I was a social media addict—it’s something I’m not proud of. But it didn’t take long for me to realize how much time I was wasting scrolling. Time I could have spent doing something more productive. If you’re in the same situation I was, here are some tips that helped me reduce the time I spend on social media apps.
The first thing you should do is remove all social media apps from your phone’s home screen. There’s a good reason for this.
Let’s be honest with ourselves, how often do you pick up your phone to do something productive, like completing a task for a client, but end up tapping on a social media app that’s on your home screen? Maybe those app icons have a certain appeal that draws us in.
If these social media apps aren’t readily available on your home screen, the likelihood of you opening them will definitely decrease. This way, you’re more likely to focus on the task you originally intended for when you picked up your phone, and you have to be more intentional with your social media usage.
One of the main reasons you constantly check social media apps is because of the notifications you receive from them. It might be a notification about a friend posting a new reel or your favorite creator uploading a new video. In either case, you might be tempted to check them out.
The worst thing is that sometimes you might end up using that social media app for hours, even if you just opened it to reply to a message you received. To stop this from happening, it’s best to disable social media app notifications. This way, there won’t be any notifications from these apps, and you won’t be tempted to check them out.
There was a time when Facebook was the only social media app that was popular with users, but now we have tons of them. From Facebook and Instagram to Snapchat and Threads, there’s a long list of social media apps you can install on your smartphone. However, you should always remember that the more social media apps you have, the more likely you are to get distracted from your work.
For example, if you’re done scrolling through Instagram, you might switch over to Facebook to check if your favorite creator uploaded a new video. Then, once you’re done with Facebook, you might jump to Snapchat to see the snaps your friends sent you. This could be a never-ending story, and you might end up just switching from app to app, ultimately wasting your time.
The best thing you can do in this situation is to delete any social media apps you rarely use. For instance, if all your friends are on Instagram, simply delete all the other apps, as they’re just acting as extra distractions on your smartphone.
Leverage the Screen Time Feature
Both Android and iPhone offer a screen time limit feature that you can use to limit the time you spend on social media apps. To set the screen time limit for social media apps on iPhone, open the Settings app, select “Screen Time,” and then choose “App Limits.”
Select the “Add Limit” option, and expand the “Social” category. Choose all the social media apps on which you want to apply the time limit, and then tap “Next.” After that, set the time you want to allow yourself to use the selected social media apps and enable the “Block at End of Limit” option. Then tap the “Add” button.
That’s about it. Now, when you have used the selected social media apps for the amount of time you have configured them to be used, those apps will get locked automatically.
To set the screen time limit for social media apps on Android, you can use the Digital Wellbeing app. This app comes preinstalled on most Android devices; however, if it is missing on your smartphone, you can download it from the Play Store. Once you have the app installed, open the Settings menu on your Android phone, select the “Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls” option, and tap the “Daily Timer.”
Tap on the social media app on which you want to apply the time limit, select the “App Timer” option, and then select the amount of time you want to allocate to that app per day. Then, tap “OK” to save the changes. Once the timer runs out, you won’t be allowed to use that social media app.
Leave Your Phone Outside the Work Area
This may sound very basic, but believe me, this tip really works wonders. You simply need to keep your smartphone off your work desk. You can keep it out of arm’s reach or, even better, in a different room. This way, your eyes won’t land on your smartphone, and ultimately, you won’t be tempted to access social media apps.
However, this might be tough for you if you only have one smartphone and need it for work. In this case, you can use a third-party application called ScreenZen.
ScreenZen is a screen time control app that adds a waiting period before your app’s launch. So, after you tap on a social media app, ScreenZen makes you wait a set amount of time before it actually opens. This delay can help curb your urge to check social media constantly.
The good news is that ScreenZen is available for both Android and iOS. First, download the app on your smartphone and launch it. Then, grant all the necessary permissions the app requests, which includes access to your smartphone’s screen time feature.
Next, select the “Social” category and choose all the apps you want to slow down with a loading time. After that, set the desired waiting time for each app. You can even write a custom message to motivate yourself to resist using the app.
In addition to that, you can also configure how many times you want to be able to open a particular app per day and set a daily time limit for its use. Finally, tap the “Complete Setup” option. Now, whenever you try to open an app with a loading time added, you’ll be prompted with a message asking if you really want to open it. If you do, then you’ll need to tap the “Unlock” option.
Spend More Time with Offline Friends
The main reason behind the sudden increase in social media app usage is that you’ve limited yourself to the online world. You’re only looking to make friends online and interact with them through messages and video calls. This can not only negatively affect your social skills but also harm your health.
Constantly using social media apps on your smartphone can damage your eyes. Additionally, many studies show that excessive smartphone and social media use can decrease your concentration.
To avoid these problems, you should start spending more time with your friends in person instead of interacting with them online. Furthermore, you should engage in physical or mental activities that contribute to your development instead of limiting yourself to sending reels and memes to your friends.
These were some of the tips that helped me reduce the time I spent on social media apps. Hopefully, they will work for you as well. However, always remember that these tips aren’t magic wands that will make your social media addiction disappear instantly. You’ll need to practice these tips for a while consistently.
You’ll probably get bored after a while and be tempted to start using social media apps again, but that’s exactly what you need to avoid. You must believe in yourself and keep reminding yourself why you’re doing this — to break free from social media addiction and spend your time on things that will help you grow, both financially and personally.
