Addicted To Social Media? 4 Tips To Break The Cycle

Social media can be a great asset. It helps us keep in touch with family and friends we don’t always see. We can easily keep up with local and national news by following media channels. And it can be nice just mindlessly to scroll and look through photos of celebrities and influencers.

On the surface, this all sounds fantastic. What could go wrong? Social media isn’t just a way to stay social for some people – it becomes a full-blown addiction. We often think of social media addiction as happening to teenagers or young adults. However, anyone at any age can become addicted to social media.

If you or someone you know is addicted to social media, it can feel like it may be impossible to break that cycle. But, unfortunately, that isn’t the case at all. Here are four tips for breaking the cycle of social media addiction.

1. Schedule Break Times Throughout The Day

You may have to start small. Start scheduling allotted times when you don’t look at social media. Start with 10-minute breaks. To make this even easier, put your phone in another room so you won’t be tempted to pick your phone up. Even checking text messages or email quickly can often result in opening up that favorite social media app. You can try to aim to do this at least three times a day. Practice 3 10-minute breaks for about three days. Then on day 4, work your way up to 15-minute breaks three times a day. Even if you start small, you will eventually find that you don’t want to hop on social media.

2. Download Focus Apps

There are apps and programs you can download that can help you remain focused on the task at hand. This can be useful for your phone if you need to focus on work and not social media. Even in your downtime, you can set this app to block all distracting apps of your choosing so you can spend time reading or doing household chores.

Technology can be damaging, as is the case with social media. However, you can also really use it to your advantage!

3. Avoid Social Media When You Are Bored Or In A Certain Mood

Suppose you find that when you feel sad and want to relax, it’s common to turn to social media. After all, who doesn’t want to scroll and see cute photos of your friends’ pets or watch funny reels on the apps? This often fuels social media addiction because our brains view it as instant gratification. It’s a low-key way to make ourselves feel better, after all. But eventually, our brains come to also consider social media as one of the only ways to get our happiness levels up. Or to relieve boredom.

Instead, turn to other hobbies or activities. For example, go for a walk to help lift your mood. Or, if you are bored, pick up a book or research a hobby you want to try. Your brain might take a little while to pick up on what you are trying to do, but eventually, it will rewire itself not to be so dependent on social media.

4. Try Counseling

Therapy can be one of the most excellent tools to overcome basically any issue we face as humans. But unfortunately, while it might sound crazy, social media can be an addiction. And while it may not be a diagnosable addiction like anxiety or substance use (yet), it is still very real.

If you struggle to overcome a social media addiction, don’t hesitate to contact us. Together, we can help you learn the root causes of your addiction, and from there, you can learn to get the control back.