The internet and social media is full of distractions. With various platforms and influencers fighting for our attention – most of us can’t resist but continuously check in throughout the day. After all, someone might have posted a cute dog doing yoga video.
The internet, and social media is sensational resource. Benefiting us with inspiration, information and enabling us to connect with friends, family and open doors to other worlds. However, this powerful tool can become addictive and the screen time can negatively interrupt our emotional wellbeing, meaning it can make us feel unhappy, disrupt our sleep patterns, also damage our immediate relationships by being less present.
To ensure the internet and social media usage isn’t claiming your life, it is important that we regularly put effort into calming the noise. Simplifying what exactly we are digesting, being mindful of it’s worth and setting boundaries to reclaim our time. Below are three simple solutions to create a healthier and happier relationship with your screen and reclaim control of what you are absorbing.
Step One: Unsubscribe, unfollow and reduce those notifications
Consider every app, every email-chain and every influencer or character you are following. Decide, does this add value to my life? Simply take a moment to unsubscribe or remove the notification. Over time, you may find you have gathered various subscriptions to things that either isn’t relevant to you anymore, or in retrospect isn’t necessary. If silencing the bleeps and pop-ups isn’t something that you regularly do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how your screen time changes.
Step Two: Boundaries
There are a few different ways to tackle boundaries, and these will depend entirely on you, your usage incentive and your routine. For example, you may limit your usage between 9am - 9pm, which enables a slower morning and a freedom to unwind in the evenings. It easy to get lost in a scroll, so another boundary could be a time limit – allowing only five to ten minutes to tap on your screen until you have to put it down. These simple boundaries successfully limit our usage but also manage to become more weary of our time consumption.
Step Three: Digital detox
Set aside a few hours, an evening, or an entire weekend to silence your screen. Spending time away from the internet and social media enables us to fully engage with ourselves and those around us. It can also help us to look at life more energetically as we are humbly reminded of the real world.