How To Disconnect From Social Media

Over the past couple of decades, social media has become an increasingly important part of people’s lives.

No matter where you are in the world, you can quickly and easily connect with others so long as you have an internet connection.

While this might sound great in principle, the presence of social media can often cause people to stop living their real life and instead focus on embellishing their online profile.

With this in mind, our guide will take a closer look at seven of the most effective ways to unplug yourself from social media.

What’s more, we’ll also look to answer a few of the frequently asked questions.

1) Turn Off Your Push Notifications

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The first step of disconnecting from social media is to turn off your push notifications.

This includes all notifications from social media applications, email, and chat.

If someone really needs to get hold of you in the case of an emergency, they’ll give you a call.

Successfully disconnecting from social media is all about momentum.

How can you gain this momentum when notifications prove to be a constant source of distraction?

2) Keep Your Phone Tucked Away While Working

More often than not, the mere sight of your phone can be enough to distract you – irrespective of whether the notifications are on or off.

Therefore, if you really want to detach from social media and remain focused on your work, it might be a good idea to completely hide your phone from sight.

This might mean hiding your phone in a drawer or simply tucking it into your pocket.

Either way, if anyone urgently needs to get hold of you, you’ll still be able to hear it.

3) Avoid Social Media Before And After Sleep

During the first half-hour of your day after waking up, you should be proactive and set some goals for yourself.

Other positive things to do include meditation, praying, and connecting with yourself.

You should also spend your last hour before going to sleep by resting both your body and mind.

Checking social media isn’t helpful as this can fill your mind with all of your followers’ updates, preventing it from getting the rest it needs at the end of a busy day.

4) Give Yourself 30 Minutes A Day

There’s nothing wrong with logging into social media each day. After all, it’s pretty important in such a technology-driven world.

However, try to limit yourself to 30 minutes a day when you check your notifications, respond to messages, accept friend requests, and so on.

If you’re unable to limit yourself to just 30 minutes a day, it might be a good idea to use a browser extension like StayFocused (on Google Chrome) to help discipline your social media activity.

5) Limit Your Social Media To One Device

It’s hardly surprising that social media is such an influential part of people’s lives when it comes on all types of devices – from laptops and desktops to smartphones and watches.

Ultimately, the more devices that you can log in to social media, the more distractions you have to avoid.

This is why limiting your social media activity to just one device is a great way to condition your mind that your gadgets can be used for more important things than just aimlessly scrolling through social media feeds.

6) Don’t Spend Longer Than An Hour On Emails

Email remains one of the most personal channels of online communication, and is often where the most important engagements occur.

However, it’s important not to spend too much time checking your emails as you’ll eventually turn crazy – one hour a day is more than enough!

7) Make Sure You Live In The Real World

Perhaps the most critical thing you can do to disconnect from social media is make sure you remain present in the real world with real people.

Don’t worry about making your online profile look great, live an exciting life instead!

Whether you’re traveling the world or writing a book, live a life that matters.

Living in the real world and having fun experiences will ensure that you never have to get your fulfillment from likes and followers again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is It Healthy To Disconnect From Social Media?

Yes, disconnecting from social media is good for you because it allows you to be more present in your actual life which can lead to picking up new hobbies and prioritizing self-care.

What’s more, disconnecting from social media can also improve your sleep and levels of productivity due to the fact that you’re reducing your exposure to blue light.

Why Is It So Hard To Quit Social Media?

Lots of people find it incredibly difficult to disconnect and quit social media because of the instant gratification it can provide.

For example, each time someone follows you or likes one of your posts, it gives you a sense of satisfaction that can often become addictive and difficult to let go of.

This has been proven by clinical therapists all over the world.

Why Is Instagram So Addictive?

While all social media platforms can be addictive, the nature of Instagram can bring new levels of compulsion.

This is because their rapid-fire ‘stories’ feature can keep us hooked with a simple tap.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, disconnecting yourself from social media is incredibly important if you ever feel yourself drifting away from living a real, authentic life.

Hopefully, after reading the information in this guide, you’ll be in a much stronger position to prevent social media from dictating your life!