How to Regain Control Over Social Media Usage
Want to waste less time on social media? Whether you want to spend your time more productively or feel yourself increasingly addicted to the satisfaction of likes or comments, you can regain control over your social media usage. In this article, I’ll describe 25 ways to reduce the amount of time you’re spending on social media.
According to data from the World Economic Forum, the average time spent on social media in the United States in 2021 was 2 hours 14 minutes. That statistic is slightly deceiving, as it includes children and older adults, both of whom spend less time on social media. When looking at the data for ages 16-64, the daily time on social media averages 4-6 hours.
Earth Web, an independent technology research outlet, estimates that 50% of the time spent on mobile devices is engaging with social media apps.
Social Media Reality Check
First, determine how much time you’re actually spending on social media. Check your screen time usage in your phone settings to find out the average number of hours per day or week you spend on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, or any other app you find is sucking time away.
By determining which social media apps are draining the most time, you can get specific with the suggestions for reducing your usage.
How to Waste Less Time on Social Media
Below are 25 ways you can reduce your social media usage. Choose a few to try, and be consistent with them for a couple of weeks, then assess how effective that tactic was for you. As you read through this list, additional ideas might come to mind that would work well for your particular situation. Feel free to try whatever seems most useful for you and find the combinations that help you stay intentional with your time on social media.
1. Use the app limits
You can set individual time limits on specific apps on your phone. While you are able to override these, it’s still a good reminder of how much time you’re spending if you bump up against the limits often.
2. Turn off social media notifications
Just say no to banners, pings, and dings letting you know every time someone likes, comments, or responds.
3. Unfollow people or pages
Make a point to unfollow people or pages you don’t want to engage with regularly, or even for a season. This helps to clear the overall digital clutter taking up space when you open up a feed and start the scroll.
4. Move apps off your home screen
Move any apps you want to open less often to a different page on your phone. You will have to consciously think about finding them and reduce the muscle memory of automatically opening the app every time you pick up your phone.
5. Delete apps on the weekend or during the week
Delete the apps completely from your phone on Friday and reinstall them on Monday, or delete them on Monday and reinstall on Friday to limit your usage to specific days only.
Read: How to Organize Your Phone
6. Don’t bring your phone to the table
Leave your phone in another room or in your purse while you eat meals.
7. Don’t take your phone into the bathroom
Yes, I know it’s gross, but I also know that lots of us are guilty of taking our phone to the bathroom. Leave the phone in another room or in your purse. Don’t open up those apps in the bathroom.
8. Use “Do Not Disturb”
Don’t allow pings, banners, or seeing your phone light up distract you into picking it up when you should be focusing on a task. You can set overrides for specific people to be able to contact you if needed (spouse, kids, boss, etc.), but eliminate most of the distractions by using Do Not Disturb mode when doing focused work.
9. Don’t keep your phone in the bedroom overnight
This strategy helps in two ways. First, you won’t stay up too late endlessly scrolling. Second, you eliminate grabbing your phone first thing in the morning and starting your day with a mindless scroll.
10. Set a “not-before” time for social media
Give yourself a “not-before” time for using social media. Maybe 10 a.m. is reasonable for you, maybe noon. Just get in the habit of knowing that you don’t even open those apps before that time.
11. Charge your phone at a specific time of day (not overnight)
Choose a time of day you often check social media and make that the time you charge your phone.
12. Set appointments for social media usage
Choose specific days and times to spend on social media the same way you would attend a meeting or an appointment. No random scrolling allowed.
13. Limit social media to your computer
Decide to use certain apps only while sitting at your computer and make mobile usage off limits.
14. Do a social media fast
Choose to abstain from all social media for an extended period of time (at least 72 hours). You may wish to do this on a monthly or quarterly basis, every 6 weeks, or whatever time frame makes sense for you.
15. Schedule daily or weekly hobby time
Make a plan to spend time regularly on a specific hobby or project you enjoy. Time spent doing something that engages your mind or body is time not spent on social media!
16. Get an accountability partner
Find a friend who wants to commit to the same goals and check in regularly to update each other on how you’re doing.
17. Give others permission to call you out
Let your family and friends know your desire to be more intentional with social media and encourage them to ask you to put your phone away and be present with them.
18. Reward yourself
Give yourself a reward when you keep your social media usage below the weekly or monthly threshold you set. It can be a simple purchase like a new nail polish or specialty coffee drink, or an hour to spend reading a novel or enjoying a favorite magazine.
19. Get physical
Pick an activity to do every time you find yourself logging into a social media app: 30 jumping jacks, 5 deep breaths, 20 squats or lunges. The physical activity will probably energize you and may be enough to turn your attention to something more productive.
Read: 50 Productive Things To Do in Small Pockets of Time
20. Keep an alternative with you
Carry a book, a crossword puzzle, or a crochet project in your bag as an alternative to grabbing your phone whenever you have a few extra minutes.
21. Create a vision board
Make a vision board detailing how you’d like to spend your time. Include family time, hobbies, things you’d like to learn, vacations, organized pantries, and anything else that inspires you. Take a picture of it to save as your wallpaper or lock screen to remind yourself each time you pick up your phone.
22. Written reminder
Write out a reminder for yourself related to how you want to be intentional with your time. The act of writing it out will have some effect in solidifying your intentions, but take a picture of it and make it your wallpaper or lock screen.
23. List the ways you want to spend your time
Make a list of the things you want to do with your time—exercise, work on a hobby, start a business, get your clutter under control—and keep it somewhere you’ll see often.
24. List the reasons you want to use social media
Make a list of the reasons you are using social media—get inspired, stay in touch with friends, promote your business or brand—and refer to it often. This would be a great item to include in a weekly review.
Read: 20 Weekly Reflection Questions for Busy Moms
25. Ask yourself why
Get in the habit of asking yourself why you are checking social media each time you log on. Do you want to engage with someone specifically, check in with your own accounts, ask a question in a Facebook group, or just be entertained for a while? Make sure you know your purpose and then set a time limit for accomplishing that purpose. This question could also be a helpful wallpaper background!
Using Social Media with Intention
The point of listing all these ways to waste less time on social media isn’t to imply that social media is all bad. Instead, I want to offer possibilities for using social media with intentionality. I love keeping up with far-flung friends and family on social media. Facebook groups have been an amazing resource for me. But without consciously considering my usage of social media, it’s easy to spend far more time on the platforms than I intended.
More than anything, use these suggestions to increase your awareness of how you are spending your time versus how you want to spend your time, and adjust accordingly.
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How to Waste Less Time on Social Media
