[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!