There are many positive ways that social media has affected our daily interactions – it makes it easier to stay in touch with friends and family (especially during times like these), share personal photos and provide important life updates. However, like many things in life, it’s all about striking a balance. 

If you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through your phone, spending hours on end between apps or just full on admitting you have an addiction, you may consider signing off for a short period of time – or at least limiting your use.

So go on, put your devices down… here are a few suggestions how:  

Create boundaries
When it comes to social media, set rules for yourself and stick to them. For instance, decide not to go on social media during your morning routine. Give yourself time to wake up, have a cup of coffee, enjoy your breakfast or morning workout and do whatever you need to do to get your day off to a good start.  

Of course, set boundaries that work best for you and your life. Maybe this means logging off before bed and winding down phone free. Personalize your boundaries to complement your patterns and habits.

Track your screen time
Many iPhones have a feature called ‘screen time’ that allows you to track how much time you spend on each app. It’s eye-opening to say the least.

Simply go into your settings and tap screen time. You will be able to view your current usage for the day as well as take a closer look at your habits, which are split into different categories.

You can toggle between ‘today’ and ‘last 7 days’ and view which websites and apps you’ve used the most and how many hours you’ve spent on each.

This feature goes beyond tracking; you can limit your app use as well. The app limits feature will allow you to set a daily allotment of time for different apps. Once you’ve used up your allotted time your phone will block access to it (with an option to ignore just in case).

If you don’t have this feature on your iPhone or use an Android, there are numerous apps you can download that do the same thing. Try My Addictometer, SPACE or App Detox to name a few.

Detox day
If you can’t commit to a long-term social detox, think shorter term. Delete your apps for a day – they’re super easy to get back!

For instance, decide that Sundays will be a great day for you to step away from the social space. When the app is out of sight it’s also out of mind – think how productive you’ll be. Plus, you can re-download the following day and catch up on anything you missed.