If you're reading this right now, that probably means that you were scrolling through Facebook or Instagram and happened to come across this article. I know the drill, you probably had the free time so you decided to pull out your phone and opened Instagram; when Instagram got boring, you opened Facebook, then check Snapchat stories, then Twitter, etc.
I fall into the same pattern as many others. I get tired or bored and to keep my mind active, I see what others are up to. Unfortunately, I miss out on what is going on around me by doing this. When I check the time, I see that 30 minutes have passed. These 30 minutes could've been spent doing something else, something more productive.
I actually got stuck writing this article and turned to my phone because I couldn't concentrate. Instead of pushing through and trying to come up with new ideas, I turned to my phone and realized that 10 minutes went by, then 20. This is a constant battle that I am facing personally and I believe we are facing as a nation as well.
I worry that we as a nation are battling technology, and technology is winning.
In a study done by the University of Derby, research showed just that.
"Too much social media or smartphone usage may be costing you more than just time... Studies show it may be stealing your happiness, stunting development in children, and decreasing academic and social potential in our college student population."
Parents often turn to technology to keep their children busy and preoccupied. It saddens me to see babies and toddlers on tablets in restaurants while their parents talk. While in a restaurant just the other day, I passed by a big family where every single person was on their phone. The kids had headphones in and the parents were each scrolling through Facebook.
While scrolling through Facebook myself, I came across a very interesting and heartbreaking post.
A class of second graders was asked to write about an invention that they didn't like. One second grader, in particular, wrote a heartbreaking piece explaining that her mom spends too much time on her cell phone so she wished the phone never existed.
If this is what our society is turning in to, I want to change it, or at least change it in my life. It is a struggle to break a habit that has been years in the making but I am trying my best to break the habit that is becoming detrimental on my life.
If you have gotten this far into the article and have realized that maybe social media has a big impact on your life as well, here a few strategies that I have gathered along the way.
Set timers for yourself
If you want to decrease social media time and not get rid of it completely, I recommend setting a timer for yourself. Give yourself 5 or 10 minutes to scroll through your phone but when time's up, then time's up.
Turn off your notifications
I personally have a hard time going to sleep at night because I don't want to shut out the world around me. I believe that I will miss something important while I'm asleep. Recently, I've been setting my phone to do not disturb before falling asleep. It may seem like a simple solution and you may be thinking "Well duh" but by doing this, you can greatly increase your chances of getting a better night's sleep.
Install an app that'll track your media usage
You may be thinking "Nah, I'm not addicted to social media, I know how to control my time on my phone." Well, install an app like SPACE or SOCIAL FEVER to see how much time on your phone you're really spending.