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Too much social media

nature_boy

New member
After a long hiatus, I decided to re-start my Facebook profile. Life changes, new family members etc. convinced me that I need it to keep up withe everyone. But now I find myself scrolling.... and scrolling... and scrolling. I feel like I'm wasting valuable time that I could be using for self-improvement, work etc. Does anyone else have this problem? How do you curb your Facebook use? Should I just get rid of it and go "off the grid" again? Any input would be helpful!
 
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Sflom

New member
Aside from self-discipline, one way to limit your use is to not have the Facebook app on your phone. Only access it via a computer so that you aren't tempted to get sucked into the black hole that is facebook when you are able to check it anywhere via your phone. I personally hate when I go out somewhere and see a group of people where all they are doing is scrolling through their phone. Anyways, that's neither here nor there...

The other thing to consider is who did you re-start it up for? Yourself? Others? If you did it at the urging of others and it was because they wanted to keep up with you, ask yourself if those people really need to know everything that is going on in your life (you know, as is the nature of Facebook nowadays). If it is a small group of people who you want to be able to keep up, then you can always go old school----a phone call to an aunt; text or email a couple pictures to grandma; you get the gist. Personally, get rid of the facebook if you really don't like it.

The way I see it, I only personally have a small circle of friends and family who I feel even need to be kept in the loop about my life. It sounds kind of harsh, but if I am not close with someone, then they don't need to be able to keep up with what I'm doing. And if someone truly wants to know, they can text or call me.
 

hayeske

New member
I have the same problem with Instagram. I have to use it for work, so I can't turn it off. I absolutely love photos, and I have a ton of professional photographer friends who post beautiful, beautiful pictures. So I often find myself wasting cumulative hours on the app every day.

One thing that helped me was turning off all notifications from my social apps. For some reason, not having those reminders on my home screen really helped me cut down on the amount of time I'm spending on there. It's definitely cut my usage in half, which is great.
 

goa

New member
It all comes down to self discipline. I used to be a twitter addict, always Ln the app tweeting and retweeting. But it got to a point I had to call myself to order, I restricted each social media app to a certain % of data each day that won't last more than 30 mins per app. That way I get to do other things with my time and also, get to have quality time with my friends and family
 

nature_boy

New member
Wonderful answers. I actually tried hayeske's suggestion today and it made a huge difference. I still checked Facebook a few times, but without the constant bombardment of notifications I definitely didn't feel as much of an urge. Thank you all!
 

khop83

New member
I have the same problem with Instagram. I have to use it for work, so I can't turn it off.
Me too. Part of my job involves creating and monitoring the company's social media content, so deleting the apps from my phone is not optional. Because I just know the first time I do that, some crisis will happen and I'll be scrambling to deal with it. I think Facebook has given up on its desktop site, because every time I try to use it, it's worse and worse. Mobile though -- that's so easy to use. The best way I've found to disconnect is to put my phone on a charger in another room.
 

SocialShelley

New member
I've tried to use the social media networks for other things. Facebook can sometimes produce more information about a thing or a company than the Google Search engine does. I just use them all for different things. Do I need to know about something local? Facebook. How to do something or an idea for how to do something creative? Pinterest.
I just try to use the social media apps in a different way to engage my brain.
 

Ecoleman24

Member
Facebook and several other social media sites can really be a time suck. If I have goals set for the day that do not include 2 hours spent scrolling through the myriad of posts I set a timer. Be it for 10 minutes or 30. Doing so can really start making and keeping you aware of just how much time you spend lost in the land of endless posts. I hope this helps. Best of luck to you.
 

negedemeg

New member
I know this feeling! You can't help but look but it truly wastes your time - flipping back from Instagram to Twitter and back again. It;'s like an addiction. What helps for me is sometimes I turn my phone off and leave it on the charger in a different room. It starting to get me back to enjoying the present moment without it being near me.
 

Rae1234

New member
Just last night I was talking to a friend about my internet addiction. I was never a TV watcher. In fact, I tossed that decades ago and never looked back. But the internet is orders of magnitude more addictive. And if I remember this right, Facebook developers admit that they deliberately built the platform to create addiction. Such nice people - looking out for us that way. :)

One thought: have 1-2 days a week when you simply fast from all social media as a regular discipline. Fasting is always a great way to take back control.
 

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