Social media is a growing problem in a world of addictions, with more and more adults falling into the trap, having spent their adolescence in a different environment.
Have you noticed how often and at really unnecessary moments you reach for the phone screen? Do you notice what you’re doing, what you’re waiting for or looking for? To find out, and to see if you can keep yourself away from the internet curse when you want to, take up the challenge and do a few little tests!
Whatever the day, take up our first challenge
This challenge sounds simple, but it can provide a lot of food for thought and discussion. The challenge is to switch off social media for the whole evening.
You can start as early as now, but if you can’t do it earlier, do it from, say, 19.00.
How to make a tech-free evening?
- Close screens where apps or other social media are easily accessible. This includes laptops.
- Turn off your phone’s internet and notifications, or set a limit on all apps in your settings.
- Make a plan for your time off – enjoy the company of family or friends, exercise, read a book or find an activity you’ve always wanted to try or put off. Even just a few hours can give you a chance to do something you’ve been neglecting. For example, take part in a sporting event or find some time to relax – you can find tips, tricks and service providers around you to fill your wellbeing pot on theStebby app or HERE.
Why do all this?
There are, fortunately or unfortunately, many reasons to go digital. Regardless of the length of the fast, it can give you an extra incentive to do it again at the end of each fixed period to test yourself again or to clear and clear your mind. A clear head – a more effective you.
A victory in time. Don’t be alarmed when you see on your phone screen that you’ve spent four hours on social media… all in one day! That’s the reality for many. That’s four hours you could have been doing something else.
In this time, you could exercise, spend time with your family, go to bed at a reasonable hour or even work to earn extra money to fulfil your dreams. The biggest benefit of the time off comes in terms of time, as you’ll get an extra 28 hours of free time if you add up the hours in a week.
Voicing your thoughts. Nowadays, we inevitably compare our own lives with what we see on social media. Who among us hasn’t thought about looking like a Hollywood actor or singing as talented as a pop star? Or spotted a friend’s new car on Instagram that you’ve always dreamed of but can’t afford?
Such thoughts distort our perception of what is important in life and we do ourselves an injustice by creating an unrealistic view of everything around us. Not everyone’s life is perfect, but social media is often used to show the positive side of life as a way of boosting self-confidence.
Taking a break from social media will help you come back to reality and shake up the values and opportunities we already have and can control. Positive thoughts about your own life, rather than others, give you the energy and motivation to improve yourself.
You keep a piece of your life to yourself and don’t share everything. Have you ever wondered how much information about you circulates on the internet? The more you share your data or pictures with the world, the more chance you have of falling victim to identity theft or simply a dormant account because of security risks.
When creating a new account, think twice about whether your privacy is sufficiently protected and whether you really need the account. When you’re away from social media, you can understand which accounts and apps you actually use – anything else you don’t use, you can delete for safety.
Beat FOMO. What is FOMO? Fear of Missing Out is people’s fear of missing out. In the case of social media, it’s the information or activity that others are doing that you think you need to know about. In reality, you’re not missing out on anything, and important information is always available to you when you need it, or will reach you.
After only a week’s break, you may realise that you’ll go diving back into social media in search of that “important” information, but you’ll quickly discover that it’s all just more noise that was even easier to live without.
What to try in the future?
- Delete unnecessary social media apps – take a critical look at your list of apps you’ve checked. Do you really need them all? If it looks like you do, at least move them out of sight.
- Set step-by-step limits – Android and Apple phone owners can set specific time limits for each app in the settings. Think you can only spend 5 minutes a day on Instagram? Set a limit and try it out. If you limit access to an app, maybe your fingers will get used to it and stop clicking on it every free moment.
- Skip the morning social media chat – do as Sandra Vabarna suggests. “For the first hour after waking up, don’t open any screens or smart devices! It’s been scientifically proven that if we pick up the phone first thing in the morning, sit down at the computer, open emails or scroll through social media, our efficiency drops by 20%. Take this time to wake up and get ready for the day! Do something for real – read, exercise, do yoga, work out, meditate, plan your day, learn something new, go for a walk in the garden, set goals. Do this consistently every morning for three months and you won’t believe how much clarity, focus and positivity you’ll find in your life!”
- Call people – interact with them face to face, and don’t print text and take pictures. Calling saves time and eliminates the cramped need to check the phone while waiting for an answer.
- Find a like-minded person to go through it with you – so you can support each other on the journey.
- Leave your phone in another room – leave only the call function active and put your phone out of reach.
While today’s challenge may not give you a good indication of the reality of the situation, at least you’ll be able to understand and feel how you feel when you’re away from social media. Usually, these periods are done for weeks or even months to really find out what your habits are and how it affects your whole life.
Our lives are intertwined with social media, but as long as being away from it hasn’t become unbearable, we need to find the motivation to try.
If you don’t know what to do with your free time, Stebbys has over 9,000 opportunities to try something new and exciting for your wellbeing and health. See more HERE.
