Picking up the phone to mindlessly scroll through our social media feed is almost second nature to most of us. We love the thrill of getting the latest updates, connecting with friends, meeting strangers,
stalking our crushes, and finding new things to laugh and banter about.
However, this love for social media could quickly take a turn to become an addiction that might be difficult to break. Are you on the edge of social media addiction? Here are some signs to look out for.
P.S: Your parents did not contact us to write this article.
It Keeps You Up At Night
If you’re losing precious hours of sleep by scrolling through your social media and refreshing your timeline every night, you might be on the verge of social media addiction. There are enough hours in the day to enjoy social media all you want, so it’s advisable to put your phone aside and get some shut-eye when it’s night time.
It’s The First Thing You Check In The Morning & The Last Thing Before Bed
If you realize that it’s become impulsive to check social media the minute you wake up and right before you wake up, you might be on the edge of social media addiction.
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You Obsess Over Numbers
You might find yourself obsessing over your follower count and the number of likes, retweets or comments that your post has. If you’re an entrepreneur monitoring the growth of your business page or an influencer, this might be understandable. However, if you aren’t, this could point towards social media addiction.
It’s super important to avoid seeking validation or measuring your self-worth with numbers on social media. You’re worth more than that.
It’s A Major Distraction
If your social media usage is cutting deep into your productive hours and affecting essential things such as work and study, it could be a sign of addiction.
We’ve all been in situations where we set out time to work or burn the midnight oil studying, only to spend so much time laughing at the new Lasisi video or joining in timeline banter on Twitter. If this tends to happen an unhealthy amount of time, you might be dealing with addiction.
You Experience FOMO When You’re Not on Social Media
Social media addiction works as a cycle, sometimes. If you continuously experience restlessness, anxiety and a strong urge to check social media (even after spending two hours on it as a stretch) due to FOMO (fear of missing out), you might be going through social media addiction.
You’ve Lost Interest In Other Things
An unhealthy obsession with social media could lead you to gradually lose interest in activities you once loved because you’re spending little or no time on them.
Here’s what you can do:
Control your notifications
If you find yourself getting distracted whenever your phone beeps, it’s advisable to manage it by turning off notifications, especially during work hours.
In several cases, we check our phone once a notification comes in. Before we know it, we’ve spent a substantial amount of time scrolling aimlessly through different social media apps. Turning off notifications gives you a sense of control and helps to reduce distractions.
Time Yourself
Another great way to manage social media addiction is to time your activities and screen time regularly. Tech brands such as Apple have a ‘Screen Time’ feature that monitors your device use and sends you weekly reports with details of how long you spent on certain apps during this week. This helps you to train yourself to reduce and manage your screen time.
Also, apps like Moment, Freedom, and QualityTime help you healthily use your phone by reducing distractions and screen time.
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