How to spend less time on Social Media? and activities to do Instead

In the present era, From the sun rises to sunsets, we often find ourselves glued to our mobile phones, regardless of their intended uses. Along with our phone battery, it sometimes feels like our brain is also exhausting itself of useless and unproductive things. Through platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and so on people started to share moments of their lives, stay updated, maintain connections across distance, and gain opportunities. 

Read More: Psychologists tell Why we are getting Addicted to Social Media

Research on the pros and cons of social media on mental health shows that social media usage fosters connection, self-esteem, and a sense of belonging but at the same time its overuse can lead to increased stress, sadness, and isolation. The constant receiving of notification sounds, the tension to maintain a flawless online persona and a continuous flow of content make individuals disconnect from the real world and their responsibilities. 

Though social media has high benefits, it is crucial to be concerned about our privacy and mental health. It is important to limit the usage of social media by engaging ourselves in other activities. This Article explores the ways to reduce social media usage and activities to do instead. By understanding it, we can strike a healthier equilibrium between digital consumption and overall well-being. 

Read More: How Social Media Affects Our Attention Span

How to Reduce Social Media Usage

Here are some steps to reduce social media usage: 

1. Setting goals: First, it is important to understand the purpose of using social media and then set Goals. Once we understand our Goals, we will be able to stay mindful and monitor ourselves. 
2. Time management: After setting your Goals, organize and plan to allocate time for each activity. Determine how much you want to spend on social media to achieve your Goals. In this way, we can avoid overuse of it. 
3. Use reminder devices: In the smartphone, several settings alert us about our screen time. In many apps, there are features like app timers, screen time reports, and so on to give us reminders. For example, recently YouTube has launched a feature “Take a Break reminder” to reduce the time spent online. 
4. Finding alternate activities: Instead of using social media, immerse yourself in activities like pursuing hobbies, going for a walk, playing with pets, and so on. This keeps you engaged and reduces your available time for using media. 
5. Create a tech-free zone: Create a space that is free from mobile phones, laptops, internet connections, etc, and also practice digital detox. Digital detox is choosing a day or weekend to unplug all of your digital devices and  Social media. Use this digital detoxification period to reflect, relearn, and reconnect with the world around you.
6. Seek support: Share your Goals with the people around you and seek support. Spend this time with your family members, friends, and peers, get feedback, and make the process easy and effective. 

Here are some activities to replace social media usage: 

1. Reading books 

Reading is a promising habit that offers numerous benefits. Immersing yourself in reading whether it is fictional or nonfictional helps to reduce spending time on social media. Sometimes while reading books we get bored and distracted by notifications of mobile phones. To avoid this engage yourself with interesting books, stay focused, and incorporate this habit into your routine. 

Read More: Top 8 Benefits of Reading Books

2. Pursuing hobbies  

Each of us has an interest in something such as painting, musical instruments, cooking, and so on.  Spending time on things that keep us happy makes us forget about everything. Like this, pursuing hobbies sets the border for our temptation for social media usage. 

3. Exercise  

A study by German researchers, reveals that spending 30 minutes of social media time on physical exercise fosters emotional well-being and reduces stress. Exercise not only keeps our body fit but also makes a person’s mental health better. By incorporating workouts, an individual may be able to spend less time on social media. Research posits that during covid 19, doing physical exercise reduces addictive social media usage.

Read More: Exercise and Mental Health

4. Journaling  

Journaling our thoughts helps us to understand our urges and vanishes our burnout. It helps an individual to stay away from the nonstop cycle of ruminating things. for example, if an individual has repetitive thoughts about using social media, journaling those thoughts helps the person to understand their urge to use media, regulate emotions, and reduce the stress that arises because of the urge.

Read More: The Connection of Journaling with Mental Health

5. Spending time with nature  

Replace your screen time with nature time which means seeding, watering plants, admiring nature and going for a walk in a greenery environment helps to reduce your thoughts about social media. It looks like a simple activity but its result speaks a lot. By doing this people can strengthen their real-life connections. 

Read More: Why Gardening is good for your Mental Health?

6. Communicate with real-life persons 

Spend more quality time with your family and friends as a way to decrease your social media usage. Promote real-life communication rather than online communication. Share your ideas,  thoughts, likes, and personal happenings with these personalities instead of struggling to share those on social media platforms.

Take away

Social media is a place where we gain a handful of benefits but also it has some disadvantages. overuse of social media leads to addiction, privacy problems, diminished productivity, disconnect from people, and physical and mental health problems. So it is important to use social media for a limited period. Limiting social media usage can be done by incorporating strategies such as setting clear Goals, time management using reminder tools, finding alternate activities, creating a tech-free environment, and seeking support. There are various activities one can do Instead of digital consumption. it includes pursuing hobbies, spending time with nature, meditation, reading books, and journaling. 

By doing these, individuals can be able to take control of their social media habits which not only makes them engaged and fulfilled but also their mental health better. Start to set boundaries on social media usage and reconnect with the happiness of a real-world journey.