Connect
To Top

Are You Addicted To Social Media? These 8 Questions Will Help You Find Out

Are you a slave to your phone?

Are you addicted to social media? Is it the first thing you wake up to each morning and night? Do you start to panic if you haven’t checked Instagram in awhile? Then you might need to take a break from social media. Though social media can be a great way to keep in contact with people and stay up to date, it can also wear us down if we don’t use it properly. So how can you know if a break is in order? Answer these questions honestly to find out. 

Why Are You Posting That?

Why are you sharing this to your Facebook page or updating your status? Is your purpose to help and encourage others? Or it is to tear someone down or stir the pot? Be careful of posting something just because you want to show off and make other people feel bad. us could be as simple as just posting what you are doing every Friday night, so people know that you are not staying at home alone. But, can’t you still have just as much fun with your friends if you don’t post every minute that you’re with them?

How Often Are You Checking It? 

The average person spends around two hours a day on social media platforms. So that’s why you can never get anything done! But, honestly, there is no reason that we need to spend two hours of our already crazy hectic days looking at memes and pointless videos to pass our time. Why not schedule intentional times that you will engage with social media twice a day. I would suggest when you get home from work for a half an hour and then 15 minutes either before you get up or before you go to bed. I promise you that you aren’t missing as much as you think.

Do You Have Major FOMO?

I don’t know about you, but most of the time I feel like I’m missing out on something big if I don’t check my social media every couple of minutes/hours. But, in reality, I am always disappointed. I just missed someone posting a picture of their cat or another selfie. Am I missing something so important that it can’t wait? And for those big life moments like a pregnancy or engagement announcement, if you were really important to that person, wouldn’t they want to tell you before they tell Facebook?  

How Do You Feel After?

40% of individuals reported that they feel worse about themselves after they spend time on a social media platform. And, if you’re like me, I bet you can agree with this statistic. It can be easy when we are bored on the weekend to browse social media, only to feel worse because we don’t have fun exciting plans, or worse, to see friends of ours together and us without an invite.

 It can also make us as women compare ourselves to each other. Filters aren’t real life, people. We all know how long it takes to get that selfie or picture of ourselves to look as flawless as it does, so don’t feel bad about yourself because you aren’t airbrushed. So when you are feeling more vulnerable and lonely, try to not reach for your phone. Though you may be distracted for a minute, it might just make you feel worse. Instead, why not try to reach for a good book, an encouraging quote or Bible verse, or your favorite TV show or movie.

Do You Multi-Task While Using Social Media?

We’ve all multi-tasked with our social media consumption. It might be when we’re driving( though I hope not) when we’re talking to someone on the phone, when we’re watching TV, or when we’re at the gym. Though we think we are doing two things at once, we really aren’t. If we switch from the task or project we are completing to a social media site, our IQ drops 10%, just because we wanted to multitask. Our brains are very complex, but they aren’t perfect. If we want to live in the moment and do the best we can on the tasks before us, we need to stop looking at social media at the same time. So, instead of reaching for your phone when you are at work to keep you entertained, try spending a day without looking at social media and see what you can accomplish

How Do You Use It Around Family And Friends?

Have you ever hung out with your best friend or group of friends and spent the majority of your time on your phone? That’s so sad. We should be relishing in those moments we can spend with those we love. And when we are so focused on getting a great SnapChat or Insta moment, we miss out on actually experiencing the moment. So why not implement a new rule when hanging out with your friends, no social media. 

Maybe take your group picture at the beginning of the outing so that it isn’t nagging at the back of your mind, or don’t take a picture at all. Try to go out to dinner and put all your phones in the center of the table to remain untouched. If you are out to coffee, keep your phone in your purse, not on the table beside you just waiting to distract you. Make sure that you make the most of the people around you, not the person who is online.

Are You Painting A Realistic View Of Your Life?

On social media, it’s too easy to act like we have it all together. Like we woke up looking this perfect for work, that we are having the best time of our lives in a new city when we’re really lonely, and that we have everything figured out at our new jobs when we don’t know how to use the printer. Be honest with yourself and your online friends. Now, I am not saying you have to take a picture with no makeup on, but don’t post an airbrushed picture of yourself from the morning either. Don’t lie to people online to peak people’s interests. People appreciate authenticity, so be real.

Have You Tried To Take A Break?

If you’re worried that you’re getting a little too cozy with your social media time, why not take a break. Not a break that is so long that you’ll miss anything and everything, but just a brief break to help you refocus on what really matters. 

When I was addicted to Twitter, I took a break for a week just to make myself stop thinking and creating tweets with everything I said. After I took that week break, I never returned. I realized that all my tweeting was causing me endless stress and that I wasn’t missing as much as I thought by not checking the app. 

Now, I haven’t done that when I’ve taken a break from other social media platforms, but I have gained a new perspective each time. I realized that what I thought I needed to know or see right away didn’t serve a huge purpose in my life. Social media is a great way to view bits of other people’s lives, but it shouldn’t be your whole life. So why not delete some social media apps tonight? You can always redownload them in the morning.

 

I hope that some of these tips helped you if you are addicted to social media. For any more suggestions, feel free to comment them to us below!

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More in Adulting Hacks