I Am Ready to Cut Down My Social Media Time. Then What?
It’s time to see the world again outside of social media.
Sign-off your social media accounts, put WhatsApp on silent, don’t do binge-watching.
How many times do you hear this advice?
The dilemma is what to do after that.
A fair question. Surrounded by a life of “likes,” “Shares,” and “Comments,” it’s a tough decision to keep ourselves out from all the action. If FOMO is for real, it has to do something with human nature. And, to act against human instincts is going to be a tough ask.
Even if you gather all the courage and wisdom to act, the actual fight begins after that.
What to do with this sudden addition of extra time in your life?
I recently experimented with the set of people I work with on my self-improvement platform. It was a quick one day challenge to stay away from any screen time for two hours. It was a Sunday, and I expected it to be a tough challenge for everyone.
I am not too sure about everyone else, but it became tough for me, at least.
The wall clock stared at me like a monster as if asking — “Why are you wasting your time?” And I did not have any answers. I read for a while, played with my daughter, took a nap, did some home cleaning, but still, there was time left.
Those two hours were a fresh perspective. I would not say it was a revelation to me, but it helped me look for alternatives to fill my time to be more productive outside social media.
“The information we consume matters just as much as the food we put in our body. It affects our thinking, our behavior, how we understand our place in the world. And how we understand others.” — Evan Williams, Co-Founder of Twitter and Medium
Self-awareness triggers action
Smartphones are a boon. The information and awareness it is generating have not been brought by anything else in recent times. And, this revolution is only going to improve from here.
With all the learning, improvement, information, and positives, I still love to question how much I use my smartphone. I like to track my mobile usage. It gives me perspective.
Awareness always leaves a perspective.
When my mobile use is below two hours, I feel like I have done substantial justice to my 24-hours productivity. But, I average close to three or three and a half hours every day. I am sure you and I will be on the same platform (but still switch on that tracker for a day)
But 7-months back, things changed — entered the life-changing “Covid-19”.
Since then, I am logging an average of five hours and more each day. And that’s giving me anxiety.
Initially, I ignored it because of the apparent WFH schedule, but the anxiety did not let me rest. After a few months, it was time to check what’s happening. The practice of mobile usage helped. I realized most of the extra 120 minutes came from the additional online calls and the classes/sessions that I registered for.
Sounds good — nothing alarming here.
But, there was another critical reading.
— My social media usage had also gone up along with the number of unlocks. (And that was something to be worried about!)
Essentially, I realized, the unlocking counts became a license for me to scroll through the social media feeds, news broadcast, going through my Medium statistics, and so on. The mobile usage started showing these small additions on the list too.
I also realized it’s not only the top five items in the mobile usage list that’s critical; it’s the middle five too. If I can control these middle rows, they will directly affect the top five.
Social media might be a great place to be entertained and “feel” happy or promote your products and services, but the fact is that it takes away a lot of energy and distracts you from achieving real personal success.
By no means I am condemning these platforms. For our generation, we have found a fantastic way to be connected, know about each other, respond, learn, create, and do something unique.
But when these platforms try to take away the most precious thing from me — “Time,” I have to take action. It’s crucial to weigh what these platforms have to offer me because I am paying them “TIME.” I have to be pragmatic and think like a billionaire. They say Time is Money. And when they say, I listen.
Five things put me back on track.
- I started placing my smartphone behind the laptop.
- I started keeping a couple of books on my working desk. So, before my mind could find an excuse to unlock the phone, I was ready with a better alternative. Those quick “30-seconds” breaks are off the plate.
- I picked up a new hobby. A few black pens and a drawing book are helping me learn “Mandala” art. With these things by the side, the focus has ballooned.
- I de-cluttered my smartphone’s home screen. No shortcut helped me control the dopamine rush.
- I included an afternoon nap in my schedule. When the mind is tired, it’s better to rest than to look for social media feeds.
The most prominent benefit of all these efforts is an abundance of free time — Once I could carve out the free time, I started using it for a lot of “Me” time. If you are still complaining about not having enough “ME” time, for once, track your mobile usage.
“Hooked” by Nir Eyal is a brilliant book to understand the way companies like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn influence our minds to hover on these platforms. With time, they all have become an “attention” seeking and selling platform. If we can stay away from the “attention” element and instead look for content that adds value, I think we are doing justice to our social media time.
It’s not only essential to use social media in a way where it generates the maximum value for us, but it’s also important to entertain the human instinct of being connected, engaged, and find attention. Remind yourself that there was a life beyond Social media, and there will be a life beyond it.
Why not search for meaning and attention there instead?
Are you ready for the experiment?
If you do the experiment I discussed earlier and spend a couple of hours away from the screen time (no smartphones, no tablets, no television, no laptops, no Kindle), what would you do?
Difficult?
Confused?
But, what if I place a few genuine, life-altering alternatives in front of you?
Will you reduce your social media time by 10%?
Yes, just 10%?
- Start a reading habit. Always keep a few books handy. Fiction, non-fiction, technical, magazines, anything will do. As your smartphone is always placed at a visible place, do the same with books. Always approachable.
- Keep a few board games at home. When your mind tells you to pick up the TV remote, instead ask one of your family members for a board game dual.
- Stand up and walk inside the home.
- Take a nap. 20-minutes.
- Do nothing. Sit idle. Stare outside the window. Just DO NOTHING.
- De-clutter your space. Look around; there will definitely be something that needs attention.
- Meditate — Nothing technical and complicated. Just close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, let the thoughts do whatever they want. Keep taking deep belly breaths, and there you are, Meditating like a pro. Accept Mindfulness.
- Pick a hobby. Paint, play music, sing, doodle, gardening, cooking.
- Drink water. Hydrate yourself.
- Write a quick journal. Challenge yourself to write 10 lines: Freehand or a bullet journal or a gratitude journal.
Once you believe that TIME is the most critical thing, you will stop allowing the social media companies to take it away.
The second most important thing is attention. Don’t let the social media feeds grab it so cheaply.
Thirdly, understand that your mind seeks a dopamine rush whenever it touches that smartphone. A similar thrill can be achieved by doing anything from the above list.
Lastly, don’t see happiness as a privilege of a few. Your happiness is in your hands. The more you look for external validation, the farther you push away from that inner joy and satisfaction.
Finally, once you successfully save 10% time, don’t forget to come back to this article and share your thoughts and experiences.
Nishith is a Marathoner, an avid reader, aspiring author, YouTuber, Podcaster, and a personal transformation coach. His simple philosophy and belief — “Small and Consistent Improvements.”
He is the creator of the self-transformation platform — “Be Better Bit-By-Bit,” through which he endeavors to bring small positive changes in people’s lives — each day.
Listen to his Be Better Bit-By-Bit and 10 Bullets — 100 Words Book Summary podcasts.
