spend on my phone. Again.
How Can I Help My Teen With Social Media Addiction
Help them with effective coping mechanisms when used as a way to cope with sadness, social media can quickly negatively affect a teen and leave them feeling even more empty, or envious, or frustrated. Effective coping mechanisms should help a teen overcome or adapt to their troubles, rather than providing escapism. Hobbies that help a teen improve themselves mentally or physically, meditation and spiritual activities, long walks alone or time spent with a therapist these are methods that help a person effectively cope with issues by becoming outlets for stress and helping them find a healthy perspective with which to tackle their problems.
Manage their screen time the internet should be used as a tool, with online media as a source of entertainment or information. But when online media becomes what your teen preoccupies themselves with at almost every hour of the day, they become simply unable to think about, or focus, on anything else. How is a person expected to do anything in the real world when their hands and thoughts are on screens and online? As intertwined as our lives have become with the internet, many teens struggle to balance that with the responsibilities and challenges of living. Managing a teens screen time and encouraging them to do so on their own, for their own health and future, is critical.
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S To Break Free From Social Media Addiction
These 5 ways to break free from social media addiction will help you gain back your time while still keeping in touch with the digital world.
Do you often find yourself staring at your phone for hours, wondering why you never have enough time? These 5 ways to break free from social media addiction will help you gain back your time while still keeping in touch with the digital world.
According to Statista, an estimated 2.65 billion people use social media worldwide and about 79% of the US population is online utilizing social media. Digital Information World goes even further by saying that the average person spends approximately 2 hours and 22 minutes on social media every day!
I personally love social media and happily scroll through my Facebook feed to find out the latest on my friends kids or reconnect with old friends and family members who live far away. I have also found that Facebook groups can be very helpful as tools to collaborate with other people.
Then I end up feeling stressed at the thought of all I could have accomplished during that time I just wasted.
The problem really isnt social media. Instead, the problem stems from:
- How much time we spend on social media
- Fear of missing out on the next status update or comment
- How easy it is to maintain online friendships as opposed to real life friends
Use Positive Reinforcement To Build Better Social Media Habits
Like Jones suggested, using an app or Apple’s Screen Time feature on your phone is a good first step for being more mindful of your social media usage. You may be surprised how much time scrolling Instagram can add up. According to Jones, it can be helpful to evaluate this time and choose something more positive and intentional you’d rather fill your time with .
If you decide to fill your former social media time with a new activity, like say reading, it will take a few weeks for the new habit to set in. It’s totally normal to sit down to read and feel the urge to check social media for a while. But, it’s best to commit to your routine and try not to break it for at least three to four weeks, according to Jones.
“From a behavioral point of view, doing something for three weeks or at least 21 days will allow you to form a new habit. You really are rewiring a certain part of your brain when you try it,” Jones said. And Jones said it’s helpful to add in a positive activity, instead of just telling yourself or others that you’re cutting down on social media.
“The best way to reinforce behavior is to do more of it. So instead of saying, ‘I’m not going to do social media’, you can say ‘I’m working on being more present.’ So you want to be affirming healthy, positive things that you’re doing,” Jones said.
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Delete Social Media Accounts You Dont Use
According to Marie Potter, Marketing Director for the Professional Organizers in Canada, the first step in overcoming social media addiction is to consolidate your devices and delete all the platforms you dont use. If this task in itself seems overwhelming, break it down into bite-sized chunks. Start by taking 10 minutes a day to declutter your devices, Potter says.
Check out more pro tips on how to organize your digital clutter.
Accessibility Of Social Media And The Internet
In the early days of the internet and even social media, you would have to sit down at a computer with internet access to access your favorite website or social media platform. Most people could only access the internet at work or school, a library, or specialty locations such as internet cafes.
With the streamlining of internet access and access to smartphones, getting on the internet or checking out your favorite social media app has never been easier.
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Limit Your Social Media Screen Time
Set a timer on your watch or phone to limit the amount of time you spend on social media. Your iPhone has the capability in the screen time settings to set a hard and fast limit, and while you can work around it, it will prompt you to rethink whether or not you really want to be on Twitter. Choose a limit depending on the severity of your social media dependence say an hour a day, which equates to seven hours per week and whenever you check your accounts, start your timer going. When you reach your limit, be strong and don’t be tempted to add on extra time. This will be a strong test of your willpower, but it will be worth it in the end.
Why Simply Quitting Social Media Isn’t Enough
First, it’s important to keep in mind that social media is literally addictive. Just like a drug, it’s designed to trigger reward centers in your brain every time you see a notification on your phone or a like on your latest Instagram post. And this is why the cold-turkey approach sometimes won’t cut it .
“On a deeper level, these social media companies know exactly what they are doing a neurological perspective. What they’re doing is called intermittent reinforcement — it’s what casinos do too with slot machines. And it’s the same with swiping on Tinder or checking your Instagram. The addiction is the reward pathway, it’s a dopamine hit,” Jones said.
Instead of totally quitting your social media, Jones recommends taking smaller steps to mitigate your habits. “I think it’s a problem when people start too big. Start somewhere, where there’s the least resistance,” Jones said. Examples of small steps to help break your addiction include turning off notifications, turning off vibrate, and using a feature on your phone that monitors how much time you spend on social apps.
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When Does Social Media Overuse Become An Addiction
Distinguishing social media use from addiction is important. Addiction is a condition that can be debilitating, harmful to health, and disruptive to a persons daily life.
What social media addiction is not:
- regular use of social media
- enjoying social media
- use of multiple social media platforms
People can use social media very often and not have an addiction. Many people use social media to forge social connections, keep up with news, or for work or academic purposes.
What distinguishes a habit from an addiction is how it can affect a person emotionally, physically, and the extent to which it interferes with other aspects of their life.
Factors Linked To Excessive Social Media Use
Teens and adults who are most vulnerable are those who struggle with social anxieties and/or depression. Over time their social media use may progress to a point where it becomes compulsive and obsessive. They may use as a way of avoiding what they feel uncomfortable doing, or as a way of feeling better when they generally feel down, or depressed.
People who feel they do not fit in with their peers may also end up becoming excessive social media users. This is because they have access to a larger world in social media than their offline life offers. They may be shy and unconfident and find that strangers online treat them differently others. They may end up preferring the people they socialize with online to those in their circle of influence.
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Does Social Media Addiction Cause Withdrawal
People who compulsively use social media are unlikely to develop physical withdrawal symptoms in the traditional sense. However, they may experience certain psychological effects.
For instance, stopped or reduced access to social media may cause restlessness, irritability, agitation, or distress.
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This type of psychological withdrawal is similar to that seen with other types of behavioral addictions, such as gambling addiction or internet addiction.
Sign Off For A Weekend
A little time away from the screen reminds you how rich and full life is without status updates or comparing your life to others picture-perfect versions. Taking a break also unlocks creativity and productivity.
Get outside. Be active. Hang out with friends in person. Try a new hobby youve been dying to find the time to try.
Warning: a two-day respite wont be enough to cure your addiction, but it is an eye-opening experience that you can use to build upon.
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Adhd Medication Might Help In Treating Amphetamine Addiction
A mock methamphetamine lab for teaching purposes at the new National Clandestine Laboratory Training … and Research Facility December 5, 2008 at the DEA Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Since 1987, DEA has trained over 19,000 officials to operate safely in clandestine laboratories which are commonly referred to as meth labs. According to the National Clandestine Laboratory Database, since 1999 there have been 106,681 reported incidents in the United States involving contaminated meth laboratory sites. AFP PHOTO/TIM SLOAN
AFP via Getty Images
A recent JAMA Psychiatry study found that an ADHD medicine called lisdexamfetamine reduced the risk of hospitalization due to amphetamine or methamphetamine addiciton by 18% and 14% for deaths caused by substance abuse disorders.
Researchers at Karolinska Institute in Sweden further observed that lisdexamfetamine might potentially be more effective than medications that are conventionally prescribed to people with substance abuse disorders.
The team conducted a nationwide study from July 2006 to December 2018 and followed up with 13,965 participants for up to almost four years. The participants were between 16 to 64 years old and had been diagnosed with an amphetamine or methamphetamine use disorder.
What Is Addiction Recovery
Before examining whether or not social media is beneficial to the recovery process, we must first understand what recovery is. While people may have different or more specific goals, recovery, in general, refers to the ability to function in life without the use of previously-used substances.
Often, people will begin recovery with the sole intent of becoming abstinent from drugs. Later, they learn that a healthy mental state and lifestyle are necessary to remain sober. In turn, the healthy mental state that individuals strive to achieve and maintain typically comes with reconnecting with themselves, strengthening their relationships, practicing forgiveness, and other such benefits.
Recovery is a long and often complicated path thats never truly over. Every day individuals may be fighting urges to revert back to their previous lifestyle. Due to this, the recovery process is extremely delicate, and maintaining a healthy mind, body, and spirit is crucial.
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Who Is More Addicted To Social Media Men Or Women
Males 17 have been proposed to be more vulnerable to social media addiction than females.
