Are you addicted to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? Do you have a social media addiction that has completely taken over your life? Earlier this week, I shared how to identify your Tweetaholism (Noun. An addiction to the consumption of social media via Twitter or the mental illness and compulsive behavior resulting from Twitter dependency.) via Top Ten Reasons You May Be A Tweetaholic… If you find yourself having one or more of the common warning signs of being addicted to Twitter, it’s okay. There’s hope for a speedy recovering – but only if you follow these tips on battling your social media addiction below.
5. Own up to your Twitter addiction. Yes, it’s a cliche that half the battle is admitting the problem but not acknowledging it means you won’t change the addictive behavior. And before you rush to tweet that you have a Twitter addiction, by all means admit it to yourself but remember that there’s no need to tell the world.
4. Introduce your road to recovery. If you must say something about toning down your Twitter use, lay it on in much more general terms, such as:
“Got a novel to finish. You won’t see much of me here for a bit.”
“Giving birth tomorrow. Since I’m no supermom, you won’t see me around till I know how to parent.”
“Tweeting less ‘coz I’ve discovered marathon running. Off to train!”
3. Plan your Twitter time. If you’re inwardly groaning about how any person could ever “plan” the use of what is essentially a spontaneous medium, you’re right. Twitter works because of its spontaneity. Allow yourself a set amount of time every day, reserved for Twitter.
Suggested: 15 minutes every 3 hours, or one single block of an hour a day when everything else is taken care of. Set precise tweeting times. This is different from the previous suggestion in that you can set a time every day, say 12:30PM to send one tweet message. Stick the to exact allotted times. Check when your tweets have the most impact. Using only high-impact times can lessen your daily usage. Choose your time to coincide only with the time of most impact; this will vary depending on where you live and your interests.
2. Set aside “pure Twitter time”. This means avoiding use of Twitter as something you can do while multitasking, such as watching TV, reading your exam notes, or writing articles about quitting Twitter.
1. Spend time away from TMI (too-much-information). The constant bombardment of messages can induce a sense of constant hyper-awareness that keeps you on edge, in need of reacting and worrying over things you can’t, on the whole, change. Give yourself information free time, chilling under some trees, or down at the gym, or wherever your favorite quiet spot is. Without your phone. Maybe even take a social media hiatus by completing a summer bucket list like Ty of GorgeousInGrey.com – there’s no time like the present to get started.
Now that you have a step-by-step guide to successfully quit your social media addiction, what are you waiting for? Unplug from the grid and enjoy living addiction free this summer! But first, make sure to share this post with your family and friends via Facebook or Twitter…(Hey, I’m not an enabler – I’m just trying to help you help others too!)
