Social media - too much screen time

[Silvan]

Hi everyone!
I hope you’re doing well.

Perhaps you remember that some time ago I created a thread about TikTok/Youtube Shorts/Instagram Reels etc.
Well, now it’s become a part of my daily routine which I do not like.
It’s mostly about time – I lose about 1-2 hours per day scrolling Youtube shorts. I’d prefer to spend this time in a different manner. But it’s not only about wasting time; it’s also bad for my physical health – posture and eyes – and mental health (perfect life in social media, I start feeling inadequate etc.).
I feel like I don’t have enough willpower to simply stay away from mindless scrolling. I tried using an app that only allows certain time of YT usage per day, but it comes with one severe disadvantage: I often use YT to listen to music (it’s my only source of music), or for meditations/sleep stories/sleep music. That said, if I set a 30-minute daily limit for YT, it means I cannot have a 40-min meditation or a 2-hour sleep story. Since this is using YT for listening only, not for watching videos, I tried searching for my favourite sleep channels on Spotify, but unfortunately, they’re only available on YT.

I’d like to hear what you think about this. Could you provide me with some advice? Do any of you have some ideas what I could do in this situation?
Thank you so much.
Cheers
Sue

[Ambedo.]

Hi Sue,

Isn't it wild how addictive social media can be? This is definitely something that I've struggled with as well, which led to me deleting the majority of my social media for a while. I downloaded a few apps again recently, but it can still be a challenge to balance screen time with other activities.

One thing that I've found to be helpful is to keep my phone farther away from me as much as possible. It's similar to an "out of sight, out of mind" principle. If I can't reach it from where I am, I'm a lot less likely to put in the extra effort (even if it isn't much) to get up and go get my phone. There are definitely times where that isn't an option, but it does prove to be really helpful when there is no justifiable reason to have my phone nearby.

One of the biggest challenges when trying to reduce screen time is finding ways to fill the time that you would usually spend scrolling. You mentioned wanting to spend that time other ways, so mapping that out might be helpful for you. Whether it's a hobby that you want to start or get back into, chores you need to do around the house, or spending more time with others, having an idea of how you will fill the time and implementing that into your daily life will make reaching for your phone a lot less tempting.

Additionally, since you mentioned only using YouTube for certain things, perhaps you could schedule YouTube into your day. For instance, you could have a designated hour set aside for meditation. When your 40 minutes of meditating are over, the remaining 20 are yours to watch videos on YouTube or scroll through other social media. When those 20 minutes are up, it's time to put your phone away and focus on something else. If there are other social media sites you enjoy using that don't have a productive purpose, you can also schedule short, designated time slots to look at those sites. Beyond those times, do your best to only use YouTube for listening to music or at bedtime for your sleep stories.

It's a challenge, but I know you'll get there!

[Dawn.]

I used to be like that with Instagram and Facebook and sometimes I still am. When I find myself wasting too much time on social media, I would often delete the app off my phone, place my phone somewhere where I know it will not distract me (like on the other side of the house) and do what I need to do. Only then when I've completed my to do list for the day do I 'reward' myself with having only a limited amount of time on social media.

[Rika]

Hello!

Thanks for writing in. I totally get and understand wanting to limit screen time on your devices or limit time spent on social media apps. It's great you're seeking ways to find help about these issues!

I personally have been able to just turn on a YouTube playlist of like a Let's Play as background noise and fall asleep. Some maybe unable to do that, and it generally does help me fall asleep with ease.

What I'd maybe suggest doing is just putting your device in another room to charge where you're not tempted to look and browse YouTube shorts or any other app. As someone else said, just deleting the app could be useful too.

I honestly don't really get on my social media apps much on my phone or PC anymore. I've found them to be places that are more negative than positive for me.